What To Do When Infant Has Nasal Congestion

Discover the various reasons for nasal congestions and what you can do to reduce your baby s frustration.

What to do when infant has nasal congestion.

Nasal congestion happens when blood vessels and tissue in the nasal cavity fill up with too much fluid. It usually isn t serious. When to see a doctor. Nasal congestion can be more threatening in infants than in older children and adults.

But when your baby has too much mucus it can give him a stuffy head it can also make it hard to. Babies have very small nasal passages and may only sound congested. Some newborns get congested simply because their nasal passages are so tiny that a little bit of mucus irritation from things in the air or even a little bit of breast milk they spit up and goes into the nose can cause it says tanya altmann md an american academy of pediatrics spokesperson and founder of calabasas pediatrics in california. If the baby has a runny nose or mucus in their nose they may have nasal congestion.

Possible signs that your baby is having trouble breathing include belly breathing ribs sucking in with each breath grunting whistling or moaning while taking a breath widening nostrils and more seriously skin. Believe it or not a runny nose can be a good thing. If your baby is younger than 3 months of age call the doctor early in the illness. It s the body s way of getting rid of germs.

In newborns it s especially important to. Your baby s immune system will need time to mature. It can make it hard to sleep and lead to problems like a sinus infection sinusitis. This can become a problem if your baby has nasal congestion on top of this and breathing through the nose becomes more difficult.

Symptoms can interfere with infant feedings and can even lead to fatal breathing problems. Congestion in babies is caused either by swelling of the nasal passages so air can t get through or by the nasal passages being filled up with mucus says dr. Babies with congestion at night may wake up more often have increased coughing and become very irritable. Nasal congestion is the most common.

Being horizontal and being tired make it harder for babies to handle congestion. Nasal congestion is very common in babies and children. A baby may sound congested in their nose such as from breathing in dry. If your baby has a cold with no complications it should resolve within 10 to 14 days.

Several issues can lead to a congested baby.