What to do About Your Infant's Stuffy Nose

Is your infant suffering from a stuffy nose? Most of the time, your baby’s stuffy nose shouldn’t be any cause for concern. Even though mostly harmless, a stuffy nose can indicate an illness from which your newborn is suffering and can have a host of effects that can have consequences on your infant’s comfort. If you are wondering if there is anything you can do to alleviate your infant’s congestion, this article is just for you!

What to Know About Your Infant’s Congestion

Similar to adults, infant congestion is often caused by illness or allergies. However, the effects of your infant’s congestion on their physical health can be serious. The reason for this? Your baby, unlike adults, has tiny nasal passages that are much more sensitive to inflammation (Wageman). This can cause mucus to build up in your infant’s nasal passages making it difficult to breathe and rest. It is important to remember how integral sleep is for your baby. When your baby is not able to properly rest and recover, it can lead to developmental problems for your newborn. Always consult with your doctor about your baby’s health if you notice that their congestion is not clearing or if your baby begins to suffer from other symptoms such as ear pain.

What You Can do to Help Your Infant’s Congestion

Luckily, you can soothe your infant’s discomfort by following these steps:

• By increasing your baby’s fluid intake, you can help alleviate congestion as the fluids help clear out nasal passages.

• With the use of a nose drop, you can help your child’s congestion by directly thinning out the mucus. It is important to remember to not use the nose drop too frequently as this can also inflame your infant’s nasal passages.

• Humidifiers are always a great option to help with congestion. By adding moisture to the air, a humidifier can loosen up any mucus that is in your newborn’s nose allowing it to be discharged by your child. Additionally, a humidifier can help ensure that your child is getting a restful night’s sleep by maintaining adequate humidity levels. The humidifiers produced by Miro offer a great option for parents with models like the Miro MH7000, which is built with UV technology that can kill the bacteria in the air. Some Miro models are also equipped with humidity sensors that can protect your infant from the negative effects of over-humidified air. Finally, Miro humidifiers are ultrasonic humidifiers eliminating the potential hazard risks from some types of humidifiers. Warm mist humidifiers should never be used around young children as they run the risk of being toppled over and scalding your child.

• The easiest step you can take is to always wash your hands when interacting with your newborn. Infants are much more sensitive to bacteria therefore it is essential to maintain a clean environment for your child. Limit the amount of fuel, like gas-powered appliances, around your infant as this can have an effect on their respiratory health.