I guess it was only going to be a matter of time until our little man got his first cold. He's just got over it and I thought it would be useful to summarise my experiences. It did indeed start with a cough. As coughing is not unusual for our baby I didn't even notice ... later that night it became obvious that he's got a cold as he clearly struggled with a blocked nose and also seemed very quiet.
The nights were quite tough because he just couldn't breathe easily or had to cough / sneeze constantly. So he woke up very frequently and was also quite difficult to settle. Amazingly during the day he was almost his usual self though a bit less energetic than usual. So we checked with friends, midwives, doctors and a pharmacist how we could make life easier for him. Here is what we got:
- Pamol / Paracetamol for babies can be used however not more than 4 times a day and only every 4 to 6 hours. We were told the recommended dosage for our 8-month old was 3ml. So we gave him 3ml every 6 hours which definitely helped, especially at night.
- Cough suppressants are not suitable for babies, so we tried other things like tilting the bed up (slightly) and leaving some tissues with drops of eucalyptus in the room.
- We used salty water to clean his nose and tried to suck out some mucus using a "Bulb Sucker" (yep someone had a bright idea to invent this - check it out). Although the bulk sucker was not as effective as we had hoped.
- We always aired his room during the day and spent a good few hours outside with him (obviously making sure he was warm and comfortable all the time)
- We gave him more fluids than normal (mostly herbal tees or watery fruit juice) as well as mashed fruit to eat (more than normal).
After about 4 days he was through it - which I thought was quite remarkable given that the common cold lasts for a week or longer. It is quite tough though and we all got sick after a while as well - so it's important to get plenty of rest and do "shifts" with your partner or others who can help.
By the way - does anybody know why they make Pamol so unbelievably SWEET??? As it happens Noah doesn't like sweet things (in general) so it is even more off putting for him. In general though I'm not sure it's such a great idea to make drugs for children taste sweet ...
If anyone has any other remedies they've tried I'd love to hear them!
-Stef
Technorati Tags: 
DIYFather.com is a registered Trademark, ©2008 -- user protected contents, all rights reserved.
Hi Stefan. A good
Hi Stefan.
A good point....I've found this resouce - http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/pagesmh/1274/$File/fnghit2.pdf
- which states:
"In the USA, honey has been found to be a risk factor for infant botulism (Spika et al 1989). The risk of contracting infant botulism from honey is extremely small. However, as honey may contain Clostridium botulinum spores and is not an essential part of the infant‘s diet, it is advisable not to introduce honey until the infant is six months of age. This is because 98 percent of the incidence of infant botulism occurs in infants under six months of age (Arnon et al 1981). This recommendation is a precautionary measure as no formal studies on the presence of Clostridium botulinum in honey have been undertaken in New Zealand. It should be noted that the Canadian Paediatric Society, Dietitians of Canada and Health Canada’s joint statement (1998), the American Public Health Association (Benenson 1995) and the British Health Education Authority (1997), recommend that honey should not be consumed by infants under 12 months."
Hope this helps.
Darian
Hey Darian - well that's
Hey Darian - well that's what I use for when I have a cough. We weren't sure whether we can give him honey already?
-Stef
Hey JLow - thanks for all
Hey JLow - thanks for all the suggestions. Would be good to know whether these drugs are OK for 8-month olds?
Great reminder to get the syringe plungers! I think it is very important to make sure you get the right dose and measure accurately.
-Stef
On the cough suppressants
On the cough suppressants front, my wife and I simply use a teaspoon of honey and a drink of water. Seems to really help.
I am going to cheat and
I am going to cheat and copy-paste a comment I wrote on the same subject here:
2ann.blogspot.com
~~~~
I thought I had a post on this in my "Dr Pixie says" section.
You can get Clarityne for nasal congestion. It's not over-the-counter stuff; so you gotta get it from the "back room" of the pharmacy;)
Be sure you get the liquid version, which I believe comes in a green box; there are tablet versions available for adults. On the box are dosage suggestions.
When Caitlin needed help, we'd give her 10mL of it once a day.
The other newer medicine is Zyrtec. With these we give her "8 oral drops" once every evening. "Newer" only because the former has been around longer.
With these we usually "spike" her drink / milk with it. I once added it to Ribena too and it also went down okay with her. But it could be that she already understands that medication can help her get well soon.
Please note: These are only what we do & is only my opinion. I am not a doctor, so this is by no means an expert opinion / suggestion. These are real medicines I am talking about.
Another tip: Whenever you visit clinics or hospitals, try & "help yourself" to a few syringe plungers, without the needle of course. These obviously make very accurate measurements of liquid dosage(s).
Good luck, let us know how you go.
Post new comment
The following related articles may be of interest to you: