If there’s something that every mom of a young child values so very much above all other things: it’s sleep. In winter a blocked nose is just another obstacle to a peaceful night. Trying to spray the kid in the nose just adds to the torture. So, I’ve always been open to non-invasive ways to unblock your child’s nose. I thought I’d list some ideas here, as we seem to be going through a particularly bad patch this winter.
1. Hot Bath. Before bed, if part of your routine is a hot bath, you’re on the right track. The steam often allows the mucus to flow out of the nose. I also find that bath time is a more fun, less stressful time and pulling it quickly and casually out of his nose is a winner.
2. Humidifier. This works on the same principle as the steam from the bath, but it has the convenience of being in your room. You can add decongestant oils to the humidifier to make it even more effective. A blow heater also helps.
The thing you have to remember about all these heat creators is that you need to watch that your kid doesn’t get too hot, otherwise you have another sleep deprivation problem on your hands. Nicky likes to say that he likes the heater “on!” even though I can feel that he’s burning up. On the other hand, since he insists on kicking off all the blankets, maybe it will work for a while…
3. Room spray. I had no idea that you could even get a spray for your room but I tried this last night. I could hear that telltale rasp as Nicky was struggling to breath. I gave a few puffs on this stuff and amazingly, the rasp went away. Of course he still took a while to get back to sleep, but hey, at least his nose was feeling better.
4. Chest rub. I have actually been using this method for long time, even when Nicky was a baby. Sometimes he giggles when I put it on, but other times he doesn’t like it. I find it’s less invasive than the spray though.
5. Capsules. These you can add to the humidifier, hot water or drop them on a nearby surface. I put them on a ribbon dangling near Nicky’s bed ever since he got really upset when I put them on his pillow. “Wet!” he exclaimed, with many tears. The Karvol one has a pretty potent smell but it does contain the decongestant oils of menthol, cinnamon and pine.
If 1-5 don’t work, bring out the spray. When Nicky was little I used saline solution and a sea spray. Torture. Now that he is older (just turned three) I use a aqueous solution and also Drixine. He hates the Drixine! That’s why I try the non-invasive stuff first. You can also get medication from your doctor.
So there you have it. I don’t have all the answers to a solid night’s sleep (my kid has woken up at least twice while I’ve been typing this) but at least I am trying what I can to make the nose blocking less of a problem.
I’d like to hear your ideas of how you survive the winter illness problems.
This post is not sponsored but I did receive some awesome products from Karvol which you should check out.
Available at DisChem, Clicks and leading pharmacies.
Karvol Decongestant Capsules (10’s) R47.99
Karvol Decongestant Chest Rub (50g) R31.99
Karvol Decongestant Room Spray (125ml) R48.99
Ok used breast milk while I was still breast feeding and now if things look bad, the nebulizer with saline only.
Yes after I wrote this post I thought about that. I find the boob really calms him down, and a warm drink certainly helps. I don’t have a nebulizer, that’s another idea.
Love this post and love Karvol! I’ve been using it for many years.
Like MamaCat I found breastfeeding helped, I also used saline drops and on THOSE nights, put some menthol rub on a tissue and wafted it under the nostrils. In fact we’ve hit winter here and I’ve just finished the latest round of ‘bathing a fevered forehead’ – sounds much better in Victorian novels!