Alternatives to Infant Cold Medication?

Vicks works miracles, if you put it on the feet don't forget the socks, rub it on their chest and throat and cover up. Get some saline drops too.

I will also say vicks and humidifier and saline drops. ;-)
I also gave mine children's sudafed sometimes for basic congestion. But she is 19 now and I knew hers was in part to allergies (she inherited from me. Poor kid).

Good luck,

Saline spray like little noses. It works ownders.

I suggest a Vicks Humidifier with that "spot" on the top to sling in some Vicks Vaporub. It works great... much better than those plug in deals with the Vicks aroma filling the room. (Much cheaper too!)
Water, water, water. Have her blow her nose, or suck it out with one of those nose suckers for babies. (I hate the way that feels though!)
Chicken noodle soup (proven to help).
Lots of TLC from Mama!

I hope she feels better soon!

The secret is to help her body fight the cold itself. You need to build immunity. One word: Sambucol (Black elderberry syrup) Get it at your health food store.

I would try saline drops, Vick's vapo cream for babies and a vicks plug in. I would probably also take her in...walking pneumonia has been rampant this year.

i have a 3 1/2 yr old and an 18 mo. old. my 18 mo. old weighs about half of what my 3 1/2 yr old does, so i give the younger one half the dose i'd give the older one of children's cold meds.
HOWEVER, the best thing for a cold is to just let it run it's course. i try to only use decongestants if my kids are having trouble sleeping. but even in that case, it's best to use a humidifier and put a little Vicks on their chest IMO

At her age the best thing to do is suction her with saline drops, cool mist humidifier, vicks baby vapor rub, and hold her in a hot shower with you away from the water but so she is breathing the steam. There is a good prescription med that my pedi gave me for my two, but it is based on weight. It is Areokid syrup and my 3 YO only gets 1/2 a teaspoon and my 19 MO can now get 1/4 teaspoon. You can give it every six hours, but she discourages that and only suggests at nap time and bed time. Also, you can elevate her mattress with phone books to allow for drainage instead of it all being in her nose when she wakes up. Good Luck with all the crud going around. Oh, by 19 MO has had this for 5 weeks now. We have gone through strep tests and other cultures. Last Tuesday, we were at our witts end and our pedi did one more nasal culture and it came back with the MCAT virus showing on the culture. We are now on antibiotics and zyrtec and much better after 3 days of the meds. Maybe ask the doc to do a nasal culture to make sure she does not have something else going on.

vicks vapo rub and saline drops (little noses) works wonders for the stuffy nose.

When mine were little all I gave them was liquid Benadryl and steam.... we'd sit in the bathroom before bed and turn the shower on and not the fan and steam, steam, steam. Not a great water saver, but it helped. It filled the room up, frizzed my hair and made their noses unclog... and I'd use that gross little baby nose bulb to suck out the snot.

H., give your child lots of liquids during the day to help thin and flush the mucous out. Give a long warm bath before bedtime to allow the steam to loosen the mucous more. Use the vicks rub on the chest up including the neck and also their upper back and back of neck to sooth and clear the sinus during sleep. Put a humidifier in there for extra comfort for breathing. I haven't heard of the vicks on the feet at bedtime but that sounds good too. My son's pediatrician tells me not to bring him in w/a regular cold or a cough. There's nothing that they could do to cure a cold/cough. You'll only expose them to more airborne germs if you go. Also, give his chicken soup. I read a research that there's a certain chemical produced in the ingredients that somehow helps cold/coughs get better. If you don't give him vitamin, a liquid vitamin (fruity flavor) mixed in something he'll eat/drink will help shorten the length of the cold and boost his immune system to get better. If he tends to be a little warm or feverish, give him the plain children's or infant tylenol (one ingredient - acetaminophen). You can also make sure by asking the pedi. He'll get better fast.

I know this is gonna sound crazy, but there's is actual medical research and reasoning that backs it up. You take Vick's Vapor Rub for babies and rub it on the the bottoms of their feet and then put socks on them. This works really well for adults too. The reason is because our bodies absorb really quickly through our feet.
My step mother has been plagued with a terrible cough for the past several weeks. She had been literally making herself sick off of cough medicine when she heard about this and decided to try it one night. She didn't take anything else, and just rubbed it on her feet and put her socks on before climbing into bed. She said within 5 minutes her cough was gone, and she slept for 4 hours straight for the first time in weeks. She then had to get up and reapply, but then slept another 4 hours. This is the best cough cure I've heard of and would probably work well relieving congestion and running nose if it's getting rid of a cough that bad. If you try it, let me know how it worked. Good luck!

I know at times it seems silly to bring a child in for a cold/runny nose but remember that w/a runny nose all that drainge can turn in to a ear infection or redness/irritation in the throat. I find that in the child sleeps propped up it helps w/the coughing and since she is only 9months you will have to sleep w/her in your arms this is also a plus because they feel more comfortable when they hear your heart beat.
Also run a humidifier it helps.

Just a thin layer of Vic Vaporub on the bottom of her feet will do wonders. Don't forget to cover the feet with socks afterwards.

My dr. usually had me bring mine in primarily to check their weight, so they could give me the proper dosing of the childrens stuff. Also, They would give me a prescription generic cough and cold that was actually a lot more effective.

I give my kids mullein during the day. It's an herb that you can get at health food stores in liquid form that unclogs their noses with amazing speed. I use it too when my sinus' are stopped up. Then I give them benedryl at night to help them sleep and breathe better with a humidifier.

If you go ahead and take her to the doctor now, he will probably prescribe something that you can keep on hand for the cough and runny nose.

try to do the steam bath, but other than that, it's better to go to the doc. otc drugs have caused so many overdoses, it's better to be safe than sorry.

good luck

My son is 7 months and the doctor told me to give him Dimetapp Elixer. I give him half a teaspoon which is what my doctor told me to give him. Im assuming that would be fine for a 9 month old as well. You should call your doctor just to approve the dosage.

Good Luck

With our 12 month old, we've used a combination of saline nasal spray, bulb syringe, warm bath and washcloth on nose, taking him in the shower for steam (careful not to get hot water on him), vapor bath soap, elevating one end of the crib (if he doesn't flip around too much), just keeping him hydrated (allowing nursing as frequently as he likes or other fluids), vaseline under the nose, vaseline on chest to coat skin with a dab of menthol rub on top covered with tshirt (no direct contact with rub on skin or hands/eyes). Be sure to check her temperature--if it hits 100, I'd take her in to doc in case of infection for antibiotics. This past week, our 12 mo had runny nose/cough but no fever. We went into doctor b/c we're heading out of town and he gave me a prescription for antibiotics in case a fever develops I can fill it here or OT. Otherwise, I'd avoid the sick waiting area at the pediatrician with just cold symptoms.

I give my daughter a long warm bath before bedtime. And if this doesn't work, I turn on the humidifier. This helps with any coughing or congestion.

Hi H.!! I get my medicine from a great place that has natural products. They work great and I know are safe for my family. They also carry other products besides pharmaceutical...they have cleaners, hygiene, vitamins and supplements, laundry, dishes, makeup, etc. Let me know if you'd like to hear more...give me a call or email me!

Good luck - I hope she feels better!

T.
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My son has a prescription called Ceron, looks like Dimetapp to me. Its a decongestant/cough.