Baby Stuffy Nose And Its Effects
Having a congested nose is a difficult situation most of us have to go through at one point in life. What is more hurting is when you see babies gasping for air with a lot of difficulties. While this may be a manageable condition, dealing with a baby stuffy nose can sometimes be very daunting considering the afflictions associated with it.
It all becomes even worse when you have to cope with a baby with a blocked nose.
You can visualize a situation where you are forced to stay awake while soothing a baby suffering from heavy nose congestion.
Dealing with this condition at night is much worse than any other time. The kids will tend to be very stubborn.
But since you are more concerned about their health, you must do something to help them enjoy their sleep by ensuring that they breathe properly.
It is only when the baby is comfortable that both of you are going to enjoy the night.
Causes Of A Stuffy Noses In Babies At Night
Your child’s nasal congestions could be due to several reasons.
Well, before digging deep in to find out why our children have to suffer stuffy nose, it would be wise for us to, first of all, understand the kid’s normal nasal passage condition.
The fact is that during the initial few months after birth, you will realize that your baby’s breathing rhythm seems more or less a congested nose.
This is attributed to the fact that during the nine months in the womb, they were allowed to swim in amniotic fluid and after birth, some of the fluid remained in their nasal passage.
As a result, you will notice the baby sneezing most of the time in a bid to get rid of the fluid in their nose.
This will eventually subside when they attain the age of between 3 and 4 months.
While a 1-month-old baby stuffy nose may not be a cause for alarm, it is good to understand that sometimes babies are naturally born with blocked nasal passages.
As such, here are some of the common causes of stuffy noses in babies:
- Common Colds/Viral Infections – Infections of the respiratory organ have a direct impact on the kid’s breathing since runny noses are mostly associated with colds.
- Allergy/Allergic Rhinitis – In any case, both of you are likely to get a stuffy nose. This is worsened by pollen, fragrances, dust or whatever things the kid may be allergic to.
- Dry Air Or Low Humidity – These weather conditions could also cause nasal congestion in babies. Thus, the air that lacks moisture is likely to irritate the nose thereby leading to inflammation of the nasal passage.
This will prompt the nose to release excessive amounts of mucous, hence, baby stuffy nose.
- Teething – This is a condition that eludes many parents. Teething has also been cited as a common cause for stuffy nose in babies.
Well, babies are born with tiny nasal passages and when they start growing teeth, swelling occurs in the gums rendering the nasal passage much smaller.
During teething, your child may be extremely susceptible to nasal congestion.
Effects Of A Blocked Nose
As it were, each baby has its unique way of dealing with nasal congestion.
There is only one-way babies will try to beat blocked noses – reverting to their mouths. Even though, this method comes with a lot of problems including:
- Breast or bottle-feeding difficulties.
- The baby becomes more troublesome.
- The baby will experience sleepless nights. The baby suffering from the blocked nose will tend to suffer most during the night as they will be forced to lie flat on their backs.
- The lips of the baby will dry up. Since the kid will be forced to breathe through the mouth most of the time, the lips alongside the roof of the mouth are also likely to dry up.
Managing Nasal Congestion In Babies
As a parent, you should be able to handle this situation well. There are various methods you can use and they include using:
- Nasal drops
- Steam shower
- Humidifiers etc.
Adhering to the correct baby blocked nose sleeping position is also important.
This will allow the kid to breathe freely. There are many various ways you can deal with this situation at home.
At some point, you will need to suck the mucous using your mouth as a baby blocked nose home remedy.
It is a technique that has worked before and if you can, then go ahead.
Bottom Line
Generally, baby stuffy nose is a condition every parent must be prepared to handle as it can sometimes occur naturally.
There are quite various ways on how to unblock the baby’s nose naturally.
Understanding the cause is equally important. You only need to examine your baby and apply the correct remedy.
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