Baby Congestion: When Mucus is Thick

How to Perform Suction when Your Baby Has Stuffy Nose

A stuffy nose can make it difficult for your infant or child to breathe. Imagine how it make your child fussy especially when they are about to get to sleep.

Suctioning is necessary when the cold or flu is causing the body to produce too much mucus, or when the mucus is too thick and the cough reflexes are not strong enough to get rid of the mucus (or when your baby does not know how to blow the nose). When facing with these scenarios, here are some simple steps you can take to make your child feel better and take control of the helpless situation.

TOOLS
✓ Saline solution or salt water solution
✓ Suction tube (comes with bulb syringe or suction catheter)
✓ Natural Nose-Clear decongestant balm

DIRECTIONS

Step 1
Prepare your saline solution. If you are able to purchase a ready-make Saline solution from pharmacy or stores such as Guardian or Watson, you should use it. Be sure to purchase a solution that is suitable for use on infant or kids. Saline/salt water solution is used to help thin the mucus, making it easier to remove. It also keeps the nose, sinus passages, and throat clear of mucus at the same time.

Step 2
(If you do not have ready-made saline solution) This is how you can make your own salt water solution.
1. Mix ¼ teaspoon of table salt with 1 cup boiled water.
2. Allow to cool to room temperature.
3. Store in a clean, covered bottle.
4. Label with date it was made.
5. Discard after 3 days. Make fresh solution if you need more.

Step 3
You can use salt water solution up to 4 times a day for suctioning.

Step 4
Before suctioning, wash your hand before. Position your infant or child comfortably so he cannot push you away or wiggle out of your arms. If you like to suction both nose and mouth, start with the mouth first.

Step 5
Put 2-3 drops of saline/salt water solution in your child’s nose before inserting the bulb syringe in the nose.

Step 6
Squeeze air out of the bulb of syringe to create a vacuum. Then gently insert rubber tip into one nostril. Slowly release bulb to suction out mucus (Suction is created as your thumb releases pressure on the bulb). Remove the syringe and squeeze the bulb forcefully to expel the mucus into a tissue. Wipe the syringe and repeat the process for other nostril.

Step 7
When finished, clean the bulb syringe using a bowl of soapy water and squeezing it out. Let it air dry.

In General
If your baby or child is still congested after 5-10 minutes, apply saline drops again and re-suction. Do not over-do more than 4x daily as it may irritate the lining.

You can suction your baby or child’s nose and/or mouth when:
☑ he is having difficulty breathing.
☑ the breathing is noisy or wheezing.
☑ before feeding or nursing if having a stuffy nose.
☑ before sleeping if having a stuffy nose.

The Chest Report

In the publication of a study in the journal – Chest –  researchers found that putting Vapour Rub under a child’s nose actually makes it harder for the child to breathe.

Some ingredients – Eucalyptol and Menthol – in vapour rub can irritate airways and increase mucus production. The effect is not huge but can be significant enough for infants and toddlers below 2 years, as they have smaller airways to begin with. And when the pipes are already inflamed with cold or other infection, a little extra inflammation and mucus can narrow them more quickly and severely.

In fact, these researchers launched the study after an 18-month-old girl came to their ER with unexplained respiratory distress. After the doctors could find no usual cause (like pneumonia or asthma), they discovered that her grandparents placed a dab of vapour rub under her nose and noticed that her symptoms quickly worsened after that. Since then, they had also seen three additional young children with the same reactions.

Safety of Natural Nose-Clear is Our Priority

At Bellary Nature, our Natural Nose-Clear vapour rub was formulated by our certified Aromatherapist-cum-Herbalist who takes safety of product use very seriously. We do not compromise on the quality, safety and effectiveness of our natural baby and kids balms – which also explains why we have two versions of these balms in the very first place; unlike most other brands in the market which just offer a single product for babies or children alike.

Each and every ingredient used in our natural balms is intentional and every pot is genuine. We harness proven efficacy of plants in their most complete, whole form and all ingredients have been carefully studied for its relevance, purpose and toxicological effects based on publications of scientific literature and safety data in renowned international databases such as PubMed, Cosmetic Ingredient Review (CIR), Environment Working Group (EWG) overall hazard rating database, IFRA monographs, etc.