What should I do if my one-year-old baby has a stuffy nose?

The nose is the main channel for babies to breathe fresh air. Once blockage occurs, the baby will have difficulty breathing and make abnormal whirring sounds, and even feeding will be affected. Therefore, new parents should pay more attention to the baby's nose and avoid blocking his breathing passage. If the baby has a stuffy nose, what should we do? Is there any way for parents to help the baby deal with the stuffy nose?

What to do if your baby has a stuffy nose

Usually if a baby has a stuffy nose, it may be that the baby has a cold. So what should mothers do at this time?

1. If the baby has a cold, the mother can let the baby lie on the bed and rub the baby's back through the clothes. Rubbing up and down is effective in preventing colds. If the baby has a stuffy nose, you can gently rub the baby's ears until they turn red. This can also relieve nasal congestion.

2. If your baby's nose is blocked in the early stage of a cold, you can put slightly scalding ginger powder on the soles of the baby's feet when the baby is sleeping at night. This can help the nose breathe smoothly and the cold will heal faster. Method: Cut the ginger into shreds and fry in a dry pan until it is dry and the ginger aroma comes out (it’s okay if it’s a little mushy). Put the fried shredded ginger into a small gauze bag and then stick the gauze bag with the slightly hot shredded ginger on the soles of the baby’s feet. (Be sure not to make the ginger too hot to avoid scalding your baby.)

3. Hot compress method: A stuffy nose may be caused by the baby's fontanelle being cold. Mothers can use a thick towel to place it on the radiator or wrap it around a container of boiling water to release heat. You can warm the baby's fontanelle for a while and continue to apply hot compress until the baby's forehead is sweating. If you cannot tell whether the baby's fontanelle is cold, you might as well give it a try. It will not harm the baby.

4. Clean the baby's nasal crust. If the baby's nasal cavity is blocked by nasal crust, mothers should remove the nasal crust for the baby in time, but do not dig it out directly with your hands, as this may hurt the baby's nasal mucosa, and in severe cases it may cause bleeding and infection. You can also use a small clip specially used to clean the baby's nasal mucus (it is best to use it when the baby is sleeping, and the action must be fast to avoid hurting the baby without cooperation.) If the nasal crust is relatively dry, let the baby inhale some moist water vapor first, and then clean it after 3 to 5 minutes.