6 Tips to clear up a stuffy nose

There are a couple of times in a year when our kids suffer from the sniffles. It can be really annoying for kids when they suffer from congested and clogged noses, full of mucus.
Those upper respiratory infections are viral infections that usually take time to clear up and antibiotics cannot help much in these cases. But there are some things we can do to help ease the infection:

1)    Avoid OTC cold medication

As much as you are tempted to feed your little one over the counter colds medication to dry up those nasal passages it is better to avoid them. These decongestants and antihistamines can actually irritate the kids and cause irregular heartbeats.
They don’t actually work and cause more harm than relief.

2)    Hydrate

The best way to clear a nasal infection is to hydrate and clear the nasal passages. Give your child plenty of water and other fluids to drink. Use nasal sprays to clear and thin out the thick mucus. You can even run a vaporizer in the room so that it doesn’t dry out your baby’s nasal passages.

3)    Wipe snot out

Once the mucus is thinned out you should encourage your kids to blow out the mucus in the nasal passages. For children who are too small you can use bulb suction as they are too small to blow out the snot.

4)    Snot reading

When the clear mucus starts becoming thick it is the sign of an infection. If the color of the snot changes to yellow or green, it is a sign that the body is having to fight harder to get rid of the infection.
If the mucus is green and yellow for more than 10 day it might be a good idea to head to the doctor.

5)    Avoid smoking

Tobacco smoke is deadly. Smoke caused by smoking irritates the nasal passages and cause increased production of mucus. Keep children away frm smokers while they have a stuffy nose.

6)    Good old chicken soup

The old age remedy of killing a cold with chicken soup still holds good. Chicken soup is said to have properties that decongesting white blood cells.

If you r child is constantly suffering from nasal congestions all the time then there might be another underlying reason of an allergy or even structural defect in the nose. In such cases it is better to consult an ENT to treat the problem.