Endless congestion in toddler

amother

Mon, Dec 04 2023, 7:23 am

Help, my toddler has been badly congested for what feels like a year but has probably only been a week!! To the point that he's having trouble sleeping and eating, and is waking up at night. Things I've tried:
- humidifier
- Vicks (he's over 2)
- vitamin c foods
- extra sleep
- he's already off dairy

Nothing seems to be helping and he's too young to know how to blow his nose so he's really suffering all day. Any tips greatly appreciated!!

Edit: see my later posts it's been over a month and he's still super congested but no virus anymore for a while.

amother

Lightyellow

Mon, Dec 04 2023, 10:33 am

When I saw endless congestion I thought of my dd who had a constant runny nose. Then her teacher suggested that it could be a milk allergy. Took her off milk and it cleared up.

But this sounds more like a bad cold. Have you tried nasal suction?
Otherwise unfortunately there isn't usually much that can be done, other than suffer through it. It sounds like you're doing all the right things.

amother

Taupe

Mon, Dec 04 2023, 10:38 am

A week is normal for viral congestion, unfortunately. My pediatrician recommends honey on a spoon and lots of saline or mist to keep the secretions thin and runny.

honey36

Mon, Dec 04 2023, 10:39 am

You can try a daily nasal saline spray. But it takes consistency to work. Need to use it daily for at least 2-3 weeks for best effectiveness.

I try and use it daily with all my kids throughout the winter, even when their not congested. It helps prevent it from starting in the first place.

Make it part of your routine- take a bath, brush your teeth, spray your nose etc.

amother

Crimson

Mon, Dec 04 2023, 10:43 am

My.kids are like this. I got the braun nasal aspirator and use it to clear their noses. It really helps to the point that they'll even ask me for it when their noses are stuffed and they are uncomfortable.

amother

Iris

Mon, Dec 04 2023, 10:43 am

Might also be environmental allergies. You can take to an allergist to do skin testing.

amother

Mon, Dec 04 2023, 10:48 am

Yeah, it's just a cold, or viral or whatever, just *feels* endless 🫣 thanks everyone for the tips. I had totally forgotten about saline, I'm pretty sure I have it. He hates the snot sucker and gets so worked up that he cries and gets stuffed right back up again.

Any other tricks?

asdfjkl;

Mon, Dec 04 2023, 10:57 am

You can try putting vitamin c and d and put it in his bottle. They sell it for kids that age, it’s a tiny amount. It does give a bit of a different taste though, my toddler refused to drink it.

amother

Mon, Dec 04 2023, 11:01 am

asdfjkl; wrote:

You can try putting vitamin c and d and put it in his bottle. They sell it for kids that age, it’s a tiny amount. It does give a bit of a different taste though, my toddler refused to drink it.

Hmm that's a good idea. Maybe he would take it in some juice.

amother

Seagreen

Mon, Dec 04 2023, 12:14 pm

Sleeping with sliced open onions on his chest and feet.

amother

Sat, Jan 06 2024, 10:28 pm

No change even though it's been over a month at this point. Still so congested it's painful to hear him eat and try sleep. No other symptoms remaining and nothing listed so far has helped. Any other tips? TIA!!

amother

Sat, Jan 06 2024, 10:31 pm

amother Cantaloupe wrote:

Go for allergy testing

I just waited 3 months for an appointment with an allergist who takes my insurance with a different child...

Also, it started with a cold and just hasn't gone away. So I don't feel like it makes sense to be allergies. But I'm not experienced in this area.

amother

Sun, Jan 07 2024, 6:18 am

amother Ballota wrote:

See an ENT
My son had it.

What was it caused by?

amother

Lightcoral

Sun, Jan 07 2024, 7:12 am

amother OP wrote:

What was it caused by?

It could also be he caught back to back viruses. There is so much going around now. So maybe he didn’t fully recover from the first and now got another cold?

amother

Sun, Jan 07 2024, 7:31 am

amother Lightcoral wrote:

It could also be he caught back to back viruses. There is so much going around now. So maybe he didn’t fully recover from the first and now got another cold?

It's totally possible, but he's had no other symptoms for a good few weeks already. So it's weird. And when he sneezes nothing comes out. He's just super, super congested - you know the kind that when he eats you see he's trying to breathe through his mouth at the same time kind of gasping for breath, sounds congested, you hear it when he's sleeping too.

bnm

Sun, Jan 07 2024, 7:50 am

Ent or pulmonologist.

Did you try allergy medicine nightly? It helps dry up congestion. My pediatrician suggested it for my child who is older. Ask about dosages of liquid claritin/allegra/zyrtec for a 2 year old.

amother

Firebrick

Sun, Jan 07 2024, 7:52 am

Sit in the bathroom with him while running your shower on hottest setting for 10 minutes. Have him sleep with an extra pillow.
Give him lots of water to drink. See if he will have warm chicken soup.

A week to ten days is normal for a virus to run its course. It's so so hard!

bnm

Sun, Jan 07 2024, 7:52 am

Also every evening saline spray his nose on both sides till it runs clear and then use Flonase. Flonase can be miraculous. If that doesn't make a difference you need specalists.