Caring For A Sick Baby

There is nothing more down heartening than to see your little baby sick . A baby who is unwell can be a handful, especially when you do not know what’s wrong and how to offer much-needed comfort. Read on to see how you can keep calm and nurse your little one back to health!There is nothing more down heartening than to see your little baby sick . A baby who is unwell can be a handful, especially when you do not know what’s wrong and how to offer much-needed comfort. Read on to see how you can keep calm and nurse your little one back to health!

Flu in babies and toddlers

The flu is an infection of the nose, throat, and lungs caused by influenza viruses. There are many different influenza viruses and some are more prevalent than others. It is unfortunate that even babies can be affected by the flu and doctors caution that babies under the age of two can get dangerously sick with the flu and are at risk for serious complications. Seek medical advice immediately if any of these symptoms or conditions are present:

• The sudden onset of fever, typically 38°C or higher

• Fatigue

• Chills

• Runny nose

• Dry cough

• Diarrhea

• Vomiting

If congestion or coughing shows before the fever, it’s more likely the case of a cold instead of a flu.

Helping you baby feel better

Your baby will need lots of fluids and lots of rest too. For muscle aches and fever, you may give your baby paracetamol or ibuprofen. Check the dosage information on the packet, or ask your doctor if you’re unsure about how much to give your baby. With your diligent care, your child should start feeling better in three to five days where the fever will break and appetite returns to normal.

When to see the doctor

If your baby is less than three months old, you should call your doctor at the first sign of illness. In an older baby or toddler, call your doctor if:

• Body temperature climbs above 39°C

• The symptoms persist for more than five days

• You feel your child is suffering from an earache, breathing problems, wheezing, a lingering cough

• Persistent, thick green mucus runs from his nose

Coughs

Coughs are usually a symptom of an infection such as the common cold virus. They can be quite uncomfortable even for adults, so one can imagine how distressing it must be for a baby. It usually clears up completely within a couple of weeks, but in the meantime, a parent will have to find ways to soothe her coughing baby.

Discomforts

A cough may also be accompanied by fever, a sore throat, runny or blocked nose and loss of appetite. A chesty cough usually produces phlegm (mucus). Your baby coughs to try and remove the phlegm from his lungs. Dry coughs are caused by the swelling of your baby’s throat and upper airway. The swelling causes a tickling sensation at the back of your baby’s throat, making him cough to try to remove the irritation. A dry cough is usually a symptom of the common cold or flu.

Helping your baby feel better

Resist giving your baby over-the-counter cough medications for they carry high risks of side effects for one so small and so young.

Instead, try the following:

• Ensure your baby gets plenty of rest.

• Nurse baby more often. Fluids will help fight off an infection.

• Breathing in steam may help relax tiny airways to relieve the little one’s cough. You can achieve this by sitting with your baby in the bathroom with the hot shower on. Do take care to keep baby away from the hot water though!

• For older babies and toddlers, you may try a warm drink of honey and lemon. Note: Do not offer this to a baby under the age of one.

When to see the doctor

For babies under three months of age, a visit to the doctor at any sign of illness is advised. For older babies a doctor should take a look if:

• The cough persists after five

• The cough gets worse.

• Baby’s temperature climbs above 39°C

• Baby is having trouble breathing.

• Baby is coughing up green, brown, or yellow mucus.

The common cold

Most new parents tend to feel overwhelmed with frustration when their little one has his or her first cold. All that sniffling and snuffling. However, parents must be patient! After all, it’s not called the common cold for nothing – you might have to contend with your baby getting it a few times a year, even before the little one reaches the age of one!

The common cold is not a serious illness, but you may have to endure sleepless nights with your frustrated little baby!

Causes for the common cold

Colds are caused by one of many different viruses leading to infections in the mouth, nose and throat. Babies tend to get it a lot because their immune systems are still immature. Colds spread when an infected individual sneezes or coughs, unleashing a virus into the air to be inhaled by someone else. Colds can also be spread through hand-to-hand contact.

Does your baby have a cold?

If your baby has a common cold, you may notice some of the following:

• Fever

• Cough

• Blocked or runny nose

• Loss of appetite

Babies can’t blow their noses, so you’ll have to help your baby clear the mucus.

A baby aspirator will prove helpful for this.

Helping your baby feel better

Your baby’s cold will go away on its own but in the meantime you can try the following:

• Make sure baby gets plenty of rest.

• Nurse your baby more often to keep him well hydrated.

• Help baby breathe more easily by wiping his nose for him. Suck out any mucus with a good baby aspirator.

• If baby has a fever, infant paracetamol or infant ibuprofen can help relieve it. Refer to (*).

• Nasal saline drops may also be of help to unblock a stuffy nose. You can buy these from your pharmacy. Apply the drops to each nostril 15 minutes before a feed.

• A baby vapour rub applied on baby’s chest and back may help ease breathing.

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Infant paracetamol or infant ibuprofen*

The correct dosage of these painkillers will help with your baby’s fever. Your baby can have infant paracetamol from two months if he was born after 37 weeks and weighs more than 4kg (9lb). He can have infant ibuprofen if he is three months and older, and weighs at least 5kg (11lb).