Clearing your baby’s stuffy nose
How to safely suck out snot from your baby
Sadly, babies haven’t grasped the knack of grabbing a tissue and giving their nose a good old blow if it’s blocked, so it’s another little thing us parents have to give them a hand with.
How can I clear my baby’s stuffy nose?
You can get a rubber bulb syringe that can help you suck out the snot from your baby’s nose. Not the most pleasant of processes but an efficient way to clear your baby’s nose.
If you squirt a little nasal saline into your child's nose to loosen the mucus before you start, it will help when you suck it out. You can buy saline at any pharmacy.
While your baby is lying on their back, tilt your baby’s chin up slightly. one or two drops of saline in each nostril with an eyedropper (or squirt once or twice if you're using a saline spray) will be sufficient and try to keep your baby's head still for about ten seconds. Wipe the dropper clean after each use.
You may even find that giving them the saline itself eases your little one's congestion, but if not, give it a few minutes and the gently start sucking from the syringe.
How to use a rubber bulb syringe
Make sure you squeeze all the air out of the bulb of the syringe to create a vacuum. Then gently insert the rubber tip into one of your baby’s nostrils. Very slowly release the bulb to suction out mucus. Once this is done, remove the syringe from baby’s and squeeze the bulb forcefully to get rid of the mucus into a tissue. Wipe the syringe and repeat the process for the other nostril.
You can repeat the process after five to ten minutes if your baby still seems congested although you shouldn’t repeat the process more than two or three times a day as there’s risk you'll irritate their nose lining. Saline drops should not be used for more than four days in a row as there’s a risk that they can dry out the inside of the nose over time.
Remember to always go through the process very gently, if it’s done too vigorously the nasal tissues can become inflamed (or even bleed). If your baby resists vigorously, let it go for a while and try again later.