Doctors recommend suctioning baby’s nose to ease the congestion of a cold. Cold compresses, you hear, are the best way to treat a burn. And steam is ideal for treating a baby with the croup. But just how do you suction a baby’s nose? What is a cold compress? And how do you build up enough steam to ease the croup? This guide to home remedies will give you the answers.
Fill a basin (a Styrofoam bucket or cooler is best) with cold water and a tray or two of ice cubes. Dip a clean washcloth into the water, wring it out, and place it over the affected area. Repeat the process when the cloth is no longer cold.
Fill a basin (a Styrofoam bucket or cooler is best) with cold water and a few ice cubes. Immerse the injured part for 15 to 30 minutes, if possible. Repeat 30 minutes after first soak, if necessary. Do not apply ice directly to baby’s skin.
Fill a basin with cool water. Dip a washcloth or towel into the water, wring it out, and place it over the affected area. Repeat the process when the cloth is no longer wet and cool.
For eyes, dip a clean washcloth in warm, not hot, water (test it for comfort on your inner wrist or forearm) and apply to baby’s eye for 5 to 10 minutes every 3 hours.
A hot-water bottle, which has no cords or heating element, is usually safer to use with an infant. If you use a heating pad, reread directions before each use, be sure the pad and cord are in good condition, and cover entirely with a cloth diaper if the pad doesn’t have a cloth covering. Keep the temperature low, do not leave baby during treatment, and use for no more than 15 minutes at a time.
See “Warm compresses.” Never use hot compresses on a baby.
Fill a basin with water that feels comfortably hot on your inner wrist or arm (not to your fingers). Never use water you haven’t tested first. Immerse injured part in basin.
Fill a hot-water bottle with water that is just a little warm to the touch. Wrap the bottle in a towel or cloth diaper before applying to baby’s skin.
See “Steam.”
Use a commercial ice pack you keep in the freezer or a plastic bag filled with ice cubes (and a couple of paper towels to absorb the melting ice) and closed with a twist tie or rubber band. You can also use an unopened can of frozen juice concentrate or an unopened package of frozen food. Do not apply an ice pack directly to a baby’s skin.
If you are advised to increase fluids: frequently nurse the solely breastfed baby. Give formula to a bottle-fed baby, unless instructed otherwise by the doctor. Give water between feedings for babies older than six months, if recommended by doctor. When baby is taking juice, dilute to half juice, half water. For an older baby, ask the doctor about rehydration fluids. Do not force fluids unless the doctor tells you to. When baby is vomiting, tiny sips of fluids spaced out stay down better than larger quantities. (See specific illnesses for preferred fluids.)
With baby held upright, squeeze bulb of aspirator (see illustration, page 548) and place tip carefully in one nostril. Slowly release bulb to draw mucus into it. Repeat with second nostril. If mucus is dried and caked, irrigate with salt water (see below) and aspirate again.
Though it’s possible to use a homemade salt solution (add 
teaspoon salt to ½ cup cooled boiled water), commercial saline solutions are safer, and worth keeping around the house. Put two drops in each nostril with clean small dropper to soften crusts and clear congestion. Wait 3 to 5 minutes and suction with a nasal aspirator.
Use a warm-mist humidifier or a steam vaporizer placed out of baby’s reach to moisten the air; or place a bowl of hot water on a hot radiator (out of baby’s reach) or a kettle or pot of hot water on the stove in the same room as baby. For quick and abundant steam for a baby with croup (see page 762), close the bathroom door, turn on the hot water in the shower full blast, and fill the room with steam. Remain with baby in the bathroom until the croupy cough stops. If cough has not improved in 10 minutes, check with baby’s doctor.
Fill a basin (a Styrofoam bucket or cooler is best) with warm, not hot, water (it should not feel uncomfortable on your upper arm), Dip a clean washcloth into the water, wring it out, and place it over affected area.
DOSAGE CHART FOR COMMON INFANT-FEVER MEDICATION*
