Natural Remedies for Soothing a Baby's Cold Symptoms

There's nothing worse than a baby that doesn't feel well. But when your child is sick, it gets pretty difficult to know what to do to relieve his or her symptoms- especially with the recent recalls of infant's and children's medications. So what's a parent to do to help their little one feel better?

One of the best remedies to soothe your baby's chest congestion due to a cold is to use a cool mist humidifier in his/her bedroom. This will help thin secretions and will help baby to breath easier, and to keep the lungs clear. A few drops of eucalyptus oil or peppermint oil can also be added to this, and will enhance congestion clearing properties.

A home-made steam room is also effective in soothing baby's congestion and helping him or her cough up secretions. Close the bathroom door and run the shower on hot for several minutes, then turn it to cold, making a very steamed up bathroom. Sit with baby in the room for several minutes, making sure to keep him/her covered, but not overly covered- as this will cause him/her to get over-heated.

Home-made chest rub can be made from 3-4 eucalyptus oil drops and/or peppermint oil drops mixed with 1 tablespoon of olive oil; this works in the same way that Vicks vapor-rub does, and is effective at clearing congestion and soothing baby to allow her to rest.

Make sure your child is getting plenty of fluids. Fluids when baby is sick, are far more important than getting him to eat his regular diet. Keep plenty of pediatric electrolyte fluid around, and offer fluids several times an hour. If your child is already on regular cow's milk, cut that out of his diet while he is recovering from the cold. Milk will cause mucus secretions to thicken and may make cold symptoms worse.

To help relieve a stuffy nose, you can make home-made nose drops by mixing ½ cup of warm filtered water and 1/8 teaspoon of salt. Lay your baby across your lap, with his face up and his head tilted back. Put a few drops of water up each of baby's nostrils, and make sure to keep his head tilted back for a few seconds. Then sit baby up and let the water flow out of his nostrils. This can be repeated 3 or 4 times a day while baby is sick.

Some good products to use when baby is sick are the Johnson's Baby Vapor Bath, or the Johnson's Night-time Calming Bath and lotions. Vapor bath will help sooth baby, and help clear congestion in his nose and chest, the Night-time Calming bath contains lavender and chamomile and will help baby to relax and sleep better, along with helping him breath easier.

A sick baby is no fun, but with gentle caring and soothing, along with the above-mentioned home remedies- your baby will feel better in no time!