5 Tips for Stuffy Noses

Last week decided to take a very last minute, spur-of-the-moment road trip. On day two of our spontaneous vacation, Emma’s cold went from bad to worse. She was having trouble breathing and at night she was wheezing. It was scary for us as her parents. This is the one thing about parenting that I do not like. Nobody wants to see their child suffer and feel helpless in the process.

It helps to have supplies handy because you never know when these kids will come down with something. Here are my tips for stuffy noses – clearing them in a natural way:

1) Steam is your friend
When Emma’s breathing and wheezing did not get any better, I immediately took her into the shower of our hotel room – at 12:30am mind you – and I gave her a steamy shower. This is my favorite natural way to clear a stuffy nose, even if it’s only temporary.

2) Elevate the head
Notice how you are especially stuffy once you wake in the morning? It’s because laying flat is the worst thing for you. Sitting as close to an upright position as possible always helps with a head cold, because you can’t drain the nose in a horizontal position.

3) Watch what you eat
Drink plenty of warm clear liquids and avoid dairy. Dairy tends to make mucus thicker which in turn makes it harder to clear it from your nose and throat.

4) Turn on the humidifier
While you’re sleeping a humidifier will help keep the air moist and can help to avoid a dry mouth and a sore throat when you cannot properly breathe from your nose.

5) Use Saline
One of the very first medicine kits I bought for Emma was a kit from Little Remedies. I love using the Saline Spray / Drops to help thin the mucus, and it’s completely natural. And for little ones who cannot yet blow their nose, the nasal aspirator that’s a part of the Little Remedies Stuffy Nose Kit is so helpful. It feels so good to breathe again!

What do you do to naturally help treat a stuffy nose?

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