How (well) to blow your baby’s nose, how many times a day?

Blow baby’s nose is an unpleasant moment for toddlers. Yet it is a essential gesture to do every day or when baby is sick and has a stuffy or runny nose. Indeed, if his nose and nostrils are not regularly cleaned, the child may have difficulty breathing but also have trouble sleeping or sucking on his bottle or breast. To properly unclutter baby’s nose, it is advisable to blow your nose regularlyby doing a simple cleaning or deep nose washalso called the nasopharyngeal clearance technique. How to do it ? Should you blow your baby’s nose even if he doesn’t have a cold? Is the nasal syringe method more effective and at what age should it be used? Answers with midwife Anh-Chi Ton and pediatrician Charlotte Bailly.

When to blow your baby’s nose, in which cases?

Cleaning baby’s nose can “either be a routine care to make baby sneeze and eliminate boogers or dust that clutters it, either be a ‘medical’ care when he has a cold and he has more secretions and mucus in his nostrils or in the case of otitis, sinusitis when the baby’s nose is really congested. What will be most effective in the latter case will be the nasopharyngeal clearance (RPD)“, explains Anh-Chi Ton, midwife. Certain times of the day are also more conducive to blowing your baby’s nose:

• In the morning, on waking, to evacuate the secretions of the night.
• Before meals to make it easier for him to eat. Wait a bit after blowing his nose and try to make him burp, so as not to risk making him vomit.
• After bathbecause the humidity thins the secretions and your baby will be more relaxed.
• Before to sleepto allow him to have a good night’s sleep or a good nap.

How many times a day should you blow your baby’s nose?

If washing the baby’s nose can relieve him, doing it too often also risks attacking his nasal mucous membranes and causing obstructions and discharge. That’s why you have to show moderation.

• For a simple cleaning of the nose, “routine care, you can do it once a day”.
• “If baby has a coldyou have to blow your nose several times a day”, 2 to 3 times a daysays the midwife.

“If baby has a cold, you have to blow his nose several times, 2 to 3 times a day”.

Why do a DRP for a baby?

In medical parlance, DRP is short for “nasopharyngeal clearance“, which more simply corresponds to nose washalso nicely named “nose bath”. “The flies in the physiological serum but also nasopharyngeal clearings are very important in the prevention of diseases, but also in the treatment of respiratory viruses such as bronchiolitis“underlines Charlotte Bailly, pediatrician.

Should you blow your baby’s nose even if he doesn’t have a cold?

A baby doesn’t need to have a cold to have his nose cleaned. In effect, “a newborn cannot breathe through their mouth, they can only breathe through their nose, but they cannot blow their nose on their own when they need to. They will be able to do this around 18-24 months. It is therefore important good clean baby’s nose every day” to simply remove accumulated dirt, bacteria and boogers, advises the caregiver.

What products to use to blow your baby’s nose?

If your child is less than 6 months old, use single-use saline pods. After 6 months, you can continue to use saline or choose a seawater-based spray suitable for babies.

After washing your hands well, follow these steps to blow your baby’s nose:

1. start with lay baby on side.
2. Gently hold his head to the side to prevent the involuntary passage of the serum into his respiratory tract. At the beginning and if necessary, do not hesitate to get help to keep him in this position.
3. If your newborn is positioned on the right side, gently insert the tip of the pod at the entrance to his left nostril (closest to you).
4. Press the pod to release the liquid and at the same time close your baby’s mouth so that the serum escapes through the other nostril, taking the nasal secretions with it.
5. Wait for your child to swallow and wipe their nose with a disposable tissue or cotton ball.
6. Repeat this operation for the other nostril using a new pod, and turning your child’s head to the other side.

Baby nose with a syringe, why is it better?

Nasal syringes with a round, silicone tip are much more suitable for the small nostrils of newborns. “Nose-tip baby flies, which take the shape of a small syringe, are useful for cleaning your baby’s nose more easily from the moment he can sit up, around 6 months”recommends the pediatrician. “Nasal syringes are also more practical to control the flow rate and quantity of physiological saline injected“, adds midwife Anh-Chi Ton.

“Nasal syringes are useful for cleaning your baby’s nose more easily from the moment he can sit up, around 6 months.”

What if the serum does not come out the other nostril?

It may happen that saline fluid injected into one nostril does not come out the other. It may be a bad position, in which case, baby could have swallowed the serum (nothing to worry about). But it is also possible that the nostril is too congested and prevents the serum from coming out. If baby is really too congested, do not hesitate to start again using the syringe, blocking the nostril that has just received the serum, so that baby can blow and blow his/her nose.

What about the baby fly?

Whether electric or manual, the use of a baby nose cleaner is not recommended on a daily basis. because health professionals believe that these systems are less effective than washing the nose and, above all, unclog it less well. If you insist on it, however, you can use a baby nose to suck up the phlegm previously fluidized by saline or seawater, but without making it a habit. Attention, the first months, the baby fly tends to pull on the ears.

Why should the baby’s room be ventilated and humidified?

For baby’s well-being, especially when he has a cold, it is important to air his room every day in the morning for about 10 minutes. You can also place a humidifier which will liquefy respiratory secretions and allow him if he is sick to breathe better while limiting his cough.