Cold Facts | 9-12 Months

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Baby's First Year

9-12 Months

Cold Facts

The Cold Facts
5 Strategies for Surviving Cold Season

Coughing, sneezing, fever? It’s scary when baby is sick. You want to make it all better. More importantly, you want to make sure that nothing more serious is going on. Learn the symptoms of a common cold and follow these simple ideas, to survive the cold season…

As hard as it is, try not to worry yourself too much. The common cold is normal for infants; the only problem is that your baby’s immune system is not as strong as ours. The common cold is an upper respiratory tract infection caused by many viruses, which mainly affects the baby’s nose and throat. As a result of babies often being around other children—and adults—who do not wash their hands, they are likely to get eight to ten colds before they are two years old.

The most common symptoms in infants are: congested and/or runny nose, nasal discharge that is clear in the beginning and becomes thicker and turns shades of green or yellow, a low fever, sneezing, coughing, and watery eyes. Your baby may not have the same appetite and may be very cranky.

Hopefully these tips help ease your worries when your bundle of joy experiences the common cold. As a mother it can be difficult to just sit back and allow time to pass, but as long as you consult with the baby’s doctor, follow all the instructions given, and take note of the tips provided, the common cold should not interfere with your day-to-day sanity!

If you think your newborn is a little under the weather, here are some steps to treat and prevent future occurrences of the common cold:

Call your baby’s doctor at the first sign of illness—believe it or not, the common cold can quickly develop into pneumonia, croup, and other illnesses if you do not act fast enough.
Unless given instruction from your healthcare provider, do not give your infant cold medicine: there are life-threatening side effects associated with many cold medicines and children under the age of two. Besides, cough and cold medicine only treat the symptoms of the common cold. Because the common cold is a virus, only time will totally heal your baby.
Keep your baby away from anyone who’s sick—because your baby is so young, you should not allow any visits from anyone who’s sick, and if possible, avoid public transportation.
Be sure to wash your hands before feeding or caring for your baby.
Take the time to clean toys and pacifiers often.