Pharmacist

Saline wash

Start with a saline wash before using medications.

Medications for stuffy nose comes with some baggage. They will either make your child wired, deny sleep, make him or her jittery or even cause stuffy nose if used for too long.

Depending on the age of the child, a saline wash may be all that you can use.

Neti-Pot

A good idea if you want to avoid using decongestant medications as much as possible.

The only problem is, your child either likes it or don't. This because of the initial feeling of accidentally inhaling water while swimming.

To like it, use it with Alkalol® a saline rinse formulated with natural extracts and essential oils  for an invigorating clean.

Decongestants

Nasal sprays

Decongestant nasal sprays start to work within 10 minutes.

You can then switch to decongestant tablets or syrup if your child is still congested after 3 days to prevent a rebound effect.

Prefer nasal spray with oxymetazoline for 12-hour dosing.

Those with phenylephrine require more frequent use of 4 to 6 hours.
 

Pseudoephedrine:

Ask for pseudoephedrine at the pharmacy counter. Prefer the syrup or little red pills.

You will need a government issued ID to monitor your daily or monthly quantity limit.

Do not use phenylephrine found in the cold aisle.   

The strength approved by the FDA for nasal congestion is not effective and using a higher dose will cause more side effects and won't work either.

Nasal spray steroids

Steroidal nasal sprays can reduce the inflammation that is causing the nasal congestion.

But you have to give it about 7 days minimum to kick in.

If your child gets nasal congestion often as in allergy situations or nasal polyps, then you will need to invest in this. Both for prevention and relief purposes.

Do not get this if your child's stuffy nose is due to a cold. It won't work.

Worth doing

1. Invest in a humidifier.