I feel like I must post about this because I have been doing this since my baby was a newborn, and it works. At some point during my baby's first few weeks of life she got a runny nose and, because I had already had a great success curing an eye infection she caught using only breast milk, I wondered if I might be able to do the same for a runny/stuffy nose.
I googled a little bit and found that, though perhaps it's not something women commonly do (putting breast milk in their babies' noses), it has been done, and apparently with no ill effects. So I tried putting some breast milk in my own nose first, and found that it did not sting or irritate at all (I have tried the same test with some store-bought baby nose drops, which DID sting quite intensely...so I do not recommend those unless for some reason you are unable to use breast milk or to make your own saline solution - recipe below), so after that I tried putting a drop or two of breast milk in each of my baby's nostrils, and...
IT WORKS!
The breast milk almost instantly stopped her runny nose. It was almost magic. I have used this remedy many times since, not only for runny noses, but stuffy ones, and it cures both matters. There have been several times when it seemed like maybe a cold was coming on for my baby, and I put a couple of drops of breast milk in her nostrils every hour or two a few times and it never became anything. In fact, my baby never caught a cold for her entire first year of life. She did catch a cold around her first birthday and even though she had the cold I feel like the breast milk shortened it significantly and greatly eased the symptoms (so she could breathe! and her nose wasn't constantly dripping like a faucet!). Fresh breast milk is full of living antibodies so it makes sense that if an infection is starting in a baby's sinuses, applying some breast milk to them can help to squelch the problem.
If you are unable to use breastmilk, you may also make a baby saline solution (which I recommend over the store-bought variety which has added chemicals to preserve it, which cause the stinging). It is not as good as breast milk, in my opinion, but I have used it as well and it is always very helpful for an uncomfortable stuffy or runny-nosed baby! Saline is also unfriendly to bacteria and the liquid solution also helps to physically remove germs and mucus from the nasal passages. To make it, bring a small pan of tap water to a boil, and boil the water for 5-10 minutes to kill any pathogens. This is VERY important as even treated water can pick up bacteria/amoebas along the way to your faucet that can cause serious illnesses. Alternatively, you can use sealed bottled and distilled water.
1 c. of the boiled water (or sealed, bottled distilled water)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
Combine in a clean container. Make sure to cool to room temperature before using (using warmer than body or room temperature water is irritating to the baby's nose). Put 1-2 drops in each nostril with a dropper or clean, sanitized bulb syringe. After a few minutes, use the baby bulb syringe (like this one: https://www.target.com/p/safety-1st-large-nasal-aspirator/-/A-75003235?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&CPNG=PLA_Baby%2BShopping_Local&adgroup=SC_Baby&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9031944&ds_rl=1242884&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1246978&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkMDiBRDNARIsACKP1FHPfuclCHuBYyYOA7aeHjLH4nSvSuhgms8432E_Nj59r7p0WgQEylsaAtvtEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds) to suck the mucus out of baby's nose.
Voila'! Baby can breathe again. Hooray!
I googled a little bit and found that, though perhaps it's not something women commonly do (putting breast milk in their babies' noses), it has been done, and apparently with no ill effects. So I tried putting some breast milk in my own nose first, and found that it did not sting or irritate at all (I have tried the same test with some store-bought baby nose drops, which DID sting quite intensely...so I do not recommend those unless for some reason you are unable to use breast milk or to make your own saline solution - recipe below), so after that I tried putting a drop or two of breast milk in each of my baby's nostrils, and...
IT WORKS!
The breast milk almost instantly stopped her runny nose. It was almost magic. I have used this remedy many times since, not only for runny noses, but stuffy ones, and it cures both matters. There have been several times when it seemed like maybe a cold was coming on for my baby, and I put a couple of drops of breast milk in her nostrils every hour or two a few times and it never became anything. In fact, my baby never caught a cold for her entire first year of life. She did catch a cold around her first birthday and even though she had the cold I feel like the breast milk shortened it significantly and greatly eased the symptoms (so she could breathe! and her nose wasn't constantly dripping like a faucet!). Fresh breast milk is full of living antibodies so it makes sense that if an infection is starting in a baby's sinuses, applying some breast milk to them can help to squelch the problem.
If you are unable to use breastmilk, you may also make a baby saline solution (which I recommend over the store-bought variety which has added chemicals to preserve it, which cause the stinging). It is not as good as breast milk, in my opinion, but I have used it as well and it is always very helpful for an uncomfortable stuffy or runny-nosed baby! Saline is also unfriendly to bacteria and the liquid solution also helps to physically remove germs and mucus from the nasal passages. To make it, bring a small pan of tap water to a boil, and boil the water for 5-10 minutes to kill any pathogens. This is VERY important as even treated water can pick up bacteria/amoebas along the way to your faucet that can cause serious illnesses. Alternatively, you can use sealed bottled and distilled water.
1 c. of the boiled water (or sealed, bottled distilled water)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp baking soda
Combine in a clean container. Make sure to cool to room temperature before using (using warmer than body or room temperature water is irritating to the baby's nose). Put 1-2 drops in each nostril with a dropper or clean, sanitized bulb syringe. After a few minutes, use the baby bulb syringe (like this one: https://www.target.com/p/safety-1st-large-nasal-aspirator/-/A-75003235?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&CPNG=PLA_Baby%2BShopping_Local&adgroup=SC_Baby&LID=700000001170770pgs&network=g&device=c&location=9031944&ds_rl=1242884&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1246978&gclid=Cj0KCQiAkMDiBRDNARIsACKP1FHPfuclCHuBYyYOA7aeHjLH4nSvSuhgms8432E_Nj59r7p0WgQEylsaAtvtEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds) to suck the mucus out of baby's nose.
Voila'! Baby can breathe again. Hooray!
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