When Does My Baby’s Cold Warrant A Doctor Visit?
Many new parents wonder when they should bring their babies to the pediatrician’s office. Of course, you will spend a lot of time with your child’s doctor during the first two years. Most of us follow the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics and give checkups at birth, 3-5 days after birth, then at 1, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 24 months. However, in that time between doctor visits, you might be alarmed to see your child coming down with frequent colds. It’s completely normal for a brand-new, rapidly developing immune system to go up and down during infancy, but it’s important to know what to look out for.
Minor colds are inevitable and usually harmless for newborns. Children will have anywhere from six-to-twelve colds a year during infancy, and your best course of action is typically to wait for this illness to pass. However, there are some things you can do to help them get through a common cold. Just like an adult, a baby with a cold can greatly benefit from plenty of fluids, a humidifier running in their room, and of course, plenty of TLC. You may also use mucus thinning drops and/or suction your baby’s nose at your pediatrician’s direction.
It isn’t necessary to make an appointment with the pediatrician each time your child gets a common cold with normal, mild symptoms, but there are cases in which we would recommend a doctor’s appointment. For instance, if your child’s symptoms are so severe that he or she isn’t feeding, it’s time to call your pediatrician. Your baby should be feeding enough to wet his or her diaper roughly every six hours. Furthermore, if you notice your child making any strange breathing noises or otherwise exhibiting breathing patterns that seem unhealthy, a trip to your pediatrician’s office is recommended. If your child is less than three months old, you should bring them to the doctor for a fever running over 100.4 degrees (102 degrees for older babies), and seek medical care for any fever or cough that lasts more than 72 hours. As a parent, use your intimate knowledge of your child’s behavior and demeanor to determine whether something seems especially wrong. When in doubt, call your pediatrician.
In general, I don’t recommend using over-the-counter (OTC) medications to relieve cold symptoms for infants, unless your pediatrician has explicitly recommended them. Unfortunately, there’s no vaccine or other treatment that can inoculate against or cure the common cold, so your best option is to alleviate symptoms and boost your child’s overall health. If you get the go-ahead to treat particularly severe symptoms at home, the general guidelines are: no acetaminophen for the first two months of life, no ibuprofen for the first six months, and no cough and/or cold medication for the first two years. It’s unfortunate that these symptom-relieving medicines aren’t considered safe for small children, but they don’t do anything to shorten or fight colds anyway (they just treat the symptoms). Make sure you talk to your child’s doctor about OTC medications and treating common colds at their next checkup.
Having regularly scheduled checkups with a trusted pediatric practice can go a long way toward easing concern. Dr. Ray Deeb and Dr. Ashley Brown provide comprehensive healthcare for newborns and children up to the age of 18, and they’re currently accepting new patients. If you would like to learn more about us, contact Briarcliff Pediatrics to schedule an appointment or a complimentary meet-and-greet. Don’t forget to follow us on social media to get the latest health tips and news in children’s health care, and check back often for new blogs.
