Babies are most prone to weather change, making them susceptible to infections. Monsoons, with their humidity, are tricky for babies, and since A was born, both her monsoons have been difficult, leading to her getting cold as a baby and throat infections as a toddler. In fact, each season change affects her for the first time, as is the case with all babies. Home remedies for baby cough can be quite helpful during these times.
Recently she was down with fever and cold, cough. We went to doctor and she detected a mild throat infection. She has been on meds since then. I for one am not much an advocate of allopathy medicines, especially the antibiotics. So I am always on a look-out of ayurvedic alternatives or the home remedies for baby cough and cold. Not that I do not give her the medicines but the home-remedies sure help in recovering faster. Its daunting to not know what do do when you are a new mommy when your baby is down with cold & cough. Thus this is a small list of what I have been doing.
Home remedies for cough and cold for 6 months old babies
Until six months we generally exclusively breast feed our babies. This is when giving home remedies for baby cough & cold, get the most trickiest. However here are a few things that you guys can do.
Baby vaporizer
This has by far been the most effective and most easiest treatment for blocked nose for my little one. We have got a steam vaporizer. Wenever she has one of those sleepless nights due to blocked nose, we put a vaporizer on. Always make sure to keep one hand distance from the baby while giving steam. Vaporizer is effective till now to my one year old toddler. Whenever I am breastfeeding her I keep the vaporizer on below my chair so that she gets the direct steam from it. Since she is older now the distance has decreased and frequency is increased.
Ajwain Sek
My Grandma’s always trusted on magic of ajwain sek and so do many homes in India. Dry roast some carrom seeds (ajwain) on a flat girdle till they get aromatic and tie them up in a cotton cloth potli. Let it cool down a little and give a warm sek on the feet, chest of your baby. This is one of the best Ayurvedic remedies for Cold in babies. I also rub it on the corners of forehead. Make sure the potli is not too hot. A test to conduct would be touching it on your wrist just below the palm while its facing towards you before putting on baby.
Some people also put a clove of garlic with the ajwain here. I use the garlic separately as mentioned below. Put the potli in baby’s cot while she is sleeping so she can inhale the aroma continously. You can also chew some ajwain and blow air in baby’s ear, this can be done for tummy related problems as well (Post coming soon!) Most home-remedies are considered as old wives tales by the new-age mommies. But trust me, these remedies work for me even now, after 5 years!
Garlic Garland
Okay so this one was shown to me by my housemaid who is pretty old and she knows many of these Daadi-ma’s nuske. Once ana was suffering from cold she asked me to make a necklace out of cloves of garlic by passing the thinner side of each peeled garlic through a needle thread like we make the garland of flowers. Take 9-10 such cloves and make a garland and tie it around the baby. Make sure to put that under the tshirt. What I used to do was I use to make her wear a vest and a full sleeved top over it. The garland use to stay between the two, neither touching her body completely nor dangling outside to make it prone for chocking hazard. This one was the most effective home remedies for baby cough for us.
However while doing this keep a close guard on your baby. You wouldn’t want her to pick one and put it in her mouth or tug onto the thread vigorously. Finikky momies can avoid this particular remedy 🙂 But I did coz it effects are super. The strong smell of lehsoon is great to open any blocked nose and I know this coz my hubby was having cold during the same time and incidently he used the same garlic smell to feel better..He was fine in few days without meds 🙂
Sponge Bath
One huge mistake that we, including me have been doing is not to bathe babies when cold. That is totally right in a way that you are avoiding her getting into water and catching cold further. But keeping them clean is a must when they are down with cold and infection. Not only it makes them feel fresh but it also makes them germ-free. A sponge bath comes to our rescue here. You can also add few things in her warm water like ajwain, clove, tulsi and neem and dip a towel in that water. Sponge your baby with that water and pat her dry with a different towel.
Vekhand Powder
This one I heard from a friend of mine who used to apply Vekhand powder regularly to her baby during monsoon and winter. This is a sweet smelling chandan like powder and has heat properties, however is not as strong as soonth or dry ginger and can be easily applied to babies. Sprinkle it dry like talcum powder after bath or sponge and let it stay. Its aroma will help soothe her blocked respiratory system and make her feel fresh.
Rub feet & palms with Mustard oil infused with spices
Instead of using vicks vaporub you can use warm mustard oil crackled with garlic, clove & ajwain for rubbing baby’s feet and back & even chest at times. I do not rub on palms as my lo tends to suck on her fingers a lot. Vicks vaporub has been said to have camphor that can harm babies tender skin and also not too good to be inhaled by infants, even though many of us use baby vaporub’s and swear by it, I consider it a personal choice however I prefer home made oil compared to the vapo-rub.
In case you do not have mustard oil readily available or aren’t sure how your baby’s skin will react to it, you can always use coconut oil instead, while crackling add a few mustard seeds first, then add ajwain, clove and at last garlic pod and your rub is ready. Rub your baby’s feet and back with this oil avoid chest and palms if baby is below 4 months or has delicate skin. Always put socks on after rubbing their feet for effective measures.
Eucalyptus oil
Pour a few drops of nilgiri or eucalyptus oil on a cotton and put it near your baby’s cot such that she can inhale the aroma. This will help in opening clogged nose and help her breathe better.
Vaccum nose bulb
Nasal Aspirator for babies
This particular invention has been a lifesaver for me till my baby was of one year and even now. Unlike us all, babies can’t blow noses and its pretty difficult to clean them with napkins if the bulgum is thick (Eww?? You aren’t a mom then 😛 jk)
A vacuum nasal aspirator as its commonly called is basically a pump with a very soft delicate pipe that goes directly into the nostrils of your baby, all you have to do is press the pump, put the pipe end into your baby’s nostrils and gently release, all the mucous will be collected into the bulb and your baby will have a happy good night sleep. Make sure you use some saline drops so as not to hurt her internal nasal linings. The material of pipe is so sof that it wont hurt them and you can easily dismantle and sterilize it before second use (It’s not that pretty easy with a jumping & wailing baby though 😛 But much better than trying to clean with soft towels and stuff and more safer)
Saline Nasal drops
Saline nasal drops are nothing but salt water (distilled) They help in moistening the nose passage so as to create runny nose that will carry the mucous out and help the baby breathe better.
Home Remedies for Babies above 6 months of Age
After six months of age, you can start giving little liquids & solids to babies apart from breast-milk. Which makes home remedies work much better, as now you can give little juices and stuff to internally treat their cold. Continue doing above all for babies older than 6 months and you can add the below mentioned remedies as per your and your baby’s comfort level.
Ajwain water
Add a few carrom seeds in water, boil and strain it and you can make your 6+month babies drink it sip by sip during the day. For older babies you can add Tulsi, ginger and clove to this water to make a kadha and give it to them early morning to sip. Add honey if required.
Ginger Honey Tulsi syrup
All those who are worried about botulism can avoid this particular remedy. I had started giving honey to my lo since her 7th month. Since I follow Ayurvedic medicine and honey is given to babies in Ayurveda as medicine. In mortar pestle, add few slices of ginger and crush with pestle, press it to remove the juice and take out the crushed ginger. Add a few leaves of washed Tulsi and crush them as well, do the same with the leftover crushed Tulsi.
In a separate bowl add warm water and crush a clove in it. Add a few drops of that clove water into the earlier ginger + Tulsi juice. Rub a nutmeg or Jaiphal (optional) twice to thrice on the mortar in this juice and mix everything. Add honey to this mixture and your home-made syrup is ready. Pour a little warm water everytime you give it to baby. You can give this 3-4 times during the day and even in night based on severity of the cold and cough
Avoid Milk & Milk products
Milk has a tendency to produce cough. So when your baby is having cough and you are still breastfeeding, do not give any other top milk to the baby. Instead breastfeed her more frequently if required. In case you are not breastfeeding, you can add either ajwain or lindi pippar or long pepper in her milk while boiling, this will take away from the cough producing qualities and will also be easier for the baby to digest the milk.
Warm Soups
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Pumpkin soup for babies
This one is a no brainier. What do we like the most to gobble down while we have sore throat?? Soups ofcourse. Same is the case for them. For babies who are on solids giving them warm soups like pumpkin, palak, moong, chicken, mix vegetable will help them heal faster. Add your choice of spices like ginger, garlic, mint leaves, cloves, pepper in the soup to make it more hot (not temperature but temperament or prakruti) and your baby’s cold will be gone for sure. Keep checking this space for detailed recipes of these soups. In winter you can also add fresh turmeric (white & yellow ones) to your soups.
Warm Porridge or Raab
Just like soup my little one adores the wheat & ragi porridge or Raab as our Grandma used to call. These are basically hot and runny liquids that baby will love to drink and are great for their health as well.
Soonth Goli/ Jaggery Dry ginger pallets
I started giving these to my baby when she crossed her nine months. These goli’s were something my Grandma had suggested for us and later during my teens and ayurvedic doctor prescribed me the same during my severe tonsil bouts. When my lo was detected with a throat infection in 9th month, I thought of trying them with her! (of-course you never know how they will take to it, unless you try – my mantra). I prepared these golis with a small cube of jaggery finely grated + a pinch of sunth(dry ginger) powder + a pinch of turmeric powder (antibacterial properties) and roll them into small balls. You can use a very little ghee if rolling is difficult. Always use the desi or Black jaggery for babies not the white one.
Balgutti
This is an ayurvedic concoction used for the general well-being of the baby and has many of the herbs and spices that we have separately used above to cure cold & cough. One of the most popular home remedies for baby cough has been this ghutti. I have been giving my little one, balaji Tambhe’s Balgutti on and off ( as I can’t keep up with everyday routines, I am a mom who’s not particular and not ideal remember?? :P)
The ghutti proves to be great for her tummy issues. However, I have not been able to analyze its benefits on Cold & Cough but few mommies swear on it so I just added it to the list.
Boiled Egg with crushed Pepper
The tried and tested Boiled egg are great source of protien and are heat producing so help in warding of cold. Add a little crushed pepper for 7+months babies for taste and antibacterial properties. Enough said!
So here is the list of all the home-remedies for baby cough and cold. These are all treid and tested ones. They helped me through my journey and I hope they do the same for you too. That said, do not neglect if symptoms persist, showing a doctor is the most sensible option. Many of the above mentioned remedies are also precautionary that you can follow in cold causing seasons like winter and monsoon (the kadha, vekhand, balgutti, etc) as a proactive measure. In case you have any other such home-remedies for baby cough please share with us in the comments below. Hope our babies have a happy and cold-free monsoons and winters.
Happy Mommyhood Everyone!
