My Son as a Snurgle.

[marcysc]

Okay, so that's made-up word for his congestion. My son is 10 months old and constantly sounds congested. We have been to a ENT that has a wonderful reputation in our community and he says not to worry and he believes it a result of DS's small passage ways etc. and I trust him....I am just curious if anyone else's child sound like this about 90% of the time.

[wrblack]

Charlie, now 5, has always kept some nasal congestion going; has had frequent URI's; several instances of large, swollen, red tonsils; but very few ear infections. I've always thought was a combination of small airway passages, very high, arched palate, a somewhat suspect immune system, and other stuff like that that frequently goes along with the extra chromosome.
Anyway, as long as he wasn't showing any discomfort, which would be quite unusual for him, and as long as he had no fever, we didn't get too exercised about congestion. Almost as soon as he graduated NICU at about 10 weeks old, I've shot saline up his nose and used a bulb syringe and tissue to clean it out. Think the moisturizing is at least as beneficial as getting out the junk.
Charlie's used to this abuse by now and just lies there and takes it. I haven't worked on his little brother's nose nearly as frequently, and his little brother has a markedly different response to this sort of treatment.
Just my experience--use with caution-- Bob, dad to Charlie, 5 w/ Ds home.earthlink.net/~wrblack/ , and Robert, 1 w/out Ds home.earthlink.net/~wrblack/robertsphotoalbum/

[YoshsMom]

We kept a cool mist humidifier going in Yosh's room when he was younger and it seemed to help.

[TriciaF]

Marcy, welcome to unomas... I have no helpful advice but saw the SC after your name and wondered if you are in South Carolina as I am....I am always looking for fellow SC unomasers!! ;D

[MaggiesMom]

I'm sure lots of people can tell you about having to have tonsils and adenoids out to cure such problems. We haven't had to go that far, but Maggie has had tubes in her ears.

Watch out for hearing loss due to stuffed up ears. Docs can't always SEE fluid, but it can be there. Ask for a tympanogram to check for negative pressure. It can take away softer sounds our kids need to hear for speech. By the way, I've read that people with DS should have their hearing tested annually. With Maggie's hearing loss, we test more than that!

We run a cool mist humidifier in her room 24/7. I clean it with clorox every two weeks to keep the mold out. I also change her sheets regularly and keep encasements on her pillows and bed. I dust with a damp rag and try to vaccum weekly.

It's a lot of work. But, my kids are a lot healthier when I do all that. Docs will tell you that allergies can't happen at early ages...but my son was taking shots by age 2!

Ask about Nasonex or Rhinocort nasal sprays. If the saline nasal spray doen't help, these may. They are RX that the doc will have to give you. But both my kids take them and it seems to help when they get stuffy.

Hope something helps. Keep us posted.

Robin M - maggie's mom

[Betty & Ian's Mom]

I like the "snurgle" for congestion !!
Anyway, Betty doesn't have "snurgle" problems, a runny nose here and there, nothing major. But have heard that our ds babies do have smaller air passages.
Sorry can't be of any help on this. But when the babies are congested, nasaly, etc. we do the humidifier and that seems to help, and propping an extra pillow under their heads helps to.

[laurasnowbird]

Hi Marcy, and welcome to Unoland! '

Ethan had a rattley sound in his chest until he was about 15 months old, but his nose was never stuffed up and yucky. I would second what Robin said (Maggie's Mom) about the hearing issues. We have aggressively managed Ethan's hearing, and he visits the ENT every six months, and his hearing is tested each time.

We run a humidifier in his room all winter long, even considering that we have a whole-house humidifier on our furnace. Ours has an ultraviolet light to kill bacteria, but we still clean it out weekly with straight vinegar. We elevated the head of his bed, and used the saline nasal drops and the bulb syringe to clean him out when he got ucky. Unfortunately Ethan never got used to this like Bob's guy charlie, he still screams and throws fits about it. Those saline drops, used daily, do help to moisturize the nasal passages and keep them healthy in the dry winter months.

If you're interested in a humidifier, this is the one with the ultraviolet bacteria control that we got. We've been very satisified with it.

www.allergybuyersclubshopping.com/slanfinhumgf.html

Again, welcome to UnoMas!