Natural Remedies for Babies

Saline nose drops (a simple saltwater solution) will loosen mucus so it is easily removed with a bulb syringe. They also have a gentle decongestant and antiviral effect.

Gravity too plays a sound role in treating congestion. You’ve probably felt the way sinus congestion eases when you sit up after lying down for a while. Your baby will gain the same benefit if you keep her head a bit higher than her heart

Thick mucus can be treated with a vaporizer or humidifier. The mucus will become thinner as it pulls in the moisture from the air, allowing it to discharge more easily.

Eczema. The conventional medicine cabinet remedy for one of the most common skin problems in children—eczema—is a steroid cream such as hydrocortisone. In cases of acute inflammation, this treatment can be very helpful, but for medical and environmental reasons, it may not be the best long-term therapy for this condition, which can recur for years.

Remedy. Prevention is key in managing eczema and reducing (or even eliminating) the need for treatment with cortisone or even stronger prescription products. Many different things can be the irritating agent or trigger, which if avoided or eliminated will help avoid an outbreak. When first using these prevention strategies, you may not see an immediate improvement, but if you are going to successfully manage eczema without cortisone, it is important to be vigilant and persistent. Here are some helpful prevention tips:

Eczema in babies is quite often a reaction to one of these six foods: cow’s milk, soy, peanuts, eggs, fish, or wheat. Getting the offending food out of your baby’s diet (or your diet, if you are nursing) may make a huge difference without medicines, usually visible within a week or so. If your baby is on a milk or soy formula, this would mean switching to a hypoallergenic formula. If a food is the culprit, the sensitivity may well be outgrown.

Avoid putting products containing fragrances, masking agents, or harsh chemicals directly on your baby’s body.
Wash your baby’s clothes in a laundry detergent good for her sensitive skin and the planet, such as the vegetable-based Seventh Generation Baby Laundry Detergent (nontoxic; biodegradable; and no dyes, fragrances or masking agents, phosphates, chlorine, petroleum-based cleaners, or optical brighteners).
Avoid situations that will make your baby perspire—don’t pile on blankets or put her in a blanket sleeper.
For some children, wool is the eczema trigger. If so, avoid dressing your baby (or yourself for that matter) in wool or any harsh material (smooth-textured organic cotton is excellent). Also, she may need to avoid crawling on wool carpeting.
Give brief baths in lukewarm water without a soap or body wash. If needed, use a small amount of very mild cleanser. You can add bath oil to the tub after she is mostly done, to seal in the moisture, not keep it out. Or you may want to slather her with a good moisturizing cream or lotion when her skin is still damp from the bath.
If the air in your home is very dry, consider a humidifier to keep the air moist and prevent the skin from getting dry.

To treat an outbreak, first apply a pure, moisturizing lotion to the affected areas at least twice a day. These steps are often as effective as just reaching for an over-the-counter or prescription cortisone cream. ....read more