Many new parents are unsure of how to clear snot and mucus out a baby’s nasal passages. A baby’s nasal passages can become blocked for many reasons; they may have caught a virus or the flu or their nasal passages may be irritated by allergens in your household. Whichever way a baby’s nasal passages get clogged, it is sometimes necessary to unclog them as it can interfere with their ability to feed and in some very young newborns interfere with their ability to breathe properly or the congestion may simply be bothering baby. However, baby’s do not know how to “blow their nose,” so here are some painless techniques to clear out those nostrils and have baby breathing easy in no time.

• Step 1

The first step to clearing out baby’s nostrils is to drip a drop of saline solution into each nostril. Saline solution is simply salt water and can be purchased at nearly any grocery store in convenient bottles that come with a dripper. Even if baby inhales and ingests as you drip in the saline solution they will not be harmed as it is only a drop of salt water. This can be hard to do on a squirming baby though so it will most likely take a few tries and you will most likely get some saline solution on their face; so have a wash cloth handy and be careful not to get any saline solution in their eyes as that could cause a burning sensation.

Sometimes this is all it takes to clear out baby’s nostrils and have them breathing much better. However, if baby is still stuffed up you will need to move on to step two:

• Step 2

You will now need your nasal aspirator to try and suction out the snot. Always use saline drops before using the nasal aspirator because even if the saline solution does not solve the problem the drops will greatly loosen up the mucous and make the use of the nasal aspirator a lot more effective.

Place baby under good lighting and actually look up their nostrils to try and spot the largest clumps of snot. Gently insert the nasal aspirator into their nostril with the air expelled from it and angle it toward the large clump of not and suction. This may take a few tries to get out the mucous, just remain patient and be very gentle so as not to scrape or harm the membranes in baby’s nostrils. If the other nostril appears to have mucous in it as well after you visually check it, repeat this step with the other nostril.

• Step 3

The above steps in combination together are the most effective way to clear baby’s nose. However, if you do not have saline drops or a nasal aspirator on hand or if your baby greatly protests to either of the above steps you can try using steam from a hot shower or a humidifier. Simply take baby into a steamed bathroom and sit with baby for a few minutes or sit with baby near a humidifier. This will loosen the mucous in baby’s nostrils so hopefully it will soon come out on its own.