It is heartbreaking when our little ones are sick. Some of my most miserable times as a mom have been when my baby, infant, or toddler has been sick. When baby is sick with nasal congestion it can be so frustrating to know that, if only the nasal congestion could be relieved, baby would be so much more comfortable, less irritable, and able to sleep peacefully.
It can be difficult to find an effective and safe nasal aspirator. I’ve tried the old bulb syringe technique, but after baby was more than a few months, it just wasn’t very effective. And the suction devices where the parent sucks on one end kind of gross me out (even though I know that the parent’s mouth doesn’t come in contact with anything from baby’s nose).
When I was contacted about reviewing their Clearinse nasal cleaning system I was very interested. Clearinse saw a need for safely being able to relieve nasal congestion in infants, toddlers, and young children.
Congestion is common, affecting a childs’s breathing, eating and sleeping. Over-the-counter remedies for congestion are ineffective and can have side effects. The FDA has strongly recommended against them for use in children below the age of four.
Saltwater irrigation followed by suctioning is the only recommended therapy by the American Academy of Pediatrics. However, means for doing this therapy are inadequate:
- Electric aspirators have too little flow and too much pressure (may damage the inside of the nose)
- Bulb syringes do not have constant suction
- Oral suction devices have variable flow, don’t irrigate, and may pull germs despite filters.
Developed by a pediatrician, Clearinse™ is a safe nasal aspirator, FDA and parent-approved, for children one month and older. It uses a custom pump system that creates similar flow and pressure settings used in hospitals to clear noses. It is the only device that both irrigates and aspirates the nose, making the recommended procedure more streamline and easy to perform.
While I haven’t been able to put the Clearinse to full use since receiving it–none of my kids has been sick in the last couple months, thank goodness–I did try out the nasal irrigation feature. After returning home from our travels in the ultra-dry state of Utah, my 18 month old was having a lot of nasal congestion as his nose tried to acclimate back to the humid climate.
Now, this kid doesn’t sit still for anything, but I was able to irrigate his nose and get about 2 seconds of suction in before he would have none of it anymore. He actually thought the sound and feel was funny, he just didn’t want to lay there while I put something up his nose. 🙂
Once he decided he was done, there was nothing I could do to hold him there so I could finish aspirating his nose. So, if you’re going to try to use the Clearinse on a toddler be prepared to have another adult or older child to help you out.
So you can see what the Clearinse looks like and get a feel for the size, I enlisted the help of my four year old.
Clearinse is safe for newborns and older. The Clearinse Starter Kit retails for $98 and comes with two silicone wash heads and 10 single use saline ampoules. You can purchase additional ampoules and wash heads if needed. Currently, Clearinse systems are available on Amazon.com and the Clearinse website.
For more information, visit the CLEARinse website, Facebook page, or Twitter feed.
About Amy @ Oh So Savvy Mom
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