Infant and Toddler Holiday Travel: Flying With a Sick Child

 Infant and Toddler Holiday Travel: Flying With a Sick Child

Infant and toddler holiday travel becomes more difficult when combined with illness. It is important to make sure that it is safe for your child to fly. Please check with your pediatrician to be sure and LISTEN TO YOUR PARENTAL INSTINCT. A sick child is nothing to mess with at 37,000 feet.

Once you have the go ahead – stock that first aid kit!

Infant cold medicine was recently pulled from the store shelves. Were infant cold medications effective? Not really and many times just led to overmedicated kids. TLC is great as well as providing symptomatic relief.

Symptomatic relief, rest, increasing fluids, and boosting the immune system is about all you can do to get through the cold or flu virus. The immune system is the fighter here – support it! Antibiotics will not help the body fight a virus. Aches and pains can be alleviated with Tylenol or Motrin. Do not give children aspirin!

• Follow directions for pain relief medication.
• Do not overmedicate.
• As with any medication when used for the first time, try it at home first. Some medications like Benadryl can have a paradoxical effect and instead of a sedated child – your child can react the opposite and be hyper! (never good on a flight or when they are sick!)

Like the ABCs of CPR, Airway is most important. And basic “booger removal” may be required to get some relief for little tikes.

• Use the new Cleanoz and saline mist or salt water drops to keep nasal passages clear. I spoke with the inventor, a French physician, at the American Academy of Pediatrics conference this past weekend. He demonstrated the use of this “booger sucker” and it was a big hit with the pediatricians! Made for use by parents as well as pediatricians, this unit is available for $56.98 plus free shipping (includes batteries and 10 disposable nozzles).

When your infant has a difficult time breathing, drinking (breastfeeding and bottle) becomes an issue. Dehydration will only make them worse. Flying doesn’t help- the dry air, increased pressure, and dehydration exacerbate the symptoms of a cold. It is a bad cycle. This is a great product to help them with their nasal congestion!

• Humidity at home is great to help with congestion; turn the shower on hot and stand in the bathroom with the door closed with your child breathing in the moist air.
• Use humidifiers at night. (Make sure that you clean them to prevent bacterial growth)
• Drink some warm broth. The broth helps to thin secretions and makes it easier for the body to get rid of them.
• Soaking a cotton handkerchief to breathe through on the plane will help to prevent the spread of germs and might provide some minor relief of dry nasal passages.
• Use a saline nasal mist like Ocean Nasal Spray to moisten the nasal passages. I spoke with the manufacturer (Fleming) at the AAP conference last weekend. Sandy Barbercheck, Marketing Communications Manager, stated that Ocean Nasal Spray has several forms that come in 3 ounce bottles or less (allowed through airport security).
  • Premium Saline Nasal Spray – comes in a squeeze bottle that can be inverted to deliver drops of saline instead of a spray
  • Ocean for Kids solution – contains glycerin and no alcohol (may eliminate the stinging effect caused by some saline sprays)
  • Ocean Complete – preservative-free; irrigator of all the bacteria (found in mucous) that clogs nasal passages
  • Ocean Ultra – preservative-free; contains Hyaluronan and Glycerin for extra moisturizing
• Continue to wash children’s hands even when they are sick. Many viruses (there are over 200 viruses that can cause a “cold”) are in public places and can live hours (even weeks) on surfaces. When your child’s immune system is already down and fighting, it is more susceptible to other illnesses as well.
• Use Boogie Wipes so there is no screaming when sore noses are wiped!

DEALING WITH EAR PAIN

Encourage your infant or toddler to eat or drink something during the descent of the airplane to help alleviate ear pressure or use the new Ear Popper. Feed infants a bottle but do not remove them from their car seat to breast feed them as this compromises their safety.

Descent usually begins about 25 minutes before landing. Pediatrician Dr. Peter Contini offers a great explanation of ear pressure and equalization in my book Jet With Kids. Am I going to explain it here? Not in the detail required to fully understand it. But ear pain can be excruciating.

Let me address this quickly… My toddler sometimes suffers from ear pain when descending. How do I get him to cooperate when he is not interested in doing so? I have him chew something like chewy gummy worms (another one of those surprises!) or eat something that makes him thirsty and then drink some diluted juice.

You need to start this when the pilot announces the descent (and before ear pain is in full swing) and tray tables need to be up, flight attendants will be coming through the aisles and pick up any remaining trash, all electronic devices must be shut off and stowed, etc. (I fly too much…)

Examples of other ailments that can affect children on flights:

Motion Sickness, Stomach Flu, Fever, Teething. I cover more of this in detail in my book Jet With Kids when Dr. Contini explains what to pack in your carry on as well as some tips for being prepared medically. Remember things like the pediatricians phone number, immunization records, important medical records, and any medications the child has been prescribed. Consider natural remedies like Hylands teething tablets and gels, teething rings for those sore gums or ginger and arm bands for motion sickness and nausea.

Even if your child is not complaining of symptoms before the trip, 37,000 feet in the air is not a good place to realize that the first tooth is trying to poke through or that a fever is raging and there is no Infant Motrin on board.

(I spoke with the Infant Motrin and Tylenol rep. at the AAP conference. She stated that to quickly reduce a high fever, use Motrin. Tylenol will also reduce a fever, just not as fast as Motrin.)

*Remember that fevers are good as long as they do not get too high. This is the body’s immune system (the troops) fighting the battle. Don’t knock them down unless the temperature is endangering your child’s health. Consult with your pediatrician for guidelines.

Do not expect other passengers to be understanding or helpful. If they are – bonus. But for the most part you are on your own. Nobody wants to be exposed to an illness and a flight can be unbearably long with an irritable, sick child. It is highly advised to consider delaying or canceling a trip when a child is really sick.

This is where travel insurance comes in. I won’t go into it here, will save that for another post. But believe me, as you know – when you have kids – life is unpredictable. Kids spread the most germs. They get sick. Flexibility is the secret to sanity as a parent, especially a traveling parent!

Do not rely on the airport to carry infant or toddler medications or even rely on them be readily available at your destination when you arrive. Not every town has 24 hour stores.

Over the counter medications are allowed through security. Just declare them to the agent so they don’t give you a difficult time about them. If they are more than 3 oz. and not in the clear quart size bag, you MUST declare them.

Remember that illness can show up a couple days after being infected. Prepare for the worst and be happy if you don’t experience it. Traveling with sick kids (or sick adults) takes extra energy and patience. This is when any extra stress needs to be alleviated and schedules need to be basic and as slow as possible. Remember that moms and dads can get sick too, so it is best for everyone to take steps to prevent illness both before and during travels.

What to do when you have been exposed to an illness? Stay tuned for more great “health while traveling info”!

Have a safe, healthy, and fun Holiday Travel Season!

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