Bright Red Cheeks

Could be allergies. I would keep his cheeks covered in petroleum jelly and give him a decongestant/fever reducer. My daughter goes through this every year about this time of year. Just don't put cortizone creams on his face because it could get in his eyes. Good luck!

are the cheeks warm to the touch...it might be a bacterial infection. My DD had this on one cheek at a year old. I would request blood work done.

I don't know if at his age he can have this but my 4 yo DD had scarlet fever this past spring and it took a while for her to get over it. His symptoms sound very much like hers.

Hello Cari,

call the doctor again. if he's not drinking enough, he'll ge dehydrated. you can put vicks vapor rub on his feet and put socks on (help w/ the nasal congestion) also ask the doctors at what age do babies learn to also breathe through their mouth. I think it's at 6 months... so make sure to keep his nose cleared (as much as possible, of course)

did the doctor recommend any saline drops or little noses decongestant drops?

could he have eczema? does he have any food allergies?
also, does he have chest congestion? is he wheezing? is it hard for him to breathe? good luck! ~C.~

are his cheeks bleeding? I wouldn't be as concerned with his cheeks being so red unless they are bleeding....My dd has red cheeks all the time and when the winter hits it typically gets a bit worse....What I like to do is I typically just put some Mary Kay extra emollient cream on her constantly. You might try that or vaseline to help.....Your Pedi is probably right they prob are just chapped...Sometimes in small infants it takes more than a few weeks to clear up. Keep doing what you are doing!

Put aquaphor on his cheeks, it really helps. That will help with the red cheeks. Sounds like the other is a virus. Baby vicks on his chest will help, not on his cheeks or that will burn. Also, pedicare makes this plug in for kids with vapors, and that really helps them breath at night. If he has a cough, elevate his crib with a small pillow under the mattress for just a little elevation. This will help with the congestion and the cough at night time. Hope any of this helps.

Childrens Triamenic (sp?) cold and cough nighttime. My daughter had something similar a month ago and it was a virus. It took her 7 days to get over it. She only ran a fever for a day but was still contagious according to the dr. The medicine is what he prescribed along with motrin for the fever.

Oops...

I thought you said 5 year old. I don't know what you can give a 5 month old. I think the most you can give them is tylenol. Do not apply Vicks to your baby. For the congestion, you need to apply Vicks to your chest under your clothes and let your little one rest on your chest. You also might try sitting with him in your bathroom on the toilet or floor with the shower running creating steam.

GL!

I didn't read if anyone has already suggested this, but could he be teething? That's almost exactly what my son would do everytime. . . and have diarrhea as well.

1. Are his lymph nodes swollen?

2. What color snot / mucus? What does it smell like?

3. Any sucking in of the lungs when he's breathing? Up at the top or down by the ribs?

If none of that is out of the ordinary, I'm with the pediatrician - it's probably nothing. If any of it is, though, I'd ask for a culture - to check for strep and staph, instead of a rapid check - which can miss 5% or so of strep and doesn't touch staph.

S.