Bulb syringe.
If you’re a parent, you probably cringed when you read those words. The mere mention of them is enough to cause panic in a crowded room. Having used them over the last thirteen months, I can see why: not only do you have to put the syringe inside your child’s nose, but it often takes multiple tries to remove the mucous. And after the first attempt your child knows what’s coming and wants nothing to do with it. Plus we all know what happens if you poke that sensitive nasal tissue!
But spring is finally here in Southern New Hampshire and the stuffy noses of winter should be a thing of the past. At least until they’re replaced by the stuffy noses of spring. Honestly, as a first time father, I had no idea children caught so many colds. And while I don’t really mind using the bulb syringe, I’m not the one whose nose it goes into.
Fortunately, there’s another solution: Nosefrida. This device is a flexible tube with a mouthpiece on one end and a plastic tube on the other. Ok, I know what you’re thinking, and yes, you literally do suck the snot out of your child’s nose. And that face you’re making…yes, that one…that’s the same face my wife and I made when we saw the Nosefrida for the first time. But examining the device revealed several snot-stopping design elements:
- There is a foot of plastic tubing between the mouthpiece and the chamber on the other end
- There is a an inch-thick filter between the tube and the collection tube
- The collection tube itself is about four and a half inches long.
So that’s over 16 inches, including an inch of filter, between your mouth and your child’s nose. That seems like plenty, but I was still nervous about using it. Of course I was also curious and in my case, the latter usually outweighs the former. I got my chance this morning when my daughter woke up with a stuffy nose and, in the name of SNHParents, we gave the Nosefrida a try. Of course, I was appointed the “sucker.”
First, mom applied the saline drops to my daughter’s nose, triggering a full-on crying fit. She also helped hold our daughter while I mentally prepared for the task at hand. Ok, maybe this wasn’t a true test since two of us were there, but the Nosefrida is easier to use than a bulb aspirator and one parent should be able to use it properly on a squirming child.
Placing the tip of the Nosefrida at the first nostril, I tentatively sucked in a bit. Sure enough, the product worked and mucous moved into the collection tube. Cool! Unlike a bulb syringe, I was able to control the amount of suction as needed, resulting in a better cleaning. Plus, there was no need to remove it from my daughter’s nostril, clean it and reinsert it like I would with a bulb syringe. This means much less chance of irritating her nasal tissue, and less chance of my daughter squirming out of position. In fact, the only limitation of the device was my need to breath.
The second nostril went a bit faster as I was more confident with the amount of suction needed. It also helped that our daughter was a bit more relaxed, no doubt distracted by the site of dad turning red while her nose was sucked out. We finished with a quick wipe with a tissue and she was happily playing with mom while I took the Nosefrida to the bathroom for cleaning. After taking the collection tube off, it was just a matter of washing it out with soap and warm and I was done. This is a big advantage over bulb syringes that can get gunk inside the bulb, making it impossible to really get them clean. And while the mucous itself never made it past the first few inches of the chamber in my test, the manufacturer recommends replacing the filter after every use.
And how much is this snot-sucking miracle? Just $15 for the device and four filters. A pack of 20 additional filters is $2.50. This is admittedly more expensive than a bulb syringe (usually around $3), but less expensive than battery-powered alternatives (and do you really need an aspirator that plays music?) However, if your child suffers from stuffy noses, the Nosefrida is definitely worth the money.