When to see a doctor

By Mayo Clinic Staff

Call your health care provider if:

  • Your symptoms last more than 10 days.
  • You have a high fever.
  • What comes from your nose is yellow and green. Your face hurts or you have fever. This may be a sign of a bacterial infection.
  • What comes out of your nose is bloody. Or your nose keeps running after a head injury.

Call your child's doctor if:

  • Your child is younger than 2 months and is running a fever.
  • Your baby's runny nose or congestion causes trouble nursing or makes breathing difficult.

Self-care

Until you see your health care provider, try these simple steps to relieve symptoms:

  • Avoid anything you know you're allergic to.
  • Try an allergy medicine you can get without a prescription. If you're also sneezing and your eyes are itching or watering, you might have allergies. Be sure to follow the label instructions exactly.
  • For babies, put several saline drops into one nostril. Then gently suction that nostril with a soft rubber-bulb syringe.

To relieve saliva that builds up at the back of the throat, also known as postnasal drip, try these measures:

  • Avoid common irritants such as cigarette smoke and sudden humidity changes
  • Drink plenty of water.
  • Use nasal saline sprays or rinses.

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April 07, 2023