5 tips for infant acupressure points.

Acupressure is an ancient form of homeopathic healing that uses pressure applied to certain spots on your body. Most acupressure for adults uses intense pressure over several minutes, but for babies this is way to rough and invasive. However, there are a few places that you can use gentle pressure to help remedy some everyday troubles. For babies under 3 months very gentle pressure should be used for a total of only about 10 to 20 minutes a day. Just a few seconds of softly pressing on each point every few hours should be sufficient. In addition to these five acupressure points, I have listed some more for reducing your baby's fever in another post. Acupressure treatments should only be used in addition to the medical advice of your pediatrician, not as a substitute.

1. Congestion relief points.

When your baby is stuffed up it is one of the most miserable things in the world. She can't eat, can't sleep and can't suck on her pacifier. While using a little saline water and a suction bulb is a great way to remove mucous from her nasal cavity, the swollen tissue that is constricting her ability to breath through her nose is the real issue. Just next to the largest part of each of her nostrils is a pressure point that helps reduce inflammation of the nasal passages. Simply place a finger on either side of he nose at the widest part, and gently massage in a circular motion while counting to 10. This should provide her with some relief immediately, and help to resolve the underlying cause of the inflammation more quickly. You can use these points up to 6 times in a day, spaced a couple hours apart.

2. Cough suppressant points.
Sometimes, even though your baby seems to be fully recovered from an illness, a nagging cough will keep bothering your little Snuffleupagus. This cough is usually a dry hacking one, but even if it is a bit croupy these pressure points can offer a little bit of relief. These pressure points are located on the top section of your baby's index fingers just above the knuckles. Do not pinch when you apply the pressure, just holding onto your baby's fingers will be sufficient. Try to hold on for about 5 seconds whenever your baby has a rough bout of coughing. The cough should be significantly calmed while you hold his fingers, and the duration of the cough over all should be reduced significantly.

3. Teething pain relief points.

These pressure points can be used for pain located anywhere on your baby's head, but they are especially helpful for teething pain. These points are located on the largest part of the palms of your baby's hands near his thumbs. You can press on one or both of them, with a gentle massaging motion for about 10 seconds at a time every two hours or so. This should not only help reduce the pain in your baby's gums, but also reduce the volume of extra saliva. Since extra saliva is often a cause of facial rashes, diarrhea and diaper rash, even if your baby is not in obvious pain you may want to use these pressure points to help reduce your little geyser's production of excess saliva.

4. Sleep inducing point.

This is by far my favorite pressure point for babies. It is one of the most effective acupressure points for infants that I have found. If you are trying to soothe your baby to sleep, and you have addressed all of the usual causes for wakefulness (hunger, diaper, warmth, gas and burping), try this pressure point. Between and slightly above your adorable insomniac's eyebrows on her forehead is what I like to call your baby's "sleep button". Just a soft stroking touch for anywhere between 10 and 20 seconds will prompt your baby to relax and close her eyes. Even if she does resist and fight the relaxation, in a few minutes after you stop she will most likely succumb to her exhaustion.

5. Fever reduction points.

To help reduce your baby's fever, you can try these pressure points located at the base of each of your little angels thumbnails. A gentle non-pinching, grasp of the thumbs for about 10 seconds every 2 to 3 hours throughout the day should help bring down your baby's fever faster and more effectively than simply waiting it out. Though I have several other tips for reducing a baby's fever that I personally prefer, when I need to try something extra, these pressure points are a good thing to try. There are also three more points for quickly lowering dangerous fevers in another post.

Though infant acupressure is lesser known, it is a great tool to have in your bag of parenting tricks. The wonderful thing about these pressure points is that they do not go away, they grow with your child, and you can use them as long as your sweet little panda will let you. I still use the sleep button, cough suppressant and the teething points on my son who is now 2. If you have found these tips helpful please forward them to any new or expecting parents you might know. Questions and comments are always welcome. Happy parenting!

By: Naomi Tripi
http://tripibabytips.blogspot.com