Best Baby Nasal Aspirator | Mother Rising

Here’s my experience trying to find the best baby nasal aspirator with my sad, sick baby.

Before Mercy was born I received some Baby Snot Suckers to review and giveaway. Happily, Mercy has not been sick enough to warrant sucking snot out of her nose… until now. At almost 8 months old she (finally and sadly) has a cold and this week she has been my guinea pig for testing out “all the baby snot suckers”.

Best Baby Nasal Aspirator

In hopes to find the best baby nasal aspirator, here is my review of the following snot suckers:

1. generic bulb syringe
2. NoseFrida and the
3. Baby nasal aspirators 

(Don’t worry, baby Mercy was only crying for the half of a second it took to take the blurry photo above. No babies were injured in the making of this review of the best baby nasal aspirator.)

When to Use a Baby Nasal Aspirator

Until your child learns how to blow their own nose, it’s up to us parents to keep their air passageways clear. Nothing is more sad than a congested baby that can’t sleep or eat.

During Feeding/Breastfeeding

It is helpful to use a baby nasal aspirator if breastfeeding (or bottle feeding) is interrupted because they cannot breathe through the nose and therefore must unlatch to breathe. Before a feeding, try clearing their nose with a nasal aspirator. It likely won’t remove all their congestion, but it will help a little.

For Sleep

I have also found it helpful to use a snot sucker when congestion is waking baby during naps and at night. Before a nap, clear their little nose to help them sleep. This is especially true if baby uses a pacifier to sleep. Because they can’t breathe through their nose, they open the mouth to breathe and therefore lose their pacifier. This can be a frustrating and exhausting time for both baby and parents.

Baby Nasal Aspirator Reviews

Here are my reviews of three baby nasal aspirators – the generic hospital bulb syringe, the NoseFrida Snotsucker Nasal Aspirator, and the Baby Nasal Aspirator.

Generic Hospital Bulb Syringe

After I had my first baby (in the first 24-48 hours) I was horrified when baby Gabriel stopped breathing because he was choking on his mucus. We quickly sat him up, leaned him forward and patted on his back. He spit up and continued breathing after that. Welcome to parenting! Ha!

If he didn’t spit it up on his own, we were prepared to use the generic bulb syringe to suck out his mucus. Back then, all parents used a bulb syringe because there weren’t other options. When babies are born, a generic hospital bulb syringe is given to all parents to help clear mucus from baby’s air passageways.

Pros of Hospital Grade Bulb Syringe

• A benefit of a hospital grade bulb syringe is that this is inexpensive. You will find them at walmart, pharmacies, target, and other local stores.
• Another pro of a hospital grade bulb syringe is that you will get one by default. For example, you likely won’t need to buy one as they send every parent home from the hospital with one. It was even part of my homebirth supply list. Most babies receive one as their birthday present. 😉

Cons of Hospital Grade Bulb Syringe

• There are two reasons why you might not want to use a hospital grade bulb syringe. The first is that because of the design, it is easy to irritate the delicate mucus membranes of an infant. Entering the nasal passageways with the pointy end of the bulb syringe can really irritate an infant or a baby. It’s best to stay out of their nose as much as possible.
• Another reason why you might not want to use a hospital grade bulb syringe is because it can’t be cleaned. What you can’t see can hurt you. After a period of use, many parents have cut open the syringes to find MOLD and other nasty growths. By not using this type of syringe you will be removing the possibility of contaminating your baby with mold. However, if you’re really wanting the typical bulb syringe you can buy one for $15 that comes apart to wash.

NoseFrida Snotsucker Nasal Aspirator

How to use the NoseFrida Snotsucker Nasal Aspirator

Simply place the tip of the tube on baby’s nostril, put the red tip in your mouth and gently breathe in. Don’t worry, the snot won’t go in your mouth. See that blue sponge looking thing? That’s a filter. The filter is what is preventing baby’s snot from entering your mouth.

Pros of NoseFrida Snotsucker Nasal Aspirator

The NoseFrida Snotscucker is a great product. Things like this didn’t exist when I started having babies! (Am I dating myself??)  Here are the benefits of the NoseFrida Snotsucker Nasal Aspirator.

• The NoseFrida works great. It quickly and effectively helps “blow your baby’s nose”.
• Another reason to love the NoseFrida is that unlike the generic bulb syringe, it is transparent allowing to see the amount of mucus pulled from baby’s nose.
• Which leads me to the next benefit… The NoseFrida can be cleaned. Daily, during times of illness, or when there’s a lot of mucus in the tube, the NoseFriday should be cleaned. Simply pull the pieces apart and wash and rinse in hot soapy water.
• Finally, the last benefit of the NoseFrida is that it is easily accessible. For around $15 (depending on how many filters you buy with it) you can almost buy the NoseFrida anywhere. Many drugstores and big box stores also carry this item. If you’re up at night with a sick baby, a quick run to a 24-hour store can result in a NoseFrida in your home. How wonderful!

Cons of NoseFrida Snotsucker Nasal Aspirator

• Of course, there are disadvantages to the NoseFrida. The first one I noticed is that it harder to thoroughly clean the long blue tube than the Baby Nasal Aspirator (see below). What I ended up doing is using my finger to try to clean it out. I think it worked.
• Another disadvantage to the NoseFrida is that buying replacement filters are necessary. For around $4 you can buy 20 replacement filters. Not a big deal, but something to consider.
• A final disadvantage is that there are small parts and this is therefore a choking hazard. When not using this product, please do not leave within reaching distance of your child(ren).

Baby Nasal Aspirator

How to use the Baby Nasal Aspirator

Just like the NoseFrida, simply place the tip of the tube on baby’s nostril, place the opposite end in your mouth (the end that looks like a flower) and gently breathe in. Don’t worry, the snot won’t go in your mouth. There is a valve that prevents baby’s snot from entering your mouth. See photo below.

Pros of Baby Nasal Aspirator

• Just like the NoseFrida, the Baby Nasal Aspirator works great. In fact, I like how it works a little bit better because of the design of the tip that goes on baby’s nose. The Baby’s tip is more rounded preventing less of the product to go into baby’s nose. The tip is placed on the outside of baby’s nose to get a seal. (The NoseFrida goes slightly in the baby’s nose but not nearly as far as the generic bulb syringe.)
• Thankfully, the Baby Nasal Aspirator is transparent allowing to see “what you’re working with”. There’s something oddly satisfying about seeing a pile of snot in this thing. Parenting is weird.
• Another benefit is that the Baby Nasal Aspirator is it’s VERY easy to clean. There is no long tube, which makes it a simple task to clean out with hot soapy water.
• The last benefit of the Baby Nasal Aspirator is that there are no extra filters to buy. One less thing to buy and keep track of which makes this a favorite feature of the best baby nasal aspirator.

Cons of Baby Nasal Aspirator

• A disadvantage of the baby nasal aspirator is that it likely won’t be found in local brick and mortar stores. You can’t visit your nearest Walgreens and pick one up real quick. I have only seen the Baby Nasal Aspirator online.
• Another disadvantage of the Baby Nasal Aspirator is that it is slightly more expensive than other comparable aspirators. You can bring the baby snotsucker home for about $17. However, since there are no filters to buy, it probably is cheaper in the long-run.
• This product also has small parts and is therefore a choking hazard. However, I really love that this comes with its own case. When not in use, if you remember to put it away in the case worrying about baby getting their hands on the small parts is not an issue.

In conclusion, I truly believe that this Baby Nasal Aspirator is the best baby nasal aspirator out there! However, I’d love to hear from you. What has your experience with nasal aspirators for babies? Drop a comment and let me know!