This Video Of A Mom Sucking Snot Out Of Her Baby's Nose Will Horrify You and Inform You

Motherhood is full of doing things I never imagined I'd do. This includes the time I whipped out my breast in front of a complete stranger to nurse an inconsolable baby who needed an echocardiogram — my audience was the male echo technician — and it also includes the vomit and poop I have cleaned from too many places, too many times. When your child is suffering, it's even more probable that you will have to do yet another unimaginable task. That's why this video of a mom sucking snot out of her baby's nose both freaks me out, but also makes me feel that much more informed.

When your child has a cold, they can be miserable. Their head is stuffy, their nose is filled with snot, it's hard for them to breathe, and they can't express any of this with words. They don't sleep, which means you don't sleep, and then the whole household comes to a halt. For years, parents in this situation have relied on a rubber bulb nasal aspirator. They would insert the long, skinny tip into the baby's nostril, and squeeze the bulbous end, hoping the suction will clear out the snot. Often, it didn't and we were positive that we were sucking out a bit of their brains. Then came the Nosefrida and the universe appeared to have shifted for distraught parents everywhere.

Upon my initial viewing of this video, I was gagging as I watched the mom attach the tube into her daughter's nose and start sucking. I could almost taste the snot she seemed to be inhaling. It turns out that there's a tiny sponge filter to prevent this from happening, so no, you don't actually eat the baby's snot — it collects and stays in the chamber that's inserted into the nose.

Learning this, my thoughts started to shift from 'gross' to 'this could be incredible' and immediately went to Amazon to find out more. Turns out, I'm not the only parent who thinks it's an ingenious idea. On Amazon, there are currently 6,649 five star reviews. Bloggers can't stop gushing about it. One of the moms on Mommyish says she buys Nosefridas for every baby shower. Nikki, who blogs as MBA SAHM, says the Nosefrida is "1000 times better than the old-fashioned nasal bulb aspirator" and claims her baby actually laughs when she uses it.

Not only does this contraption relieve your baby's suffering, it helps to give you a guideline for treating your baby. You can gauge how serious your baby's cold is by studying the color of their mucous in the tubing. According to the Cleveland Clinic, different colors of mucous indicate different levels of illness.

Here are some basic guidelines, and obvi consult your pediatrician if you notice anything alarming.

Clear: You are literally "in the clear." Mucous is a normal way for the body to get rid of irritants and all is well.

White: The mucous is thickening because the tissue inside the baby's nose is getting inflamed. This could be a sign of a cold starting.

Yellow: The cold is progressing. You may want to try to increase your baby's fluid intake and consider over-the-counter cold medications.

Green: This is the sign of an infection. It could be a sinus infection or an upper respiratory infection This might be the time to go to the doctor as these things can be treated with antibiotics.

Initial viewing of this video may cause a serious gag reaction, but evidently there is an argument for adding this contraption to everyone's must have gadgets list. It costs about $15 on Amazon — which seems like a relatively low cost to give relief to your baby — and is best used in conjunction with saline drops, which you can put in your baby's nose to loosen things up. Sounds like a good tool to have as we head into flu and cold season.

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