Cough in Children – Treatment of Colds

American Academy of Pediatrics and FDA agreed that there is not enough scientific evidence regarding safety and efficacy of cold and cough medications in children. Therefore, most of the over-the counter products were taken off your super market’s shelf. You might wonder about what else is out there to treat cold symptoms of your child.

What to expect when your child has a cold

Statistically speaking, cold symptoms are the worse on days 3 and 4. After day 5, you should expect to see some improvement daily. It is not unusual to have a fever even with a plain cold. However, fever should resolve after 3 days.

Cold Treatment in Infants

Water down her formula to help decrease mucus. You can elevate her head of bed to help with breathing when the infant has nasal congestion. Small children should not use pillows. However, you may slide something under the mattress (i.e. pillow, rolled up blanket, or a telephone book) to keep her head elevated at night. A vaporizer by the bedside and saline nasal spray will help to battle nasal congestion. Saline solution is a salty water, thus it is very safe to use as many times as your infant’s nose needs it. Children younger than 3 months should be evaluated for fevers by your health care provider as soon as possible.

Cold Treatment in Older Children

Clear fluids are crucial, especially when the child runs a fever. Chicken soup daily will help with nasal congestion, will break up mucus in the respiratory system, and will decrease mucus production.

Children over 12 moths of age can be given honey for coughs, 1 teaspoon three times a day or at bedtime if cough control is desired at night time only. Research shows that honey has better cough suppressing qualities than dextromethorphan found in most over-the-couter cough suppressants. Extra pillow, vaporizer and saline nasal spray will work as well! For aches and pains or fever you can use Tylenol as needed.

If your efforts to make the cold better fail, your child gets worse, or you are concerned, talk to your health care provider right away!