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!

There are little things we can do everyday to stay healthy. Sometimes, despite our best efforts, we catch a cold or flu. Antibiotics are ineffectual in treating viruses. However, there are some alternative methods we can use to lessen flu and cold symptoms. Here are six:

The Old Standbys. Chicken soup has been proven, over the years, to ease symptoms of the flu. Garlic contains immune boosting substances. Recent studies have shown that garlic may also have an effect on pain reduction. Add a bulb of garlic, onions or leeks and celery to your chicken, when making chicken stock. Freeze it and keep it on hand for use when cold or flu symptoms hit.

Echinacea. While echinacea is no longer the favored herb used to prevent colds and flu, studies have shown that, if taken at the onset of a cold or flu, echinacea can be helpful in reducing symptoms.

Vitamin C. Current studies show no evidence that vitamin C, taken in large doses, can ward off a cold. However, a vitamin C supplement can reduce the amount of time you have a cold. There is no need to take huge doses of vitamin C. The extra amount will just wash out of your system.

Andrographis. While relatively new to the United States, Andrographis has been shown to help prevent or reduce the symptoms of a cold. It is believed to stimulate the immune system. It contains qualities that are helpful in reducing a fever without causing stomach upset.

Elderberries. The elderberry, as a medicine source, can be traced back to the time of Hippocrates. Tests have shown that elderberries suppress the growth of influenza. Patients who were tested on elderberry extract recovered faster than those on a placebo. This little berry has received a lot of attention, to date and is currently one of the favorite means of treating cold and flu symptoms naturally.

Astragalus. This is sometimes called ” nature’s antibiotic”. It has been used for over two thousand years in China. This herb is believed to fight off pathogens, in the body, while building up the immune system. As an Asian medicine, it is prescribed for a host of different ailments. Astragalus can be taken daily to help boost the immune system or taken at the onset of cold or flu symptoms to lessen the duration or symptoms.

While all of these natural treatments are helpful in easing or preventing symptoms of cold and flu, do not take all of them at once. More is not necessarily better. Use whichever treatment best suits your symptoms or what is readily available, in your area. If you are on any prescription medication or aspirin therapy, please work with your doctor to find the best herbal remedy for you. As always, if symptoms persist for more than seven days, consult your physician.

How is flu defined? How different is it from cold symptoms? Do flu symptoms muscle aches and fever go together?

Flu is more serious than a cold. Symptoms of a cold can be mainly physical, such as a stuffed up feeling, a cough, a sore throat, a discharge. Generally a cold won’t knock your energy too much. You’ll be able to cope, more or less, with every day life. The symptoms are inconvenient rather than debilitating.

With any type of flu, you’ll have a fever and some form of body aches. It might be muscle aches. It might be bone aches. This will tend to knock your energy much more. You’ll want to stay off work, go to bed, be cared for.

These are all really good ways to assist your body in trying to heal you. Doping yourself and then going to work is likely to make your flu much more serious. You might even end up in hospital.

A few days in bed at the start of flu may be much more convenient in the long run.

In today’s crazy world, it’s common to think more of your job or your commitments than it is of your health. Take a drug for this, a vaccine for that and, at all costs, keep going.

This is suicide for your health. It will just keep deteriorating. When your body is exhausted, go to bed. The world won’t stop because you’re not at work.

Your body is with you for life. Your job isn’t.

A fever is a very good indication that your body needs time to do what it is doing, in peace. It is a very good way your body has of resolving a problem. Leave it to get on with it. Suppressive drugs and vaccines may give the appearance of helping you get over the flu, but they will do long term damage.

If you would like to help your body get over the flu symptoms with muscle aches or with bone aches, there are a few excellent homeopathic medicines.

The two most common homeopathic medicines which may help your flu if is is accompanied by muscle aches are the time honoured injury favourite Arnica montana. And Gelsemium.

Each of these medicines have a different picture, so you need to know the symptoms of each. But either will resolve your flu symptoms with muscle aches if you match your symptoms to those of the medicine.

Homeopathy doesn’t suppress your symptoms. It gently helps your body. But, if you make the wrong selection, nothing happens. No harm is done to your overall health.