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No cold meds until after 4 yrs?
Really??? What do you do now for your little one who is miserable? I understand that some people are overdosing, but if you are responsible about it would it be ok?
My dd is totally miserable with a stuffy nose, congestion, and coughing. Can I give her something?
Kelli
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Re: No cold meds until after 4 yrs?
I think it is actually no over the counter cold meds until 6 years old. Not only were parents overdosing their kids, but they basically said the medications were ineffective and therefore not worth the risk.
Cool mist humidifier, Vick's Vapor Bath and vapo rub, elevate their mattress...that't about it. DS has had a bad cough or a week and the humidifier is really helping at night - I crank that sucker as high as it goes.
I actually got a lot of comfort from my old pedi (before we moved). She said the OTC stuff which everyone was using really does jackshyt. She is a blunt woman and we got on well so she actually said that. It makes you feel like you've done something and it makes them constipated occasionally, other than that it is not enough to be helping, but it might be having bad effects on the rest o their body.
That made me feel a lot better about not using it.
So now I rely on:
1. warm sweet drinks to soothe (I've used scheppes lemonade before, but also flavoured pedialyte with a little honey). HEat them and they go flat.
2. honey dissolved in hot water and cooled.
3. ayr - its a kind of gel you put under the nose and it really works.
4. ibuprofen for fever
5. benadryl (occasionally)
Those have worked just fine. I've had the vicks vapor rub on hand but never needed it.?
Since talking to her I will never use the evil tylenol again. It doesn't work at all for any pain I've ever had, and it can wreck your liver and its easier than you think to overdose, so not worth it. I use ibuprofen and it works a treat, also lasts longer for a better night's sleep for DS. For myself I use aspirin or codeine but obviously those aren't options for DS.?
I literally just got off the phone with the pediatrician because my 15 month old can't sleep from a cold and cough. He said no meds till age two because the side effects outweigh the effectiveness before then.
He suggested a humidifier, Vicks, elevating the bed and a dose of Tylenol or Motrin, because he said he probably had a sore throat that was also keeping him up.
GL.
Well, actually my pedi has given the green light to give Triaminic Day Cough & Cold. We just use it once a night when DS is super congested and stuffed up. It does indeed make a difference.
Our pedi is top-notch...Harvard Med educated and so forth....and I trust her advice.
I should add that this is a new rule since Ethan was a baby.
For those with kids old enough, we've had great luck with Delsym as a nighttime cough suppressant.
Nope. They have also been proven not to be very effective, so the risk reward isn't there.
I think your better off giving a bit of burbon and some lemon juice (like a tablespoon). I haven't given it to DD yet, but it is safer than the meds and helps them sleep a bit.
Benedryl is ok. It is necessary when a child has an allergic reaction, but doesn't work for colds.
Hot showers, saline nose drops, humidifiyers help.