what meds for cough? UPDATE

Chunstad · December 2012

Silly question, but C really hasn't had a cold.nbsp; He woke up with a wicked sounding cough, he sounds like he has congestion in his chest.nbsp; He is 99.5 also.nbsp; What should I give him if anything for this?On a side note, I'm pissed that IL's didn't tell us that C' s cousin was sick.nbsp; They came over a couple of weeks ago with said sick cousin, and thankfully C didn't get anything then.nbsp; Now it doesn't look like we are as lucky.
He's got Croup! Spent forever in the walk in clinic and just got diagnosed. He got a steroid shot and some home care instruction. Fcuking cousin, I could kill them right now. Poor C looks like hell. I'm going to steal some of the ideas posted on here. I'm thinking that this will probably keep me home NYE, which oddly enough doesn't bother me at all.

vitan · December 2012

I agree on taking him in. My niece was congested for awhile so my SIL took her in. She had inflammation of the lungs so they gave her antibiotics for it. Hope he gets better soon!

kagl08 · December 2012

DS woke up like like that 3 weeks ago. It was his 1st cold ever. His cough never went away. Then 2 days ago he started with the cold again. I took him to the dr yesterday. He has an ear infection and an upper respiratory infection. He has antibiotics and is miserable. I'm glad I took him though, with his temp 99.4 I never would have guessed he had an ear infection.

For the cough our dr said we could give Zarbees cough syrup or benedryl or a mixture of both. The Zarbees is all natural and honey based with melatonin so they can sleep. It works amazing! DS is 27lbs. He gets 1tsp of Zarbees or 1tsp of benedryl. If I mix it he gets 1/2tsp of each. Worked wonders last night!

I got the Zarbees at CVS for $10. Well worth it.

hunnybunny614 · December 2012

We are dealing with this same thing. I called the nurse and she said as long as we can keep his fever down and there is no pulling at the ears or any signs of strep, the dr. didn't need to see him. But the bronchitis sounds scary. I'll be keeping an even closer eye on ds

Edit: To answer your question, our pedi advised no cough medicine until 2.

cantalopes24 · December 2012

We have been told no over the counter cough meds but Benadryl at night is ok. Some kids get hyper from Benadryl though so maybe test it at nap time. Lo has had a cough for weeks and we ended up having to take her in on Christmas Eve. Fortunately she doesn't have a respiratory illness but she did have a double ear infection.

Scramblersmom · December 2012

I agree with PP...We have been told no cough/cold meds until DS is much older. Just as an FYI...only about 10% of bronchitis is caused by a bacterial infection so I am not impressed that Dr's are handing out so many antibiotics for something that is most likely viral.

Chunstad · December 2012

Thanks so much, all! Goddamn cousin, wish they could have told us that he was sick. I gave him Advil. He has been playing with his ears lately, however, he's getting two molars in. I'll keep my eyes open, and maybe I'll take him in this afternoon, or at least call the hotline.

pearblossom · December 2012

My kids also have the death hack. I looked at the Little Colds brand cough medicine but it is just honey and glycerine. We bought the Hylands one, but it isn't doing a thing. I'm going to try and hunt down the Zarbees. I have been making echinacea tea and adding honey and lemon in their sippies.

LatteLady5 · December 2012

cantalopes24:
We have been told no over the counter cough meds but Benadryl at night is ok. Some kids get hyper from Benadryl though so maybe test it at nap time. Lo has had a cough for weeks and we ended up having to take her in on Christmas Eve. Fortunately she doesn't have a respiratory illness but she did have a double ear infection.

Same thing here. N had a cough a few months back and I asked her pedi about OTC cough meds and was advised against any. I made a warm mug of decaff tea with a little cream and honey and spoon fed that to her. The warm liquid seemed to help a bit. I also used baby vicks. I put it on her feet at night with socks and on her chest and back. I have no idea if this helped but I kept doing it until her cold passed.

DoctorWorm222 · December 2012

Wait a minute! Aren't we supposed to avoid honey until age 2? I'm also questioning whether its ok to give melatonin to children. I'm not a "real" doctor, but I'm side eyeing this Zarbees stuff.

DoctorWorm222 · December 2012

I've found that placing a pillow UNDER one end of E's mattress to prop her up a bit helps with the cough at night.

pearblossom · December 2012

DoctorWorm222:
Wait a minute! Aren't we supposed to avoid honey until age 2? I'm also questioning whether its ok to give melatonin to children. I'm not a "real" doctor, but I'm side eyeing this Zarbees stuff.

Honey is safe after 12 months.

kagl08 · December 2012

pearblossom:
DoctorWorm222:
Wait a minute! Aren't we supposed to avoid honey until age 2? I'm also questioning whether its ok to give melatonin to children. I'm not a "real" doctor, but I'm side eyeing this Zarbees stuff.
Honey is safe after 12 months.

Honey after 12 months and melatonin is a natural sleep aid. It relaxes them so they can sleep. Nothing wrong with either. I've done a lot of research and our pedi ok'ed the zarbees also. It's not an OTC cough medicine. It's an all natural cough suppressant.

DoctorWorm222 · December 2012

kagl08:
pearblossom:
DoctorWorm222:
Wait a minute! Aren't we supposed to avoid honey until age 2? I'm also questioning whether its ok to give melatonin to children. I'm not a "real" doctor, but I'm side eyeing this Zarbees stuff.
Honey is safe after 12 months.

Honey after 12 months and melatonin is a natural sleep aid. It relaxes them so they can sleep. Nothing wrong with either. I've done a lot of research and our pedi ok'ed the zarbees also. It's not an OTC cough medicine. It's an all natural cough suppressant.

Right you are! I don't know where I got age 2. Seems like I read it somewhere, but I can't find any source that says anything other than 12 months. I consider myself schooled.

I still won't concede on the melatonin, though I probably read the "no melatonin for children" on a product that was intended for adult use. I know it's a "natural" sleep aid, but "natural" means nothing to me. If your pedi gave it the ok, I guess it can't be that bad. To each her own I suppose.

pearblossom · December 2012

I would definitely be wary of regular or long term melatonin use, even in adults. But here and there during illness, I am comfortable with. Just like most other medications, natural or not.

jeannkerricotober09 · December 2012

DoctorWorm222:
kagl08:
pearblossom:
DoctorWorm222:
Wait a minute! Aren't we supposed to avoid honey until age 2? I'm also questioning whether its ok to give melatonin to children. I'm not a "real" doctor, but I'm side eyeing this Zarbees stuff.
Honey is safe after 12 months.
Honey after 12 months and melatonin is a natural sleep aid. It relaxes them so they can sleep. Nothing wrong with either. I've done a lot of research and our pedi ok'ed the zarbees also. It's not an OTC cough medicine. It's an all natural cough suppressant.
Right you are! I don't know where I got age 2. Seems like I read it somewhere, but I can't find any source that says anything other than 12 months. I consider myself schooled. I still won't concede on the melatonin, though I probably read the "no melatonin for children" on a product that was intended for adult use. I know it's a "natural" sleep aid, but "natural" means nothing to me. If your pedi gave it the ok, I guess it can't be that bad. To each her own I suppose.

I agree with you re: melatonin. N has insomnia and is being seen at Boston Children's Hospital Sleep Clinic and they won't give melatonin to children this young. I spoke with both his pedi and sleep dr just this week about it. Both told me there is a lot of evidence of early onset of puberty, among other things, with giving melatonin to children.

pearblossom · December 2012

Is anyone else feeling like they have a very glamorous life right now? Cough medicine debates getting heavy on a Saturday. Woot!

kagl08 · December 2012

crystalbaby:
Obviously there are risks to everything, it just depends on the dose and duration of ingestion of how much risk there actually is. I'm sure that the amount of actual melatonin in the cough syrup is close to a homeopathic dose. At which point, the benefit of the child getting a restful night's sleep would outweigh the minimal risk.

this is how I feel. My DS hasn't slept in almost a month. Obviously this isn't a long-term thing and a good night's sleep outweighs everything for me at this point.

And FWIW: there is a Zarbees without melatonin as well, I chose this one for the "restful night's sleep."

LatteLady5 · December 2012

DoctorWorm222:
Wait a minute! Aren't we supposed to avoid honey until age 2? I'm also questioning whether its ok to give melatonin to children. I'm not a "real" doctor, but I'm side eyeing this Zarbees stuff.

I go the okay from pedi for honey at age 1. I never just give N spoonfuls of it or anything but I use it on salmon with some orange and a little bit in tea. I don't think I've ever heard of waiting until 2.

ETA: I suppose I should have read through the rest of the comments before posting. Sorry for the repeat info.

AND

I have a friend who gave her LO melatonin for a week or so to help regulate his sleep cycle. He was 2 and waking up every hour or so for months. Apparently it did wonders.

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