November 2012 Moms

how long does a cold last?

LO has had her cold for 12 days and a deep cough for 10 days.  Her nose is running clear and she doesnt have a temp but the cough is nasty.  I read CSV is trouble breathing and non stop coughing and she doesnt have that, she coughs a lot in the morning and a little during the day.

I caught her cold but I dont have that cough...yet.

How long do these things last?  we're supposed to travel for the holidays on Sat., should I take her in or let it ride?

Re: how long does a cold last?

  • Our pedi said that a cold can last for two weeks, easily, with a young child. As long as she hasn't had a fever recently come Saturday, I'd take her. Just wash hands a lot and don't let her get in people's faces. 
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  • DD has had a few eye colds that have lasted quite a few days.  I agree with pp that as long as there's no fever, you'll be okay.  I read somewhere that LOs get around 8 colds per year.
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  • well I decided to take her in bc we're flying and the pedi said yes, flying can cause ear infections and she gave us an antibiotic to administer on Sat. if it hasnt cleared in 48 hrs

    her ears and chest were clear

    Im hosting a little xmas get together this evening and I really dont want to cancel since I already bought everything...I know Im a bad mom but I sent out an email letting everyone LO has a cold and I hope people will come have a drink and a bite and take off..
  • ksherwood said:
    well I decided to take her in bc we're flying and the pedi said yes, flying can cause ear infections and she gave us an antibiotic to administer on Sat. if it hasnt cleared in 48 hrs

    her ears and chest were clear

    Im hosting a little xmas get together this evening and I really dont want to cancel since I already bought everything...I know Im a bad mom but I sent out an email letting everyone LO has a cold and I hope people will come have a drink and a bite and take off..
    You are giving her an antibiotic to prevent an ear infection? I'm trying not to get on my "our kids are over-medicated" rant, but that's like saying your going to get a chemo treatment in case you get cancer. Giving her antibiotics when they aren't needed is going to make her body more resistant to the antibiotic when she actually needs it. I have flown with my daughter when she had a cold and a fever- a 5 hour flight- and she didn't get an ear infection. Just because it *can* happen doesn't mean it will, or that it's even likely that it will. 
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  • When Z was around 4 months, he got a cold and then had a cough and runny nose for about 2 months. I took him to the doctors and they took xrays of his lungs and everything was clear. They just said it was viral and it had to run it's course. He seems to have caught the same thing now and to be honest, it seems to be the cold air that triggers it. I'm almost wondering if he's going to end up with some kind of asthma like his dad and sisters that's going to give him issues when it's cold.  
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  • DD used to have colds for 2-3 weeks when she was a toddler.

    I regularly have colds that last 2-3 or even 4 weeks.
  • thanks and the reason she was concerned and prescribed Amox. is bc LO's cough and runny nose arent improving and she was concerned about sinus infection

    I am going to fill the RX and bring it with us, she's had the cold for 13 days now and a low temp of 99.  I do NOT want to give her antibiotics bc she was just on them from her UTI and she got a yeast infection...

    I am with you all that no need to give them unless she needs them.


  • @ksherwood good for you for not listening to the doctor about the antibiotics. I mean if she really needs them, then yea, but as preventative is crazy. I switched pedis because my last one was a heavy antibiotic pusher. 

    I've started giving O Elderberry syrup and it's really helped clear any sickness up quickly. You could give that a try. Hopefully it'll clear up before your flight!
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  • So I'm late to game on this response - but I didn't realize it until I typed it out so I'm posting the first part anyway.

    Colds last about a week - but responses can vary. We were told that if LO has a wet cough that goes on for more than 5-7 days, or has a wet cough with a temperature of 100F or higher, she should see a doctor.

    Here is the second part, having gotten around to reading the rest of the thread. For your MD to use the term "preventative" as a cause for giving an otherwise healthy kid antibiotics seems like bad form from a public health perspective. That said, I'm not an MD. I wouldn't know what an inflamed eardrum looks like - and who knows what the term "preventative" means to this particular doctor under these particular circumstances. Sounds like should your LO start to bat her head etc., you'll be ready  - so that's happy news.

    How did the renal sonogram go?
  • LO's colds last between a few days to 5 weeks
    usually the runny  nose is about 1-2 weeks and then the cough can linger FOREVER

    if no big fever, I wouldn't worry.  And I also agree to wait on or avoid the antibiotics-- research has shown that even in bacterial ear infections, they clear up at about the same rate with and without antibiotics.

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