Cold and Cough

Rub baby vicks on baby's chest, arms, legs, back, and feet. Cover him well with socks and do not take him out, I usually give this remedy after night time bath. If he has a runny nose, suction it up often.

Only give him Tylenol if he runs a fever.

My son was sick a lot when he was that old. But there was'nt anything I could give him over the counter. I feel it's best to take them to the doctor. If you don't have money to take him to the doctor. They usually have like neighbor for neighbor and call the welfare they should be able to tell you of somewhere to take him. It's best to see a doctor at that age. Or the pharmist at the drug store might know of something you can give him. But they'll probably tell you that it would be best to take him to the doctor. Marilyn

I swear by cold air humidifiers. It will be the best investment you make. I use it for any illness--I think the col vapor moistens the nose and throat and the noise helps lull them to sleep.

Cough and cold medicines for children and infants were recently recalled and taken off the shelves. It was all over the news a few months ago. An advisory committee of leading pediatricians has warned the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that not only are over-the-counter medicines ineffective on infants, they probably are not even safe.

Below is a report issued by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about a year and a half ago. This report warns against the dangers for children 2 & under but since this report cam out they have found that these types of medicines are risky even for children under 6, including Benedryl. It's scary and surprising & I know it's hard because their symptoms can be bad but they should ride it out and use a cool mist humidifier in their room when they sleep and ask your pediatrician about saline nasal solution..

Parents Magazine has a helpful article on this topic, here is the link:
http://www.parents.com/baby/health/cold/how-to-soothe-kid...

Here is the CDC report:

Cough and Cold Medications in Children Less Than Two Years of Age
Audience: Pediatric and primary care healthcare professionals and patients
[Posted 01/12/2007] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) article describing three deaths in U.S. infants aged less than 12 months associated with cough and cold medications. These medications were determined by medical examiners or coroners to be the underlying cause of death. The cases described in this report underscore the need for clinicians to use caution when prescribing and caregivers to use caution when administering cough and cold medications to children aged less than 2 years.

Secondly, we discussed a Center for Disease Control report about infant deaths due to cold medication. Julie Hunter looked the report up and I have pasted it here for you. Cold medicine relieves symptoms of a cold but does not “cure” a cold. Here is what the CDC said
Infant Deaths Associated with Cough and Cold Medications – United States , 2005
PRESS CONTACT: CDC - Division of Media Relations
###-###-####

Cough and cold medicines can be harmful and should be used with caution in children under 2 years of age. Cough and cold medicines can be harmful and should be used with caution in children under 2 years of age. Although it is very rare, we identified three infants who died from the toxic effects of cough and cold medicines in 2005. In addition, in 2004 and 2005, over 1,500 children less than 2 years old were treated in U.S. emergency rooms for adverse events from cough and cold medicines. While these drugs are effective in older children and adults, there is little evidence these drugs help in children under 2 years old. Parents should always consult a healthcare provider before giving cough or cold medicine to kids under 2 years old. Healthcare providers should use caution when giving cough and cold medicines to children under 2 years old.

As I understand it, the decongestants and the combo medicines are what you are supposed to avoid. You can still give cough meds, Benedryl, Advil, & Tylenol. I would also do the humidifier, and saline drops in the nose. If he's congested use the bulb syringe before bedtime to clear him out. Also, you can hold him in a hot shower (not under the water, but next to it) and let the steam work it's magic ... 15 minutes or so should really help.

OK, I have heard about the Vicks Vapo-rub on the bottoms of the feet. I have never tried it, but it is supposed to work. Note: they do make a Vicks for babies. If you try it, please let us know if it worked.

There are some great suggestions here. If he is congested I would suggest a vaporizer in his room with a couple of drops of either tea tree oil or ground cloves in the water. Works wonder to clear up a stuffed up nose.

C.~

http://www.ToxicFreeFamily.net
http://www.HelpUStayHome.com

Whatever you decide to use... only use 1/2 the dose that's recommended ... see if that works before using the ful dose

Hi Krstyn,

We put too much stock into Tylenol. It tells the immune system to go take a break and does not allow it to work. I would recommend Childrens Motrin first off. Definitely DO NOT use Tylenol when you are having your child vaccinated.

Now sorry for this long post but here are some things that I credit my friend Tami with putting together. Another thing is lemon juice - 1 tsp every few hours will help to alkaline the body so if you can get your son to do that. Pucker!
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My son hasn't been on an antibiotic in 7 years. My daughter hasn't in 3. (she's only 5). We have found that the best way is to sweat your way through these illnesses if at all possible, just giving grandma type remedies. This allows the immune system to hopefully do it's job and eradicate the infection on it's own without masking symptoms or creating more yeast overgrowth.

Here are some grandma type remedies that have gotten us through some NASTY NASTY bugs. When I say nasty, I mean viral encephalitis, salmonella, adenovirus and enterovirus.

-Warm wet washcloth wrapped around the neck - (it could be lymphs swollen and clogged causing ear pain and fluid instead of an actual infection)

-1 tsp of lemon juice every 15 minutes for 2-3 hours. Away from food and drink. This will "trick" the body between acidity and alkaline, allowing the immune system to kick into gear. (works like a charm on read rashes, sudden headaches after eating, or when you feel a bug coming on)

-Gargle with warm salt water - a must when you start feeling congested, prevents infection from getting into the lungs.

-Hot bath - for achy joints - add the epsom salt, baking soda and hydrogen peroxide to help with detox

-Chi Machine - this is like does wonders for the lymphatic system. (does the same as cranial sacral therapy but this is a device that you put your ankles in and it wiggles, it's weird, but even my Michael swears by it)

-Steam shower - helps open up the breathing

-Don't eat too much fruit, if you do take Paul D'Arco tea at night and it should keep yeast at bay.

These are tips that we can do when any of us get sick. I learned them from our homeopath. In homeopathy we get sick all the time because it's like being a newborn, we are making antibodies to infections where our bodies have been unable to for so long. Now that our immune systems are shifted to an "on" position, they can begin to recognize infection and learn to eradicate without any medications. I'm seeing phenomenal results with myself and my son.

Aren't most ear infections virus' anyways? An antibiotic will do NOTHING for a virus.

Herbs for Kids - Echinacea/Goldenroot tincture. This with PB8 works amazing. My kids have never had Tylenol or antibiotics, but then again, at 33, I haven't either.

Triaminic, though I don't know that it actually shortens the illness, can be a real life saver (I reccomend the orange variety- cold/allergy). I give my 10 month old (he was 20lbs at that point) about 1 tsp.

Good luck and get well soon!

Just as the other mom suggested, Baby Vicks vapor rub.
M.

Hi K.
Try C-Plus Cold Tablets by Hyland's. It's a homeopathic remedy. I think it works pretty well. You put 2 tablets under their tongue (they dissolve immediately) every 15 minutes 4 times, then every hour after that until symptoms subside. I was pretty happy with it the couple times I've used it.
A.

Hi K.,

Very recent studies have shown that the good ol' grandma's remedy of a tspn of honey works just as efficiently as children's cough medicine. This was in TIME MAGAZINE. I tried it the last time my 3 yr old had a nasty cough and it worked, and she took it better too! It calms the chest because that sugar and dialates the respiratory system from that sugar boost I imagine(I'm pretty medical).
That's all I'll use now, except if she has a high fever I will give her children's tylenol/motrin back and forth every four hrs...PRESTO!

Wendy

Hi K.,

Antibiotic do not cure colds so you must have been heading for broncitis or worse. To help you son do the steam in the bathroom with the shower running so that it helps break up the mucus. Don't let him get chilled because in his weaken state, it could develope into something that will require an antibiotic. Let him suck on sugar free popcycles to soothe his irritated throat. Kids are very resilient. If its not bothering him, don't worry about it.

Good Luck ~ F.

Do not underestimate the usefulness of a humidifier, especially the warm mist kind (also called a vaporizer). It will fill up the whole room with warm steam and make it easier for your child to breathe, which will probably help the cough. Ask your doctor if it's okay to use some medicine in the vaporizer -- your baby might be too young yet, but even without the medicine it will help. Be sure to read the directions to get the right kind of medicine for your vaporizer -- some medicines go right in the tub part, some go in a special cup in the lid. Vaporizers can be purchased for around $20 at any drugstore, and are well worth the price. Don't have one yet? Run a hot shower with the bathroom door closed and sit in there with your baby. This helped my daughter a lot when she got congested as a baby before I got the humidifier. And since the FDA just started saying kids under 6 shouldn't take cold medicines, I'm still using the vaporizer at 3 1/2, and my husband and I use it for ourselves too!

Vicks Rub for babies does help somewhat. It might be better for coughs than for congestion. And I've read you don't have to put it on the feet; the chest is just fine. I think people do the feet thing with the stronger adult rub when using it for babies, but it's not necessary if you have the baby stuff.

Also a note about honey: I read that too about it being good for coughs. Haven't tried it yet, but I'm sure it works. However, don't use it for babies under 1 year old. They can get a form of botulism from it.

Dearest K.,
The most important thing by far I found with a cough was making sure they are well hydrated. WHen I had a bad case of pneumonia once, the doctor told me that anytime you have a cough you should drink, drink, drink liquids until the cough is gone. Lots of water (and homemade chicken broth is good too!). You can wtered down juices, as long as they don't have sugar in them, too, if the person happens to also be constipated. I always heard it said, that "Constipation is the thief of Health" and it seems to have been true for my kids! (Though diarrhea is equally as horrible! - AH - moderation in all things!)But 9 times out of 10 when they'd catch something it was right after a few days of hard poops.
If they are congested with the cough, my doc always told me to avoid milk products (unless being breastfed - in which case YOU drink MORE water, too!).
Hope you are all back to normal soon!
God Bless you,
R.

If you needed antibiotics to get better, take the infant into a doctor if the cough has continued beyond 10 days. If it gets into the brochia or lower in the respiratory system, he will need antibiotics. Otherwise, if he has had it only a short time, a steamer usually helps.
H.

They say now that it is not good to give children under 2 any type of caugh and cold medicine but i have a n old trick that i use when my baby can't sleep at night due to caughing. I put baby vicks vapor rub on his feet and put socks on his feet after and it stops the caughing almost right away. ask your doctor if this is ok. Mine was ok with me doing this.
Good luck
Take care
B.

I wouldn't give him the tylenol unless he is running a fever.
I'd get a warm mist vaporizer to help with the congestion. I also use saline drops for my daughter when she gets stuffed up and it does help. If he's had solids and juice, Chicken soup truly is great for colds so feed him some of the warm broth and give him some orange juice to boost his vitamin C. If he's truly miserable, there is a child's cold medicine you can give him that they keep behind the counter at the pharmacy. The pharmacist will give you the dosage for his weight but they keep it behind the counter for a reason. It's pretty heavy duty stuff so I would only go that route if you've tried everything else and he's still miserable (not sleeping because of cough/congestion) and you've ruled out a bacterial infection and he doesn't need antibiotics as well.

Pretty sure PEDIA CARE makes a cough and cold medication for infants. I think it's a cough and decongestant.

Love and a cold mist humidifier works really well. I do not give Tylenol unless there is a fever present. And if this is a virus, there isn't anything you can do but wait it out. The humidifer will help me breath easier.

For congestion, my Nana always told me to rub Vick's Vapor rub on my son's feet before I put on his footie jammies, or socks (my son loved the foot massage too). I was never able to find a homeopathic remedy other than the Vicks, a humidifier, and elevating one side of the crib mattress. The cold/cough always had to just run it's course, but one morning he would wake up and his nose wouldn't run and/or he wouldn't cough. I do know that Wellness Health makes a immune booster for little ones, but I think it's for after 1 year old. I got it at Henry's. Good luck.

Try Umcka cough syrup....homeopathic

I keep my warm mist humidifier clean and ready at the first sign of a cold. I always add eucalyptus oil to the medicine container on the humidifier too.

I put 2-3 pillows under the mattress where his/her head sleeps; keeps down the congestion.

I bathe him/her in the evening in a very steamy bathroom.

And last, but most importantly, I keep a bottle of store-bought saline solution and a nasal bulb/syringe. It's a struggle, to say the least, but the relief your baby will have is beyond words because THEY CAN BREATHE!!
I use a neti pot to keep from getting colds or to reduce my own congestion. It's the adult version of what I do for my children.

Good luck

At this age, I would strongly encourage you to get the advise of your baby's pediatrician if the other ideas brought up (some great ones, too!) don't do the trick.

When my son was around the same age, he got a horrible head cold & was up all night long coughing because of the mucus that was running down the back of his throat. No matter how often I would suction it out, there was more waiting to drain from his sinuses. His pediatrician recommended we use Benadryl, but PLEASE don't do this without discussing with your doctor first. The dosage has to be carefully determined by your child's weight. They also take other health issues and symptoms into consideration, so this may not be the best option for your child. For us it worked really well as it dried up the mucus so that he could rest during the night.

Best of luck to you, and your family. :)

Jen

We've always been told by our pediatrician that infant Tylenot and Advil are really your only safe bets. The rest of the stuff doesn't necessarily work and isn't safe. Other options are saline sprays for the nose and to clear that out as well as humidifiers. Trust me, my son had a ton of colds and made it through all of them without the stuff...and I felt good not over-medicating him.

Good luck!
-M

what helps a lot with that is a cool mist humidafire. my daughter has asthma so she gets colds frequently and thats what i use (well on top of her inhalers). i would suggest using one if you havent already. also if his nose is runny or stuffed use the nose sucker to get it out with a few drops of saline to make it easier. if it last for more then like 5 days take your baby to his dr. my daughter got put on rondex dm for her cold (its a decongestant, cough suppressant and antihistamine all in one). good luck i hope your lil angel gets better soon!

Hi K.,

If you were perscribed antibiotics by a doctor and he/she determined you needed them to get better then it is not just a cold. Colds are viral and do not respond to antibiotics. The need for antibiotics indicates a bacterial infection. If your son has a bacterial infection he should be seen by a doctor and should be perscribed his OWN course of antibiotics.

G.

I use Elderberry Extract for chest congestion and it works GREAT!! It is available at any health food store and comes in a kids formula. It has been the best homeopathic remedy for congestion that I have found.
Good Luck

Hi K.!

There are ways of helping. There are cough syryps that Dr's say are okay for less than a year old, You just give a smaller dose than the over 2 yrs dosage. Usually it is cut in half - one tsp turns into a 1/2 tsp. Also, the best thing is a humidifier. Not the cool mist one, the heat one. It will allow him to breathe easier & sleep better - which helps him to get better! Of course, there is always tea w/lemon to help with a sore throat/cough. God Bless!