"OTC Meds or Not"

I like you was confused about this and I asked my doctor at my sons check-up. He said it was fine, and I believe that it works. I also if my son gets sick with congestion and cough give him some benedryl. It helps him sleep and gets rid of some of the congestion.

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I had doctors tell me the same thing, but then a friend who is a pedatric nurse told me just to give small amounts at first and see how he did, that dr's were afraid of lawsuits if they advised on it and the child had a reaction. My son didn't sleep well anyways, and the medicine gave him enough comfort to get some sleep at night, so i don't believe all the nonsense about "it not helping them" when I saw it help my son. also, i propped him up and used a humidifier and also the vapor plugs helped him alot. good luck!

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I use them for my 3 year old and always have. I did use saline drops more than anything when she was about your child's age, but if she was too sick for that, I would use small doses of other meds. I would check with your pediatrician and just find out if you were to use an OTC what the dose should be. You could always ask a pharmacist, too.

I hope your little one gets better soon!

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Don't torture your child because of the latest trend in pediatric medicine! I give both of my children -under 3- the CORRECT dosages at the correct times when they have colds and coughs. I take medicine and find that it greatly relieves my symptoms, so why wouldn't I do that for my kids? The problem is that doctors and drug manufacturers have gotten scared of being sued because there are too many idiot parents out there who don't read directions and do dumb things -like giving a kid twice the amount recommended to try and get them to sleep longer or something. Go ahead and make your child and you feel and sleep better! Natural remedies like saline drops, steam and honey are very helpful, but cough syrup and cold medicines are great a lot of the time too! Just ask the proper dosage -usually 1/2 tsp for anyone under 2.

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When my 10-month old has a head cold, I just use saline drops in his nose a few times a day. That actually works really well! I do not use the OTC cough meds, because I'm paranoid that my son will be the one to have an adverse reaction. Granted, the FDA is not always on the ball, but if they make a recommendation about a child's medication, I typically heed the warning.

K.

I rarely used OTC meds for colds as they never worked on mine. I "steamed" my son using steam from the shower as we sat in the bathroom with the door closed. I also used saline drops. I do use motrin or tylenol for aches associated with the cold. I'm not against OTC drugs - nothing ever worked!

We use a vaporizer a lot - at the earliest sign of congestion and then for a day or two after they seem better. It helps.

C.- I personally would not use OTC cold medicines for my children- I have in the past and they just don't work- I do however use homeopathic and natural med's that you can find at your local health food store or whole foods- I'll tell you from my experience what has worked best for my children. for congestion or regular cold symptoms- I use sambucol(it is elderberry extract with some added vit C) in the syrup form- if your 3 yr old can put a dissolvable tablet in her mouth- then they have that form at Walgreens- otherwise you'll find the syrup at Harry's or a health food store- use a medicine dropper witha warm water and salt solution (or you can fidn a nettie pot just about anywhere that will have the solution in a packet-) I squirt the salt water solution up one nostril while my 2 yr old is lying on his side and then repeat on teh other side- it helps break up anything that isn't coming out and clears the passages- then I use a humidifier in his room at night( I dnow there is contraversy with the warm mist- but that is the one I use- I find it hleps them breathe better thant eh coll air ones). I fyou go to your local health food store or Harry's you will find a natural or herbal form of almost any medicine out there- if you can start treating a cold within the first 24 hrs you can greatly lessen the time and severity of it by taking care of it right away.
Good luck to you--hope this helps.
nikki
mom of 3 boys 7, 5 and 2

We go the natural route, so we don't use the OTC meds. Fortunately, we nip it in the bud before it can get that far. You can get the Emergen-C drink mix in the pharmacy section at Wal Mart and give at the first sign of a runny nose. We first tried this when our daughter was 2yo and she could handle 2000mg of the Vitamin C drink a day and it kept the runny nose away...you would never know. We had her keep this up for a week or a week and a half and then lightened up on the drink.

This is what we do for congestion though:

Humidifier is wonderful (all night long and throughout the naps)

Nebulizer with colloidal silver (used this for croup and pneumonia as well)

Eucalyptus oil (if you get neat, put in a carrier oil before applying) and apply on chest and feet

Lung and Bronchial formula found at www.herbsfirst.com. You can get the extract or capsules. Wonderful stuff! Even my asthma husband uses this...he has never had any prescription!

I know many of my friends that LOVE cutting up an onion and placing it on the chest. Make sure you apply olive oil first and then put the onions on the chest and wrap with ace bandage or something like that to keep it in place. With all of these things, I bet you have onions. Some wrap it in a sock and stick it to the chest and then bind it down with an ace bandage. It's up to you.

I know it's hard to see such a little one having difficulty breathing. I hope he is well soon. Good luck!

My 24 month old and I had a bad cold in December. We took hot steam showers together. It helped loosen the mucus in our chest.

other things
- cod liver oil (vitamins A and D) boost immune system
- Cool Mist Humidifier
- suction and nasal spray
- Vicks on feet w/ socks. Adult version not kids

My kids are much older so I missed the FDA scare, but I was always careful to only give the recommended amount. However, a cool mist vaporizer in their rooms, Tylenol, and a warm bath with the J&J Vapor bath gel. It's kind of blue green bottle. Close the bathroom door with you both in the bathroom, poor in tub and fill with warm water. It will vaporize your bathroom- eucalyptus smell (which I don't like)- and WORKS great! My son could breathe by the time the bath was over, warm water made him sleepy, too.
If you use the vaporizer or humidifier in their rooms, be careful if you add Vicks or other smell additives, that the machine will accept them!! It will gum up the mechanics and you've thrown money away.
I used the cool mist vap and never added anything to it.
Good luck!

C.,
Not sure if you know about Vick Vapor rub. My mom used this on my sibs and I and I hav eused it on my kids. It is topical and goes on the chest front and back. helps to open up the lungs thru Mentholatum. I still use it when I am congested.

I have also heard you can put this on the kids feet and add socks and that helps.

Saline drops can help open their nasal passages. And I had a product called Neosinephrin (sp) infant nose drops, my pedi recommended. not sure if it is still on the market or not.

As far as OTC's yea, I agree the Government scared a lot of folks. but better to be cautious that sorry.

HTH,
Barbara

C., we struggled with the same thing. I have a 17 month old, who weighs 27 lbs. and our doctor recommened 1/4 t. of the children's version of Delsym for coughing. It works pretty well, and I don't feel like I'm over medicating my child.

My one year old just got over a cold with head congestion. Luckily he's still breastfeeding so that helped. I also used expressed breastmilk instead of saline to flush his sinuses. It works even better than saline (all those antibodies) and it doesn't taste bad if it runs down their throat. Not sure if you have access to any, but it really works, and seems to shorten the duration of the cold. I also would advise against giving anything to lower fevers. I know they're miserable (we had two nights of terrible feverish sleep), but the body raises the temperature to help fight off the illness. The immune system just works better at those higher temperatures. Lowering the fever may just prolong the time that they're sick! My son got better after only a few days... lots of times things like this linger for weeks!

I agree with Julie. If given in the correct dosage your child will be happy to have something to help relieve the aches and pains of a cold. I for one look to pain medicine when I have the flu and I also give it to my kids. It's very important to only give the correct amount. I couldn't imagine going through the day achy and miserable and having my mom say "suck it up, the FDA said no". I refuse to let my child suffer when there are things produced to help get rid of some of their misery.

I haven't given my kids OTC medicines, basically because I just don't like giving medicine, unless it's something prescribed. I also have read that the FDA said not to use OTC medicines not only because they may be harmful, but also because they don't really work in young children. That said, I know my mom gave them to me when I was little, and I'm still here! When my kids have had colds I run the vaporizer in their rooms like crazy. I know they suggest a cool-mist vaporizer for safety reasons, but in my infant's room, I use an old hot steam one, because she's certainly not getting out of her crib to hurt herself with the steam. I also elevate the end of the crib, though once they start moving around a lot at night, this won't work too well! I have friends who have used the Vicks vaporizer plug-ins-- it's a little thing that plugs in the wall and puts out Vicks into the air-- and they said it seemed to help, though I haven't tried it. Good luck-- I know this is a real pain for your child (and for you!)

As a CNA I know that many meds don't work right or at all. If child has sniffles, use cool, moist air, give tylenol. I would limit otc meds. If child is running a fever, 101 degrees plus, take the child to the doctor. As the doctor what symptoms he/she recommends bring child there.

I use the brand Burried Treasure - CF formula. You can get at natural food stores (like Wilner Chemist in Buckhead near Publix at the Peach). I used hte netty pot starting at 2, but salt water in a medicine dropper in the nose.

Hi C.,

Elderberry extract is good for the immune system to fight off what ails your little one and is perfectly safe and tastes really good. (It reminds me of the liquid Mary Poppins poured into those big spoons.) Liquid garlic has antibiotic qualities as it fights bacteria. A cool mist vaporizer with something penetrating with medicinal qualities like a high grade tea tree oil will help as well.

I don't use OTC for anyone in my home with the exception of emergency use like benadryl for a bee sting. Pharmaceutical companies are using more fillers and more dyes than they did years back when we took them. Plus, the drugs that use to be prescription are now over the counter. Chemicals are chemicals and all contraindicate, just like major pharmaceuticals and they ALL break down the immune system. Why would anyone think red dye would affect anyone? It sounds harmless..but it does affect many. It contraindicates with the other chemicals in the body and shows in behavioral problems. We have so many chemicals in our bodies just with the pesticides, the preservatives and the processing of our foods... Then there's the antibiotics and hormones in our meats and milk. It's hard to dodge food, lol.

I don't think occasional use of a chemical is always a bad thing but too many people resort to them first and regularly.

That's my two cents!

God bless,

M.
www.squidoo.com/ifyourbabycouldtalk

Hi C.!

It sounds like a lot of us do still use them! I advise you to follow your mother's gut and do what you feel is best for your child. Try an OTC med or two, if they work, then great! and don't feel guilty about it! If they don't work, then figure that perhaps the FDA is correct and that's all they were trying to say in the first place - that those meds don't work on younger children.

I personally use Motrin and Tylenol for my 19 mo DD, and my dr gives me Rondec for congestion and I swear by that stuff, but it's an Rx, not OTC.

You can only do what you feel best about. If you find home remedies that work for you and you don't have to give OTCs and you feel good about that, then great! If you give OTCs and they work, don't feel guilty! You're making your child feel better! And it sounds like you probably didn't give them in your child's first year, and I feel that's the most important year, formatively, for development.

You're doing fine! Best of luck, and I'm sure she'll be better before you know it!

The FDA took the OTC meds off the market because parents were overdosing their children. If you ask your doctor they will tell you that the medications don't work for children under a certain age. The medications work. They do not magically start working once your child turns 5 years old. Just use the correct dosages with the time line and you will be fine. I give my almost 2 year old OTC medications when he is at the worst of one of his colds. They are just miserable if you don't. It is near impossible to help them feel better with the flush the nose routine and a humidifier at night.

I still use over the counter products...I know it treats the sympton not the cold but that's what is keep a child uncomfortable. I use a nebulizer since my kids usually wheeze when they get sick. I use nasal spray, warm steam I give them showers with me. There are still some products that give the dose for age or weight and I use them. When you are sick it's also important to sleep as well.

I would try a humidifier and Breathe-Right Strips. Stay away from Vicks. Works well in adults but it will make the congestion worse in kids. Definately, suck up that mucus with a good nasal aspirator. Good luck!

It is tough when your kid is sick, and there is not much you can do. As a healthcare provider, I never give my kids cough and cold medicines. I use a lot of nasal saline, and little noses decongestant spray (don't use more than 3 days in a row). I also like Vicks baby rub and a cool mist humidfier. Most illnesses are viral and you just have to ride it out!

M. G

I am an RN and i have always given my kids age/weight appropriate doses of OTC cold remedies when symptoms were bad or kept them awake. One thing I do that you shouldn't have any concerns about is put Vick's Vapor rub on a paper towel (folded with the ointment inside) and put it either inside their pjs, inside the pillowcase or under the fitted sheet when they were small and didn't use a pillow. It works great andy you don't have that greasy mess to clean up. I even so this myself when I am congested.

I still use them. My pediatrician told me that the AAP recommends that you not use them simply b/c they are unsure as to their efficacy since the dosage recommendations are typically just 1/2 adult doses and they are not the result of research on particular ages/weights. My doc inferred that the AAP was recommending this b/c they felt that if they could not dose at a large enough quantity to be effective, then there was no point taking them at all. I have a boy with a really strong tendency to all night coughing so he still gets OTC cough meds and decongestants and antihistimines as necessary. I will say that the ped wrote a prescription for Rondec which is a combination drug with Dec/Anti/Cough that is apparently tested specifically for that age group and works very well. Maybe you could ask your doc for that.

Additionally, I use the Vicks on the feet with socks along with a Vaporizer. Both seem to help.

Hi C.! I have struggled with the same issue, as I gave my son baby tylenol cold, etc. when he was an infant. He is 22 months now and I found something called "Hyland's Cough and Cold" and "Hyland's Cold." Hyland's is a homeopathic medication so it's 100% natural. I have found that it works wonders for my son's colds (I mix it in his juice) and it doesn't have all of the medications that they have said are harmful. Just make sure to double-check the weight -- I would adjust the dose accordingly if your baby is small. I found it at only one Wal-mart in my area, but I'm pretty sure most health food stores carry it if you can't find it anywhere else (maybe Walgreen, too, but I'm not sure). Hope that helps!

What OTC meds are you talking about? Sudafed? I would NOT give to a child 15 months old -- especially for sleep-time. A cool mist humidifier. Vapo-rub on the chest. Saline drops and blowing her nose best she can. (or if you have to, use an aspirator.) Turning to the pediatrician or his/her nurse for advice.

People who assume that "natural" means good are misled. Marijuana is natural. Arsenic is too. "Natural" does not equal "good for you" -- all it means is that it's not synthetic. By the same token, there ARE some good ideas here. Either way, I would ALWAYS check with the pediatrician before using anything.

You can try the saline solution nose drops, it is supposed to break up the congestion in the nose or you can make your own with a little salt and warm water. Hope this helps.