Question About Children Cough Meds

I personally have never used cough medicine. I guess they just have to suffer through it. We have had them drink lots of fluids, take showers (steam), or prop them up when they sleep, but I personally don't think the risk of those medications are worth fixing a cough. I know coughs are very uncomfortable, but they are doing a job for the body. You don't want to suppress it too much. And there have been so many recalls and studies that say the OTC meds don't even work.

Well, when Kiddo was this age, we did chicken noodle soup, a spoonful of honey mixed with cinnamon... lots of fluids.

We use the Delsym nighttime now for evenings when he's having a tough time, but he's also nearly seven. The dosages on the bottle are for 6-12 years and 12-adult, so I would talk to a pediatrician first.

For a runny nose we'll use warm saline and a neti pot to rinse out the nose.
Gargling with salt water helps if the throat feels a bit sore.
Steamy showers/bathes help the sinuses too.
Chicken soup (home made if you can) is wonderful comfort food when ever anyone has a cold.
Every time we tried a decongestant (trying to dry it up) it ended up with an ear infection a week later - drying it up only makes the fluid thicker behind the ears.
So we stay away from decongestants and if anything we'll stick with an expectorant (if the snot is thick).
Robitussin with a cough suppressant helped when coughing kept our son from getting any sleep.

Dry cough- a spoon of honey. For a runny nose, we usually don't use anything, just tissues, but we've had some success with dimetap.

There is some good evidence that OTC cough medicines are simply ineffective. So I would just not use one. You can ask your pediatrician what if any nasal decongestant she recommends. My son doesn't take any when he has a cold. He does take tylenol if he has a fever and feels achy or if his throat is really sore.

Since she is sick, she will have a runny nose and coughing.
And until the virus or cold is done and gone, she will have those symptoms, as long as she is still sick and the virus needs to run its course.

Medicines, help to alleviate symptoms. Not "cure" the cold.

When my kids are sick, I just let it run its course. And I look out for worsening symptoms or secondary infections.

if it is a virus.. it has to run its course.. she will stop coughing in 2 or 3 weeks.. after the virus is gone..

if it is allergies.. she might cough all spring.

I don't care much about name brands.. but I look at ingredients..

guaffenisen.. thins mucus.. so less coughing..

claritan..(and the generics) slows down mucus production so there is less to cough.

but most of these products don't do much.. the virus has to run its course..

Nope, it doesn't work. I don't think benadryl does anything but put them to sleep. A neti pot is tough for a 4 year old but it's a safe option to help clean out the sinuses.

I use a tested, natural anti-inflammatory that helps reduce swollen nasal passages but it's actually much more useful as an immune system booster when taken all the time, not just as a treatment after the fact. I had horrible allergies year-round as well as lots of viral cases of bronchitis, plus the constant headaches that come from a stuffy head and all that coughing.

It's been presented to the American Heart Association as a tremendous aid in the reduction of cholesterol, and it's so safe that they published the info in their journal for cardiologists. It's food-based (vegetarian) and the physicians are starting to change their "drugs only" attitude because this has no side effects.

It's also given routinely to children (in a comprehensive supplement that also contains vitamins, minerals, etc.) in clinics all over the world, and I've been to conferences where the physicians tell us what a huge difference it makes in the kids' health even for severely malnourished and sick kids. So my husband and my son also take it, and we just don't get those viruses anymore.

I use nasal spray when the kids are stuffed up. I t works pretty well. For cough medicine, I buy one with honey in it. Honey will coat the throat and help with the cough When I took my son to the doc last month for a really nasty cough, he told me that research has found that a table spoon of honey is more helpful than previously thought. Supposedly the bacteria helps the cough a lot more. But of course, never for a 2 yr old or under. My son is 15.

I have Hyland's Homeopathic Cough Syrup with Honey for kids. It helped my daughter's cough--she is turning 6.

Saline nasal spray or neti pot, if they can tolerate it.
Cool mist humidifier following him from room to room where ever he settles.
Head raised at night.
Benadryl at bedtime to help dry him up and sleep at night, if needed.
Patting his back/lungs to help loosen things up so nothing settles into a bacterial bronchitis or pneumonia.
Lots and lots of fluids--warm tea, clear juices, chicken soup or broth, water
Vicks vapor rub at night--don't know if it helps, but it's a comfort to him.
I'm not a big fan of cough suppressents except at bedtime if they cannot sleep--coughing is a good thing!
We don't do decongestants around here. Too many side effects and ped. has never pushed them either.

Go to www.webmd.com and search "kids' cough medicines."

There was a recent report that's detailed there. It was all over the news a very few years back. It found that cough and cold medicines are not only pretty ineffective, they can be bad for kids:

"Evidence indicates that children's cold medicines don't really help and may pose a real (although small) risk of side effects, particularly to young children."

Go have a look at the research and then go buy a cool mist humidifier for her bedroom (get a good quality brand like Holmes and run it all day or at least for a few hours before she goes to bed, so the room is well humidified). Elevate her shoulders and head at bedtime (pillows under that end of the mattress can help do this easily). Be sure she drinks a lot of water, because that thins out mucus. Get the tissues with lotion in them, like Puffs Plus, so her nose doesn't get red and raw from rubbing with tissue. And give up on the meds -- they really don't work, and even Benadryl (which some parents hand out like candy, I find) can make kids either sleepy or, the exact opposite, VERY hyper and wired. I'd go with good old humidity and elevation.

If it's a cold it will pass. If it's not -- you say she was tested for seasonal allergies but do you have a pet? She could be developing allergies to a pet, even if she hasn't shown any previously; you can develop allergies over time, so have her tested for pet dander allergies if you have a pet, or for mold allergies -- there is a huge amount of leaf mold etc. everywhere due to the very, very wet winters in the eastern U.S.

I prefer not to use any other the counter cough medicines. I have found that it never did help my children. A virus has to run its course. I will give them Tylenol/motrin if they get a headache from being stuffy or anything like that.

Check the labels.

Nearly every single over the counter lung congestion syrup is the same exact thing.

Guaifenesin.

It's what is in Robotussin, Musinex, Tussin, and more. They all have the same exact med in them. Of course if you have money to spend because you want a name brand...I like Tussin, Walmart's brand, it is about half of the other name brand meds.

Tussin/Guaifenesin is an expectorant. That means it is specifially designed to bring fluid to the lungs, thin lung mucus, so a person can cough it up easier. It is made to MAKE YOU COUGH up goo. Not stop a cough. It's made to make you get that goo out.

Just like the Musinex commercials where the little round family is coughed up. That's what an expectorant is supposed to do, make you cough it up and out.

Google expectorant defined if you need more information.

Have her take several really warm showers every day, it cleans the body of allergens, dust, dander, pollutants, etc...and the moisture will help her lungs.

Runny noses are trying to rinse the nose/sinuses out. That's their job. There is something irritating her inside. Otherwise she wouldn't be runny.

Giving her Benadryl will DRY UP HER LUNGS A LOT. Don't give her any antihistamines. She's struggling to get moisture into her lungs and Benadryl will totally dry up everything, even her saliva.

She may need something to help her mucus rinse out her nose, maybe some Sudafed. I can't take the fake Sudafed, it makes my heart race. I get real Sudafed at the Pharmacy. It expands the blood vessels in my sinuses and that helps the area to open up and let the goo out. This will rinse her sinuses well.

I don't know what to do about the runny nose except get her to blow it all the time. That will help get the stuff out that's bothering her inside. It will also rinse the virus out sooner.