The Right Medications for Your Kids

Guide to cold and flu medications

kids cold medicine You want your children to be naturally healthy but when they're sick, you want to help them feel better quickly. That's the tricky part. Many moms and dads dole out over-the-counter medications for their children to relieve symptoms even when they may not help.

The main point: Over-the-counter medications treat symptoms but don't cure illness. Is your child really miserable from a cold or just sniffling? Using common sense and some gut checks with your pediatrician can help you determine what's best for your kids.

Do Kids Need Cold Medicines?
Your child is coughing and sneezing, but if he's under the age of 2, don't give him over-the-counter cough and cold medicines. In January 2008 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a public health advisory stating that these medications can cause serious side effects that may be life threatening. To top it off, cold medicines are not effective in infants.

What about toddlers and older children? The FDA is still reviewing guidelines for their use in children between the ages of 2 and 11. In the meantime, be judicious. Remember that colds usually don't last very long. In many cases, it's best to just wait the cold out. Just be sure to talk to your pediatrician if your child's symptoms do not improve or get worse; it could be something more serious.

To make your child more comfortable without medications:

Keep him hydrated. Drinking plenty of fluids also helps loosen mucus.
Try drops and bulbs. Saline nasal drops may help stuffy noses, and mucus can be gently suctioned from the nose with a bulb syringe.
Humidify. Placing a cool mist humidifier in the room may help relieve a stuffy nose.
Candy! If your child's pediatrician says that he's old enough for hard candy, (usually 4 year and older) sucking on hard candy or cough drops can help sooth a cough.

Fevers and Pain
When your child is complaining that "it hurts!" or he's burning up with fever, you'll want to bring his fever down to make him feel better. What you need to know:

Infants under 2 months always require medical treatment if they have a fever over 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius).
For older babies on up, a mild fever may need nothing. Most children with fevers under 102 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius) need no treatment.
Even if the fever is higher, if your child is getting plenty of fluids and is acting normally, it may be best to let the fever run its course.
When you give a fever reducer, always check your child's temperature before each dose. The fever may have gone down on its own.
Don't expect a fever reducer to get rid of a fever entirely—they just reduce it
Use pain relievers sparingly, too. Little bumps and bruises don't need any medication. However, if your child insists that the pain is severe, see a pediatrician. It might be something serious.
Acetaminophen reduces fever and relieves pain, but doesn't help with inflammation. While it is generally considered safe and effective for children, it is not harmless, and overdose is common.
Ibuprofen relieves pain and reduces fever and inflammation. More powerful than acetaminophen, it often relieves pain better and can be used to treat higher fevers. It is considered safe for most children, but in rare cases there can be serious side effects.
Never give aspirin to anyone under the age of 21, especially if they have a viral illness. It has been linked to Reye syndrome, a serious and life-threatening condition that causes detrimental effects to many organs, especially the brain and liver.

The Right Dose
When figuring out a dosage for children, weight matters more than age. Even so, most medications give recommended dosages by age; so check with your pediatrician if you're not sure which dose will work best for your child. More isn't better. It won't make the medicine work better or faster, and could be very dangerous.

Watch out for ingredient duplication, too. Many medications include multiple active ingredients, which could give your child the same active ingredients from several sources. For example, let's say you gave your sniffling, feverish little one a cold medicine that relieves pain, fever, congestion, and coughs. If it contains ibuprofen for pain and fever, amongst other ingredients, and later that night you give your child an OTC dose of ibuprofen for fever, he or she may end up with an overdose of ibuprofen.