You may have heard that the FDA has cautioned gainst giving any kind of cold medicine to kids saying that it does not do any good anyway. I am not too sure about this as we have always given stuff to our kids to help them sleep at night when they have a cold or congestion but we have never bothered to give it to them during the day. I guess maybe we will have to research this a little better and thankfully both kids are quite healthy these days.
Anyway I grabbed the following tips from MSNBC that was attached to the article about this very subject.
With the safety and usefulness of cold medicines now in doubt for children under 6, what alternatives can parents try? Old-fashioned remedies are poised to make a comeback.
You have to wait out a cold; treating symptoms, at any age, doesn’t make the cold go away faster.
But to make stuffy tots feel better and help them rest, pediatric specialists recommend:
Plenty of liquids, from water to chicken soup.
Suction bulbs can gently clear infants’ clogged noses.
Saline nose drops loosen thick secretions so noses drain more easily.
A cool-mist humidifier in the child’s bedroom.
Some chest creams can ease stuffiness with menthol or other fragrances, but check labels for age restrictions.
Acetaminophen or ibuprofen, as recommended by your doctor, to alleviate pain or discomfort but check that they don’t contain extra ingredients like decongestants or antihistamines.