Also, consider avoiding use of these medicines for children younger than 12 years old. Antibiotics can be used to combat bacterial infections but have no effect on viruses, which cause colds. If your child has a cold, antibiotics won't help. Remember, the more your child uses antibiotics, the more likely he or she is to get sick with an antibiotic-resistant infection in the future. An over-the-counter pain reliever — such as acetaminophen Tylenol, others or ibuprofen Advil, Children's Motrin, others — can reduce a fever and ease the pain of a sore throat.
However, fevers are generally harmless. The main purpose for treating them is to help your child feel comfortable. If you give your child a pain reliever, follow the dosing guidelines carefully. For children younger than 3 months old, don't give acetaminophen until your baby has been seen by a doctor. Don't give ibuprofen to a child younger than 6 months old or to children who are vomiting constantly or are dehydrated.
Also, use caution when giving aspirin to children or teenagers. Though aspirin is approved for use in children older than age 3, children and teenagers recovering from chickenpox or flu-like symptoms should never take aspirin. This is because aspirin has been linked to Reye's syndrome, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition, in such children.
The Food and Drug Administration limits the use of prescription cough and cold medicines containing the opioids codeine or hydrocodone to adults age 18 and older. This is due to the potential for slowed or difficult breathing, misuse, risky use, addiction, overdose and even death.
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Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. Any use of this site constitutes your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy linked below. The Cough Expert Panel says that honey may be better than an antihistamine diphenhydramine or no treatment for coughs.
One review has reported that honey probably shortens the duration of cough, relieves cough symptoms, improves sleep for both child and caregivers, lowers the severity of cough symptoms, and reduces how often cough occurs. Whereas OTC cough products can cause serious side effects, children tend to tolerate honey well.
However, in rare cases, it can cause stomachache, nausea, or vomiting. Note that children under the age of 1 should not take honey products. This is because there is a risk of developing infant botulism.
People can use ivy syrup or ivy cough drops to relieve cough in toddlers. Ivy leaf may work by opening air passages and loosening congestion by stimulating watery secretions in the airways. The Committee on Herbal Medicinal Products recognize ivy leaf Hedera helix as a possible treatment for congestion and coughs.
People should only give it to toddlers over the age of 2. Cough medicines can worsen breathing symptoms in children under the age of 2. Side effects are uncommon, but they may include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea , hives , skin rash, and difficulty breathing.
Ivy leaf extract may also have an unpleasant taste. Caregivers should try to make sure that children remain hydrated, since water helps the body thin the congestion, making it easier and less painful for them to cough.
Humidifiers and warm showers can keep the airways moist, making it easier to cough up congestion. People can use mentholated rubs for toddlers aged 2 and over. The medication evaporates into the air, allowing the child to breathe it in and sooth cough symptoms. Mentholated rubs also help children sleep. People can buy most of the remedies listed here from a drugstore or a grocery store. Otherwise, they can choose from a range of products online:. Many experts do not recommend antibiotics or OTC cough and cold medicines for the treatment of cough symptoms for toddlers due to the risk of possible side effects.
Home remedies such as honey, ivy extract, fluids, humidifiers, and mentholated rubs may help more than OTC medicines. These remedies are unlikely to cause serious side effects. Raw honey is honey taken straight from the beehive. Learn about what drugs active ingredients are in a product by reading the Drug Facts label.
How can you be sure to give the correct dose? The FDA encourages drug manufacturers to provide a dosing instrument, such as a syringe or a cup, marked with the correct measurements.
Use them—and not household spoons or tools from other medications—to measure medication. At your pharmacy and online, you may see other cough and cold medicine being sold for children advertised as homeopathic. Homeopathic products are generally labeled as containing very small amounts of highly diluted substances, including ingredients from plants, animal or human sources, bacteria, minerals, and chemicals.
There are no FDA-approved homeopathic products, and homeopathic products sold in the U. The FDA is not aware of any proven benefits of these products and urges you not to give homeopathic cough and cold medicine to children younger than 4. In certain instances, children younger than 4 who took these products have experienced serious side effects, some of which required hospitalization, including:.
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