Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Published 2:38 PM by with 15 comments

On Colds Medicine for Infants and Kids

I read this in the Kids Health magazine Spring 2008 edition. It made me realize things specially now that colds is around and the Ber months are here meaning it's getting cold now. So let's take note of this warning c:

FDA recommends that over-the counter cough and cold products not be used for infants and children underage 2.

The agency is still reviewing the safety of these medications in children ages 2 through 11.


Over-the-counter cold medicines should not be used in children younger than 4, particularly those under age 2,” Dr. Mody says. “First of all, these medications are not effective. Studies have shown that when compared with a placebo, cold medicines don’t provide any relief. And sometimes the side effects are worse than a runny nose.” The side effects are usually caused by the “active ingredients” in the medication, including decongestants and cough suppressants. Many cold medicines also contain pain relievers and fever reducers, such as acetaminophen.

Decongestants
-may cause excitability, irritability and loss of appetite in babies and young children.
“We’ve seen 2-month-old babies cry non-stop for six to eight hours as a result of toxicity from decongestants in over-the-counter cold medicines,” Dr. Mody says.

Cough suppressants
— may cause sedation. The danger is the baby may not wake up to eat and could become dehydrated. Too much may cause breathing problems.

Acetaminophen
— an overdose may cause life-threatening liver and kidney problems. Many parents are unaware that certain cold medicines contain acetaminophen. As a result, they end up inadvertently “double-dosing” with a fever reducer plus a cold medicine.

BETTER HOME REMEDIES

“At my house, we treat runny noses with tissues,” says Dr. Mody, a father of three.
For babies and young children who cannot use tissue yet, Dr. Mody has the following advice:

• Use a bulb syringe and saline drops to clean out your baby’s nose, particularly before feeding.

Space out feedings, maybe a little bit less more often, so your baby doesn’t get as tired.

Carry your baby face-down around the house. This will help the mucous drip out and cut down the amount of coughing.


Whenever you have concerns about your child’s health, please consult your pediatrician.

Here are my proven effective suggestions c:

1. Water - The best natural medicine. Encourage your child to drink lots of water after going to the CR or after urination. Helps loosen phlem.

2. Fruit Juice and fruits - Specially fruits rich in vitamin C. Oranges, Dalandan or Dalanghita, calamansi juice. (not recommended for children with asthma)

3. Avoid pineapples, mangoes and chocolates or any products with cocoa - it hardens phlem and makes your throat itchy.

4. Rub or massage your child with cold rub - touch therapy is great it makes your child feel loved and encourages healing (not too strong and not too light). Helps loosen phlem and creates comfort. Apply it on chest and back .

5. Take 1 tbsp. honey add 1pc. lemon or kalamansi or water (mix together) is good for colds too. (as Joanjoyce suggested and thanx I was reminded c:)



Hope this post warned and helped you in any way c:




15 comments:

Gem said...

Hmm... Our family thrives on avoiding medicine as much as possible for simple sickness.

One instance is fever. My mom always gets me well with simply putting on some ice on me overnight. When I'm well enough after the fever I would take a warm bath using water with guava leaves.

I would agree a lot on water, and fruit juices and a bit on fasting. It helps a great deal. =)

And this saves us on expensive hospital bills! =)

iceah said...

@ gem
fasting? bakit? para san yung fasting? curious ako c:

Tikno said...

Thanks for sharing these information. I also have a baby 1,5 years old. By having the first child, this post is useful for me.

iceah said...

you are welcome c: i know this is of value that is why i posted it to inform the public too c:

and because our children are precious to us c:

Marilou / Lucky Cow Shop said...

nyeeeeeeeeee yesterday, we gave ivan neozep drops. pero sa instructio...

1 to 3 months is 0.75 ml

lapit na 4 months si ivan. pero binigay namin is .5 lang. ok na naman, la na sya sipon. takot ren kc kami eh

Unworthy said...

everytime my daughter got colds i always gave her honey on warm water and i find it effective :)

iceah said...

@berry
careful lang ganyan talga tayo takot din kasi tayo pero napansin ko tlga na nagrereact ang tyan ni josh everytime i give him neo or anything na may antihistamine i think? may side effects din tlga kya careful lang tayo c: ngyn ko rin lang ito nalaman that's why i posted it kagad c:

iceah said...

@joanjoyce
yup i forgot to write that my dad taught me that we use naman kalamansi intead of water c: added into honey 1 tbsp. c: thanx din sa added info c:

Tiff said...

I had never heard of #5 on your list..I will have to try this one...Hope all is well with all of you..I have not been on to much this past week..been trying to clean my house and get things ready before my mom's visit..she has gone now and things are getting back to normal..lol...thank you for all your comments on my blog!! I always look forward to reading your post!!

iceah said...

@tiff
what i wrote on #5 was reminded by joanjoyce and yes it's good natural medicine c: good thing about this is there are no side effects c: and very effective c:

thanx for looking forward at my posts c: i do hope am helping a lot of moms out there too c:

Gem said...

may point si doc jeff.. i agree na maraming doc ang di gumagawa ng further study kung ano talaga ang root cause ng problem, especially kung recurring.

yung fasting, di namin pinipilit kumain kung wala talaga gana. fruits lang kung kaya. then once na clear na ang condition then that's the time na unti-unti na ang pagkain ng normal

iceah said...

@ Jeff
thank you so much for telling me this! is it safe for me to actually post this and quote you because you are a doctor and is licensed to actually say this and i also want to warn parents and people so they will be very careful on using medicines specially for kids. i am a parent too and i know how important our children is to us c: am glad i have discovered this now thank you so much for your time too c:

iceah said...

@gem
thank you din sa info mo na yan c: hay! lalo talaga ako natakot for my losh kasi minsan talga he complains of stomach pain pag nag neo sya! kaya pala ayaw kna nadala na talga ako :c

chocobread said...

our baby ivan still has a little running nose. but he's more ok now. it's just the cold weather. we stopped giving him neozep. and even without medicine, he is getting better.

Anonymous said...

my 10 months old baby is having colds and cough and now has a fever she doesn't want to take any medicine is it safe for her to drink calamansi juice with honey for her colds and cough?