So annoyed by the whole no cold meds under age 4!

The poor girls have some of the snotty-est (and yes, that would be the proper medical term!) noses that I think they've ever had right now. Which is causing them to cough, which is causing them to not sleep. Which they really need! So annoyed.

Trying to find something that might help them a little and everything says "under age 4 do not use!" They already take Zyrtec every night, so benadryl is out. Going to call the pedi in the AM, but I doubt they'll recommend anything due to the labeling, guidelines, liability, yada, yada, yada....

Boo!

 

Hmmmm...Have you possibly tried chamomile tea? I know when we were in Italy last summer with the boys-my MIL and dh's grandmother told us to get chamomile tea for them(in retrospect-they were teething). So I bought some and brought it back to the states-but in Italy they have it in little packets for infants!

Maybe give that a try?

 

Thanks Meg, maybe I'll see if my mom is up for giving them some tomorrow. Getting more fluids into them will help regardless!

My mom tried some honey today also, didn't notice a ton of helping, but it's not going to hurt either.

 

I feel your pain - I am always so frustrated by the age guidelines.

Have you tried saline spray in their noses? That does wonders for our boys (and actually even for me when I have a really stuffy head!). We usually use Benadryl for one of our boys but one of them gets stimulated instead of drowsy on it, so he can't have it. When we can use it, it's great stuff.

Good luck - hang in there! Hope everyone is feeling better soon.

 

The thing with the no home remedies under 4 (or in england it's 6) is that when they did trials they found that these meds didn't actually work very well anyway with this age group, as well as the fact that very very very rarely a kid had problems from taking them.

Talking of quirky home remedies from abroad ... here everyone always suggests putting a chopped up raw onion under their beds OR getting your children to drink the juice from a chopped raw onion mixed with honey!

Alternatively we put pillows under their mattresses to raise the heads, put Vicks or it's equivalent menthol rub on their chests, eucalyptus drops on tissues next to their beds and a humidifier on quite high. Oh and acetaminophen or ibruprofen if they seem in discomfort from ears or throat.

 

This bugs me too... just encourages parents to give off-lable meds with no suggestions for dosages. My kids always seemed to do better with meds.

 

A spoonful of honey will sometimes reduce coughing (although not post-nasal drip). Local honey is even better. I have been using this instead of cough syrup with mine. And they never complain about taking it, either.

 

I've had good luck with the homeopathic medicines Sinupret and Chestal honey.

Incidentally, our ped says Sudafed -- the original, good stuff behind the pharmacy counter that you have to show ID for -- is fine to give to younger kids. Dr. Sears has a dosing chart on his website:

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/t089406.asp#back

 

We do this as well and it seems to help.

When it is really bad, our pedi has also recommended this.

:hugs: It is tough I know.

 

We just survived another double-cold week last month. Lots of saline nose stuff, 2 humidifiers (one by each bed), I bring a box of tissues with us and we soak in the hot tub for a while or I'll give them a long bath/shower, I offer warm herbal tea with honey, and we use Benadryl for the itchy throat hacky cough. If they get sinus headaches, at least now they can tell me and I'll give some Tylenol or Motrin. It's not fun no matter what but having been one of those kids who didn't do well with the decongestant/expectorant combo meds, I'd be hesitant about giving anything even without the guidelines. I only use the Benadryl because they took it when they had a mystery rash and it was fine (other than making them more hyper than sleepy).

 

I can't really add anything new. Just to reiterate what pp have said.....we are big on nasal saline & suction (get those boogies out), chest rub & humidifiers. I will occassionally give them mucinex. That was recommended by our ped.

 

We are getting over a nasty cold here too... steamy baths with some California baby cold and flu bubble bath, humidifiers, pillows in their beds (Ana used hers, Meara refused), and lots of fluids. Like others have said, the reason they changed the recommendation was because these meds didn't do much for toddler's/preschooler's symptoms. So even if you gave it to them, it might not even help. :hug: I hope your lil snotty girls are feeling better soon :hug:

 

I don't buy the "the meds didn't work well for young children" argument. They worked just fine for all five of mine! We give Delsym for cough at night because it lasts 12 hrs. Then I'll do Benadryl for stuffiness (real sudafed during the day but it makes even me hyper) and plugins or VapoRub with or instead of the Benadryl/Sudafed. Yes, my twinks are 4 but I've been doing this since my oldest was little. Lots of fluids help too.

 

The boys started up w/ a runny nose a few weeks ago and I picked up some Sinupret, and either a) it was a super mild bug or b) the stuff actually worked, because it was the easiest "cold" we've ever dealt with here! It's funny-- the peds at our old clinic would never recommend sudafed, but when I'd call the nurse line for help, they'd always say give them the real sudafed when they had bad drainage and a cough that'd keep them up. So in a pinch, I'd do it, and it did seem to help quite a bit. Also, B's had a couple of really nasty colds before and the dr HAS Rxed a cold med for him. I don't remember the name of it, but it was a generic anyways.... So if it's really bad, call the dr, they may be willing to write a script!

 

For stuffy noses of any age, I'm a HUGE fan of steam inhalation.
I use fresh menthol and Eucaplitus since I have it growing in my yard (actually the Eucaliptus trees are on campus, but I swipe leaves as needed). But if not just use Vapo Rub. Boil a small pan of water, pour it in a large mixing bowl over the vapo rub or fresh herb. Sit infront of child and drap head with towel. Inhale the rising steam for as long as you or the child can stand it. With infants, it's best to breast or bottle feed them while under the towel to insure nose breathing. Repreat ever couple of hours as needed.

 

I agree with the previous posters that Vicks Vaporub works well for stuffiness (though it can exacerbate a cough, so be careful).
I also agree that honey is a godsend- we use it for coughs and it seems to work really well. I read that buckwheat honey works the best for coughs in kids, so that's what we've been using. We tried various cough medicines before trying the honey and NOTHING worked as well as the honey did.

 

I know people may not agree with me, but I gave them the cold meds anyway when they were under 4. I know I'm miserable when I have a nasty cold and if used appropriately in the right dosage, it should help them feel a bit better. If they had the snotty noses or cough, I used Children's Sudafed for the noses and Delsym for coughs. The sudafed you have to get behind the pharmacy counter now. But, I just give them the right amount for their weight. Most of those meds changed their directions to say ask a Dr. if under 4, but have the same doses but you need to double check. The ones we use didn't change. I also do the humidifier at night, vicks on the chest and bit under their noses at night. Mine also take Zyrtec, so other antihistimines are not allowed (like you said with Benedryl). A lot of the cold meds out there do have an antihistimine in them, so that's why we've stuck with the 2 that we use.

 

No time to read other posts so I'm sure it has been said already but the BEST cold/cough remedy (even for adults) is "diphenhydramine" which is the active ingredient in Benadryl. It's totally safe and the ONLY cold med that is approved for infants/toddlers.

1 tsp.

It works like a charm!

 

I use Children's Robitussin for coughs - Delsym makes my children mean and hyper...

 

Avoid milk if at all possible this makes you produce more and thicker mucus.

 

Along with putting Vicks on their chests, we also put it on the bottom of their feet and then put a pair of socks on. I read this in a parenting magazine and it seems to help. It sounds crazy, but I am usually willing to try anything when they have a cold.

 

Motrin makes a children's "Motrin Cold" and there are dosing instructions on the bottle for age 2-3. I have given it to mine when all else failed and they were miserable and unable to sleep.

 

We use the humidifiers full force anytime anyone gets a cold. But I also keep on hand Hyland's C Plus Cold Tablets:
http://www.hylands.com/products/cplus.php

I swear by these!!! A few weeks ago, both my kids started to get a cold around the same time as their cousin (same age). We ran the humidifier & gave them the Hyland's & their cold was over in a few days, where the cousin's lingered about 2 weeks.

 

That is good to know! I like using Airborne for myself and DH. I will swear by Airborne for adults!! I have always wondered if there was an equivalent for kids.

 

Thanks everyone!

We do seem to be on the mend. In addition to my feeling bad about the snotty noses, it was a week that I was scheduled to work more hours than normal so they were here home with my mom, I didn't even really get to snuggle!

But they do seem to be on the up swing. The worst night was the night I posted and we (they) just kind of worked through it. Right now I'm just hoping that Ellie's cough is still an effect of the post nasal drip and it's not working her way down into her chest, but I'm not thinking that's the case.