If your child has a cough/cold

[fiorelli]

What do you give them?

 

Louis has got a (very rare for him!) cough and is getting a very hoarse sounding voice, so am thinking about getting him something to help it if it gets any worse, but as he doesn't usually get colds, I don't know what is the best thing for him to have! So, fire away - what do you give your kids when they get coughs/colds?

 

(I hope it doesn't turn into a full blown cold with blocked nose/sneezing/ etc. as I don't want his hearing loss to get any worse!)

[Bullet]

Tom refuses to admit when he's got a cold and should be resting. I would be quite happy for him to stay in bed for a bit and have a nap and recover. He, on the other hand, charges about the place full of the joys of Spring

If he has a temperature he gets Calpol or Medised. If not, then just lots of fluids.

[sue1957]

Fortunately it doesn't happen often but if my son gets a cold he tends to get a cough with it. The worst bit is when its a dry cough that doesn't seem to bring anything out, it just seems to drag on and eventually he just gets sore chest muscles then he's doubly miserable. (My daughter's colds go more to her head and ears).

 

I've found for him that cold drinks make him cough more, so I stick to warm drinks, little and often suits him best. Cough medicine as a last resort, (for example if he's desperate for a couple of hours sleep). Otherwise I think that maybe something in there needs to come out, and the warm drinks (usually warm juice with a bit of honey) seem to help that, and stops his throat getting sore. No school and bed rest during school time til he's moaning he's bored. (Then its one extra day and then back to school) Now that he doesn't have any food issues, during the time of the cold its also no dairy products or sugar, and simple foods like porridge, fruit, soups etc.

[Paula]

Drop of whiskey in hot milk with sugar.Does the trick and knocks the begger out.

 

 

Hes always suspicious of medication and thinks im trying to poison him.So i have to give him stuff like honey and hot water or the milk with something extra in it.

 

He even has a knack at sniffing out tablets crumbled into stuff so i gave up.

 

Oilibus oil or vick is good also coz the vapours make them calm.

[Suze]

We find medised good at night as it has ant-histamine and makes them drowsy helping them to sleep.You can also use a paracetemol based medicine with a nurofen medicine if they have a temp that won,t go down or ear ache.The nurofen helps the swollen ear drum, and offers pain relief also.

[Stephanie]

I always go with the childrens nurofen for everything and anything, he will only take the orange flavoured one though and always via the dosing syringe, not a spoon or sachet.

 

I use karvol drops on a hankie - or sometimes use it in the Avent bottle warmer he had has a baby - just add a couple of drops to the water then switch it on at the lowest setting. You can also buy baby bath with some kind of menthol element to it which is quite mild.

 

Vaseline on the nose helps too - but my son refuses to use tissues and will only use wet baby wipes so it always gets rubbed off (but his nose is less sore than it would be if he did use tissues).

 

Cough medicine is a difficult area, he will not take any ... so it has to go in drinks.

 

He seems to think lemon and lime flavour squash is medicinal to him ... always asks for some when he is ill to make him better! Rather bizarrely it seems to work ... placebo effect.

[mossgrove]

Calpol or Kids Ibuprofen and TLC works for us.

 

Simon

[adamsmum]

Hot honey and lemon. Old but it works for mine and it's all natural. The whiskey works we all use that when it's bad at night