Relieving Kids' Cold Symptoms

For parents of young children, colds are a fact of life. According to Cara Barone, M.D., a pediatrician at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, a typical child has between seven to 10 colds (viral respiratory infections) a year for the first few years of life, especially if a child is in daycare or preschool.

The good news is that although colds can create a lot of misery for children and parents, colds are rarely harmful and most of them resolve within two weeks. The typical cold starts with a fever and often a sore throat. This may last one to three days and is then followed by a runny nose, congestion and coughing. These symptoms worsen during the first week and then gradually improve over the second week.

“Parents often have two pressing questions when their child has a cold,” Dr. Barone says. “They want to know how to ease their child’s discomfort and how to know when it is something more serious.”

Treating Colds at Home

Dr. Barone offers three tips for making children comfortable while the cold runs its course.

1. For younger children, skip over-the-counter cold medicines. These are not safe for children under 4 years old, and generally not advisable until a child is 6 or older. If your child is older than 6, you can try these medications, but they usually aren’t that effective at relieving symptoms.  “Always read cold medicine labels carefully, follow the dosage information and use the dosage cup supplied,” she says.
2. Provide TLC (tender, loving care). Make sure your child gets plenty of rest. Steam from either a warm bath or humidifier, and plenty of fluids go a long way to easing discomfort. You can also try vapor rubs under the nose for children older than 2. A menthol (Vicks) vaporizer can be helpful in children less than 2 years old. Honey (1 tablespoon or so) for children older than 1 year can help ease a cough, especially at night. “Sometimes having an infant sleep in a bouncy chair can help reduce post-nasal drip and coughing at night,” she says. “For older children, prop their heads up on some pillows while they sleep.”
3. Help clear little noses. Infants may need help clearing their nasal passages, especially if the congestion is affecting your baby’s ability to nurse or bottle-feed well. This can be done with nasal saline drops.

“When your baby is lying down, squirt a drop or two of nasal saline into the nasal passages,” Dr. Barone explains. “When you lift your baby up, he or she will most likely cry or sneeze, which removes mucous and helps clear the nostrils.”

At times, you might need to use saline drops and a nasal aspirator (such as the NoseFrida or a battery-powered nasal aspirator). Children over 2 years old have larger nasal passages and can learn how to blow their noses.

When to Call a Doctor

While most colds gradually improve over one to two weeks and eventually go away, there are some symptoms that warrant a call or trip to your child’s doctor, Dr. Barone says. These include:

• Difficulty Breathing — Signs may include breathing faster than usual, retracting (drawing in the ribs with breathing), head bobbing, grunting (making sounds while breathing out) and flaring of the nostrils.
• Fever — In babies less than 2 months of age, a fever greater than 100.4 (measured rectally), or a fever greater than 101.5 for more than three days in an older infant or child warrants a call to your doctor. (Learn more about fevers in children.)
• Returning Fever — If a fever went away in the first few days of illness and then returns, this could mean that your child has a secondary bacterial infection such as pneumonia or an ear infection.
• Not Drinking Enough — Your child is not drinking well and is peeing less than he or she normally does (decreased urine output).
• Worsening Cough — Your child's cough is worsening during the first or second week of illness, especially if accompanied with fever or difficulty breathing.
• Long-lasting Cough — Your child has congestion or cough that lasts longer than three weeks.
• Barky-sounding Cough — A cough that sounds like a seal and hoarse voice. This could indicate your child has croup.

“You won’t be able to stop your children from getting colds, but helping them get enough sleep, a healthy diet and frequent hand washing can go a long way to keeping them healthy,” Dr. Barone says.