The medical community has been pushing harder and harder towards the complete removal of all over-the-counter cold medicines because the doctors believe the medications have not be effectively tested on children.

Any parent will lament the helpless feelings that come along when a young child has a cold but doctors warn that giving cold and cough medicines can be even more dangerous that anyone has ever thought. So far over 800 cold medicines have been removed from the market but that is not all of them and parents need to be cautious when treating a child with a cold.

Children’s cold medicine is not cheap to begin with and in the event a child does suffer additional medical problems because of the medications, it really does not make sense to keep using it. If you have ever purchased any type of children’s over-the-counter cold medicine, you’ll no doubt have noticed the many combinations of treatment on the packages. For instance, one medicine helps with coughing, while another helps with runny noses. Since many kids have multiple symptoms, parents treat them with several medications. These medicines have many active ingredients that when combined can prove to be very harmful to a young child’s health.

So what can you do to effectively treat a cold or the flu without over-priced medications, expensive equipment, or costly pediatrician visits?

Here are some tips for caring for sick children without harmful medicines and all of the other hoopla:

Get Vaccinated

Young children are susceptible to colds and flu and being in an environments such as a daycare or other school, it is likely a child will often catch what is going around. In order to keep serious flu-related sickness at bay, have your child vaccinated for the flu.

Don’t Smoke

Smoking around the house and the kids increase the amount of irritants in the environment. Quit the habit for your kid’s health or at least, take your butt outside.

Add Humidity

When the seasons change and it is time to turn on the heater, add a humidifier to your child’s room to keep the dry air away. Dry air from the heat dries out the membranes inside a child’s nose, leaving no roadblock in the nose to keep out infections. If noses do get dried out and sore, use saline drops to keep the nose moisturized and help keep mucus loose and easy to get out.

Add Water and Sleep

Going back to mom’s advice, give the kids plenty of fluids and do your best to keep them resting as much as possible.

Hygiene is Important

Washing hands correctly is a necessary lesson for all little kids. When kids are sick, they need to understand how important it is to keep the germs away. Have them wash their hands before eat, and after coughing and sneezing. Parents also need to wash their hand frequently when caring for sick kids.

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