Remedies for a Child’s Cold

The congestion, the sniffles, the coughs. When they happen to your child, you wish you could do something to make them go away.

While there is no cure for the common cold, there are things you can do to reduce symptoms. Here are some ideas that will get you and your child feeling better.

If your child has a cold, here are some ways to provide relief.

· Give them a pain reliever. Pain relievers like acetaminophen and ibuprofen can relieve symptoms like aches, fever and headaches.

· Apply a saline (saltwater) solution to the nostrils to reduce congestion.

· Use a cool mist humidifier to add moisture to the air to decrease dryness.

· Dab petroleum jelly on the skin under the nose to soothe irritation.

· Hard candies and lozenges will relieve a sore throat (to be used on children over six only). Gargling with warm saltwater can also be helpful.

· Run a warm shower to reduce congestion and treat aches and pains.

· Use a heat pad to relieve muscle aches.

How to Prevent Colds

While knowing how to treat a cold will reduce the symptoms your child is experiencing, it’s even better if you can prevent them altogether. Here are some ways you can decrease the chances that your child will get sick in the first place.

· Stay away from people that have a cold.

· Avoid secondhand smoke. It increases the risk of respiratory infections.

· Make sure they wash their hands often to reduce the spread of germs.

· Have them sneeze into a tissue or their elbow and not into their hands. This will keep them from spreading germs to others

· See to it that they don’t share towels, drinking glasses or eating utensils with someone who has a cold.

· Keep them away from other people’s used tissues.

There are several supplements and remedies that many claim have been effective in fighting a cold such as zinc, vitamin C, and echinacea. However, none of these have been proven to make a cold go away quicker or to improve cold symptoms. In fact, when taken in large doses, they can do more harm than good.

Talk to a doctor before giving your child a supplement or herbal remedy to treat a cold.

Will Decongestants Help?

Decongestants may provide relief for a child’s cold, but many of them produce unwanted side effects. If you use one, go with a homeopathic option like Boericke & Tafel Children’s Cold & Cough Bronchial Syrup.

Boericke & Tafel are one of the oldest homeopathic companies in the nation. They are known for providing high quality cough syrups, gels and creams. Their Cold & Cough Bronchial Syrup is formulated with six different homeopathic ingredients. It is recommended in soothing sore throats, reducing coughs, and minimizing congestion.

If your child starts to sneeze and sniffle, you want to get them relief as soon as possible. The tips in this article should get them feeling better in no time. What do you do to provide relief when your child has a cold?