The cold and flu season can be stressful for parents. There are many ways to help you deal with it.

Ways to manage cold and flu in children

When your child comes down with a cold and flu, it is important to make sure they drink lots of fluids and get enough rest. You should also ask your doctor about the following treatments.

Stuffy nose :

• use saline nose drops or spray. You can use a rubber suction bulb to suck out the extra drops or spray when dealing with infants.
• use a cool mist humidifier or vaporizer in your child’s room. You need to clean the machine everyday

 
Cough :

• for children ages 1 to 5, try half a teaspoon of honey. It is not safe to give honey to children under the age of 1
• you can also try 1 teaspoon of honey for children ages 6 to 11  and 2 teaspoons for children ages 6 and older
• you can consider cough drops for children 4 years and above

 
Fever

• children older than  6 months can be given  acetaminophen or ibuprofen  (Advil, Motrin or generic ).
• DO NOT give aspirin to children. It has been linked to Reye’s syndrome which is a rare but serious illness
• Always ask your doctor  for the right medicine and dosage  for your child’s age and size

 
Flu vaccine

• children 6 months or older should get the flu vaccine every year
• Make sure the people around younger children have the flu vaccine

 
Over the counter cough and cold medicine

• do not give these to children under the age of 4
• you should know that many of the cold medications already contain acetaminophen so be careful about double dosing

 
Antibiotics

• if antibiotics are prescribed, make sure  children take the full dosage as directed even if they feel better. If you stop it sooner than it suppose to be, the infection can get serious and spread in the body . Let your doctor know if your child is not getting better with treatment.

 
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