How to Comfort Kids with Colds

If you have a child older than 9 or 10, you might remember a day when drugstore shelves were lined not only with cold medicines for kids, but formulas for babies—teeny little dropper bottles packing decongestants, cough suppressants and other ingredients. That changed in 2008, when the FDA issued an advisory against giving cold medicine to kids under 2. The AAP followed with an even stauncher stance: “Over-the-counter cough and cold medicines do not work for children younger than 6 years and in some cases may pose a health risk.”

These days, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a pediatrician who advocates medicating garden-variety viral colds in kids of any age. It’s nice to be advised against wasting any more money than I usually do at CVS, but at the same time, I’m left with a helpless feeling as the boys sneeze, sniffle, and cough their way to sleep. So I reached out to Drs. Julie Kardos and Naline Lai, the Philadelphia-based pediatricians behind Two Peds in a Pod and advisory board members for Happy Healthy Kids. With kids of their own at home and an office full of congested kids at work, they know what works, and what’s a waste of time. Here’s their advice for what really helps children with colds feel better.

Encourage rest and naps. “Parents are often worried that kids will feel as miserable as we do with a cold,” say Drs. Kardos and Lai. “But, unlike adults, it’s not a big deal to let them sleep during the day.” And that’s what they should do. Rather than push kids who have more than a little sniffle, let them stay home and rest for a day or two. Waking up several times during the night because of annoying cold symptoms causes sleep deprivation which can make for a crankier kid. Naps help restore sleep and mood.

AT BEDTIME…

Start a warm bath or shower. A nice, steamy bath or shower always helps clear the head and may even help drain the nose.

Use saline or suction. A quick mist of saline spray into kids’ noses before bed—and maybe an extra pillow or two and a box of tissues—can be just the thing to clear congestion before they fall asleep. For infants, help them blow their noses by using a bulb suction. However, be careful: Over-zealous suctioning can lead to a torn-up nose and an overlying bacterial infection. Use a bulb suction only a few times a day.

HHK note: Not all children are fans of feeling the spray tickle their noses, but for some reason, the colorful bottle and fun grape and orange scents of Boogie Mist helps sweeten the deal.

Run a cool-most humidifier in their bedrooms. Moist airs helps unclog stuffy noses and soothe dry-throat coughs. Cool is safer than warm: In case anyone falls on the humidifier while stumbling to your bed or the bathroom in the middle of the night, there’s no risk of a scalding injury.