Recomendations on a Cough Medicine for a Almost 5 Yr Old

i always recommend keeping a nice stockpile of SINGLE INGREDIENT meds on-hand. the combo products can get confusing, and therefore dangerous, some may not realize that brand x cough and cold has tylenol in it, and then give additional tylenol. my husband is a pharmacist, and this is the way we do things, and the way he always recommends, plus you're not treating symptoms that aren't there either.

we usually keep(and almost all are generic):
tylenol - generic
advil/motrin - generic
benadryl - generic
delsym - brand *this is the cough med
sudafed - brand(NOT sudafed PE, get the kind you have to get from behind
the pharmacy counter - no RX needed)
mucinex - brand

additionally, with xmas just around the corner, i'd prob run the little fella in to the pedi today, sometimes it's best to not suppress a cough, just depends on the cough and the illness. hope the little guy is feeling better soon! i've had some kind of chest funk/cold/sinus garbage for 9 weeks now...

We do honey and lemon juice in equal parts. Doesn't work perfectly, but helps a bit. Also Vicks on chest with a warm washcloth or hot water bottle seems to help loosen up the phlegm.

There really aren't any recommended children's cold/cough meds these days. The recommendation is not to give them! Our pediatrician told me that honey does as well as cough syrup anyway.

Try hot drinks with honey and lemon. Even warmed up apple juice can be soothing.

Remember that a cough serves to get congestion OUT. You don't really want to stop that (just like you shouldn't medicate a low fever) unless it is keeping him up at night or something.

If his cold moves into his chest, it won't be because of the cough not being treated, it'll be because that's where the infection went, which isn't going to be treated with over the counter cough meds.

HTH
T.

If he has a temp I would say not a cough med. I would use Local Pure Honey, a teaspoon twice a day. It really does help, and push the liquids.

I give my kids, who are 2 and 4, the ones listed below. Until 2 years ago they were all just fine and suddenly it was decided that, because a few idiots overdosed their kids, no one under 6 or age 4 at the bare minimum need relief from coughs and colds! PLEASE -I took cough medicine a lot as a child because I constantly had bronchitis and coughs from colds. I've found that these DO make a difference. If your child fits the age and weight requirements on the package -follow that. If it says 6 and older -depending on the size of your almost 5 year old -cut it just a little bit:

Robitussin Long Lasting Childrens Cough -8 hour

Children's Nyquil -this has helped my almost 5 year old quite a bit the last few nights. I give him the teaspoon and he weighs 46 lbs.

Delsym -I've had mixed results with this one. Some people swear by it, but the first two always work pretty well for us.

I also use Vick's on their pajama tops and I rub their heels with it and put on socks. Not sure why that works, but I heard it a few years ago and decided it wouldn't hurt to try -and it does seem to help the coughing!

To help keep it from going into the chest, if he has a stuffed up nose, do a saline spray -just the pure salt and water kind -to help keep his passages clear and keep all of that mucus from draining down the back of his throat.

If he has a wet cough you want him to cough. Do not give him any cough suppressant. I would give benedyrl or children's sudafed to help with any nasal congestion. Being so close to Christmas I would probably head out to the pediatrician just to be sure that all it is is a cold.

Call your pediatrician--I'll bet they tell you to give NOTHING!
Run a humidifier, push liquids, decaf tea with honey & lemon will produce the same results.

Honey is great - I've read and believe it works as well as the medicine. I also agree- coughs are sometimes necessary and productive, so you don't want to totally supress it with medicine. Get a humidifier for the night time as well. Lots of liquids and soft foods if his throat hurts. Motrin for the fever and aches... Back to the honey - they make flavored honey "sticks" like straws with really good tasting honey in them and it's fun to eat - snip the end off and let him eat it. Good luck and hope he feels better soon!

I would recommend you take him to the pediatrician before it moves into his chest. There are prescription cough syrups that they can prescribe that will work a 100 times better than the over the counter stuff. Hope he feels better soon!

Sounds like maybe a Dr visit is needed..but our Ped and my own Dr (I had pneumonia a few years a go so now I always get bad coughs with severe chest colds). Both recommend Delsym..always.

Delsym is the one our pediatrician recommends. If it's a persistent cough that's really affecting quality of life right now, the doctor can give a prescription for something better.

take him to the Doctor....

I use Children's Triaminic thin strips for cough and runny nose. They say under 6 to ask a doctor, but I just give my son half a strip and it really works.

Our ped. recommended Delsym with our last colds. I don't know that it works that great, but it does help a bit. We also use tea or warm water with honey and lemon.

When my boy was an infant, our Naturopath recommended wet cotton socks with dry wool socks over the top. It worked great, but my kids throw a fit when trying to do this now. They will let me put vapor rub on their chests and feet and put socks over that. It beats the fights and the fights make the mucous worse, so not worth it.

I found the thin strips to cause the problem to get worse because it thickens the mucous and it can't be cleared as well. It has also caused my kids to have ear infections by trapping the crud in rather than letting it run out. A decongestant would be better than an antihistimine. It thins and reduces the mucous. I don't know what decongestant is recommended for kids, though.

Research dark honey. There have been studies doen that show that honey is more effective than cough syrup. This is what we give our son.

I am more than happy to give my DD Children's Mucinex cold. It works WONDERFULLY! I think it's for kids 6 & up maybe but I'm not ashamed to say, I break down the dosage for my daughter. She's never had any trouble from it and it always works great. Good luck!

I would treat with medicine, but for immediate relief just to calm the cough and throat, we found a spoonful of honey does wonderful!

I just went through this with my daughter (5). The cough was mostly from all the snot running down her throat (wet cough). Her doctor recommended Zyrtec to dry up her nose. This did the trick. We also gave her Cloraseptic spray to numb the pain in her throat. At night we rubbed Vicks Vapor rub on her chest and feet (strange old wives tale but helps with congestion) and used a vicks vapor plug in. Lots of stuff going on but it took all of this to help her sleep at night.

P.S. we have tried several "cough Medicines" and nothing worked, the doctor even said they don't really do anything and recommended tea with a little honey and lemon...