Some cold medicines are not for kids

After hearing about this earlier this week, I went and did some research and found the same stat that you did. That, in 37 YEARS, 54 kids have died from the decongestants, and 69 have died from antihistimines. If the FDA is considering pulling these drugs fromthe markets based on those standards, then cars need to be made completely illegal immediately, since there were over 40,000 deaths in car crashes in 2006 alone.

Sorry to be so flippant about this, but I think that, if used with common sense, the meds are safe. That means that if a medication doesn't appear to work, don't keep using it. Don't overdose your kid - check with your doctor instead of assuming a dose.

This also just smacks of CYA on the part of the FDA. Why issue a report like this when they know that #1, it's going to freak people out, and #2, they say, essentially, that you can still give the meds, but try something else first?

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For a cold you don't need to give any medicine. It will get better in a few days time without medicine.

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My hubby is a pediatrician, and we hardly ever give our kids medicine. Not because they aren't safe (which they are, I agree with LS on this one), but because we don't want to medicate something that will go away on it's own.

We will give tylenol for a fever, but otherwise try to avoid giving too much meds. Besides, the kids hate it! :)

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Now from what I read this is not just about the childrens meds being unsafe when given in the right dosage but alot of it was parents giving children 1 who were to young for anything it was under 2 years of age they were talking about with all this stuff. They said it was the comment consult physician on the bottles that were the problem. This is only because parents wouldnt call and took it upon them selevs to quess at the dosage and the kids died from overdoses. out of those 54 and others most of them were caused by overdosing the FDA said. The other thing they were talking about was the fact that some parents medicate their children and babies just to get them to sleep. This was another major factor in the 54+ deaths that they spoke of. very little of them were the right to take the meds and very little even were sick when given to them. The main problem of this whole FDA thing wasn't just that the meds are dangerous it was the age 2 and under. My son is 5 and I never gave him anything till he was past 2 years old, only tylenol and the prescription meds he had to take. When he got older I switched to motrin when my pediatrician said that it is much better for a fever than tylenol. As a matter of fact I remember a time when my son was very very sick with a cold and a fever and the pediatricians office advised me to give him tylenol and motrin together. Not at the same time but motrin one hour then the tylenol after about 2 hours. When he gets colds I do give him triaminic or something only at night along with the ultrasonic humidifier and some vicks on his chest. or just vics and the humidifier. Same with cough meds I only give delsylm 12 hour cough meds that my pediatrician recomended at nights if needed. My son has allergies and does have to take antihistimines every so often if the pollen and stuff is bad and the other stuff isnt quite doing all the job. Since my son has asthma we have to make sure we do what we can to make anything that causes his breathing to get even harder. He is on singulair for the allergies and the asthma and uses rhino court at night. Bottom line is that the meds are not dangerous when given right and dosed right. Alot is mothers not knowing how to read and use common sense. You dont guess at a dose, you dont give a baby childrens meds unless told ok by doctor and the biggest one don't medicate your kids/ babies just so you can get a break and get sleep!! This is a major problem they are having is parents are doing it for the hell of it to shut their kids up. Anybody who does this and I have known a few people to do this, should have their kids taken off of them if they do not kill them in the process. as everything in this world anything can be dangerous if not given right.

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I can't agree more with the comments above on not treating colds. The cold will get better in half a dozen days with treatment and in 6 with treatment!Tylenol is good for discomfort and safe in correct dosage for under 2s. It does reduce fever but should not be given for this purpose unless the child is prone to febrile convulsions (see previous post childhoodillness@gmail.com). Fever is one of the ways the body fights the cold virus. Tender Loving Care and Tylenol if the child is in discomfort are the go for colds. Cough is also a defensive mechanism and should not be suppressed for fear of promoting pneumonia.
David Robinson

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Hooray, David Robinson!! Friends, doctors and nurses always make me chuckle when they ask, "What did you give him?" and I answer, "Nothing, of course." They give me the "neglectful mother" look. The symptoms are there for a reason and I just let the body work the way it was designed. They'll get a bit of Tylenol or Motrin if it helps them to get to sleep, but only if they need it.

It makes no sense to me to bring a kid's fever down and have him running around, playing like normal, when he's sick. Rest is the best Rx I've seen for everything from colds to threatening mastitis (in me, not my kids!).

Kids with chronic or serious illness are another story. The asthmatic/RAD kid needs to keep those lungs open and that usually requires drugs because the body doesn't do it's job properly.

Anybody have any non-drug remedies for growing pains? The ones that make the shins ache? I never grew a whole lot, but the memory of those aches makes me reach right for the medicine when my kids complain of them.

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Sandyone... when I had "growing pains" - and oh, how I remember those sore shins - My remedy was warm, wet compresses and a really good book. Mom would sit me on the couch or wherever, and put warm - almost hot - towels on my legs, and cover with plastic (so the water wouldn't get other stuff wet), and a blanket. Then I'd sit there and let the heat work while I was reading a book. If they got too awful, or I didn't have time to sit, then I took some asprin or whatever.

As I got older, I found that some stretches also helped. But the compresses really hit the spot.

Good luck!

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Thanks, LS. I have a wet/dry heating pad that sounds like it would do the trick. Give me one point in the Bad Mommy column because growing pains do their aching at night, when I just want the kids to go to bed, already! Heating pad on one leg, wet towels on the other. We'll give it a shot, as I really do hate to train/teach the kids to just pop a pill when they have some pain.

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Sandyone/all- Just curious- Why do you hate "pill poping" for pain? If you kid can't sleep because they are in pain or can't breath or can't stop coughing they aren't getting the vital rest they need??

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Tylenol works in about 15 to 20 minutes for growing pains. I had them a lot when I was growing up. My dad used to rub kerosene on my legs or have me soak my feet in epson salts water. It dawned on me with my children that if Tylenol will stop a headache then it should stop leg pain, too. It works. Just give them the dose they are allowed and tell them they will be fine in 15/20 minutes. It is a long 15/20 minutes, though.

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