When it comes to treating coughs and colds, home remedies may sometimes work better than medicines.
Here’s what parents need to know about ways to help children feel better when they have a cough or cold at Coughs and Colds: Medicines or Home Remedies?
Cough & cold medicines
Oral over-the-counter (OTC) cough and cold medicines can cause serious harm to young children. The risks of using these medicines is more than any help the medicines might have in reducing cold symptoms.
Under age 4: Over-the-counter cough and cold medicine is not recommended for babies and young children at Coughs and Colds: Medicines or Home Remedies?
From ages 4 to 6 years: Cough medicine should be used only if recommended by your child’s doctor.
After age 6: Cough medicines are safe to use. Just be sure to follow the instructions on the package about the right amount of medication to give at Coughs and Colds: Medicines or Home Remedies?
Luckily, you can easily treat coughs and colds in young children without these cough and cold medicines.
Home remedies for cold symptoms
A good home remedy is safe, does not cost a lot, and can help your child feel better. They are also found in almost every home at Coughs and Colds: Medicines or Home Remedies?
Here is how you can treat your child’s symptoms with home remedies:
For a runny nose:
- Suction (with something like a bulb syringe) to pull out the liquid out of your child’s nose or ask your child to blow their nose. When your child’s nose runs like a faucet, it’s getting rid of viruses. Watch the video, Reasons Why Your Child Has a Runny Nose at Coughs and Colds: Medicines or Home Remedies?
For a blocked or stuffy nose:
- For children 3 months to 1 year of age: Infants with a common cold may feed more slowly or not feel like eating because they are having trouble breathing. Try to suction baby’s nose before attempting to breast or bottle-feed at Coughs and Colds: Medicines or Home Remedies?
To break up dried mucus, use saline nose drops or spray. After that, you can ask your child to blow their nose or use a bulb syringe to draw fluid from their nose. Coughs and Colds: Home Remedies or Medicines? Warm water will work well if you don’t have nose spray or drops.
Put 2 to 3 drops in the opening of each nose (nostril). Do this one side at a time. Then suck out the liquid or have your child blow their nose at Coughs and Colds: Medicines or Home Remedies?
You can buy saline nose drops and sprays in a pharmacy without a prescription, or you can make your own saline solution (see below) at Coughs and Colds: Medicines or Home Remedies?
Do nasal washes whenever your child can’t breathe through the nose. For infants who bottle-feed or breastfeed, use nose drops before feedings. Teens can just splash warm water into their nose. Keep doing the nasal washes until what comes out of the nose is clear at Coughs and Colds: Medicines or Home Remedies?
For sticky, stubborn mucus:
- Use a wet cotton swab to get rid of sticky mucus around the nose.
For coughing:
Do not give infants under 1 year honey; it will not help with symptoms and can cause a sickness called infant botulism at Coughs and Colds: Medicines or Home Remedies?
For children 1 year and older: Consider using honey, 2 to 5 mL, as needed. The honey thins the mucus and loosens the cough. (If you do not have honey, you can try corn syrup.) Research has shown that honey is better than store-bought cough syrups at reducing how often coughing happens and how bad coughing is at night at Coughs and Colds: Medicines or Home Remedies?
For children 2 years and older: You can rub a thick layer of a mentholated rub on the skin over the chest and neck (over the throat). As with all medicines, follow directions closely and put it up and away, out of your child’s reach, once you are done using it.
Other ways to ease your child’s cold symptoms
Offer plenty of fluids
- Try to make sure your child is staying hydrated. When there is enough water in the body, the mucus the body makes becomes thinner, making it easier to cough and blow the nose. See Signs of Dehydration in Infants & Children at Coughs and Colds: Medicines or Home Remedies?
Humidity (amount of water in the air)
- If the air in your home is dry, use a humidifier. Moist air keeps mucus in the nose from drying up and makes the airway less dry. Running a warm shower for a while can also help the air be less dry at Coughs and Colds: Medicines or Home Remedies? Sometimes, it can be helpful for your child to sit in the bathroom and breathe the warm mist from the shower.
Treatment is not always needed
If cold symptoms are not bothering your child, they likely don’t need medicine or home remedies. Many children with a cough or a stuffy nose are happy, play normally and sleep well at Coughs and Colds: Medicines or Home Remedies?
Only treat symptoms if they make your child uncomfortable, have trouble sleeping, or the cough is really bothersome (such as a hacking cough).
Because fevers help your child’s body fight infections, only treat a fever if it slows your child down or causes discomfort at Coughs and Colds: Medicines or Home Remedies? This doesn’t usually happen until your child’s temperature reaches 102°F (39°C) or higher. If needed, acetaminophen or ibuprofen can be safely used to treat fever or pain.