Chicken Soup vs. Purple Splatter

With pharmacy shelves filled with over-the-counter cold and cough medications marketed for children, it is sometimes surprising for parents to learn that pediatricians seldom recommend using these products in their patients. One reason why is many OTCs are not terribly effective in providing symptomatic relief in kids. Other than an occasional dose of a fever-reducer/pain-reliever like acetaminophen or ibuprofen, there isn’t really a good reason to give children OTCs.

Another reason why pediatricians typically avoid OTCs for their patients is the possibility of unintended and potentially severe side effects in children. Every pediatrician can tell the story of a patient (and parents!) kept awake and cranky all night long after being given a decongestant, wiped out after taking a dose of an antihistamine, or splattered purple by their sick child upchucking some grape-flavored elixir.

Giving the proper dose of a liquid medication, a chewable tablet, or a capsule can be a challenge for some parents. The right dose depends on parents being able to read the label on the medicine’s box or bottle, know their child’s current weight (if parents are left to guess they may be off a few pounds, which can be dangerous), and accurately assess the need for medicine based on the severity of the symptoms.

Tricia Korioth tries to make things easier for worried parents by suggesting tips from the American Academy of Pediatrics:

• If you do not know how much your child weighs, check the label for the dose by age. Not all children’s medications can be given to all ages.

• The AAP urges parents and caregivers to call their pediatrician before giving OTC medicine to a child under age 2 or if their child is under 3 months old and has a fever.

• For liquid medicine, use the dosing cup, spoon, dropper or syringe that came with the medicine. If a tool is not provided with the medicine bottle or you need a new one, ask your pharmacist or doctor. Never use a kitchen spoon to measure medicine.

• Liquid medicine measurements may be on the label in milliliters (mL) and teaspoons. It is easier to measure the right amount with a dosing tool that uses milliliters.

• Tablets, pills and dissolve powders are measured in milligrams (mg).

• Each time you give your child medication, write down the time, amount and type of medicine.

 

What do pediatricians keep on hand to ease symptoms of colds and flu in their own children? Kelsey Borresen surveyed a handful of pediatricians and came up with a helpful list of 9 items parents can keep in their family’s “sick kit”:

1. Fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamin C

2. A cool mist humidifier

3. Children’s Tylenol, Advil or Motrin

4. Extra pillows [remember: no pillows allowed in cribs]

5. Honey  (Note that babies less than 1 year old should not consume honey because of the risk of infant botulism.)

6. Saline nasal spray and suction device

7. Chicken soup

8. Disinfectant wipes

9. A water bottle

 

Finally, it’s important to try and prevent transmission of contagious viruses. During the pandemic we’ve learned quite well how to reduce the spread of viruses in effective ways: using fist and elbow “bumps” instead of handshakes and high-fives, good hand washing, staying away from sick people and isolating from others when not feeling well (or at least wearing a face mask to stop sharing infectious germs with others). We know that flu vaccines, available for everyone 6 months and older, reduce the incidence and severity of influenza; COVID-19 vaccines greatly decrease the risk of the pandemic virus in kids 5 and up.

We’ve got a lot of tools at our disposal to keep our kids healthy and safe during cold and flu season, and to help parents avoid the inevitable “purple splatter.”

 

(Google Images)

 

source http://www.thepediablog.com/2021/12/14/chicken-soup-vs-purple-splatter/