Children are very much vulnerable towards infections like cough and cold and the situation becomes worse during the time when the season changes. In such cases, it is quite obvious that the parents will rush to the doctors for those over-the-counter remedies. However, studies have shown that these cold and cough medicines are very much ineffective in case of children younger than six years. In fact, these medications can also lead to some serious side effects like convulsions and rapid heart beat. But you don’t need to worry as there are several natural remedies which can help you out. Not only these remedies are very effective but also they are easily available.
1. Chicken soup has proved to be a good remedy
Most people think that this is some another old fashioned remedy which stands nowhere in front of the modern day medicines, but this is not true, it has many merits of its own. Even studies and researches have shown that chicken soup is very effective when it comes to easing the symptoms of infections in the respiratory tract. Make your child have at least a sip even if he isn’t very hungry.
2. Make him have some honey
Honey is definitely one of the best home remedies for treating coughs. In fact, studies have proved it to be more effective than the medicines. There are several ways by which you can give honey to your child. For instance, you can put it into some non-caffeinated herbal tea or mix it with a little warm water. You can even give it to him straight and your child is certainly going to love its sweetness.
3. Saline nose drops
This is an excellent remedy that can help in opening up the blocked nasal passages, thus your child can breathe easily. However, certain sprays contain medications and therefore, you need to make a distance from them, otherwise the symptoms will worsen or some other side may arise.
4. Cool mist humidifier
Children suffering from cough often feel congestion and difficulty in breathing. The best way to relieve your child from such discomforts is to increase the humidity in his room. This can be achieved with the help of cool mist humidifier. However, you need to take care of one thing, the humidifier must be clean in order to prevent germ build up.
5. Fluids
Next thing that you must do is to make sure that your children stay hydrated and sufficient amount of fluids are present in his body. Give them whatever they are accustomed to drinking. For younger babies, it is recommended to stick to breast milk. Oral electrolyte solution such as Pedialyte are designed especially for infants, so you can even give it to your younger ones. Try water, milk and diluted juice for babies older than 12 months. Quite often you’ll hear that milk must not be given to children suffering from cold and coughs as it promotes mucus building, however, this is nothing more than a misconception as no evidence has been found against it, till date.
6. Make sure he is getting sufficient amount of rest
Finally, you need to make sure that your child is getting sufficient amount of rest. This is very important as a body which is well rested will be better able to fight off an infection. You must limit his stimulating activities like playing video games or watching movies. You can encourage him to take rest by making some little efforts like darkening the room and playing some soothing music. You can even try giving him some massage, all these small things will do the trick for you.
