A parent’s task can become difficult when their child gets sick. Why are they sick? What’s the treatment? Should I give them medication? When should they go to the doctor? The emergency room? This all sounds very daunting, especially for new parents, but there are places to turn for help before running off to the emergency room.

While there are many common ailments a child goes through, from tummy aches to constipation and more, a cold or cough may be the most common. If you can clearly decide that the illness is not serious, there are things you can do to help your child including choices that do not include medications. Either way, the goal is to make your child feel better.

The “cold season” means many a child suffering from a stuffy nose or congested sinuses. There are options to use before medicating. Consider, for example, the benefit of including a bit of spice with his or her food which can loosen and clear nasal passages. A stubborn cough can be eased by giving your child gum or a lollipop to build up saliva and prevent the onset of the cough; this is for older children, not babies. Cutting out milk and dairy products will help to reduce mucus build-up in the throat, as will the bit of spice we added to the food earlier.

Eventually, you may need to turn to medication to treat the symptoms of colds and coughs. While over-the-counter (OTC) medications can be purchased at grocery stores and pharmacies without prescription, that does not mean they are harmless. OTC medication, taken improperly, can be very dangerous for a child. At the same time, they can be very helpful in dealing with difficult symptoms. A general guideline to follow is to give the least amount of medication possible — follow instructions, but first, choose the right medicine. If it is just a runny nose, don’t include a cough suppressant and fever reducer.

Choosing the right OTC medicine can be daunting when you see the hundreds of possibilities: there are more than 600 such products for colds and coughs on the Canadian market — how do you choose the one you need?

Despite the massive product variety, there are really only four active ingredient groups: decongestants (D), antihistamines, expectorants (E), cough suppressants (DM). Already simpler, isn’t it? Choose the medication that will treat the symptoms you have identified, no more. Having more ingredients means exposing your child to more side effects, and spending a bit more for ingredients you did not need. Why do that?

When your child is sick, it can be difficult to decide what to do. Fortunately, there is ready help available before you run to the doctor, clinic or emergency room. A ready reference is the BC Health Guide which was distributed to every household in BC a few years ago. It provides excellent and clear information on a wide range of medical and health topics. It is also available online at <www.bchealthguide.org>.

If the Health Guide is not enough, or if you cannot find it, consider calling NurseLine, a 24-hour, toll-free contact directly to a Registered Nurse specially trained to provide confidential health information by phone (call 1-866-215-4700, any time). Other excellent online sources of information include Health Canada at <www.hc-sc.gc.ca> and the BC HealthFiles at <www.healthservices.gov.bc.ca/hlthfile>.

A sick child is already difficult to accept, but with this information and ready help, the challenge of helping them to feel and get better just got a bit less daunting. Maybe we should also prescribe a few hugs, too…

— 30 —

Call-out:
“Despite the massive product variety, there are really only four active ingredient groups”