how can we prevent cough and colds in toddlers

[lgf08]

doc @leletmd, thanks po.. okay na po sya, di naman natuloy ang ubo pero pupunta din sa pedia for monthly check-up..

[packsmom]

Plenty of water. Refrain fromgiving sweets lalo na pag paumpisa pa lang yung colds. Citrus fruits also help.

[leletmd]

^ Agree with increasing water intake.
With citrus fruits, avoid pulp bits that may induce coughing in kids with allergies. Lemon or kalamansi juice with a teaspoon of honey helps. Please note that honey should not be given to kids below 1 year of age due to risk of botulism poisoning.

@lgf08:
Glad to know your baby is already well.

[m_lim]

mag 1 year old na baby ko sa end of the month. may ubo at sipon siya ngayon.

pedia gave her Solmux drops for 7days. kaso 1 week na may ubo sipon parin. ano dapat gawin?

[leletmd]

^ Sometimes, even viral infections can last several weeks. I suggest you follow up with your pedia to see what else can be done to address the cough/colds.

[daveigh]

^^ sis m_lim, Nung nangyari yan sa baby ko, we were advised to give baby Klaz (antibiotic for viral & bacterial sya na meds). Better balik mo si baby sa pedia para ma-assess better.

Ang nangyari sa son ko kasi, nung unang araw na inubo sya, Mucosolvan lang din na pambaby ang pinainom kasi wala syang lagnat. Pero niresetahan na rin nya kami ng Klaz just in case he gets fever later or umabot ng 1 week ang ubo. Nataon kasi mag-undas na nun so wala syang clinic. Since may reseta na kami binili na namin yung Klaz, and after 2 days ok na si baby. I forgot the dosage, pero its administered 2x a day.

[leletmd]

^ Sorry just need to clarify that Klaz is not an anti-viral medication. It is an antibiotic and antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections.

[cerelina]

My daughter just turned 1, pero two weeks na may sipon pa rin sya nilagnat sya twice 1st is last week before her birthday nawala din and 2nd last night around 38°c tapos nawala din agad. Pero until now hindi nawawala yunh sipon yung consistency naman is clear pag natutuyo color white na. Sorry for tmi...

[sky_butterfly17]

My turning 3y/o son started cough without phlegm yesterday. We started to give him mucosolvan 3x a a day and allerkid 2x a day. This morning when he wakes up his cough is parang dry cough na. I suspect it is a asmathic cough na.

[ilovejdy]

my nephew used to get sick all the time na umabot pa sa naospital siya
he turned 2 last november, pedia switched his vitamin to cherifer immunomax,
we noticed na mas okay na siya, less sakit..kaso hyper naman.
pero siguro kasi nasa terrible 2's na kasi siya

[daveigh]

^ Sorry just need to clarify that Klaz is not an anti-viral medication. It is an antibiotic and antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections.

sorry too but its what i read on their website:

www.unilab.com.ph/consumers/products/klaz-125-mg-5ml-suspension/

as i read on their site, it looks like a wide spectrum product.

anyways, i just want to emphasize to have their kids checked before giving meds like Klaz.

[leletmd]

^ Clarithromycin is a broad spectrum antibiotic. It belongs to the macrolide family of antibiotics and when we say, antibiotics, it refers to anti-bacterial medications. It is also used as an anti-ulcer medication to treat H. pylori infections. It is used as a second line treatment for Tb, but it should not be used as an anti-viral nor anti-fungal medication. For one thing, viral infections resolve on its' own, albeit, it might take weeks to months before a viral infection resolves. Second, over use or improper use of antibiotics predispose to fungal infections and using antibiotics to treat fungal infections will just lead to an overgrowth of fungi. Not to mention the fact that use of clarithromycin with anti-fungal medications carries the risk of serious drug interaction effects like increasing the blood levels of both meds.

http://www.webmd.com/drugs/mono-8223-CLARITHROMYCIN+SUSPENSION+-+ORAL.aspx?drugid=5030&drugname=Clarithromycin+Oral&source=0

http://www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements/clarithromycin-oral-route/description/DRG-20067672

As stated in both websites:
"This antibiotic treats only bacterial infections. It will not work for viral infections (such as common cold, flu). Unnecessary use or misuse of any antibiotic can lead to its decreased effectiveness."

This one is about proper use of antibiotics for upper respiratory tract infections:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/814533?nlid=39623_2046&src=wnl_edit_medn_peds&uac=68318SK&spon=9

"Effective use of antibiotics to treat pediatric upper respiratory tract infections (URIs) rests on 3 basic principles: accurate diagnosis, consideration of risks vs benefits, and recognizing when antibiotics may be contraindicated, according to a clinical report by the Committee on Infectious Diseases of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)."

A study on effect of parental pressure on clinicians decision on whether or not to prescribe antibiotics:

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/711918

Anyway, my main point here is that even if there is prolonged cough, it doesn't mean that there is a need to give antibiotics. Most viral infections take a long time to resolve and it does resolves on its' own, even without intervention.
Just because a cough takes a long time to resolve doesn't mean it's because of an infection, either. There are non - infectious causes of prolonged cough such as allergies and reflux.
The best thing to do is to have your doctor evaluate your baby or child to determine the cause of the prolonged cough before self medicating or giving meds suggested by family members, friends or neighbors.
 

@sky_butterfly17:
If your child is asthmatic, the use of mucolytics such as mucosolvan or solmux will lead to exacerbation of his asthma since it dries out the secretions without addressing the inflammation or opening up the airways.
Please bring your child to the pedia for better management of his cough.

[Princess_Chill]

My daughter had prolonged cough last December.

on the 1st week I let her took Lagundi so 1 week has passed and nothing happened.

We are out of town that is why we are not able to send her to her pedia..

so after the lagundi we bought ventolin expectorant...nothing happened..

actually inuubo lang si daughter pag dating ng medaling araw but not during the day....nothing happened even with ventolin...

afterwards we let her see her pedia and said that wala naman daw naririnig sa lungs and the coughing is due to allergy because of the weather.  after 1 week of taking alnix and I forgot the other drug ok naman na siya...

[lgf08]

doc lelet, ask ko [textspeak!] po sana ano po stand ng mga pedia dito sa atin about cough and cold meds.. marami po kasi ako nababasa na ang mga cough and cold meds ay not to be given for children under 4 years of age, sample po ang CDC at NHS links sa baba..
http://www.cdc.gov/features/pediatriccoldmeds/
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Cough/Pages/Treatment.aspx

thanks po in advance..

[leletmd]

^ Current FDA regulation is not to give certain cough and cold meds to kids below 2 years of age, which is why some cold medicines were pulled out of the market and some were relabeled as for kids above 2 years of age.
Yes, there are special cases wherein we give cough and cold meds. There are also anti-histamines formulated for kids 6 months and above.
Bottomline is please bring your kids to their pedias so that they can be examined prior to giving meds.

[contented]

hello po, pasensiya na po sa question ko pero saan po ba nakakabili ng oregano?my cough kasi baby ko now

[leletmd]

^ If oregano plant, you can buy from local garden shops, the ones which sell herbal plants. Best pa rin to ask your pedia for advice before giving any meds, synthetic or herbal, to your baby.

[ms_ldr]

if my daughter coughs alone or together with clogged nose is due to some sort of allergies. maraming factors minsan maalikabok sa areadnya or mahangin sa labas, change of weather. meron na sya gamot na anti-histamine. after few days of taking it mawawala na yun. then she will stop na, ayaw ko kasi masanay sya dun. while she was younger, ang vitamins nya ay ceeline and cherifer and later on naging cherifer immunox, mas fit with her allergies issues.

I remember lang nung mga less than 2 yrs old pa lang mga daughters ko, ayaw ng doctor na magbigay ng gamut para sa simple coughs and colds. kapag prolong na yung case saka lang sila mag bibigay ng gamut with some test.

i just noticed na madaling mag catch ng sakit ang mga bata kapag laging puyat. at shempre kapag mahina ang resistensya.

[EJ2526]

Mga sis may colds and 2 weeks old baby ko. Dinala ko sya sa pedia nya kahapon then he prescribed solvamin and cefalexin. 3x a day for 1 week. Napainom ko na sya isang beses kaninang umaga. Ngayon napapaisip tuloy ako if ok lang ba na inumin niya yun? Worried lang po.

[pinkpotato]

^ super baby pa, only two weeks old. do you breastfeed? hirap na ba sya talaga sa cough nya?
im sure it's fine your baby takes them, pedia prescribed so surely okay yun.

I replied because I remember my baby when we went to the PH, pagdating dun, nagka URTI ako. i lost my voice and coughing bad. i have an almost 3 months old baby who eventually had runny then stuffy nose and occasional cough. but i was confident it wouldn't escalate because im breastfeeding (part time) and nag high alert kaming lahat sa house. bawal ang too cold room, bawal din ang mainit. kailangan dry lagi ang likod, if we clean her up it would be very very fast. comfortable clothes, bawal ang ipasa pasa si baby, if im away only yaya holds her lang and all those stuff plus of course, prayers. i asked everyone to pray with us din. haha. so ayun, naka uwi pa kami ng province for 5 days, back in MNL for 1 day the fly home to SG, sa awa ng Diyos nawala naman yun in time - i didn't give her any meds

ingat ingat ingat and maraming ingat. i think aside from vitamins, good food, exercise, pag iingat is the key maiwasan mga sakit ng mga bata. bahala na sabihan ka maarte kasi pag nagkasakit naman si mommy lang naman sasakit ulo at mahirapan mag alaga and of course kawawa bata.