First of all, it should be clear that all cold medicines are used to relieve symptoms and cannot shorten the course of a cold. By relieving symptoms, the purpose is to make children feel less uncomfortable. In other words, as long as their mental state is normal and they have some cold symptoms, they don't need to take medicine.
The common symptoms of children's colds are fever, body aches, stuffy nose, sneezing and coughing. Cold medicines are mainly divided into the following categories for the above symptoms, and parents can choose according to their children's symptoms.
First, antipyretics, ibuprofen and acetaminophen are the most commonly chosen antipyretics. It is recommended that children with fever below 38 degrees 5 do not need to take medicine. If it exceeds 38 degrees 5, you can choose one of the above two antipyretics, ibuprofen and acetaminophen, and at the same time you can relieve the whole body pain caused by a cold. If the child is accompanied by mental decline and lethargy during the fever, he should seek medical advice in time.
Another common symptom of a cold is stuffy nose and runny nose. At this time, a cold medicine containing pseudoephedrine is needed to constrict blood vessels and relieve stuffy nose and runny nose.
The symptoms of sneezing when catching a cold are caused by allergies. At this time, the component to be selected is chlorpheniramine or diphenhydramine, which has anti-allergic effect.
Another common symptom in the process of catching a cold is cough, which often affects children's sleep. Common antitussive ingredients in the market are dextromethorphan and codeine. Parents should be reminded that although codeine has a good antitussive effect, it is addictive and must not be given to children. Many cough syrups and cough granules contain codeine, so parents should be optimistic about the formula when choosing cough medicine for their children. Another thing to note is that cough can be divided into two types: phlegm and no phlegm. If you have a dry cough without phlegm, you can choose antitussive drugs. If you have phlegm, don't just choose antitussive drugs, but choose some expectorants.
Finally, once again, all cold medicines only relieve symptoms and cannot shorten the course of disease. Therefore, parents must choose the appropriate cold medicine according to the symptoms of their children's colds, and do not use it repeatedly, so as to avoid side effects and harm their children's health. And most cold medicines are caused by viruses, and antibiotics have no effect. Don't give your child antibiotics during a cold, such as cephalosporins and amoxicillin.