Baby Cold Medication is Not Needed for Your Child to Cure from the Flu

When a baby coughs up a cold due to colds, usually a parent or caregiver will immediately panic to deal with it. Baby colds medicine is then used as a practical solution to stop the suffering of the Little One. Although it is driven by good intentions, the fact is, giving a cold medicine for babies is not a recommended choice. Moreover, if the drug is a cold medicine that is sold freely on the market. For babies, especially those aged two years and under, cold medicines can have serious side effects. No half-hearted, the lives of babies at stake.

Can I Give Medication for Reducing Heat?

Keep in mind, actually influenza virus infection that causes your child to catch a cold cough can improve by itself in approximately 5-7 days. So baby colds are not always needed. In infants who have the flu and fever, it is still permissible to give heat-lowering drugs. Actually, a mild fever in infants is a sign that your baby's body is trying to fight the virus. Provision of pain medication, such as paracetamol, aims to reduce the discomfort caused by fever when the baby has the flu. However, do not expect that the flu will recover, because heat-lowering drugs are not intended to eradicate the flu virus. The common cold will subside after a few days. What should be considered by parents or caregivers is regarding administering these fever-reducing drugs and the age of the baby. If your child is under three months old, then paracetamol or the like is not recommended to be given, because the dosage guidelines can be confusing. Consult your pediatrician first so that you can get the right dose. Another heat reliever that can be selected is ibuprofen. However, this type of drug should only be given to babies aged six months or more. However, it should be noted that even if the baby is over six months old, do not give this medicine if your child is dehydrated, has an upset stomach, or prolonged vomiting. This drug is not an over-the-counter medicine, so it should only be given on a doctor's prescription.

What should be done?

Instead of giving baby colds, the following actions are suggested to parents when their baby has the flu:

• Relieve your child's fever

If Little is only 3 months old or younger and has a fever, parents or caregivers are advised to contact a doctor immediately. Do not just give antipyretics which are sold without the advice of a doctor. If in doubt, contact your doctor to ensure the right dose of administration.

• Give drinks to prevent dehydration

It is important to maintain baby's body fluids, no matter what the age of the child. For infants younger than four months, only breast milk or formula is needed, not other liquids. If your baby is four months or older, you can add a little water other than breast milk. What about fruit juice? Juice diluted with water may be given to the baby on condition that he is over six months old.

• Make your child feel comfortable

So that the baby's breathing is better when experiencing colds, try to make Little Sleep with the head slightly higher position. To facilitate this position, place several towels between the head and the mattress. But do not position your head too high because it actually risks disrupting the baby's airway. This risks causing Little to experience sudden death due to difficulty breathing. To help your little one sleep and rest more comfortably, Mother can give a gentle massage or play soft music so that your little one can rest better.

• Relieve nasal congestion

When you have a cold, the most disturbing thing is nasal congestion. So that the baby is not too tormented with nasal congestion, doctors recommend using nasal aspirators or nasal sprays that contain salt. This is expected to relieve the throat from the mucus flow and cleanse the nose from snot.

• Make a warm steam room

Parents can also put warm water in the tub or turn on the hot shower in the bathroom. It is recommended to reduce the difficulty of the baby's nose breathing when the flu. Accompany the Little One sitting in the bathroom for about 15 minutes. This is done so that babies who have colds can breathe warm steam that fills the room.

• Maintain cleanliness and air quality

You can also use a humidifier to maintain humidity and air quality. So that your child can rest comfortably, while preventing worsening symptoms, it is recommended not to smoke or use air freshener in the house. This can damage the baby's respiratory tract and make it short of breath.

Although baby colds are not recommended, contacting a doctor is recommended, especially if the baby has a fever with temperatures above 38 degrees Celsius. Infants who do not want to eat and drink, cough that does not heal for more than three weeks, are weak, and have signs of dehydration are also advised to be taken to the doctor. In addition, your child also needs doctor's help if the baby's lips look blue, ears hurt, and the baby has difficulty breathing with wheezing.