Cough meds for infants?

[SoonerTexan]

Is there anything you can safely give an 11 month old for a cough. It is half waking her up every 5 minutes and she is miserably crying and thrashing until she falls asleep and we repeat the process 5-10 min later. We both need sleep!!!!!

[moonlight]

Seems like DD had to be 2 yrs old before they would me give her anything. does a humidifier help?

[SoonerTexan]

No. Ugh I'm over this

[Michele]

As far as I know there isn't anything recommended. I used to try to hold them upright and sleep in a rocker holding them. After a year old I use a small amount of honey. And after 4 you can use OTC cough syrups or Benadryl.

But as young as she is, just holding upright and comfort, nursing PRN.

[Pollyanna]

Yes, humidifier and keeping her upright. Do you still have a swing? She might get some sleep in that. You could also try dark chocolate. Someone posted a link to a study about it helping with coughs on Suzy Sunshines Facebook page and it actually helped dd3 today. It needs to be about a half an ounce of dark chocolate.

[ladymoreta]

Ooh, that's great, Pollyanna! I'll have to remember that!

[SoonerTexan]

I'll have to try the chocolate. She eventually got about 4 hours of decent sleep, but started up again around 6. I tried rocking her, but it was just the coughing that would wake her up and she was half asleep, so she would just get frustrated and thrash because she was tired. I hope tonight is better. That was awful.

[SuzySunshine]

We got this on my sister's rec: Similasan Kids Cold & Mucus Relief Syrup

It worked well and its all natural. Good luck, coughing is almost worst them puking IMO.

[diggitydot]

Apple juice is a natural expectorant.

[GrayMatterWife]

FWIW...

I may be the least-protective, most "rules? Screw the rules...neurotic doctors" mom out there. I mean, I have not been above dipping the tip of the pacifier in a nip of brandy to quiet an inconsolable child.

But...I would be super-duper careful about cough syrup and kids below the recommended age. Not because of the whole "your baby is going to OD and die" stuff. Because of the coloring. Even AFTER meeting the recommended age, my son had horrible, weird re-ax to the dyes in cough syrup. I guess if you can find a clear one... but I'd steer away.

[GrayMatterWife]

Oh, and completely unrelated to the infant cough thing...another "DON'T DO THAT!" to your kid...learned by me the hard way...

I was trying to do something special for DS (8yrs) on Monday. He was home sick with chest congestion. It was the first sick day he'd had in forever, and he was really down. So, I went to the drug store to buy him some little hard candies to suck on, to help hold down the hacking.

I THOUGHT I was being the thoughtful mom. I never buy candy and I don't baby the kids when they are sick. But I wanted to lift his spirits. He looked so down.

And, I thought I was being the "good" mom...by buying sugar-free. Even though they were more expensive.

What I didn't realize is that, the sugar substitute in those hard candies (unlike, for example, in diet soda pop) can act as a LAXATIVE! Zero idea. Only after DS got seizing, horrible tummy problems did my husband ask me, "What kind of candy did you give him? It wasn't sugar-free, was it?" He told me to check the package contents label, and there it was: a warning about a potential laxative side-effect.

He ate HALF THE BAG. Which equalled seven servings.

((SOB!!!)) I made him feel a 1000 times worse. **bad mommy!**

[SoonerTexan]

Target makes dye free kid medicines FYI for anyone looking.

I decided against the chocolate. The coughing is only an issue at night and I'd end up with a non coughing, but wired kid!! Especially with dark chocolate!

DD I knew there was a reason we got a free container of apple juice at the store yesterday

SS do you know if that syrup is available at reg stores?

Unless things drastically improve we are going to the ped tomorrow to rule out strep and anything serious

[SuzySunshine]

DH found it yesterday at CVS, my sister said she got hers at Walgreens.

[SoonerTexan]

Oh good! I had just left sprouts when I read your post!

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

I've found dye free Tylenol at target so I know they have it in their brand.