Common Cold
What are the symptoms?
Generally with a common cold you can have a runny nose, sore throat, nasal congestion (mucus in the nasal cavity), cough, feeling tired and “yucky”
What can we do to help treat common cold?
If you have a headache or body aches: Use pain medicines such as ibuprofen, Naproxen
If you have a Stuffy nose: Nasal decongestant sprays (one brand: Afrin) may help you breathe better through your nose. Pay careful attention to the dosing instructions on the package. You shouldn't use it for more than three days or your stuffy nose could get worse.
Vitamin C is known to prevent colds, however once it starts, your cold will run its course, but still worth a try to help it go away faster.
Controversial, but I personally think it works well, Pelargonium sidoides, there are various brands for this.
This is Pelargonium sidoides, works well especially when used early
Probiotics are showing some research that they help with common colds.
Do I need antibiotics?
Generally no, colds are generally caused by viruses. Viruses are organisms that enter the cell and replicate inside the cell. Antibiotics are not able to kill viruses.
How about for my kids?
We don’t recommend that children get over the counter medications for colds.
Safe and effective options include
Honey (for children one year and older) mainly for cough
2.5 ml to 5 ml at bedtime works well, dont use less than 1 year of age
- Over-the-counter pain medicines such as acetaminophen (one brand: Children's Tylenol) and ibuprofen (one brand: Children's Motrin) can help with fever and discomfort. Refer to the package insert for dosing instructions
- Nasal saline irrigation for stuffy nose
- Intranasal Ipratropium for stuffy nose
- Topical application of ointment containing camphor, menthol, and eucalyptus oils, for stuffy nose and cough
- Pelargonium sidoides (one brand: Umcka Coldcare) may help with cough and can help your child breathe better through the nose