What to do for a Cold?

"My nosy!  My nosy!  My little nosy hurts!"  So cries my two-year-old, now that we have all come down with a cold.  This is the first time since we began daily elderberry that the girls have been sick.  Normally, a cold would trigger a high fever in my older child and an even higher fever in my younger child.  Fortunately, they are fever-free.

But what to do about those stuffy, runny noses and the corresponding chapped faces?  How to help them breathe?

Traditionally, our medical advice has been to try children's cold medicines and antihistamines.  We have discovered, however, that with our younger daughter--the one with the acid-induced asthma--the use of antihistamines triggers stridor.  (This appears to be the case with both diphenhydramine, commonly known as Benadryl and loratadine, commonly known as Claritin.)  Plus, with the recent scandal of cold medicines and antihistamines not being suitable for children under the age of 4 or 6, I wanted to find something I could rely upon with confidence for children in their age group.  But having GERD is tricky, and several of the herbal remedies for cold and flu that are on the market specifically say avoid use in a child with acid reflux.

So what to do?

Today we switched from straight elderberry to Nature's Way Sambucus (Elderberry) for Kids.  In addition to the elderberry syrup, it also contains echinacea and propolis, products which boost the immune system and enable the body to fight viral infections more successfully.  While the straight elderberry is great for daily maintenance, the Sambucus for Kids is designed for more intense treatment during a period of illness.  So far, so good.  The girls like the flavor (of course) and are currently sleeping.  The ever-flowing fountains that were their noses seem to be slowing down.

Of course, I am also using beeswax chapstick and lavender/rosemary baby chest rub, and I would have been using a humidifier if it hadn't broken.  The truth of the matter is having a cold is miserable, particularly for small children whose sinuses are so tiny to begin with.  And my girls typically get knocked down with a cold for 8-14 days.  No fun for anyone!  Whatever I can do to help make them feel better is worth a try, and anything I can do to cut the duration of the cold in two is even better.  We'll see how the Sambucus for Kids works.  It may just turn out to be a Best Pick after all...