Cough and Cold

Hi Manju, could you share the age of your child. Since allopathic medication does not seem to have worked for your li'l girl, you probably need to try other remedies, such as using a steamer / vaporizer which could melt away the cough while the child sleeps. A concotion of honey, basil leaves and warm water is also helpful in easing cold and cough, and is without any side effects. This could also be a seasonal allergy which tends to subside once the seasonal change is over. I know a friend who gives her 4 year old ginger juice mixed with honey to relieve cough. Though we need to be patient with home remedies, they work for most people, including kids. From my own experience, I have seen that after a course of antibiotics, the cold and cough take their own time to slowly disappear.

Hi Manju. My daughter too has the same issue all year round. She is 3. 5years old. We have been facing this cough and cold problem since the time she was one year old. We have now reached a stage where we do not give her any medicines. Initially we used to give her cough drops as prescribed by the pediatrician but it never helped and on one occasion she was diagnosed with pneumonia. We were then told by the doctors at the hospital that most cough medicines are suppressants and do not cure the cough only makes it disappear for a while. Now all I do is rub vicks on her chest and back at bedtime, give her lots of chicken soup, hot rasam to drink and use the humidifier at night so as the help ease the congestion.

Like Neetu suggested, I did try giving her little ginger juice with honey but she did not like it and will not have it now at any cost. But both ginger juice and honey are known to sooth an irritated throat, so may work for your daughter. Good luck :)

Try tulsi leaves juice with honey. This has worked for both me and my daughter numerous times. I have always avoided cough syrups as they have side effects and are definitely not good. However a word of caution, a persistent cough and cold may indicate some other problem like bronchitis etc. Please get her checked in a hospital.

Hi Neetu, Anurima and Payal, thank u so much for replying on this blog.

My daughter is just 3 months old, and even i've tried home remedies like boiled tulsi leaves with oova seeds, but all in vain, i think i will try the steam/vaporizer idea let me see if it works

Oh,shes so little Manju. In that case, may I suggest one more thing which worked for my daughter when she was a baby.. I used to rub a tiny bit of vicks vaporub on her feet at bedtime and used to cover them up with socks. It seemed to help with her cough. I dint use it anywhere else on her body as vicks is not recommended for children below 2 years of age, but I had found this tip on the internet and tried it. I still do it now and shes almost 4 years! But please make sure to use only a tiny amount on the feet. Also since she is so little, do get her rechecked by the doctor in case the cough and cold persists, like Payal suggested.

thats a teenie veenie lil girl, we need to handle with much care.. tc

lets see if vicks can kick cough out of my lil ones body... thanks once again anurima and Neetu.

Rubbing Vicks on the feet is very helpful, specially for the night coughing.

You can also try massaging her chest and back with Garlic & Ajma burnt in Mustard oil. Do it 3-4 times a day. It would help melting the cough. You can also give her 3-4 drops of Ginger juice with Honey. All this has helped both my children (4yrs & 1 yr). Apply little Eucalyptus oil on their clothes. The smell of this oil helps opening the blocked nose. Hope any of these tips help. :)

Eucalyptus oil is a good idea. My daughter is 3 yrs old and she too is been havin a cough problem for some time. I rub vicks on her chest and back everyday and it really helps with the congestion. Also put a lil tumeric in her milk to ease the coughin.

Eucalyptus oil is a good idea. My daughter is 3 yrs old and she too is been havin a cough problem for some time. I rub vicks on her chest and back everyday and it really helps with the congestion. Also put a lil tumeric in her milk to ease the coughin.