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Wednesday, October 8, 2008
No cough meds under 4, no kids opening microwaves, and fans can prevent SIDS
I have a round up of health news for you guys today. Can you make it through the winter with no cough meds for little kids? Hopefully, the kids weren’t getting stuff from the microwave anyway and fans can help protect our smallest babies.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Drug companies agree to mark cough and cold meds as “NOT for kids under 4”
The Associated Press reports: “Don’t give over-the-counter cold remedies to kids under 4, drug companies said Tuesday. What sniffling little ones need, doctors said, are plenty of fluids and lots of tender, loving care.”
” ‘The best thing a parent can do is comfort their children,’ said Dr. Laura Herrera, a Baltimore family practitioner and mother of two. ‘Keeping them as comfortable as possible is certainly better than giving cough and cold medicines.’ ”
“In a concession to pediatricians, who doubt the drugs do much good for children and worry about risks, the companies that make over-the-counter remedies like Dimetapp and Pediacare announced they had changed their advice to parents for the second cold season in a row.”
“Besides recommending against cold medicines off drugstore and grocery shelves, the companies say not to give antihistamines to kids to help them sleep. The new instructions are on packages that started hitting stores this week.”
I’ve never been a big fan of giving kids any type of pseuphedrine. It always just seems to whack them out. However, I do use Children’s Robutussin (just the plain one or the DM) to help stop coughing at night. (Not with the baby but with the older two.) We use the humidifier, have those pectin pops and use honey to also help soothe throats, but I think sometimes you need something a little stronger. I’m not a doctor but cough medicines do seem to work in kids. I’m a little bit baffled by them saying they don’t. On a side note: I hope this doesn’t include Zyrtec at all. My kids are living off of that stuff for their allergies! I do believe that stuff works!
What have you guys found? Do you think cold and cough meds do work for kids 2 to 4? Will you stop using them in that age range? What about specifically cough meds?
Other stories for your consideration:
Children frequently get burned by opening microwaves (the steam escapes onto their hands) and when they remove hot liquids and foods from them (spill the hot liquids on themselves.) Some parents think microwaves are safer for kids to use than a stove but doctors are stressing that is not so! The group is recommending that children under 5 do not operate a microwave.
My 5-year-old kept trying to use the microwave, and I kept telling him the stuff inside of it was too hot for him to touch and to please never open it. One afternoon he decided he could use the toaster oven. He heated himself a waffle and burned his hand (a tiny spot) getting it out. I must have been nursing the baby because I didn’t see it happen. I found him afterwards and took care of the little burn. Since then he hasn’t messed with the microwave or the toaster oven. He wouldn’t believe me until he experienced it for himself!
Do you let your kids operate the microwave? What age is appropriate to let them use the microwave? (The group says after 5, but I think that is too young!)
Using fans in a baby’s room can cut SIDS dramatically
The Wall Street Journal reports: “Using a fan while a baby is sleeping appears to significantly cut the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS, according to new research.”
“Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif., compared 185 babies who died from SIDS in 11 California counties between May 1, 1997 and April 30, 2000, with 312 normal infants from similar socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds living in the same counties. Mothers were asked several questions about fan use, pacifier use, room location, sleep surface, the type of covers over the baby, bedding under the infant, room temperature and whether a window was open.”
“The study, which is being published in the October issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, found that using a fan cut the risk of SIDS by 72%. The use of a fan in a room with a temperature higher than 69 degrees Fahrenheit was associated with a 94% decreased risk of SIDS compared with no fan use.”
I wish this said whether it means a ceiling fan, a fan on the ground or crib height, or a fan in the window. There’s lot of different types of fans!
Did you ever use a fan in your baby’s room? Would you make a point to use a fan now since it is such a dramatic decrease of risk?
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