I Say NO To Cough Syrup and Here's What I Do Instead

I was typing another blog post when a Facebook notification popped up. It was from a mom group I follow where a mom was asking if it was ok to give her 18month old daughter Benadryl Syrup (an antihistamine Diphenhydramine) for her cough. It was a popular thread because a lot of moms wanted to know the right answer.

When this first showed on my news feed, I could not help but add a comment. I had recently been re-reading on cough medicine for infants because my daughter seem to be clearing her throat a little too often. One thing that stuck to me: it is not recommend for infants 2 years old and below to take any form of cough medication, Diphenhydramine included. 

On the concerned mom's post, the medicine was given to them by the Health Worker in their Barangay Center. She already gave a dose to her child as instructed. Afterwards, she noticed this warning: Not Recommended For Children Below 2 Years Of Age

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) "reminds all caregivers never to give a child under two years of age any kind of cough and cold product containing decongestants or antihistamines, without seeking the advice of a healthcare provider.  These cough and cold products include those that contain the decongestants ephedrine, pseudoephedrine, or phenylephrine, and the antihistamines diphenhydramine, brompheniramine, or chlorpheniramine."

Even if it says you can consult your pediatrician and they can maybe provide the 'right' dosage for your child, please do not risk it. Research says that for the cough medicine to really work, the dosage needed is way too much to be fatal to your young child. Most moms would argue that these decongestants and antihistamines worked wonder for their child, as noted on that facebook thread. To a certain extent, they do. Cough syrups and antihistamines make you sleepy. A sick child needs their rest for the body to be able to do its work in fighting off the virus. These medicines causes drowsiness so your child gets that deep sleep (and so do you) which can do wonders to the weary body.

I confess that at about 11 months, I gave Mila Alnix Plus (Cetirizine + Phenylephrine HCI). It was given by her pedia for her allergic rhinitis. I did not even noticed the active ingredient Phenylephrine because we had been using Alnix before (Cetrizine Dihydrocholride). The Plus made the difference and the label says so too. I guess that's also the danger of cough medicine. It is very too common to misread or completely ignore the label and dosage. In fact, according to FDA.gov, cough medicines is one of the top causes of accidental overdose for children.

With that said, I say no to cough syrup and here's what I do instead - I go for natural treatment. I had found that there are alternative, more effective ways on treating your infants cough. My daughter is 19months now. Last week when she had cough, it only lasted for 2 days. That morning I first heard her coughing, I gave her a teaspoon of pure honey that I mix with a few drops of calamsi (or lemon if available) juice. She loved the  natural sweetness of honey  so it wasn't too hard to have her drink her 'medicine'. I only did this once every morning, right before breakfast. No more cough on the third day but we continued giving her the honey concoction for the full week. 

Honey from the groceries are rarely pure so I really request my mom to get a bottle for us everytime she goes to Tagaytay. Hubs and I also use honey for our morning tea so we don't mind having lots of it. Besides, good quality pure honey will never go stale. Parents are given warning not to give honey to babies less than a year old because it can cause a rare disease called infant botulism which can be fatal. As soon as Mila turned one, I started giving her small amounts of honey. A pea sized drop just to test and make sure she would not have any problems. She didn't, hooray! We love using honey instead if sugar so I'll be disappointed if my little girl would not be able to take advantage of this very nutritious liquid gold. 

Mila only had a couple episodes of having cough within her one year. Since honey was not an option for us then, we rely on double dose of vitamin C. instead of the normal 2.5ml/day her pedia recommended to give it twice a day. At night, to her her sleep better, we make sure that the upper part of her body is elevated. We co-sleep so it's easy for me to monitor her. We also use Giga Cold Rub which works wonders on making her breath better. And we top everything off with lots and lots of water! 

Oh, I also remember that when I was younger, my mom and aunt gives us sisters Oregano or Ampalaya. But I guess that is for older kids. I'm not sure my Mila can take that yet. We might try it though if her cough is accompanied by a really nasty, thick mucous since these are the best expectorant I've taken so far.

How about you mommies, how do you treat your little child's cough? Do you still use cough medicine for your little one? Or do you prefer natural remedies? Please share!