It's winter—time for coughs and colds to strike. There are a variety of over-the-counter symptom relievers available to help adults. But the Food and Drug

Administration recommends that parents NOT give young children antihistamines, decongestants, antitussins, and expectorants for symptoms of a common cold.

"No remedy—from the pharmacy or your home shelves—will make your child's cold go away faster," says George Phillips, MD, UI Children's Hospital physician.

"Medication only helps relieve symptoms so the cold is bearable, and even then, effective symptom relief is a 50-50 proposition. Generally, a cold will run its course in seven to 10 days."

What should you do to help your child feel better? The same things mothers have been doing for generations:

• Keep your child hydrated, don't use water with infants under six months
• Moisturize air with a vaporizer
• Use saline drops to help loosen thick nasal secretions
• Use a rubber nose bulb to clear up congestion
• Give acetaminophen or ibuprofen to help relieve your child's fever
• Use honey to help relieve your child's cough (not for children under 12 months of age)
• Apply petroleum jelly under your child's nose to prevent chapping
• Pudding, popsicles, gelatin, and ice cream can soothe a scratchy throat

Go to www.uihealthcare.com/familycare for information about the UI Family Care clinic nearest to you.

Parents should:

• Not give children medicine that is packaged and made for adults, use only products labeled for use with children
• Not give children medicine more often or in greater amounts than recommended
• Not use a kitchen teaspoon or tablespoon as a measure for a teaspoon of medicine
• Be sure your health care provider reviews and approves the use of over-the-counter medications for your child
• Stop giving your child medicine if your child doesn't improve or his condition worsens, and take your child to your health care provider for evaluation