The Dangers of Cough Syrup for Children

There are concerns about using antihistamine cough syrups in children under the age of 2 may not be a wise thing this is because a recent report by the CDC that over the last two years three children all less than six months of age and another 1500 children under the age of two had serious complications due to the use of cough medications the three children less than six months of age died and the other 1500 children required emergency medical treatment directly linked to the use of these medications.

The most dangerous constituent of these medications is a medication called Sudafedren a very commonly used nasal decongestant. This medication can lead to serious harmful effects in children especially under the age of six months. One of the biggest side effects is that it increases the heart rate and can lead to abnormalities of the heart rhythm. Another problem is that some of these children under the age of six months cannot metabolize these medications quite so easily so the level of medication will accumulate in the bloodstream very rapidly since they cannot clear from the bloodstream as effectively as older children.

Another problem with antihistamines is that they can cause drowsiness and as much as we want help our children sleep on their feeling sick having them go to sleep when their sick may actually mask a much more serious illness. So if a child has a high fever if their sick they should always see their Physician for good evaluation before giving any type of medication whether it be over the counter or otherwise.

We have to always balance the risk of the medication with the risk of what we are treating whether we're treating a viral infection whether were look looking to bring down a fever in a child. These problems cause very minor problems to the child and for the most part merely require us to give supportive care, fluids and lots of love and time. The risks of the medication clearly outweigh the risks of the disease is we're trying to treat.

Fevers is a normal part of a bodies reaction to infections and so most fevers just need to be monitored and observed. We do not need to rigorously lower every fever in a child as fevers get elevated maybe more than 102.5 then we can treat the fever to help the child and become more comfortable. Always keep in mind that the fever is a symptom of something going on to treat the fever without treating the underlying problem will not do the child any good and may in fact set the child up for much more serious complications later on.

A fever in a child less than three months of age is an entirely different story because younger children have a much more difficulty handling infections their immune systems are not fully developed yet and the symptoms of much more serious problems are harder to detect. It is recommended that any child less than three months of age with any fever the pediatrician should be contacted and the child should be evaluated to be certain that a more serious problem is not developing.