Hello
My son is 18 months old and has a severe cough and running nose.has not eaten anything since yesterday.Please advice what to do.Any home remedies? aks replied. I have saved one of hetal' s posts...here it goes...

Date: 2007-10-08
1. if you are talking about the weather change that effects ur child health with cold,coughs or virals that last for only 1week, resulting further to bacterial infection...all its normal..most kids go thru it either thr entire life(i still go thru it all the time ,,o yeah, i did all alternative medicines ! ) n the others mostly outgrow it, by the age 3-5years...
2. 11months is immature kid age, which explains why, he gets it,,n if i were you i wouldnt rush to homeopathy for that.that cold, etc comes as a reactn that your child body immune is working good that its able to throw out viruses of cold n such thru this sickness..as long as it doesnt last for more thn a week,,i wouldnt mind.
remember onething homeopath is good but allow your child body to develop to fight against the common seasonal colds rathr thn rushing to ne type of medicine..u dont want your child to dpnd on outside medics to help his immune go strong..it should be natural inner health by the means of healthy lifestyle,food and proper hygne.

3. if i were you i will do as below :
--1. keep his nasal passages clear from the first signs of cold attacks,,like sneezing,watering eyes, keep n eye on his mucus colour..normal common cold that last only 1 week will have clear or thick but no colour discharge,,if ne colour esp the shades of yellow or black or green is seen,,it has turnd to bacterial infectn,,,so antibiotics !
--2.if bacterial infectn, thn first thing first, get your allopathy medicine/antibiotic will help your child in much better way for a immediate relief..ask your homeopath dr if the medicine that he has prescrbd, is okay to give with the antibiotics that your allopathy dr has given..
--4.when it comes to ne situation relatng to health,that might turn into immediate emergency situation, approaching alternative medicine is not a good choice,,for the rest,,it will help !
--5.at the first signs of cold, to prevent/minimize or avoid bacterial infectn should be your goal,,so
--1.reduce dairy as much as possble.replace with soy..if child doesnt like soy milk,or products, reduce the cream or fat layer in the milk by boiling it until it doesnt produce the cream when cool !!
--2.offer full servings of 4-6oz of fresh or packaged juice(100 from pulp or concentrate).its good vit c and helps fights cold !! child as iz might not like to eat,,feed him lots of liquids like juices,vegetable soups and lots of water...more the water,,cough will have less chances to develop !
--3.at first signs of cold, start chekcing his nasal passages by making him look up, and keep n eye on it,,keep them clear as much as possble..clear the better..use saline drops that are for infants,,avoid the ones that are to be used for nasal congestion !!
--4. avoid using over the counter medicines, unless your dr recmnds one..recent FDA admisntrtn is planning to ban over the counter medicines for all ages below 2 years !! which means they are NOT SAFE,,unless absolutly recmnd by your dr !! if your dr recmnds one,for cough, try usng a expectorant instead of suppresnt !
--5. offer fruits like peaches, pear, papaya,watermelon,oranges,pineapple,,,these help in thinng the mucus n so drains out fastr !
--6. lots of exposure to vapourisr or humdifier...boil water n let your child take the steam or just put on your bathroom shower on hot temperature n stand on a safe distance while closing the bathroom door..it will help thin out the mucus n clears congestn very quickly...
--7. offering turmeric,ginger, tomatoes,spinach,garlic,bell pepper(safe after 9months,) helps in thin out mucus..offr in a way that your child doesnt over do them,as these are either hot in nature or are very good fibr making bowels more frequent..as long as your child is not constiptd during virals or common colds or seasonal cold..i feel better !
--8. use of basil water by oral or by applicatn during bath, helps to thin out mucus n really works..applying BABY vicks or ADULT vicks mixed with 1:1 ratio with 100 petroleum jelly or vaseline also helps ! if baby is not comfortble with vaseline, okay to use ne cream,,make sure it doesnt have too many ingrediants..the pure the better !
--9. if u can get pure basil oil, apply a very lil on his chest(for your son only),,it will help.
--10..offer dairies n foods warm,,avoid offerng food in cool temperature,,,esp during times of cold,cough or sorethroats...
--11..drinking an oz of mild saline water helps thns out the mucus.(above 1year only !)..when i say mild,,its proportion will be something like 1pinch : 3-4oz of water..
--12. last but not the least,contins applictn of Baby vicks, on chest, back of ears, forehead(just a touch), nose(just the touch),back of the chest,feet, and lower back..makes child feet at comfort...
-- rem one thing, most cold result in coughs,sorethroats,fever,and further if it worsen leads to strep/croup throats, or even respiratory problems,,,,so make sure you are doing the right thing from your side..for the rest,,let it come from drs' side...

last but not the least, kids who are prone to cold weathr, pollen,allergens,,,thrive for healthy nutritious food esp the vit c,zinc,iron..so make sure he getsthem..list is very much avaiable on google.
also, they thrive for regular schedules, clean home, cleared or cleaned ac filters or hypa filters usage at home...
after every episode of cold or ne sickness, sanitize all the toys,,wash all the clothes in dettol or warm water,,n all your kids used,,to make sure its not back on its own !
i do all this and my kids are 100 out of cold,cough n virals in exact 6-7days without affecting eachothers health...
i also recmnd to find out some of old posts which i have writtn sometimes back n have helped many ppl here for treating common colds/or freq or continuous colds....its been a while i loggd in so i lost the track of it..n m not sure if i have writtn everything here as i wrote this message with lots of break !
if u have ne doubts, i will be glad to help...
take care..love to your lil one.
good luck