9 Safe Alternatives for Treating Children’s Cold Symptoms

Young children's developing immune systems require special care, and major drug makers have recently reconsidered what is deemed safe for these little bodies. In response to concerns over medicine misuse and accidental overdose, multiple OTC cold and flu relief products for babies and toddlers have been pulled off the market—read one recall, here—and medical organizations are recommending against giving any cough or cold medicines to children under age 6.

But with treatment options now limited, what's a parent to do when the inevitable case of runny nose, chest congestion, and hacking cough strikes? Three pediatricians—Dr. Henry Bernstein, MD, Chief of General Pediatrics at the Children's Hospital at Dartmouth in Hanover, New Hampshire; Dr. Kelly Miller, MD, a practicing pediatrician from Newark, New Jersey; and Dr. James Sears, MD, pediatrician and co-author of The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood—offer the following safe and effective methods to relieve your child's cough and cold symptoms, without depending on powerful medicines.

Note: These are general recommendations for treating common cold symptoms and are not intended to substitute for advice from your child's own pediatrician.