Best Cure for Cough in Children

As much as a cough sounds awful and irritating to get along with; it isn’t as much of a serious health issue for children. And as a matter of fact, coughing can be quite healthy as it helps to protect the airways in the throat and chest. But this doesn’t involve every type of coughing though! Rather coughing has various types too; from being normal and tolerable to sounding extremely awful, loud, and intolerable. And because children are never really paying attention to their eating habits, they can face common coughing sickness easily.

Now just because coughs are common and healthy at times; it isn’t always the best thing to ignore it and let it increase. Instead, understanding what type of cough your children have and treating it right is also important; either with the help of OTC drugs or through home remedies. But what’s more beneficial and suitable for children from both ways, is also something worth pondering over. Now to help you out on that, let’s discuss both ways in detail below.

What’s OTC?

So we buy medicines from the store; knowing what common health issue they’re used for and treat the sickness just through them, right? Yes, well; that’s what OTC is. Over-the-counter medicines or drugs do not require any prescription to buy such medicines – as they are used for common illness. Yet, in comparison to this; not all medicines are OTC drugs. As drugs like, Valsartan manufacturer by Novartis pharmaceutical companies always require medical prescriptions and are not sold to consumers. Instead; pharmaceutical companies develop such drugs and simply sell them to businesses rather than consumers, as they’re a drug for B2B sales only.

Now although you can buy the OTC drugs without a prescription and treat common sickness with it; but it’s always beneficial to seek medical help to understand the right dosage, according to the illness.

OTC or Home Remedies?

OTC:

So we’ve discussed how OTC drugs are distributed but are you even aware of their exact role? Since many consider making use of OTC drugs as an instant solution to treat cough for children; there’s a variety of side effects that come along too. And when it comes to treating children’s cough with OTC medicine; you should avoid medicines as much as you can instead of instantly giving it to your child on their very first cough. Yet, for a better idea of the relation with OTC drugs and children’s ages; let’s discuss it in detail below.

Children younger than 4 should not be given OTC drugs.
Children ages 4 to 6 can be given OTC drugs, but only after a doctor’s prescription.
Children older than 6 can be given OTC for cough or flu; only if it is given correctly.

Home Remedies:

In comparison to OTC drugs; home remedies are less harmful. That’s mainly because drugs can cause different side-effects to individuals due to the criteria of their body acceptance. Yet, when it comes to home remedies; it’s mostly filled with natural and healthy ingredients that are hardly harmful to anyone in any way. But that’s just the benefit that comes along with home remedies, although there’s a drawback here too. Know what? Well, it’s simply just the fact that home remedies take a while to act and treat any sickness in comparison to OTC drugs or medicines. But other than that, it’s probably safer and healthier to make use of them – in terms of common cough in children. Now for home remedies for cough in children; let’s discuss some highly effective ones below.

You can give warm and clear apple juice or lemonade to children under 1 year of age.
For children older than 1 year, honey is the best home remedy for cough.
You can also make your child take a warm bath to treat cough.
Resting and taking warm fluids like soup, can also be a great home remedy for cough.

Is Treatment Even Necessary?

Surely not! Now you might think that ignoring is not a great suggestion when it comes to looking after children. But when it comes to sickness like cough and cold, most of the time they are caused by viruses and simply need to run for a specific time course. Yet, if that’s not the case or a cough is making your child more inconvenient; then you can surely start with home remedies or contact a doctor for suitable OTC drugs.

Final Verdict:

Now we’ve got a clear idea of how OTC medicines or drugs, as well as the home remedies, work. And as much as we often feel like opting for an easier and less time-taking solution, it’s always better to go for home remedies instead of medicines – when it comes to treating children’s minor sickness or specifically cough. Besides, according to the experts; cough medicines are not recommended for children younger than 6 years. So why even take any risk at all?