Colds

Children and colds

The average preschooler can get 6-12 colds a year. Sometimes, especially in winter, it might seem that your child is sick for weeks at a time, barely getting over one cold before getting another one.

Young children get a lot of colds because they haven’t had a chance to build up immunity to the many viruses that cause colds. As your child gets older, they’ll gradually build up immunity and get fewer colds.

Colds are also called upper respiratory tract infections.

Causes of colds

Most colds are caused by viruses. In fact, there are over 200 types of viruses that can cause colds.

The viruses that cause colds are spread by sneezing, coughing and hand contact.

Cold weather doesn’t cause colds, but colds are more common in the winter months. This is for a few reasons:

People are in closer contact with each other because they stay indoors.
Cold viruses stay in the air and on surfaces longer in cold, dry environments.
Your body’s ability to fight cold viruses is reduced at lower temperatures.

Cold symptoms

Symptoms vary from child to child and from illness to illness. They can include:

stuffy or runny nose
sneezing
sore throat and ears
cough
headache
red eyes
swollen lymph glands
occasional fever.

Often, your child will lose their appetite, and they might even feel sick or vomit. Your child might be irritable too.

Cold symptoms usually last anywhere from a few days to a week or more. Your child will usually recover fully without any problems.

Very occasionally there are complications like ear infection, laryngitis, croup or lower respiratory tract infections like bronchiolitis or pneumonia.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell the symptoms of cold and flu apart. When people say they have the flu, it’s more likely that they have a cold. People with flu might have muscle pain and chills.

Medical help: when to get it for children with cold symptoms

Almost all colds get better by themselves.

But you should take your child to see the GP if your child has one or more of the following symptoms. Your child:

won’t drink fluids
vomits frequently
is unusually tired or sleepy
has a fever that doesn’t improve in 48 hours
has a cough that lasts more than 2 weeks
has noisy breathing, breathing difficulty or wheezing.

You should call 000 for an ambulance or go to a hospital emergency department if your child:

is younger than 3 months and has a fever
complains of an intense headache
is pale and sleepy
is having increasing difficulty breathing or is breathing faster or harder than usual
has a rash that doesn’t disappear when you hold a glass pressed against the rash.

Also see your GP if your child doesn’t seem to be improving after 48 hours or if you’re worried.

Tests for colds

Most children with colds don’t need any tests. Sometimes your GP might do tests to rule out other conditions.

Very occasionally your GP might order a blood test or throat or nasal swab or take a urine sample. Rarely, your GP might order a chest X-ray.

Cold treatment

There’s no cure for the common cold. There’s also no specific treatment that can make a cold go away more quickly. The best thing is to treat the symptoms.

It’s very important to make sure your child is drinking enough so they don’t get dehydration.

Babies 0-6 months: tips for avoiding dehydration

If your baby is breastfed, offer feeds more often.
If your baby is formula fed, offer the usual total amount of formula but in smaller, more frequent feeds.

Babies 6-12 months: tips for avoiding dehydration

If your baby is breastfed, offer feeds more often.
If your baby is formula fed, offer the usual total amount of formula but in smaller, more frequent feeds.
Offer water between feeds.

Children 12 months and older: tips for avoiding dehydration

Offer water or an oral rehydration fluid like Gastrolyte or Hydralyte. You can buy these from pharmacies and many supermarkets.
Offer small amounts of water or oral rehydration fluid more frequently, especially if your child is very unwell. For example, offer a few mouthfuls every 15 minutes.

Children of all ages: tips for comfort

If your child has a fever and is in pain or discomfort, give them paracetamol in the recommended dose and frequency. You can also give ibuprofen to children aged over 3 months.
Let your child eat according to their appetite. Your child might not be hungry while they have a fever. Their appetite will come back as they start to feel better.
Try giving your child saline nasal drops, which might help to ease a blocked nose.
Try one teaspoon of honey at night, which might help to reduce coughing. But don’t give honey to children under 12 months because it can increase the risk of infant botulism.
Encourage your child to take things easy, but there’s no need for them to stay in bed or inside. Just let your child decide how active they want to be.
Let your child have dairy products if they want them. Dairy products have no effect on mucus.

Things to avoid, unless recommended by a doctor

Cough medicines – your child is coughing because their windpipe is irritated or has a lot of mucus, and cough medicines won’t help with either of these issues.
Decongestants like Benadryl, Bisolvon, Demazin, Dimetapp, Duro-tuss, Logicin, Robitussin and Sudafed – these can cause side effects like rapid heart rate, jitteriness and insomnia. These medicines can also increase the time it takes to recover from a cold.
Antibiotics – colds are usually caused by viruses, so antibiotics won’t help and can even cause stomach upsets and diarrhoea.
Alternative medicines and treatments – these probably don’t help children, and some can even have harmful side effects. For example, inhaling eucalyptus can irritate or even burn some children’s airways.

Ask your pharmacist or GP if you aren’t sure about what medicines or treatments are best for your child.

Don’t give aspirin to children under 12 years unless it’s prescribed by a doctor. Aspirin can make children susceptible to Reye’s syndrome. If you’re giving your child any over-the-counter medicines, check with your pharmacist or doctor to make sure these have no aspirin.

Preventing colds

There are simple things you and your child can do to reduce your child’s chances of getting a cold or passing on a cold:

Wash your hands with warm soapy water after sneezing, coughing and blowing noses, and before eating.
Cough into your elbow to avoid getting germs on your hands.
Don’t share drink bottles, cups and utensils with people who have colds.

Supplements like vitamin C and echinacea don’t stop children getting colds. And there’s no evidence that vitamin C or echinacea has any effect on how long or how bad colds are in children if your child starts taking these treatments after they get a cold. But ongoing vitamin C use can reduce the duration and severity of colds in children.

There’s some evidence that probiotics can reduce how often you get colds and how long they last. But probiotics aren’t as highly regulated as prescription medicines, so not all probiotic products will work the way they’re supposed to. It’s best to talk with your pharmacist or GP about the particular product you’re interested in.