Cough and cold in children are a very common problem. Many different viruses can infect the nose and throat of the child and they are passed on by coughing and sneezing the virus into the air. An average preschool and primary school child have 3-8 coughs or colds per year. Some children will have more than this specially at the beginning of the school days. These cough and cold are best treated by giving the child rest drink plenty of fluids, saline nose drops or spray to ease the nasal congestion. If the child is more than one year old he can be given sips of honey, warm water.
Most cases of cough and cold are self-limiting and will take 5-7 days to settle down. The child does not require any medicines for cough and cold. The cough in the child should be treated only if the cough interferes with the feeding or affects the sleep of the child, prolonged cough more than 1 week, cough in a neonate or if the cough is associated with high fever with chills.