Suggest Treatment For Recurrent Cold In Infant

Posted on Wed, 2 Dec 2015

Question: my baby boy is having cold.he is 1 year 3 months old. actually he just cured from cold 3 weeks before. our pediatrician doesn't recommend any medicine. but I can't see my child suffering for days.kindly suggest remedies for speedy recovery.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Pradeep Kumar Jain (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
You can give montelukast levocetrizine combination

Detailed Answer:
Hello

Thanks for asking on this platform

I can understand your concern.Repeated cold may or may not be associated with cough is very common in this age.There can 10-12 episodes of cold in a year and one should not get worried if it is limited to upper airways and not causing much discomfort.
As the child grows immunity gets matured and chances of cold gets decreased.
Most of the time it is self limiting and does not need any specific treatment.That may be the reason your doctor has not advised you any medication.
The cold needs to be treated if it is causing distress to the baby like sleep disturbances,poor feeding or irritability.
I would like to know if there is past history of admission to the hospital related to the respiratory illness,any history of nebulisation or family history of allergic disorder.All these are precipitating factors for repeated cold and should be taken care of.
Most of the time the cold is allergic or viral in origin.Even viral infection has some component of associated allergy.
If cold is significant,giving montelukast (long acting antiallergic) and levocetrizine (short acting antiallergic) provides relief and also prevents the recurrences.It is a very safe medication but needs prescription if you want to buy it.So please get it prescribed by a pediatrician.
Putting nasal saline drops in nostrils also provides relief by clearing the nasal blockage.

I hope this helps.
Please let me know if you have any more query.
Wishing for your baby's speedy recovery.
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Dr. Pradeep Kumar Jain (11 minutes later)

thank u very much for ur guidance on the subject matter.this is his 3 rd cold episode in his 1.3 years life span.the first was one year back and probably bcoz we had travelled a lot that time.and I m the reason why he catches cold this time since I HV severe cold from few days.he is playful but is having running nose and might HV breathing problem at bed time.he doesn't let us to apply nasal drop easily.

Answered by Dr. Dr. Pradeep Kumar Jain (18 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
Give him antiallergic with decongestant

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for writing back

As this is an acute episode (short history),there is no significant past history and this episode is not associated with fever giving montelukast (long acting antiallergic) won't provide much help.
Here I would like to give antiallergic like chlorpheniramine with decongestant like phenylephrine combination (like maxtra syrup).
As he is not allowing to put nasal drops oral decongestant like phenylephrine will take care of nasal congestion.Nasal congestion and blockage is an importatnt cause of breathing difficulty during sleep as such small children breath mainly through nose.
Give it for 5-7 days and consult your pediatrician If you notice any breathing difficulty in form of rapid breathing rate or chest wall retraction.
This is a prescription medicine so please get it prescribed by a pediatrician.

Thanks and regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar