Cold, cough and fever are common ailments in toddlers and they are usually nothing to be worried about. Common cold may affect your child’s sleep and food intake and may make the child tired and irritable. If the fever is measured orally and is above 102 F, the child’s condition may be quite serious and it would be advisable to consult a doctor immediately. While the syrup you use is usually prescribed, like most syrups it acts as a suppressant. In other words, even though it provides temporary relief it only suppresses the cough and does not cure the body of it. Limiting the use of cough syrups and using certain home remedies instead would be healthier for your toddler in the long run.
First and foremost, feed your child plenty of liquids as she or he may be suffering from dehydration. If your child is being breast fed continue with that and feed the child an oral rehydrate solution that is available over the counter. You may even make it at home by squeezing a lemon into a litre of water and adding equal amounts of salt and sugar to it (a spoon each). Feed the child the liquid periodically using a teaspoon. A bath in warm water will do wonders as it will cool the body down leaving the baby comfortable. You can even add a few drops of sage, thyme or eucalyptus oil to the water as the vapours will clear the child’s nose and help in easy breathing. Take the baby into the bathroom and run the hot shower. The steam from it will also help clear the airways and you can gently squeeze out the mucus by using a tissue. Make a saline solution out of salt and tepid water. Hold the child’s head back and put a few drops into one nostril. Repeat a few minutes later with the other nostril. In case the mucus slides down the back of your child’s throat when it breaks free, you need not worry as this is perfectly normal. It may sometimes come out of the nostril and then you can wipe it away using a tissue. Massage the chest region and the upper back before bed time with warmed coconut oil to take away any congestion. Make some chicken soup at home and add a pinch of pepper to it. Strain the warm liquid and feed it to your child periodically. The pepper will help relieve the congestion, reduce the fever, lessen fatigue, and relieve the discomfort that the cold brings.