Safe home remedies to soothe your child's cold and flu symptoms

Steamy air (all ages)

How it helps
Breathing moist air helps loosen the mucus in the nasal passages. A warm bath has the added benefit of relaxing your child.

What you need

A humidifier, cool-mist vaporizer, or steamy bathroom.
Be sure to clean humidifiers often and according to the manufacturer's directions. Humidifiers accumulate mold, which they then spray into the air if they're not kept scrupulously clean.
How to use it
Have a humidifier or a cool-mist vaporizer going in your child's bedroom when she's sleeping, resting, or playing in the room.
Give your child a warm bath in a steamy bathroom. Let a hot shower run for a few minutes before getting the tub ready for your child. If she's old enough, let her play in the bath as long as she likes – supervised, of course, unless she's old enough to hang out on her own.
For children over the age of 2, adding a few drops of menthol to the bath water (or vaporizer) may also help her feel less congested. Menthol oil is available at most natural food stores.
If it's not a convenient time for a bath, simply turn on the hot water in the tub or shower, close the bathroom door, block any gap under the door with a towel, and sit in the steamy room with your child for about 15 minutes. (Bring a couple of books.)
 Vapor rubs (3 months and up)
How it helps
Vapor rubs may help kids sleep better at night. Many of us remember being rubbed with a potent eucalyptus, camphor, and menthol vapor rub when we were sick as children. Research suggests that these ingredients actually have no effect on nasal congestion, but they make the cold sufferer feel as though she's breathing better by producing a cooling sensation in the nose.
What you need
You can now find vapor rub products made specifically for babies 3 months and older. This baby-safe version of the familiar commercial rub contains petrolatum, oils, and eucalyptus. It doesn't have camphor or menthol, which shouldn't be used with children younger than 2.
Natural vapor balms are available, too, if you'd prefer not to use products that contain petroleum or paraben. These are typically made with aloe, herbs, oils, beeswax, and essential oils. Search online for "baby rub," "baby vapor rub," or similar words.
You can also find recipes to make your own rub. Try searching for "vapor rub recipe natural" or something similar.
How to do it
Massage the vapor rub into your child's chest, neck, and back.
Cautions
Don't put vapor rub on broken or sensitive skin or apply it to your child's mouth or nose, around her eyes, or anywhere on her face.
Honey (12 months and up)
How it helps
Honey coats and soothes the throat and helps tame a cough.
In a study conducted by Pennsylvania State University's College of Medicine, parents of 105 children ages 2 to 18 rated honey helpful and better than cough syrup for treating children's nighttime coughs.
What you need
Honey, available at any grocery store.
Honey often gets hard at room temperature. To soften it, spoon some into a heat-proof container and warm it briefly in a microwave or boil some water and then set the container in the very hot water for five or ten minutes.
Your child must be at least a year old to try this remedy.
How to use it
Give her 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of honey.
Some people mix their honey with hot water and add a squeeze of lemon, which provides a little vitamin C along with the soothing honey.
Because honey is a sticky sweet, it's important for you or your child to brush her teeth after she takes it, especially if you give it to her at bedtime.
Cautions
Don't give honey to a child before her first birthday. It can cause a rare and sometimes fatal illness called infant botulism.
Neti pot (4 years and up)
How it helps
A neti pot flushes a mild saline solution through the nasal passages, moisturizing the area and thinning, loosening, and rinsing away mucus. Think of it as nasal irrigation.
According to one European report, researchers studied nearly 400 children ages 6 to 10 and found that a nasal spray made from seawater relieved cold symptoms faster than standard cold medications.
It's not certain whether the salt water simply helps clear the mucus or if trace elements in the water are beneficial. But other scientists who studied the effectiveness of saline nasal wash solutions also found benefits.
What you need
A neti pot: These look like a very small watering can or teapot and are typically ceramic or metal. You can buy neti pots at drugstores, natural food stores, and online.
Water: Use distilled or sterile water, available in stores (look for the word "distilled" or "sterile" on the label) or tap water that has been boiled for 3 to 5 minutes and then cooled until lukewarm. You can store previously boiled water in a clean, closed container and use it within 24 hours.
Safety note: Do not use untreated tap water. It may contain organisms that are safe to drink because stomach acid kills them, but can live and cause serious infections in nasal passages.
Saline solution: To make your own, mix 1/2 teaspoon salt into 1 cup of lukewarm distilled, sterile, or treated tap water.
You'll also need a cooperative child. Your child must be old enough and willing to go along with the procedure, which isn't painful but does feel strange at first. It's definitely not for babies or young toddlers, and older children (and adults) might not go for it. Some people think it's neat, while others are grossed out.
How to do it
By tilting your child's head sideways over the sink and placing the spout of the pot in the top nostril, you can run water through the nasal passages to clean and moisturize them. This takes a little trial and error, but it's easy once you get the hang of it.
Try practicing on yourself before teaching your child to use a neti pot. Then let your child watch you use it. And finally, help him if he's up for it.
Here's the basic method:
Fill the pot with the warm saline solution.
Bending over a sink, tilt your head to one side and place the spout of the pot deep in the top nostril. The water will flow gently through the nasal cavity and out the other nostril. (Breath through your mouth while rinsing.)
Repeat on the other side.
It may be easiest to practice with your child in the tub or shower.
You may also want to watch videos of people using a neti pot online. It's reassuring to see how simple it really is.
Cautions
Don't force a child who's not interested. This needs to be a very gentle procedure to prevent traumatizing him and damaging his nasal passages if he struggles.
Also see our important safety note in the "what you need" section above about using only sterilized or boiled water.
Gargling with salt water (4 years and up)
How it helps
Gargling with salt water is a time-honored way to soothe a sore throat. It also helps clear mucus from the throat. While scientists haven't determined exactly why it works, studies have shown that the remedy is effective.
What you need
Warm salt water.
Simply combine 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a glass of warm water and stir. If your child doesn't mind the taste, a squirt or two of fresh lemon juice can be a soothing addition.
Your child must be old enough to learn to gargle. For many kids, that means school age or older. But some children can manage it sooner.
How to do it
Aim for gargling three or four times a day while your child is sick. Only have a younger child gargle if he's willing and it makes him feel better.
A few tips for teaching your child to gargle:
Practice with plain water.
Tell your child to tilt his head up and try to hold the water in the back of his throat without swallowing it.
Once he's comfortable doing that, have him try to make sounds with his throat. Show him what that looks and sounds like.
Teach him to spit out the water rather than swallow it.


Eat Infection-Fighting Foods
Here are some good foods to eat when you're battling a cold or flu:
Bananas and rice to soothe an upset stomach and curb diarrhea
Vitamin C containing foods like bell peppers
Blueberries curb diarrhea and are high in natural aspirin  which may lower fevers and help with aches and pains
Carrots, which contain beta-carotene
Chili peppers may open sinuses  and help break up mucus in the lungs
Cranberries may help prevent bacteria from sticking to cells lining the bladder and urinary tract
Mustard or horseradish may helps break up mucus in air passages

Onions contain phytochemicals purported to help the body clear bronchitis  and other infections
Black and green tea contain catechin, a phytochemical purported to have natural antibiotic and anti-diarrhea effects




Don't force yourself under cover.
 Shivers are your body's way of creating heat to boost your temperature, so if your teeth are chattering or you feel chilled, by all means, cover up to make yourself more comfortable. However, once your fever is established and you start feeling hot, bundling yourself in bed under a pile of blankets will only hold the heat in and likely make you feel worse. You can't "sweat out a fever," or get a fever to break by forcing your body temperature up even higher. So if you feel as though you're burning up, toss off those covers or use a single, light sheet.
Undress. 
With your body exposed as much as possible, your sweat glands will be better able to release moisture, which will make you feel more comfortable. Strip down to your skivvies -- that means a diaper for an infant and underpants and thin undershirt for an older child or adult.
Dip. 
Sponge yourself with tepid water or, better yet, sit in a tub of coolish water (definitely not ice cold water, which can induce shock) for half an hour. If you put a feverish child in a tub or sink of water, be sure to hold the child. Don't apply an alcohol rub, because it can be absorbed into the skin and cause alcohol poisoning.
Sip. 
Fever, especially if it is accompanied by vomiting or diarrhea, can lead to fluid loss and an electrolyte imbalance, so it's important to keep drinking. Cool water is best, but unsweetened juices are okay if that's what tastes good. Getting a child to drink plenty of water is sometimes difficult, so try Popsicles or flavored ices that are made primarily of water.
Starve a fever. 
The old folk advice to "feed a cold, starve a fever" may not have been off the mark. Medical experts now believe that during periods of fever caused by infection, the body may do better without outside nutrition (provided you were reasonably well nourished before you got sick). During infection, your body actually sends certain nutrients such as iron and zinc into hiding; it turns out that these nutrients are essential for the growth of many infectious organisms. So by stoking up with foods and nutritional supplements during an infection, you may be helping disease-causing organisms to flourish. (Your body will tell you when it's time to start eating again.)
Resort to over-the-counter relief. 
If a fever is making you or your child very uncomfortable, a nonprescription antipyretic (fever-reducing) drug can be used. Antipyretics seek out the troublemaking pyrogen and put it out of commission. Aspirin, ibuprofen, and acetaminophen are all antipyretics. Aspirin and ibuprofen also have an anti-inflammatory action, which can be an advantage in certain illnesses, such as an abscess, that may cause fever. However, do not give aspirin products to children under 19 years of age, because of the risk of a potentially fatal condition known as Reye syndrome; stick with acetaminophen for children. Also, be sure to follow package directions carefully. 
Let it run. Bear in mind that antipyretics are designed to make you (or yours) feel more comfortable during the course of a fever. The fact is, however, that fever may do an ailing body some good by making it less hospitable to the infecting organism, so you may want to let it run its course rather than rushing to bring it down with medications.

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