Are cough medicines really a total waste of money? And so, what *do* you do for a coughing child?

[SolidGoldBrass]

DS is 4 and has had a cough for a week or so.He doesn't seem to be ill in any other way, or particularly bothered by it, but apparently cough medicines are completely useless and I shouldn't bother buying them - anyone got any other suggestions?

give him honey.

Try an antihistamine such as Piriton - it could be a pollen-induced cough.

I use Medised at night but I also think that cough medicines are not useless as I think the glycerin helps to soothe a sore throat.

If your Ds is not bothered by it though, I would worry about it!

If he's OK I would leave it. If he is not sleeping well then a deconcestant can help them relax enough to get to sleep.

My doctor friend, after spending years telling patients that cough medicines are a waste of money, ended up borrowing some from me when we were on holiday and it worked like a dream on her DD

sgb I would let him cough it has a purpose
my only question is the cough at night or in the day?

I don't like cough medicines at all, and agree with andiem. If they're coughing - they're coughing for a reason.

I'm paranoid about them though because the first and only time that I ever used a cough medicine was on dd1. She developed a chest infection 3 days later (the first one she'd ever had) and the gp said it was prob because I'd given her the medicine and it had surpressed the cough - she said she needed to cough to clear her chest and that's how she ended up with the infection

How shit did I feel?!

Persistent night time coughs can be an early indicator of asthma as well.