Sick Toddler Solutions

There is some nasty stuff going around right now and of course I was the first person in our family to catch it. I spent two days in bed but I'm feeling a bit better now, good thing since my son just caught the cold. I do everything I can possibly do to help him feel better and get over the cold as fast as he can. I have a past post where I shared my Sick Baby Solutions but now that my son is older there are more medicines for him to take to help ease the pain and uncomfortableness that comes along with a cold. So I thought it would be a good idea to update my sick child solutions.

The most important thing is hydration! 

When my son is sick I give Mott's For Tots Immune Support Juice throughout the day and if his throat isn't hurting I will give him a small glass of orange juice to get some Vitamin C first thing in the morning.

And of course water, water and more water. 

Water helps your body heal and it will keep an irritated throat moist.

If his throat is really hurting him I make him a hot cup of decaffeinated green tea. I let it steep for 10 minutes with a small slice of orange in it. I add a bit of honey to sweeten it up and to help sooth his throat.

As far as medicines go I try to use more natural products, my favorite is Hyland's 4 Kids. During the day I give him Hyland's 4 Kids Cold 'n Cough and at night we use Hyland's 4 Kids Cold 'n Cough Nighttime. 

To see if he is running a fever I still use my favorite thermometer from Vicks. If he is running a fever then I give him a chewable children's ibuprofen. 

Some times if my sons throat is really bad and the hot tea and medicines aren't fully working I will give him half a Halls cough drop, he likes the strawberry flavor.

For my sons runny, stuffy nose I love to use these Cool Touch Kleenex. His little nose can get pretty red and raw from all the wiping and blowing but these leave his nose feeling cool.

Night time is the worst! 

So before I put him in bed I give him a nice warm bath. I fill the bath tub with hot water then close the door letting the bathroom fill up with steam and letting the water cool so it doesn't burn him. I also add Johnson's Baby Bath with Soothing Vapors. I love this stuff! He always feels a bit better after his bath and he is definitely less congested.

Before I get him dressed in his pj's I rub a bit of Vicks Vapor Rub on his chest, back and on the bottom of his feet. I then put on his cozy pajamas and slip on some socks. This definitely helps with his congestion and his cough.

To try and help him sleep more soundly I put a bit of Vicks Vapor Rub into my Potpourri Crock. The Vapor Rub melts filling his room with soothing vapors.
I also plug in our Vicks Warm Mist Humidifier to help put warm moisture in the air which helps relieve my sons cough and congestion.

Rest!
I try and keep my son in bed or on the couch as much as possible and if he falls asleep I let him sleep. But trying to keep a toddler calm and resting can be pretty impossible so I like to sit or lay down with him and watch his favorite animated movies. 

When my son catches a cold its never just a little cold. He has children's asthma so his colds often turn into bronchitis and when this happens we normally end up at the doctors and he ends up having to use a neutralizer to help clear and open up his lunges which he is not a fan of. I'm not a doctor by any means but I do what I can to prevent my sons colds from turning into bronchitis so I take the steps I take, all of the above, as soon as I see that he has gotten sick and they all seem to help out tremendously.