by SUSAN J. MARGOLIN, M.D., M.P.H.
CHIEF, GENERAL PEDIATRICS
If you have a question for the pediatrician, please e-mail it to ESALAMON@SBHCS.COM or mail it to Elizabeth Salamon, Public Relations, Saint Barnabas Medical Center, 95 Old Short Hills Road, West Orange, NJ 07052
Questions should be applicable to children in general, and not focused on the specific case of an individual child.
Q. How effective are over-the-counter cough medicines at stopping a cough? What about the use of a prescription cough medicine with codeine?
A.
Over-the-counter medicines for children are “expectorants.” They are not supposed to stop a cough, but are supposed to make it easier for a child to cough in order to bring up the mucous that his airway is producing when he has a cold. Some of the cough syrups have a DM after the name. The DM stands for the addition of extromethorphan to the cough syrup. Theoretically, dextromethorphan is supposed to quiet down a cough, although many parents feel that the DM makes no difference. Codeine added to prescription cough syrups may suppress a cough, but most pediatricians will not use codeine in very small children.
Q. Should a child receive an antibiotic for a cold or a cough? Also, how many cold and coughs does the average child get per year?
A.
Colds are caused by viruses, which are not killed by antibiotics. Consequently, antibiotics are not used for simple colds. There are times when colds are accompanied by ear infections, which are frequently caused by bacteria. These do respond to antibiotics and your physician may prescribe an antibiotic for the ear infection which accompanies a cold. Coughs may be the result of a simple cold or may be the result of pneumonia,an infection in the lung that may be bacterial. If your physician diagnoses pneumonia in your child, he or she may also prescribe an antibiotic.
On average, small children may have as many as ten colds a year. Children who are in day care are exposed to many other children and may have a few more colds, and those who are at home without siblings may have many less. Each cold may last 7-10 days, so that in the winter when cold viruses are more prevalent it may seem like your young child always has a cold.
Q.At what age can a child sleep over another child’s house or begin having slumber parties? Should I have any particular questions for the parents or give my child certain advice before a sleepover?
A.
There is no magic age at which a child can “sleep over.” Some children as young as 2-3 years will sleep at a grandparent’s or cousin’s home quite happily while others as old as 10 or 11 are unhappy sleeping away from their parents. Parents generally should know the family to whose home a child is going to sleep and should assure that parents will be at home and vigilant during the sleepover. They should be equally sure that the child has access to his own parents and can be driven home should the need arise. A child who is sleeping away from home must have the confidence of knowing that he can return to his own home for any reason and that his parents will be available.
Slumber parties, which involve more than one child sleeping over, are most successful if children are somewhat older, generally in the higher elementary grades. Parents should limit the number of children at a slumber party. More children, more talk, more fights, less sleep for both children and the parents who host the party.
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