First of all, we classify the common cold drugs：
1. Anti-viral drugs
There are more than two hundred kinds of viruses that can cause colds, and there are no targeted antiviral drugs on the market. Neither adults nor children need antivirals for colds.
2. Antibiotics
Likewise, antibiotics for bacteria do not work effectively for colds caused by viral infections, but may lead to diarrhea, allergies, rashes, drug resistance and other risks.
3. Antihistamines and vasoconstrictors
Vasoconstrictors and antihistamines are the large group of cold medicines, such as pseudoephedrine, phenylephrine, and paracetamol, which can reduce cold symptoms in adults. However, their efficacy is not proven in young children, while they can cause cardiovascular damage to children.
4. Cough suppressants
Central cough medicines of dextromethorphan, forcodine and codeine have not been proven to be effective in young children and may lead to respiratory depression and other risks.
5. Proprietary Chinese medicines
None of the proprietary Chinese medicines have been proven to work for colds, and overlap can easily lead to drug overdose.
6. Antipyretics and analgesics
Antipyretic drugs such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen can be used, but many cold medicines contain this ingredient. Blindly taking will lead to liver and kidney function damage caused by drug overdose.
Most of the cold medicines on the market are for the symptoms caused by the cold and do not shorten the duration of the cold. The common complications of the common cold are otitis media, sinusitis and pneumonia, which are mainly related to the physical characteristics
of children.
In summary, the use of cold medicine does not shorten the duration of the cold, nor does it reduce the occurrence of complications. 6-year-old children with a cold do not need take other medicines except antipyretic and analgesic medicines.
It is important to note that:
- 1.The cold here refers only to the common cold, influenza and the common cold are completely different diseases.
- 2.The medicine for cold here only refers to the treatment of common cold itself, but if there is a comorbidity, you need to seek medical attention in time.
