• Over the counter medicines: Cough and baby cold is very common in babies and even older kids. Cough suppressant and cough syrup for kids are not recommended for children below the age of 3 years. Cough syrup has side effects like drowsiness, stomach upset and at times a rash over the body. These medicines if given in higher doses can have serious side effects and can even be detrimental. So in case of children, never use the over the counter cough and cold medications that are commonly used by adults. Try humidifiers and home remedies.Home Remedies:
  1. Honey and ginger juice is very effective for cough remedies and can be given to children above the age of one. Adding a few drops of lemon or a pinch of turmeric powder to the mix will help to ward of the cold attack much faster. This is the best home made cough medicine for children.
  2. Steaming is considered very effective in treating an attack of cough and cold and can be safely used for any age. But since you will be dealing with hot water and steam you must take special care that the child is not to close to the heat.
  3. Warm liquids and chicken broth can be given to babies above 6 months of age. The warm will soothe the cough and provide relief to the child.

  Cough and cold medicines may be used in children between the age of 4 to 6 years provided it has been prescribed by the treating doctor and is strongly indicated. Cough suppressant may be needed in severe cases. The main concern here is that these medications contain fever lowering drugs too in combination with other decongestants and anti allergic. So if the parent is not aware of it, and gives the cold medication along with another fever lowering medicine like acetaminophen, then the dose would be doubled in the body and lead to unwanted complications. Excessive doses of acetaminophen are known to harm the liver. So one must read the medications very carefully before prescribing it or do so under the guidance and advice of the child’s pediatrician.

• Aspirin : This is one medicine that must never be given to a child. Giving any medication that contains aspirin can harm the child and make him susceptible to a fatal disease called Reyes syndrome. If you are unsure whether the medicine contains aspirin or not, make sure you ask the pharmacist before giving the medicine.In case of simple fever, the child can be given acetaminophen. There are some contraindications of the medicine like vomiting, dehydration, pre-existing liver disease, kidney problems. In all such conditions, check with the pediatrician before giving the acetaminophen.
• Anti emetic Medications: Nausea and vomiting in variable degrees is very common in children. No anti nauseous or anti emetic medication should be given in such cases. The reason is that most cases are mild and tend to resolve on their own. The side effects associated with these medicines are high and should be avoided. Try safer options like giving your child a lime or orange candy to chew on if he has nausea. Identify is the child has motion sickness and take the necessary precautions towards it like avoiding long travels immediately after a meal.
• Medicines Prescribed for Another Person : If there are more than one children in the house then it is common that one is sick and soon the other one also tends to catch it. This is very common in cases of cough and cold. In all such cases, you should remember never to give the medication prescribed for one child to the other child without consulting your doctor. This rule should hold true for homeopathic and naturopathic medicines also as these medicines are prescribed on the basis of individuality and will be ineffective when used for anyone else.

• Expired Medicines and Products : Any medicine or baby product like formula should be used within the stipulated expiry time frame. Once the product is expired the efficacy is lost and it becomes harmful to the child as it can become a source of infection and contamination. You must also avoid using anything that looks different than it did at the time you bought it. Moisture can spoil baby food and formula packs so be very careful when using them.
• Chew-able medicines : Chew-able tablets are available and commonly used by doctors in children but for smaller children, it may not be a good idea to use them. If the child is above four years then he may be able to take it nicely as the tablet will dissolve in the mouth. But 2 or 3 year old kids may find it difficult and can choke on it. So, such chew-able medicines should be given with caution and under adult supervision.
• Adult Medicines : Never use the medications prescribed for an older child or an adult in a baby or toddler even if the symptoms are exactly the same. The main reason is that the dosage is calculated on the basis of the weight and the same dose may not be suitable for a younger child. Giving a high dose can lead to serious complications. Also ensure that whenever you have to give medicines to the child, use the measuring spoon provided in the pack. Never give medicines in approximate doses.

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These days, there have been talks and controversies regarding aspartame. This is an artificial, non-saccharide sweetener that is commonly found in soft drinks or sodas. Statistically, there are about 200 million people on earth that consumed aspartame in about 6,000 products in soft drinks, chewing gun, gelatin, desert mixes, yogurt, and even pharmaceutical products like vitamins and sugar-free cough medications. But due to its controversy, many believed that aspartame side effects can potentially harm the health.

Aspartame or L-alpha-aspartyl-L-pjenylalanine methyl ester when taken into the body is broken down into 3 components which are the aspartic acid, phenylalanine and methanol. Then, these will be absorbed into the blood stream and used in for body processes. It is about 200 times sweeter than ordinary sugar but it has a lower calorie sweetener. Even that, there are many benefits of taking aspartame.

For one, aspartame helps improve the flavors. When using aspartame in orange juice and the like, the taste is enhanced and tasting the orangey flavor is extended in the mouth. Since it is a sweetener, it tastes like sugar and can be mistaken for sugar. Many people believe that using aspartame helps in people with diabetes. Aspartame helps them allocating the carbohydrate intake and since aspartame is low in calorie, it won’t affect the blood sugar. Thus, it helps them comply with their meal plan and keep up with their blood sugar.

For those who want to lose weight, there are studies made that using aspartame as part of the meal plan and regular exercise in obese or overweight patients, they have significantly lost weight. Furthermore, as a positive effect for taking aspartame, it does not promote tooth decay and it can even be a part of a healthy diet since it replaces sugar and lowers calorie.

But despite its benefits, there are arguments and intrigues that aspartame side effect can harm the body and can lead to death. Researchers found out that aspartame have a systemic side effect to the body from head to foot. In the facial area, it can cause blindness, tunnel vision or decreased night vision, bulging eyes, and pain. it can cause tinnitus to the ear and intolerance of noise is felt.

Another aspartame side effect affects the neurologic function and it can cause epileptic seizures, headaches, dizziness, confusion, numbness of the limbs ,slurring of speech, facial pain, tremors and even memory loss. It also causes severe depression, irritability, anxiety, insomnia, and even personality changes.

Aspartame side effects also affect the gastrointestinal area wherein it causes nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain and even swelling. Tachycardia, palpitations, shortness of breath and hypertension can be a side effect of aspartame. Skin allergies like itching, lip and mouth reactions and even hives can happen to a person who frequently takes aspartame as part of their diet. Although experts believe that it can be a solution for diabetes, loss of control in diabetes and it can cause menstrual changes in women. If diet is not watched out, it can lead to weight gain.

As a consequence of taking too much aspartame, it may trigger diseases like grave’s disease, lyme disease, epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, Lupus, Non-Hodgkins’s lymphoma and many other serious conditions.

These problems are not realized until recently because people believe that in the diet industry, the main reason for inhibiting the dissemination of these consequences, they will lose millions of money with their investment containing aspartame products. These people believed that aspartame is a dangerous chemical added to food. These foods are then thought to be good for diet and losing weight.

Due to the overwhelming news that came out  recently, experts also conducted researches and even the FDA made an investigation and found out that there is no reasonable evidence that aspartame can harm the public despite the allegations pointed towards the it. The symptoms from aspartame side effects are show no pattern and concrete evidence that it can cause problems. As of today, the American Dietetic Association found out and gave a Grade 1 evaluation, which is also the highest evaluation stating that aspartame side effects does not generally harm the public. Furthermore, taking foods with aspartame is not linked to high or increased plasma phenylalanine in patients with diabetes.

References

http://www.sweetpoison.com/aspartame-side-effects.html

http://www.aspartame.org/

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