Overview

A cold or the flu is caused by viruses. Generally, a broad range of symptoms exist, including a runny or blocked nose, fever, aches and pains, sore throat and coughing present themselves. It is important to remember that antibiotics will not be effective unless a bacterial infection arises. In these cases there are products available that minimise the side effects of antibiotic use.

As with most sicknesses, if your child is sick with a cold or the flu, remember that it is always important to eat healthily, drink lots of fluids and get a decent amount of rest.

Symptoms

During a cold or flu, coughs are often an annoying and sometimes painful symptom that generally fall into two categories – chesty or dry.

Chesty coughs are often called ‘productive’ as they actively bring mucus up off the chest. Chesty cough mixtures can be used to treat this type of cough as they thin out the mucus and make it easier to expel.

Dry (or tickly) coughs on the other hand are commonly termed ‘non-productive’ as they originate from irritation in the throat and do not produce mucus. When a dry cough is present, it is safe to take a cough suppressant, which will subdue the irritating nature of the cough without trapping mucus in the chest (as there is none present). Unfortunately, there are limited options when treating children with dry coughs.

Pain Treatment

Pain is generally caused by muscular aches, sinus congestion/inflammation, throat pain and headache while fever is characterized by a rise in body temperature and can result in shivering and excess sweat production. Both symptoms can be treated with analgesic medications.

Nasal Congestion

Nasal congestion is often present during a bought of cold or flu and can be treated directly with nasal decongestant products such as nasal sprays, inhalants and oral pills.

Runny Nose

Sore Throat

A sore throat associated with other cold and flu symptoms can be treated directly with throat lozenges, gargles and throat sprays. If your child has an isolated sore throat with no other cold or flu symptoms and/or a high fever, they may require medical examination for tonsillitis.

Cold & Flu Treatment Options

Cold and flu often leaves us feeling run down and at times, symptom based relief is not enough for the body to recover quickly. Michael’s Chemist stocks a variety of additional products that may assist in the treatment of cold and flu.

Is your child suffering from the symptoms of a cold or the flu? Michael’s Chemist offers a range of products to treat them and the whole family. This page relates to treatment for symptoms in children, for information on adult cold and flu symptoms please see our Cold & Flu page.

Know what you want? Shop Children’s Cold & Flu

Are you suffering too? Shop All Cold & Flu

Learn More

Want to know more? Michael’s Chemist is committed to providing you with the best health care experience available.

Too Sick for School? A guide from The Pharmacy Guild of Australia.

If you would like to learn more about a product or condition, please don’t hesitate to contact us at either our Claremont, Wembley or North Perth stores.