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Cough or cold in a baby or child: what helps, the medicine ages, and when to call
For anyone looking after a baby or child with a cough, a runny or stuffy nose, or a cold: a parent, a grandparent, a foster parent, an aunt or uncle. This page passes on, by name, what MedlinePlus and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) say: what a cold looks like and how long it lasts, what helps at home, the ages below which cough and cold medicine is not given, the lines about the youngest babies, and the signs that mean a call or 911. It builds the questions to ask. Take only what you need today.
Right now
- Trouble breathing? MedlinePlus’s Cough page says to call 911 or the local emergency number for shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, and for hives or a swollen face or throat with difficulty swallowing.
- Blue lips, or working hard to breathe. The FDA’s list of signs to call a doctor includes blue lips, and labored breathing: nostrils widening with each breath, wheezing, fast breathing, the ribs showing with each breath, or shortness of breath. The FDA says to call a doctor; if your child is struggling to breathe, MedlinePlus’s line above is the one for 911.
- A baby under 3 months with a cough: MedlinePlus says to contact the provider right away. A fever of 100.4°F or higher in a baby 2 months or younger: the FDA says to call a doctor.
- A fever of 102°F or higher at any age, a severe headache, not eating or drinking with signs of dehydration, excessive crankiness or sleepiness, persistent ear pain, or a child who is getting worse: the FDA says to call a doctor.
- No cough and cold medicine for the youngest. The FDA does not recommend it for children younger than 2; the labels and MedlinePlus say not under 4. MedlinePlus says aspirin should never be used in children and teens.
If you cannot reach a provider and you are frightened for your child, go to an emergency room or call 911. That line is ours. This page is not for emergencies.
More help
- A fever with it: Fever in a baby or child: when to call, and what helps.
- Ear pain, which MedlinePlus says a cold may lead to: Ear infection in a baby or child: what helps, and when to call.
- Wheezing or asthma: When it’s hard to breathe. Hives or swelling: When it might be a severe allergic reaction.
- Not drinking, or throwing up: Vomiting and diarrhea in a baby or child: fluids, and when to call.
- Writing down what happened and when: Symptom diary.
- For a visit: Get ready for your appointment. No insurance: When you need a doctor and can’t pay.
- Smoke at home: When you want to quit smoking.
- All our free tools.
Looking after a baby or child? The pages on this site for a baby or child, on one list.
This page and its wording were written with AI (Claude) for Scarlet Beast (our AI policy). No doctor or nurse has reviewed it. The facts were read on October 9, 2026 on two government websites, every page in English and in Spanish. On MedlinePlus, from the National Library of Medicine, four pages of its Medical Encyclopedia: Common cold (reviewed January 1, 2025), How to treat the common cold at home (reviewed January 1, 2025), Cough (reviewed April 1, 2025), and Colds and the flu: what to ask your doctor, child (reviewed October 1, 2025). On fda.gov, the Consumer Update Should You Give Kids Medicine for Coughs and Colds? (content current as of November 7, 2024). The page says whose words it is passing on, and what is marked “ours” is our own. Who the pages were written for: only the FDA page and the MedlinePlus question list are about children; the other three MedlinePlus pages are written for all ages, mostly to an adult reader, and the page says so where it uses them. The 911 line comes from the Cough page, which is one of those. Where the sources differ, the page gives each: the FDA does not recommend cough and cold medicine under age 2, the labels and MedlinePlus say under 4, and MedlinePlus says to ask the provider first for ages 4 to 6 on one page and for ages 6 or younger on another; the FDA says a cool mist humidifier and not a warm mist one, and MedlinePlus’s adult pages mention steam; MedlinePlus says to contact the provider when symptoms do not improve after 7 to 10 days on one page and 10 days on another; and the pages do not match on which fever means a call. Numbers are the named page’s own; the FDA gives its fever numbers only in Fahrenheit. What we left out or did not read: the name of any cough or cold medicine, every brand name, and the amount of any medicine (acetaminophen, ibuprofen and aspirin are named because the pages’ own lines about children name them); the adult lines of the pages (decongestants and high blood pressure, heart disease, allergies, the causes of a long-lasting cough); MedlinePlus’s lines on yogurt and probiotics; the flu, the flu shot and COVID-19 beyond what these pages say; RSV, bronchiolitis, croup and whooping cough, which these pages do not cover; and when a child can go back to school or child care, which they do not say. The Spanish version of one MedlinePlus sentence differs from the English, and we followed neither: the English says to use cough medicines only if needed. We called no number. It saves nothing and loads no tracking.