Just a teaspoon of this grape flavored poison, and your body can stop functioning the way it was meant to!

So once again the FDA fails to protect us by refusing to place a ban on child cold medications. They recommend that parents not use these meds, but won't out right ban them??

They say there's not enough information to determine that the drugs are dangerous. The same is on the flip side. There's not enough information to prove that these drugs are safe...or beneficial because drug trials cannot be performed on children, especially those under 2 years of age. Considering the risk to benefit ratio, which is high risk: little benefit, no parent should be fooled by advertising that their child needs these drugs.

There are many reasons why children don't NEED these drugs, first of all, they have amazing immune systems. Kids can play in the dirt, crawl on the floor, put all kinds of things in their mouths and come out fine. This is because they are protected by antibodies given by mom in utero. After birth, if mom breast feeds (and she should!!), more protective antibodies are provided, giving the child the opportunity to be exposed to germs and not get sick. These germs are introduced to the body, and the body begins to build its own army of antibodies. Sterilizing everything your child touches with Lysol limits his or her exposure to germs and therefore the body doesn't get to build an army against it. Eventually, when your child is exposed, (it's bound to happen!) the body doesn't know what to do about it and the child gets REALLY sick. Especially if the germs have mutated into superbugs that are no longer resistant to all the antibiotics that are routinely given for every little sniffle (Side note, most colds are caused by a virus and antibiotics are not effective on viruses)

When a cold germ does gain access to your child's body the immune system kicks into work. I've written about this before, but it's worth repeating. Mucus is produced to trap the bacteria/virus so that it can be expelled from the body. This leads to runny noses and productive coughs. The respiratory tract also catches invaders and initiates the cough reflex to get that stuff out of there. Body temperature rises in attempt to provide an environment too hot for the germs to survive. Diarrhea might develop, in attempt to wash the germs from that end too. Whatever your symptom might be, its a defense mechanism of the body to kill or rid itself of the harmful invader.

Ask yourself:

1. Does it really make sense to take a drug to limit mucus production, cough, or reduce fever?

2. What do you think the over all effect on your child's immune system will be if you continuously provide them with drugs that suppress the immune system's protective mechanisms?

3. What will be the over all effect on your child's immune system if you continue to sterilize everything in your home?

Interesting things for you to consider today:

*The rates of asthma increased with the introduction of vacuum cleaners in our homes.

*Children who have pets in the home are less likely to develop asthma.