The Boston Globe reported that the Food and Drug Administration does not recommend giving children under age four “any sort of over-the-counter cold remedy” because of the possibility of “potentially life-threatening side effects.”
Additionally, the FDA has “raised warning bells” against some alternative remedies, such as “Zicam nasal swabs,” which are “linked to rare side effects such as an irreversible loss of smell.”
So, if your child develops a cold, safe options include:

• nasal suction,
• nasal saline,
• room humidification,
• lots of fluids, and
• remember the importance of the “tincture of time.”