Benadryl, so you can’t hear yourself cough. Yes, ladies and gentlemen. My pediatrician recommended to me today that I drug my youngest child with Benadryl so she could sleep tonight.
Granuaile has a terrible cough. It got so bad today at school that while I was on my way home from the doctor’s with Brighid (bad sinus infection), Granuaile’s school called for me to pick her up, as she had puked down herself with all the phlegm she was coughing up. As I drove over to the school, I called the pediatrician’s office. I told them I had given her Triaminic strips and Robitussin overnight cough and cold, and I was told that with the new FDA warnings on cold meds for kids, I shouldn’t be giving her those meds. The cough has to work itself out of her system, and if she’s spitting out phlegm, that was a good sign that the virus was breaking up. I asked what I could do for her, since she was coughing so bad overnight, it was waking her up. And yes, they told me Benadryl. I asked what Benadryl did for a cold, and was told it does nothing for a cold, but it will put her to sleep so she won’t be kept up by the cold.
If I am posting here 15 or 16 years from now about my daughter Granuaile’s drug addictions, remind me it started here.
Now, I have heard of using Benadryl if you’re taking kids on an airplane. It does cause them to get drowsy, and it keeps them from getting nervous about flying, prevents them from being bothered by the pressure in their ears during take off, and makes them much more pleasant to sit near. But it just seemed odd to me to switch one OTC drug to another. Where are the FDA tests on the Benadryl’s safety?
Having said that, Grace’s cough kept me up last night until nearly 4 AM. I’m heading to bed now while the Benadryl has kicked in and maybe I can catch a little sleep too 🙂