We spend so much more time indoors, where it's easier for respiratory infections to spread from person to person. Children, with more immature immune systems, get colds and the flu more often than grown-ups. And they have their very own diseases, like croup.

That's why millions of moms (and dads) will be awake tonight, trying to figure out how to relieve their kids' coughing and congestion and fretting over whether to call the doctor or even make a midnight run to the emergency room. Most of the time, all our kids need is a little symptom relief and comforting  -- even when they sound terrible. Sometimes, a parent's wisdom lies in not giving her child medication. But some symptoms do warrant immediate medical attention, while others linger long enough to make you wonder if they signal asthma. What you need to know:

The very common cold
Babies and kids get six to eight colds a year, but sometimes they sound sicker than they are. "What parents usually hear are the random snorts and sniffles of air passing through mucus and secretions in the nose and throat," says pediatric pulmonologist Peter Scott, M.D., of Children's Healthcare of Atlanta. There's no need to worry as long as your child seems reasonably comfortable and active, continues to eat and drink, and starts to get better after a few days. In the meantime:

Try saline drops to loosen nasal congestion. They're especially helpful for babies too young to blow their noses. Use three or four times a day.

To relieve a nighttime cough, elevate your child's head with a wedge beneath the mattress.

Offer liquids to lubricate an irritated, cough-prone throat. For babies, nurse or bottle-feed more frequently. For children, give water or diluted juice (semi-frozen if you want, for its pain-soothing chill). "But there's no need to push fluids  -- normal intake is fine," says Dr. Scott.

Go easy on cold preparations. Never give babies under 6 months decongestants or cough suppressants, says Dr. Scott. Some decongestants can act as stimulants and keep an older child (and you) awake if taken within four hours of bedtime. Some moms find that over-the-counter cough suppressants help their kids, although studies haven't shown them to be effective. If coughing interferes with your child's sleep for four or five nights, talk to your doctor, who may prescribe a stronger prescription cough suppressant.

See the doctor if your baby is under 3 months and has a fever over 100.5 degrees. And call if a child of any age has symptoms  -- cough, congestion, mild sore throat  -- that linger for longer than a week.

Jessica Snyder Sachs, a contributing editor, is writing a book about the body's beneficial bacteria, to be published next year by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

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