International travel with toddler who has a cold

Hello-
My 2 and half year-old DS came home with a cough, cold and sore throat
today from daycare. We are taking an 18 hour flight this weekend, and
hoping he becomes fine by then.
Usually his cold takes 5-7 days. Just wondering if I can speed up his
recovery anyhow. Medicines like tylenol, do they just suppress the
symptoms? Does that mean if we give tylenol, child will feel better
short term, but recover fully after longer period of time?
Thanks for the advice.
Mili

"Mili" writes:
My 2 and half year-old DS came home with a cough, cold and sore throat
today from daycare. We are taking an 18 hour flight this weekend, and
hoping he becomes fine by then.
Usually his cold takes 5-7 days. Just wondering if I can speed up his
recovery anyhow. Medicines like tylenol, do they just suppress the
symptoms? Does that mean if we give tylenol, child will feel better
short term, but recover fully after longer period of time?

Tylenol and other medicines can relieve the symptoms, but they don't
make the cold go away any sooner or last any longer. Unfortunately
nothing has ever been proven to make a cold last a shorter time.
Giving him lots to drink, not letting him get overly tired, and giving
him medicine if he's really uncomfortable may take a day or two off
the cold, but not much more.

For the flight, the most important thing is to keep him comfortable.
If his nose is at all stuffy, give him a cold medicine with a
decongestant, or use a nose spray - because a stuffy nose can very
easily lead to painful ears on the plane.

If you have a chance at all, please take him to see your doctor before
you fly - just to be sure you're not dealing with strep throat or
anything else beyond an ordinary cold.

Good luck, hope the little fellow feels better soon --

- Cindy Kandolf, mamma to Kenneth (11) and Robert (4)
****** Bærum, Norway
Bilingual Families Web Page:
http://www.nethelp.no/cindy/biling-fam.html