I’m a pediatric ER doctor — here’s my No. 1 tip for surviving cold and flu season

Every parent knows that cold and flu season is nothing to sneeze at.

Dr. Meghan Martin , a pediatric emergency medicine physician and mom of four, has the perfect solution to the fall and winter blues — a sick box filled with fever medicine, vomit bags, a digital thermometer, a pulse oximeter, allergy medication, electrolyte powder, throat pops and nasal mist.

“Now is the time to be prepared,” Martin, who works at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, told her 1.6 million TikTok followers in a clip this month .

She said the box should contain acetaminophen and ibuprofen for fevers and discomfort.

You can buy either in chewable or liquid form — Martin suggests suppositories if the child has hand, foot, and mouth disease or they are refusing to take medication.

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She also endorses Zyrtec for allergic reactions or hives. She prefers it over Benadryl because of the latter’s reported side effects , including drowsiness, dry mouth and constipation, and recent research that has linked long-term Benadryl use to an increased risk of dementia .

Besides medicine, Martin recommends getting a pulse oximeter, which measures blood oxygen levels and pulse.

“[It’s] good on medium- and normal-sized hands, not as great on tiny hands, but gives you an idea of the heart rate and how their oxygenation is looking,” she explained.

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Meanwhile, Martin advises against inaccurate, pricey forehead and ear thermometers, instead advocating for a Konquest digital thermometer .

Also in the box are Halls kids cough and sore throat pops and Pedialyte electrolyte powder packets .

“Kids need to replace sugar and electrolytes when they’re sick and not eating regular food, and this is a balanced way to do that,” Martin said about the packets.

She also promotes saline over decongestants for kids.

For older kids, she suggests Arm & Hammer Simply Saline Nasal Mist . For younger kids, she recommends Boogie Micro-Mist Saline Inhaler . And for babies, she advises nasal saline drops to thin the mucus and a bulb syringe to suction the gunk out.

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Don’t use tap water as a nasal rinse, Martin warned, because it can contain bacteria that cause infections .

And hopefully you won’t need these “lifesaver” disposable blue vomit bags.

“When I tell you these vomit bags have saved me,” Martin said. “They’re disposable. They just twist and tie, and you can just toss them in the trash can.”

Cold season typically lasts from late August or early September to March or April, while flu season generally runs from October to May.

Toddlers and preschool-aged children may have as many as 12 colds , respiratory infections and/or stomach bugs a year.

Some of them turn serious. Twenty-thousand kids under the age of 5 are hospitalized with flu complications on average each year, and nearly 200 children have died in the 2023-24 flu season, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last week .

“Best of luck,” Martin signed off her viral TikTok.

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