7 Healthcast: Kids cough & cold medicines

In fact, thousands of children wind up in the emergency room because of them.

Most of the cases are accidental, young children taking medication without their parents seeing or knowing. But it can have devastating consequences.

"There have actually been reported deaths as well, especially in infants who've taken large amounts of medication," said pediatrician Dr. Katherine Konzen.

Some medical professionals say parents often try to get sick kids to take medicine by telling them it's candy, and that can be a mistake.

"We've all fallen into that trap," Dr. Konzen said. "Your child doesn't want to take the medicine and then you tell them it's sweet, it's like candy. And then what do we expect our children to do when they see something like that?"

There are safer ways to get your children to take medication without setting them up for trouble.

"I think more of an explanation of you need to take this medicine, it will make you feel better versus using the candy route," Dr. Konzen said.

So how do you know if your child is having a reaction?

"Your child becomes very confused, warm skin, just not acting themselves," Dr. Konzen said.

Other symptoms include seizures, a fast heart rate, a change in mental status, irritability and some kids will become very sleepy.

Cough and cold medicine for children under two was recently taken off the market because of safety concerns. Now, the FDA is looking at restricting cold medication for children ages 2 to 11.

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