Parents should give medicine cautiously.

Well-meaning parents often give sick children medicine when they don,t need it and unwittingly can endanger their offspring by not following directions when prescription medicine is required, maintains Carole Stone, assistant professor of nursing, The Catholic University of America. Conditioned by the media and the health care field, they often ask their doctors for medication at the first sign of their child's cold or other minor illness. "Parents have been taught to expect a medicine for everything, and, oftentimes, medicine is inappropriate and may even impede getting better."

Even some physicians and health clinics respond too quickly with medication. As a result, overuse of prescription medicine has led to the development of germs that are immune to antibiotics.

Over-the-counter medication also can be unnecessary. The message is ... that theres a remedy for everything," Stone says. "A parent goes to the drugstore and there's row after row of decongestants, syrups, and drops. Most of it is totally unnecessary in terms of managing a cold."

Rest and fluids, nasal cleaning with tissues or bulb syringe, and handwashing usually are the best ways to manage a cold. If a fever is high, a pain reliever may reduce temperature. When medications are called for, follow these safety principles, Stone advises: * Never give medicine prescribed for one child to another child. * Throw away medications after their expiration date. * Follow prescribed dosages faithfully. Special dispensers available at the drugstore can help you measure dosages more carefully. If the directions say give the medicine until it is gone, do so. "A child can begin to feel better before the illness is resolved and...