When I feeling the warning signs of a cold (sneezing, congestion, a sore throat) by first instinct is to head to the nearest pharmacy and spend a small fortune on over-the-counter medicines that will help me get a good rest during the night and also help me function well the next day. I usually try to avoid reaching for pills, but when sickness overcomes me, I become a big baby and will do anything to feel better. I suspect if I had kids, this would be my first reaction too, to given them OTC meds to make them feel better right away.

But using certain OTC meds isn't the best way to fight a cold, especially for kids, according to this article. What is? Here are some suggestions:

• Fight congestion with a humidifier and nasal drops
• Make sure the patient gets plenty of fluids
• Don't over-wrap a feverish baby -- they won't be able to cool down
• If necessary, give a small amount of acetominophin to babies over 3 months and small amount of Ibuprofen to babies over 6 months to relieve a high fever.
  

How do you handle your child's illness naturally?

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Sleep deprivation is unhealthy. Get four hours of sleep or less per night for 12 consecutive nights, and you're more likely to suffer lack of coordination, judgment, and reaction time; experience crummy moods; feel body pain; and even gain weight.

For all you sleepy heads who can't seem to get a wink of slumber, these tips are for you.

• Sip on some chamomile tea. It contains glycine, a chemical that acts as a mild sedative and muscle relaxant. Drink this potion an hour or more before bedtime if nighttime trips to the bathroom are a problem.

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While it's mostly an issue for older adults, mixing medications and taking too many different types at one time is a concern for everyone. Even if you're in close contact with your doctor there is still a significant risk to your health if you're on more than a couple different meds -- drugs are getting so complicated these days human error is inevitable when it comes to remembering, and predicting, side-effects and drug interactions.

How many meds are you or your loved ones currently taking? Are you aware of and watchful of potential side-effects and are you absolutely sure you need them all? When it comes to your health you are your own best ally, so educate yourself and be involved.

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There are lots of pill boxes and pill management systems out there, but this one now has the FDA's stamp of approval. Called EMMA (Electronic Medication Management System), it's a gadget about the size of a breadbox that's designed for older patients and those with complicated dosing schedules. It stores the medications, alerts when it's time to take them, and releases the correct pills into a tray when activated by the patient at the right time. Dosages and times can be accessed and adjusted online by the doctor, pharmacist, or other health care professional.

Neat!

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You can save a lot of money by switching to generic medications, right? If you have insurance, then yes. But if you're one of the many Americans who don't have adequate prescription coverage (or no health coverage at all) then generics may cost you more than you expect.

The Wall Street Journal took a closer look at this issue and found that generic medication costs "can vary wildly and may not be nearly as cheap as expected." I was surprised to read that pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS started dropping certain prescription prices by $40 or more once questioned about seemingly high prices.

Ugh, money and health care is really starting to give me a headache.

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The FDA has proposed that companies make experimental drugs more readily available to certain patients -- specifically those with very serious or life-threatening conditions that have no known treatments. This sounds like major news, but in reality many drugs have been available since the 1970's to certain patients before they were officially approved by the FDA -- particularly drugs for HIV, AIDS, cancer, and heart conditions. But this new proposal outlines specifically when and how much drug companies can charge patients, and therefore will make it much simpler for companies to make their drugs available without so much confusion and red tape.

Even though the FDA spells out exactly how the companies should calculate their fees, and that those "fees" should only be what it takes to cover development and administrative costs to make the drug available, it seems like terminal desperate patients are an easy group to take advantage of. If some experimental drug is the last hope for someone, that drug company could charge practically whatever it wants and the patient will pay it. I just hope the FDA backs up its proposal, if approved, and enforces the guidelines.

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