Well, its good that you have found out this useful piece of information, but makes you wonder why nobody told you this before !

Its sunburn and heat season in the southern himisphere.

Antihistamine doesn't "block" nasal passages...but it can cause secretions to dry up. Some people have excess secretions and the antihistamines are a help in keeping comfortable....and some "colds" are exacerbated by allergies and in those cases antihistamines can be very helpful in preventing a sinus infection. It prevents inflammation and inflamed tissues "ripe" to recieve a bacterial infection.
Know what the ingredients are in OTC meds and what they do....and don't believe everything you read on the front of the packages.
Antihistamines do have a place in the treatment of "colds".
Linda C

Maybe for some,but what the doctor told us to use is any nose spray with the active ingrediant oxymetazoline hydroxide.
The way I was explained to,is that antihistimines relieve you of feeling stuffed up,but in the long run cause you to be even stuffier then you were before you used it.And many of them have to be used every 4 hours (exspecially in children)

The nose spray lasts 12 hours and allows drainage of the sinuses.
I will probably still use antihistimines for myself...but for my child,I know this is not the right thing to do.Her and my husband come from a line of people with sinus issues.
Knowing this information has been a life saver.

Popi,you are lucky!!! Here it is cold and dreary.

There are several formulations of dimetapp...some called cough and cold for children contain dextromethorphan which is an anti tussive that can also cause a repound histamine release. It also containd bromopheneremine and used to contail PPC which has been banned in the past few years...I think now it contains pseudoephedrine which is a decongestant.
When you or your child is congested, you can take an decongestant ( which is what oxymetazoline hydrocloride is)...if there is a frequent non productive cough, then dextromethorphan can be helpful and if there is that constant running of the nose, like you need to tie a rag around the child's face....then antihistamine is useful.
I would never ever give anyone a multi symptom drug unless specifically given by a Doctor...
Taking a drug for a symptom you don't have can cause more problems than it cures.
Linda C

Taking a drug for a symptom you don't have can cause more problems than it cures.
Linda C

I never do that.which is why I used to give her SIMPLY STUFFY cuz she mostly got a stuffy nose.

There have been recent new warnings by the CDC about giving small children over the counter cold medications. Even though these things can be purchased without a prescription, they are still medicines and several children have died after taking them. I would be extremely cautious about medicating an infant or toddler with OTC medications.

It's just my opinion but it seems to me that people generally are FAR too quick to reach for medications these days. It seems that we all expect to prevent or eliminate every symptom or discomfort by taking drugs! I am one of only two people my age that I know who is not taking medication on a regular and ongoing basis - and I have had a chronic, incurable illness for over 30 years! It is absolutely frightening to me to know that almost everyone - children included - is being medicated on a daily, open ended basis.

I believe that if a child is in serious distress on account of illness of any kind he/she should be taken to a doctor who can diagnose and prescribe, if necessary and if prescription medication offers actual improvement that would not happen without such treatment. If the problem is minor or appears to be an uncomplicated cold, standard (non drug) treatments such as pushing fluids and getting plenty of rest won't hurt anything and may be all that is needed while the body heals itself.

Good advice lindakimey

The last time my daughter got a cold,my first "instinct" was to give her medicine to relieve some of her misery...but I didnt. And in a few days she felt fine on her own.

I know what you mean about how some over the counter medicines can be dangerous.
I myself cant take certain cold medicines at all.They make feel like I'm on some heavy drugs and I hate that feeling.

Although,I do think ZICAM is useful.But that isnt really medicine so much as just zinc.
Last year my daughter and i took it when my husband had the flu and neither of us caught it.

Someone recently said that her sister was using ZICAM and has lost her ability to smell. I do not know if this is a temporary loss, or a permanent one. I do not know any of the facts in this case, or any of the details, as I do not know this family.

There is a lawsuit now against Zicam for people permanantly losing the sense of smell. I googled it yesterday to make sure. My brother's Dr made him stop using it. Just be careful, sometimes it only takes one time use. Is it worth it??

Lost the sense of smell from zicam? That's odd...I wonder if maybe it's because they didnt use it as directed.
You arent supposed to squirt it up your nose like regular nose spray.
It says to gently spray only in the nostril (not up the nose) and to lightly massage the spray with your finger in the nostril so it becomes absorbed by the nose.

I didnt realize this the first time I used it and sprayed it up my nose.Then I had about a 10 minute sneezing fit.

I wonder if this is really true because there are so many other rumors that fly around the internet (like that deodorant causes breast cancer and that shampoo also causes cancer)

You need to keep the stuff in the nasal passages flowing. DH had chronic sinus infections yearly that would last for literally 3 months he would be down for the count. Antibiotics made him sick.
DH finally ended up getting a steroid nasal spray (prescription) he uses every single day. And he also uses a saline nasal spray (walgreens) when he feels a sinus infection coming on. And use a humidifier in the room when it gets really bad.
You don't say how old your daughter is... check with an ear nose and throat MD before you give her anything though.

I always try to avoid the over the counter & prescription meds if I can. I've been using the treatment in the link below for the past couple years and find it highly effective. I just used it on my teen daughter last week when she was feeling sick (her 2 best friends had had a virus which made them miss almost a week of school each) and now she is a believer! She didn't get sick and felt much better the next day. We did the treatment again the next night just to be safe.

I do use very hot water for myself and my daughter (your feet should be pink after about 5 minutes), but would just use warm on a small child and I soak the socks in ice water so they are realy cold. You'd be surprised at how well you can sleep with cold wet socks on!

Here is a link that might be useful: Warming Socks