As the seasons change and parents reach for over-the-counter cold medicine for their icky-feeling children, they may be baffled by new instructions: Do not give them to kids under 4. Drug companies recently announced they are voluntarily changing the labels for OTC cold and cough medicines in a nod to pediatricians long arguing they do little good and aren’t worth the risks.

So now what?

Parents, do you suffer from fever phobia? Have you ever:

• Awakened a sleeping child to take his or her temperature?

• Chased down a running, giggling but slightly feverish child with a dose of Tylenol?

• Forced a whimpering, shivering, miserable child to endure a sponge bath?

If you answered yes to those questions, you may have fever phobia – a common malady, first named by exasperated physicians who care for children back in the 1980s. 

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