DO KIDS' COLD MEDS WORK?

I love doing stories with real impact, and as a parent, this is definitely one of them. Today the FDA may recommend whether to pull kids' cold and cough meds off the market or just relabel them.

Manufacturers recalled cold and cough meds for kids under two last week -- more than a month after the FDA told parents to stop using them. Doctors claim these meds don't work -- they just mask the symptoms.

When I'm up at 2 a.m with a whiny, miserable child and I'm due at work a few hours later, that's good enough for me! I've probably got about four brands in my medicine chest right now -- from doctor's samples to the "emergency" version:

"Honey, can you just run out and get her something now -- she's been up all night and I have to be on air in a few hours!"

As it turns out, many of these meds were never tested in kids -- the industry just estimated based on adult dosages. Now they promise to do more research, but insist even if they don't help, they won't hurt either.

But of more concern: in 2005, Poison Control Centers answered 1,100 calls about these meds and 123 kids have died since 1969. In fairness to the industry -- which sells 100 million packages a year -- that's very few possible deaths over four decades.

The problem is it's easy to overdose because the dosages are supposed to be based on weight, not age. So my 4-year-old -- who's 40 pounds -- wouldn't need as much as my friend's 4-year-old, who's 65 pounds. But that's hard to gauge from the directions.

So for many, it's back to Grandma's recipe: a teaspoon of Father John's (remember that?), cod liver oil (disgusting but effective -- ask my kids) or Castor oil (that was my poison) --

rub some of that thick menthol stuff on your chest and under your nose...

and get plenty of rest and love!