Good Morning!
I agree on the sudafed and the one thing we use a lot of in the winter (dh and me, too) is Robitussin plain (guaifenesin)....the generics work too, but seem like they taste worse. "Equate" brand of guaifenesin gives me heartburn.
I use this anytime the kids have a cold that seems like the secretions are getting thick.....which for us usually leads to a doctor's office visit for sinusitis or ear infection if I do nothing..... I give it as frequently as the dosage chart allows and push lots of clear liquids, it normally takes only a day or two of this. Guaifenesin thins secretions so that they can drain out and not fester and get infected.
Sometimes a little sudafed helps move them along. We use Robitussin PE for this (guaifenesin plus sudafed), but it's prolly more expensive than giving a separate generic sudafed/generic guafenesin.
The fluids are really very important for clearing out congestion.....the medicine won't thin secretions very well, if there are not enough fluids circulating.
When do I go to the doctor? It depends on the kid. With my youngest, who was very sick with RSV as a newborn, it's usually at the drop of a hat! LOL He's 2.5 now and was needing a nebulizer treatment (albuterol) daily until last February.
With my school age kids....my son is prone to bronchitis, and he has a certain cough....when it refuses to clear up using the recipe above, I know he needs antibiotics and I take him in. My second daughter is very stoic so just about any time she complains I watch her closely for a day or two, if no better I take her in. She has had some wicked strep infections, and ear infections.
My preschooler is also stoic and usually any time she runs a fever it's something that needs to be seen.
My teenager is very hardy, but when she starts sinus symptoms it's time for antibiotics. If she would drink fluids (water, juice, gatorade) and take the guaifenesin she could head it off, but she is *very* stubborn about this. All she will drink is caffeinated soda and that just does not work.
My friend from the Philippines knows a lot of herbal remedies...she swears by garlic (raw) and ginger tea. I've had good results with eating garlic when I feel something coming on. I slice up a clove into three or four chunks and swallow them like pills. Should prolly do this every day, but dislike the "side-effects" :)
Oh! and hot showers....when they get that crusty nose, sinusitis look....long hot showers with a good nose blowing *right* after to get that stuff outta there.
And saline nose sprays, too. I buy the cheap store brand, under a buck apiece. Put everyone's name on their own bottle, with the date opened. I throw them out and start over every few months, or after an infection.