Cut to my family's kitchen in New Jersey, circa 1978—I've got a head cold and my mother is convinced that drugstore pills and syrups won't help. And so, like thousands of other children before, I'm sitting with a towel over my head, inhaling vapors from a steaming pot of water seasoned with a tablespoon of Vick's VapoRub menthol-based balm. (Entire cultures in Asia swear by the stuff.) And whether the 15-minute steam bath helps or not, I'm certainly not willing to go another round. Afterwards I lie convincingly: "I feel better! Much better!"

As a board-certified pediatrician today, though, I'm sorry to report that medical science hasn't made much progress since then. In fact, things seem to be getting worse—the Food and Drug Administration recently advised parents against using cold medicines for many kids. In their place, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends clearing toddlers' noses with rubber bulbs, lots of fluids, maybe some Tylenol, and a humidifier for the child's room. (If I were a kid, I'd think a methol steam bath was preferable to a good, hard nose-sucking with a big rubber bulb, but I digress.)