More than 1.5 million people visited checkupnewsroom.com. We thought we would take a look back at our most popular stories written in 2018. Let's start the countdown:

10. Couple Fights To Give Child Abuse Victim, Foster Chlid Forever Home: We begin our countdown with one of the most heartwarming stories of the year. Read about a wonderful family, their fight to make baby Jett their own and the help Cook Children's provided them.

9. Let's Learn Something About Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease!: Leave it to Dr. Diane to make "Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease" interesting.  All of her "Let's Learn" About posts do well and this was no exception.

8. 5 Children Treated for Bath Drownings at Cook Children's in One Month: Sadly, we once again had to talk a lot about drownings in 2018. But we didn't just warn about the dangers of pools or lakes. In May of this year, we got an important message out: "Don't leave your child alone in the bathtub."

7. Father who nearly lost son to a Tide Pod reacts to ‘Tide Pod Challenge’: Remember the Tide Pod Challenge fad of 2018? One family did not think it was amusing. Chris and Heidi Slaydon know all too well the dangers of a child swallowing a laundry detergent pod.

6. What Is Guillain-Barré syndrome?: When we learned that Dallas Cowboys center Travis Frederick  had been diagnosed with this rare neurological disorder, it gave us a chance to talk about GBS. Cook Children's neurologists see between 6 to 10 cases per year.

5. 'Is it RSV?': By the end of November, 178 kids had tested positive for RSV. Here's a quick look at what respiratory syncytial virus is. 

4. Is That Blue Vein Across Your Child's Nose a Sugar Bug?/Here's What You Need to Know About Kanmushi and Sugar Bugs: Have you ever noticed a prominent blue vein across your child's nose? Our Doc Smitty wrote two posts about Sugar Bugs and they both made our Top 10.

3. Can Elderberry and Other 'Alternative' Medications Treat Colds and Flu?: We may have only scratched the surface in talking about Elderberry (look for more articles in 2019), but here's the first post we published on the topic. 

2. Is It Strep Throat or The Flu?: We published this helpful overview to distinguish whether it's strep or flu in January of 2018 and it stayed in our top 10 throughout the year on its way to the No. 2 spot. 

1. Juul, Other E-Cigarettes Called an 'Epidemic' by FDA Chief: With more than 75,000 views, this was our most read story we published this year. We reported on this topic a few times during the course of the year because new information came out about the dangers of e-cigarettes and kids. We talked to Don Wilson, M.D., an endocrinologist at Cook Children's, to learn more about this topic. 

That wraps up another great year. Thank you for reading. We will be back with much more in 2019 and drop us a line in the comments below for any articles you would like to see our experts discuss.

But I’ve been asked about some other treatment options. Do they work? Are they safe?

When it comes to “alternative” medications, I try to keep an open mind; but, I basically divide them into three categories:

1. Yep, go for it - Treatment options that have been studied and shown to be safe and effective in kids (or in adults but with reasonable belief it would also be safe and effective in kids).

2.  Meh, if you want, go ahead – Treatment options with mixed studies or no studies proving effectiveness but no studies or reason to believe that they would harm kids.

3. Nope, not a chance – Treatment options that have no studies and no logical pathway by which they could be effective and/or any reason to believe they could be harmful for kids.

Let’s look at a few alternatives:

Elderberry syrup/gummies/soup…

There are some VERY small studies (less than 50 patients) in adults that showed some improvement in flu systems for people already diagnosed with the flu but treated with elderberry within 48 hours of symptom onset.

I cannot find any studies addressing its use in kids or an appropriate dose. Also, despite its frequent use as a preventive option, I can’t find studies that support elderbery will decrease you or your child’s likelihood of getting the flu. I also haven't found a study that says it is safe to give over long periods of time.

So for me, it’s “Meh, if you want, go ahead.” I wouldn’t spend my money on it and I definitely wouldn’t give it over long periods of time for prevention, but I won’t give you a lecture if you are using it over short periods to treat flu-like symptoms.

Oscillococcinum

What is it? It’s a homeopathic medicine (meaning it’s a super diluted substance which supposedly maintains an imprint of the original chemical makeup) made initially from anas barbarae hepatis et cordis extractum 200C, which sounds impressive but is actually Muscovy duck liver. Keep in mind that the mixture is so dilute, it’s actually very unlikely that there is any duck liver present in the little tablets you put in your mouth. But, even if there was, just research how the guy came up with the reason for using duck liver and you’ll understand that there wasn’t much science or even logic that went into the idea in the first place. Large systematic reviews of the studies for use of oscillococcinum for both prevention and treatment of flu have shown no evidence that it works for either.

Fortunately because this is a homeopathic medication (and mostly sugar), there are no major side effects with its use. Because of that, I was tempted to put it into the “Meh” category. But because its use defies all science and logic, I just can’t, so it’s, “Nope, not a chance.”

Essential oils for treatment of symptoms/flu

We’ve covered this one…extensively. Our first post on it is called “Essential Oils and Their Use in Children.” Then you can read, “How safe are essential oils for children?” And finally, “Essential oils and children –more questions answered.” If you don’t have time or interest in reading those, here’s the TL;DR summary: If you use them within reason, and diffuse but don’t ingest, they are a “Meh, if you want, go ahead.”

But, you have to promise me you won’t go crazy and if things aren’t going as expected, or your child is getting worse rather than better, that you will seek help. Do you promise?

Neosporin in the nose to prevent flu

Neosporin is an antibiotic ointment. Flu is viral. There are no studies to support this. I don’t see how this could be helpful. So, “Nope.”

Sinus rinses

Besides the feeling like you got hit by a truck, one of the other most frustrating and annoying problems with the flu is the feeling of congestion so severe that it feels like you can’t breathe. Saline sinus rinses, either as a flush like a Neti-pot or spray and suction for babies, can be helpful to relieve this feeling. So, “Yep, go for it.”

Honey

The cough associated with flu can be deep and severe…but, as you probably know already, I don’t believe that any cough medicines (prescription or over-the-counter) work very well in kids and they can be harmful. So, my go to for cough for kids over one year of age? Honey. Yep, just honey. Yep, just give it with a spoon. Yep, as many times a day as you think your kids needs it. Seriously, just honey. (This might be a conversation I have daily to a parent with a look of complete and utter untrusting disbelief).

There are probably a million other alternative flu treatments out there but these are some of the common one that I get ask about.

What other alternatives have you seen?