 [ Symptoms ] what cold medicine can i safely give to my 10 year old child that is taking concerta [ Disease ] concerta is a prescription medication that is used to treat attention deficit disorder as a general rule i would try to avoid nonprescription medications that contain pseudoephedrine or phenylephrine as the active ingredient taken with concerta these medications would likely increase your child is heart rate or blood pressure it is best to choose a cold medicine based on your symptoms for a sore throat or other pain or fever a pain relieverfever reducer such as acetaminophen is a good choice for a runny nose or sneezing an antihistamine such as chlorpheniramine is the right option pseudoephedrine is a choice to treat nasal or chest congestion a “dry” or “hacking” cough may be eased by dextromethorphan and a “wet” or “productive” cough might respond to guaifenesin without knowing your child is specific symptoms it is hard to choose the right cold medicine for him but hopefully some of this general information can be helpful you can always talk to your local pharmacist for a more specific recommendation and always let your pharmacist know about the medications that your child is taking as it is always important to check for interactions between prescription and nonprescription medications before use