ROCHESTER, MINN. -- An over-the-counter remedy used by adults to reduce travel-associated ear pain doesn't work in children according to a study by a Mayo Clinic pediatrician.

Previous studies have shown that pseudoephedrine hydrochloride (trade name Sudafed) decreases the risk of earache in adults with recurrent air travel-associated ear pain. But, when researchers tried the drug with 50 children over a two-year period, it was not found to be effective compared to a placebo in decreasing ear pain either during ascent or descent. It did increase drowsiness in children at takeoff.

Philip R. Fischer, M.D., a Mayo Clinic pediatrician, says that offering food or drink can help relieve the pressure a child feels during the ascent or descent of the aircraft. "Swallowing can sometimes help open the eustachian tubes to equalize the pressure and clear the earache," he says. The study was published in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.