The weather has changed recently, many children have developed symptoms of cough and itchy throat. Some parents may think that their children have a cold, so they will be fine just by taking some medicine.
But cough is not just a cold, it may also be acute pharyngitis . If treated as a cold, it will not only delay the opportunity, but may also cause other symptoms due to incorrect symptoms.
Therefore, if parents find that their children's symptoms worsen after a cold, or have severe throat symptoms (dry, itchy, swelling, and pain), they should consider acute pharyngitis and immediately send them to the hospital if necessary.
Acute pharyngitis is an acute inflammation of the pharyngeal mucosa and submucosal tissue. The main causes are as follows:
① Virus infection: Autumn and winter are simply the virus’s favorite season. Not only are the weather dark and cold, but people also like to move indoors, which makes the virus simply like a fish entering the water and spreading happily.
, especially these coxsackie virus, adenovirus , influenza virus, coronavirus (COVID-19), EB virus, enterovirus, respiratory syncytial virus , etc., which are mainly transmitted through close contact and respiratory droplets, and these viruses can also cause acute pharyngitis.
②Bacterial infection: Common bacterial acute pharyngitis in are mainly caused by Staphylococcus, Streptococcus (especially group A Streptococcus) and Streptococcus pneumoniae . Once the baby's resistance decreases, they will take advantage of the situation, making the baby more susceptible to acute pharyngitis.
③Environmental factors : The weather at the turn of autumn, winter, winter and spring can easily cause blood vessels in the throat to contract, which can easily cause dryness in the pharynx and induce pharyngitis . If there is a lot of dust, smoke or harmful gases in the air, it is more likely to cause acute pharyngitis.
So, if parents like to smoke, for the safety of their babies, don’t smoke in front of their children, so as not to harm their children’s health and let their children suffer a crime for no reason.
In addition, for babies with allergic constitution , stimulation of allergens can also cause acute pharyngitis.
④Secondary factors: acute pharyngitis may occur alone, but it is often secondary to acute tonsillitis or acute rhinitis .
So, how do parents judge whether the baby has acute pharyngitis?
can use the tongue pressing method, that is, use the handle of the spoon to gently press the baby's tongue and observe the baby's tongue carefully. If you can't see clearly, you can use a flashlight to shine it, but be careful not to shine it on the baby's eyes.
If the baby has red throat, red and swollen tonsils, a little furry on the tongue, grayish white, or a small tongue (uvula) swollen and sagging, acute pharyngitis should be considered.
However, pressing the tongue is not very comfortable after all, and some babies may cry or twist around. Parents do not have the judgment that professional doctors can tell by just a few glances, so they can observe or understand the baby's symptoms.
Acute pharyngitis usually starts with acute onset. At the beginning, you will feel dry, burning, and rough sensation in the throat, and then you will feel obvious sore throat, especially when swallowing.
Generally speaking, the systemic symptoms of acute pharyngitis are relatively mild, but some babies may experience fever, headache, loss of appetite and soreness in the limbs due to their young age and weak immunity.
If the baby has severe systemic symptoms and is accompanied by high fever, parents are advised to take the baby to the hospital for treatment as soon as possible.
If there are no special circumstances, parents don’t have to be too anxious and can observe and take care of themselves at home first.
If the baby's symptoms are mild, parents only need to take good care of daily care, so that the baby can rest more, replenish enough liquids, have a light diet, and have a balanced nutrition. Do not give the baby irritating foods such as fried spicy foods.
If you have sore throat, you can eat some cold desserts or drink cold drinks, suck ice cubes, hard candies, etc. to relieve it, but be careful to avoid second-hand smoke and other respiratory irritations.
If it is clearly a viral infection, then no additional medication is needed, it is just a symptomatic treatment. If it is clearly a bacterial infection, antibiotics need to be used according to the course of treatment. However, it is not recommended that parents buy antibiotics themselves. It is best to send them to the doctor to prescribe medicine.
So, what can parents do to prevent acute pharyngitis?
① Pay attention to hand hygiene
Hand hygiene is a key measure to prevent infection and transmission of children. Parents should wash their children's hands frequently, especially after coughing or sneezing, or before preparing food and eating.
② Avoid allergies
Keep it clean, try to avoid dust, haze and other environments, understand allergic items for your baby, and avoid your baby from contacting items that are prone to allergic.
At the same time, you should also pay attention to avoiding second-hand smoke environments.
③Avoid infection
In addition to brushing your teeth in the morning and evening, washing your hands frequently, and rinsing your mouth with water after meals, you should also pay attention to reducing contact with people with pharyngitis, use public chopsticks when eating, and do not share tableware. When flu is on the high incidence, try to minimize going out, and go to crowded and poorly ventilated public places to avoid infection.
④ Enhance physical fitness
More take your baby to parks with better air and other activities, perform appropriate aerobic exercises, and enhance your resistance.
You should know that if acute pharyngitis is not handled properly, it will evolve into chronic pharyngitis , which will cause repeated attacks, causing the baby to suffer. Therefore, parents must pay attention to reducing the stimulation of the child's pharynx in daily life.
