In the Urgent Reception Unit of the Emergency Clinical Hospital for Children “St. Maria” Iași, an average of 40% of presentations are motivated by respiratory ailments. Children are constantly exposed to viruses and this contact allows the formation of immunity. During a year, a child can have 7-8 episodes of respiratory infection, of which 1-2 will be more severe, especially in the first 7 years of life, until the threshold of immune system maturation is reached.
Most are mild and moderate forms, but there can also be complicated forms, especially in children with chronic diseases or immunosuppressed. An acute respiratory infection develops on average 7-10 days. Medicines help the body get through the disease more easily, but they do not cure it. 80% of acute respiratory infections are of viral origin, antibiotics being useless and even dangerous.
Fever, cough and nasal obstruction are symptoms that alarm parents and are often the subject of emergency hospital presentation.
Fear of fever!?
Fever is a sign of the body’s fight against disease. Temperature readings and the time interval between febrile bites are important. Antithermics administered in the appropriate dose are necessary, but not sufficient. A feverish child loses fluids and therefore needs extra hydration.
Many parents say: the child does not want to drink water and then the word appears, patience, little by little and often.
If the fever is a symptom that passes in a few days, the cough remains the element that leads to panic among parents. Coughing is often a defense and reflex mechanism, basically the airways are trying to get rid of the “foreign body – secretions”.
Any virus is associated, on average, with about 10 days of coughing, and in some patients it can persist for up to 3 weeks. If there is nothing changed in his general condition, but only the cough persists, you have to wait!
Cough medication must be given by the doctor according to the clinical examination and the patient’s age. Often, clearing the nose of secretions, an airy and humidified environment, and hydration are enough to relieve the cough. Sometimes the child is exhausted and fussy because of the illness, and then we have to treat him very gently.
The nutrition of a sick child is important. If quality nutrients are missing, the body cannot fight. As a result, vegetables and fruits, proteins from eggs and meat should not be missing from the diet of a child with a cold. The sick child needs a quiet, familiar environment and then we isolate him at home. His presence in the community during the illness can complicate the evolution through exposure to other germs, in the context of a compromised immune system, but it is also a danger for other children.
Tips for parents:
1. Hydrate and feed the child in small amounts and often.
2. Ensure thermal comfort with loose clothing and a room temperature of 22 degrees.
3. Clear the nose of secretions with saline or sea water before meals and whenever necessary.
4. Fight the fever with antithermics and physical methods, such as wraps.
5. Monitor the child’s condition and see the doctor if: the fever persists for more than 3-4 days or the fever is over 38 degrees in infants under 3 months and over 39 degrees in children over 3 months, if they are breathing hard or wheezing, if they are pale , apathetic, if he cannot swallow saliva, if he does not hydrate.
6. Do not leave it in the community.
7. Teach the child the rules of hygiene.
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2023-11-11 10:30:50
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