Guide to prevention and treatment of common childhood diseases

More than 80% of the most common diseases among children are respiratory infections, digestive tract discomforts, and common infectious diseases. There is no "cure-all" recipe, and there is no need to rush to the emergency room. The core response principles are "prevention first, symptomatic care, taking medications as prescribed, and not blindly superimposing treatments." Most minor illnesses can be cured with home care, and a few danger signs require immediate medical attention.

Not long ago, my best friend's 3-year-old son had a runny nose and sneezing all afternoon after using the air conditioner all afternoon. My grandma dug out the children's cold medicine and wanted to give it to her, but my mother stopped her and said that she could just take care of the common cold. The two of them argued for a long time and came to me for comment. In fact, these two ideas correspond to the two most common differences in how people deal with common childhood diseases. According to the clinical guidelines of Western medicine, the common cold is a self-limiting disease caused by viruses. If there is no bacterial infection, there is no need to take antibiotics at all. It is not recommended for children under 6 years old to use compound cold medicine. For runny and stuffy noses, it is enough to use saline nasal spray and drink plenty of water and rest. When the body temperature exceeds 38.5°C or the child is weak and aches all over, just feed acetaminophen (over 3 months old) or ibuprofen (over 6 months old) in an appropriate amount. The treatment ideas of many schools of traditional Chinese medicine can also be used as a supplement: If it is obvious cold-induced runny nose and cold sensitivity, giving the baby some warm water boiled with scallions and soaking the feet in warm water of about 40℃ before going to bed can also significantly relieve the discomfort. The two methods do not conflict, as long as they are symptomatic and useful for the baby.

To be honest, many children's repeated colds are really not due to "poor health" but are caused by their parents. I once heard a real case from a doctor in the pediatric care department. My grandmother was always afraid that her baby would get cold, so she had to wear two layers of long sleeves and a vest in the dog days of summer. The baby would sweat every time he ran around, and would catch cold when the wind blew. He had to go to the hospital three times in half a month. Finally, the doctor asked the grandma to reduce the baby to wearing one less layer than an adult. After that, the baby didn't catch a cold for half a year. The metabolic rate of babies is inherently higher than that of adults, and they are not afraid of heat but not cold. Don't always use your own hot and cold standards on the doll. It will be more effective than any other folk remedies to prevent colds.

After talking about colds and fevers, which are the most troublesome for everyone, let’s talk about another problem that causes the whole family to get upset at every turn: vomiting and diarrhea. Last week, a child in the community ate a popsicle and started to have watery stools in the middle of the night. The parents' first reaction was to give him antidiarrheal medicine. In fact, this may not be helpful. If diarrhea is caused by viral infections such as norovirus and rotavirus, Western medicine generally does not recommend the immediate use of powerful antidiarrheal drugs. Viral toxins must be removed from the intestines first. The core of care is to replenish oral rehydration salt III to prevent dehydration, and use probiotics to adjust the intestinal flora. It usually heals on its own in 3-5 days. If the baby just catches a cold or has mild diarrhea caused by indigestion after eating too much, and does not have a fever or low energy, Ding Guier can put a navel patch on the belly button and eat some steamed soft apple puree. Many parents have personally tested that it can quickly relieve the baby, and there is no need to stick to a certain treatment method.

Preventing digestive tract problems is actually simple. Don’t always feed your baby something that is too mixed or too cold, especially for children who have just entered kindergarten. Use separate tableware and disinfect it regularly. Don’t let elders taste the baby’s food with their mouths or share tableware with the baby. Most cases of diarrhea and Helicobacter pylori infection can be prevented.

In the past two years, hand, foot and mouth disease and herpetic angina have frequently broken out in kindergartens. Many parents panic when they hear that there are cases in the class. Many people think that if they have the disease, they have to get infusions. In fact, this is not necessarily the case. The current clinical consensus is that common types of hand, foot and mouth, and herpetic angina are self-healing. As long as there are no signs of serious illness such as persistent high fever, vomiting, listlessness, unsteady walking, and convulsions, the child can be cared for in isolation at home: give the baby warm liquid food to avoid irritating the throat, use Throat Sword Spray to relieve sore throat, and take antipyretics normally if the baby has a fever. It will usually be cured in about 7 days. When my baby was diagnosed with herpetic angina last year, he could still get up and play with building blocks when the fever reached 39.3°C. I followed this method of care and he was bouncing back to school in 5 days without suffering any infusions. Of course, if the signs of severe illness mentioned above appear, don’t hesitate to go to the hospital immediately, especially for children under 3 years old. Severe illness progresses quickly, so don’t bear it.

The most reliable way to prevent this kind of infectious disease is to get the hand, foot and mouth vaccine on time, and avoid taking your baby to closed and unventilated playgrounds and naughty castles. The first thing you do when you get home from outside is change clothes and wash your hands before holding the baby. My colleague went to a parent-teacher meeting and came into contact with other sick children. He hugged the baby without changing clothes when he came home. As a result, the baby was infected with hand, foot and mouth when he was just 2 years old, and he had a fever for 4 days. He regretted it so much.

There is another pitfall that everyone is most likely to fall into: always thinking about giving their children something to "boost their immunity." Lactoferrin, protein powder, children's vitamins, a bunch of health products piled up at home, to put it bluntly, are all paying IQ tax. The current consensus in the academic community is that no health care products can clearly improve children's immunity. A child's immunity is like practicing martial arts. It has to be gradually exposed to pathogens and monsters to upgrade. You always use plug-ins for it, but you can't develop your true skills. The most reliable way to enhance immunity is to eat a balanced diet of meat, eggs, vegetables and milk every day, do outdoor activities for at least one hour, and sleep for 10-14 hours. It is more effective than any health supplement. Oh, by the way, there is also pediatric massage, which has become very popular recently. We also need to look at it dialectically: Traditional Chinese massage in regular traditional Chinese medicine hospitals can indeed help with mild indigestion and recovery from colds, but don’t believe the gimmicks in maternal and child stores outside that "massage can reduce high fevers and cure pneumonia." I have seen the news before, where a baby injured his ribs after being massaged by an unprofessional masseur. It was just a minor cold, but it turned out to be a serious crime.

In fact, there is no 100% accurate guide for raising a baby. Each baby's body is different. Some babies catch colds when they are cold, and some babies are fine if they eat ice every day. As parents, we don't need to be too anxious, and don't let wind mean rain. Observing the baby's mental state is much more useful than staring at body temperature numbers or stool patterns. When you are really in doubt, it is better to go to a regular hospital and see a pediatrician. Don't make up your own mind and give your baby random medicines.