Prevention and treatment of common childhood diseases

Among the common respiratory, digestive tract, and rash diseases in children, more than 90% can reduce the risk of the disease through daily basic protection. After the onset of the disease, as long as you avoid excessive medication and follow the doctor's advice and provide symptomatic care, most of them can recover smoothly within the natural course of the disease. There is no need to worry about the whole family when a child gets sick.

Speaking of the upper respiratory tract infection that everyone encounters most often, I met Sister Zhang from the community downstairs in the emergency room last week. She was crying while holding her baby who had just entered kindergarten. She said that this was the third time this month that the fever had reached 39 degrees. Is it because of her poor physical condition? In fact, it is normal for a baby who has just entered collective life to have 3-6 colds and fevers within six months. The baby's immune system is like the system of a new mobile phone. It needs to be patched and upgraded from time to time. Occasionally exposed to low-intensity pathogens, but it is to increase the experience value of the immunity. There is no need to carry the baby to the emergency room when he has a fever, let alone ask the doctor to get spores or fluids. Here we must also talk about the current consensus of the academic community: both evidence-based Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine pediatric schools are clearly opposed to the unindicated use of antibiotics - antibiotics used for common viral colds are not only useless, but will destroy the intestinal flora. Only when blood tests and C-reactive protein clearly indicate bacterial infection, it is necessary to use the full amount of the course of treatment. For some mild colds, if parents really want to intervene, mild relief methods such as bathing with warm water and drinking water boiled with light black beans, which are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, can also be used. As long as the fever is not forced to exceed 39 degrees without taking antipyretics.

Oh, by the way, there is another pitfall that many parents have stepped on countless times: as soon as they hear their baby coughing, they rush to give them cough medicine, for fear that the cough will cause pneumonia. In fact, coughing is a protective reflex of the body, which is to expel phlegm from the respiratory tract. It is not recommended for children under 6 years old to use over-the-counter cough medicine. If the cough really makes them unable to sleep at night or eat, see a doctor first to listen to the lungs to rule out the risk of pneumonia. If there is no problem, drinking a spoonful of warm honey water and patting the back frequently will be more effective than anything else - it is not pneumonia caused by coughing. It is the infection in the lungs that causes the cough. Don't reverse the cause and effect.

In addition to respiratory problems, the most common cases in my clinic during holidays are digestive tract emergencies. Last week, a grandma stuffed her 3-year-old grandson with half a plate of beef in sauce, two croquettes and half a box of milk slices. In the middle of the night, the baby started vomiting and having diarrhea and the temperature reached 38.5 degrees. The grandma was so anxious that she slapped her thigh and said she would have known better not to feed the baby so much. Don’t give your baby antidiarrheal medicine at this time. The principle of evidence-based medicine is to add oral rehydration salt III first to prevent dehydration. Don’t let electrolytes become disordered. Don’t use strong antidiarrheal medicine to block toxins in the intestines. ； If it is mild diarrhea caused by simple food accumulation, the commonly used method of boiling water with Jiao Sanxian and rubbing the belly clockwise is also very effective. The two ideas do not conflict. The core is to help the baby's intestines reduce the burden and restore function. There is no need to argue about who is better in Chinese and Western medicine.

When talking about prevention, the first thing many parents ask is whether they should pay for vaccines at their own expense. This is also one of the most controversial issues currently. Some parents say that free ones are enough, and self-payment is IQ tax. Some parents are eager to arrange all available vaccines for their children. Judging from clinical data, the diseases covered by self-funded vaccines such as hand, foot and mouth, rotavirus, and 13-valent pneumonia are exactly the types that are highly prevalent in children under 5 years old and can easily lead to severe illness. If the family's finances allow, priority will be given to vaccination. ； If your budget is really limited, you can also choose by age group: babies who have just entered kindergarten will be given priority for hand, mouth and foot vaccination, babies under 6 months old will be given priority for 13-price pneumonia, and babies who have just introduced complementary foods can be vaccinated against rotavirus first. There is no need to follow the trend, and don’t feel that you are sorry for your child if you don’t get the vaccine at your own expense.

When my own baby was two years old, he suffered from acute rash. The fever lasted for three days, reaching a maximum of 39.8 degrees Celsius. My mother was so anxious that she had to take the baby for infusion. I was also panicking, but I gritted my teeth and fed him ibuprofen and wiped my neck and armpits with a warm towel. On the fourth day, a red rash appeared all over my body. The fever went away immediately, and no medicine was used. After dealing with children and parents for so many years, my biggest feeling is that there is really no need to pursue "zero illness" when raising children. Doing the seven-step hand washing method, not wearing too many clothes on the baby, and going to crowded and closed places less often are more effective than taking any supplements to improve immunity. If you are really sick, don't mess around. Observe your baby's mental state first. Take care of your baby at home if he can eat and play. If he is mentally weak, go to the hospital to find a reliable doctor. Just follow the doctor's advice. There is no one who will not get sick when raising a baby. Relaxation is better than anything else.