Prevention and control of common childhood diseases

For common childhood diseases (mainly respiratory and digestive tract diseases) that account for more than 90% of pediatric outpatient visits, the core of prevention and control is "three-layer adaptive protection" - the basic layer provides individualized care for daily clothing, food, housing and transportation, the risk layer avoids sources of infection in advance at high-incidence nodes such as season changes and the start of school, and the treatment layer selects appropriate intervention plans based on the actual status of the child. There is no standard template that is universally applicable, and the most effective one is the one that suits your child.

I have worked in community child care clinics for 6 years, and I have seen too many parents copy the strategies found online, and in the end turned small problems into big troubles. Last month, a father came to the hospital with his 2-year-old baby. The baby had a rash on his arm and had diarrhea for three days. After asking, he found out that the baby just had a runny nose. He saw two groups of people on the Internet trying to pinch him. One group said, "Take anti-inflammatory drugs early to get better quickly."

Regarding the treatment of common colds in children, these two statements actually have clinical basis, and it is impossible to say who is right and who is wrong. The view of the evidence-based medicine school is very clear: the common cold is a self-limiting disease, and there is no specific medicine. As long as the child is in good spirits, has a body temperature not exceeding 38.5°C, drinks plenty of water and rests, it will heal on its own in 5 to 7 days. There is no need to use any compound cold medicine, and antibiotics cannot be used casually. ； The traditional pediatric treatment method also makes sense. Children have delicate organs. If timely intervention is not performed after a cold, they are indeed more likely to develop bronchitis and pneumonia than adults. It is also feasible to use some mild external treatment methods such as foot soaking in warm water, pediatric massage, or simple Chinese patent medicines to relieve symptoms. The core criterion for judgment is never online guides, but the condition of your baby: a baby who is usually strong, has a runny nose and can run all over the floor can definitely be observed for a few days. ； If a child has allergies and is prone to wheezing when he catches a cold, early intervention can prevent him from suffering a greater disaster.

In addition to colds, the second most common headache for parents is digestive tract problems. A while ago, when the incidence of Noru was high, I would receive more than 20 babies with vomiting and diarrhea in a day, and the treatment methods were also all kinds of strange: some grandmothers gave antidiarrheal medicine to the babies as soon as they came in, some mothers carried them without food and only drank warm water, and finally there were babies who lost their strength and were brought to the emergency room. There is also a common controversy here: are the burnt rice soup and steamed apples loved by the older generation useful? The answer is it depends. For mild non-infectious diarrhea caused by eating too much food or catching a cold stomach, these therapeutic methods have been proven by generations of people. They are gentle and non-irritating and can indeed relieve symptoms. ； However, if infectious diarrhea is caused by viruses such as norovirus and rotavirus, the first priority is always to replenish oral rehydration salt III to prevent dehydration. Antidiarrheal drugs will delay the excretion of the virus, which will do more harm than good. If you have frequent diarrhea, dry lips, or low energy, don’t hesitate and go to the hospital quickly.

Speaking of prevention, many parents asked me whether they should take vaccines at their own expense and whether they could buy lactoferrin. Regarding self-paid vaccines, there are no mandatory requirements in the industry, but the consensus is very clear: influenza, hand, foot and mouth, whorls, 13-valent pneumonia, and chickenpox are high-priority species. If financial conditions permit, try to get them. I met three children with severe hand, foot and mouth last year, all of whom were not vaccinated. After vaccination, the risk of severe disease can be reduced by more than 80%, and the price/performance ratio is very high. But if you come across a second-category vaccine that promotes "you will never catch a cold" and "comprehensively improve immunity", there is no need to blindly follow the trend. After all, there are hundreds of common cold viruses and there is no way to prevent them. As for various supplements to improve immunity, unless the child is indeed deficient in certain trace elements in blood tests, or has a clear immune deficiency, protein powder and lactoferrin are not as useful as drinking 300-500ml of milk every day, eating half a catty of vegetables and fruits, running in the park for an hour, and sleeping for 10 hours at night. I have followed up several children who used to catch colds once a month. Their parents stopped taking a lot of supplements and took them to the community to play for half an hour after dinner every day. They didn't come to the outpatient clinic for half a year.

Oh, by the way, there is another type of "minor problems" that are easily regarded as common diseases, and many parents will ignore them. Last year, there was a 7-year-old child who complained of stomachache every Monday morning. There were no problems with blood tests and B-ultrasounds. After chatting for a long time, he found out that his math teacher was very strict. He became nervous when he thought of having math class on Monday. This kind of psychogenic pain was not fake. It did have physiological reactions, but no medicine was effective. Later, the parents communicated with the teacher and encouraged him more. Within half a month, the stomachache disappeared on its own. Many parents' first reaction when they see their children feeling unwell is to look for medicine. You might as well squat down and ask your children if they have been unhappy with anything recently. It may be more useful than doing a bunch of tests.

My biggest feeling after having a baby for so long is that raising a baby is really not a math problem, and there is no standard answer. The prevention and control of common children's diseases is difficult to say, but easy to say. Don't always focus on other people's baby set standards, and pay more attention to the condition of your own baby. It is better than anything else. After all, if a child gets a minor illness occasionally when he is a child, his immunity is already fighting monsters. If parents don't panic first, half the battle is already won.