Prevention and management of common childhood diseases

Daily prevention of triggers, long-term physical fitness, and no panic during illness. There is no such thing as "one medicine cures all diseases, one standard fits all children". All measures must be adjusted according to the child's individual constitution, and there is no need to pursue "zero illness." 3-5 common colds per year are actually a normal process for children to build immunity. There is no need to take antibiotics for every cold. Over-intervention will destroy the child's own immune barrier.

Last week, the outpatient clinic just received a mother. She brought a medicine box half as tall as a person. She said that her baby had just been in kindergarten for half a year. She said that she had all prepared antipyretics, cold medicines, antibiotics, probiotics, and health care products to improve immunity. When her baby coughed, she quickly gave her three or four medicines. As a result, her baby had a fever for three days last week, and antibiotics were of no use after two days. After a blood test, she found out that it was a viral infection, and she suffered for several days in vain. Don't tell me, I have seen too many parents who are afraid of their children and ask "Is there any medicine that can make the baby less sick?"

Take the fever that worries parents the most. There are currently two different schools of thought in clinical response: the evidence-based medicine view is to give acetaminophen or ibuprofen to children when the axillary temperature exceeds 38.5°C or the ear temperature exceeds 39°C. Do not cover your sweat during the entire process to avoid inducing febrile convulsions. For physical cooling, the priority is to wipe the neck, armpits, and groin with a warm towel. Do not wipe with alcohol or use antipyretic patches - the latter has been clearly proven to be useless and may also induce skin allergies. The idea of ​​​​traditional Chinese medicine is to differentiate syndrome according to the situation: if it is wind-chill fever caused by cold, the child is afraid of cold, has a runny nose, and has cold hands and feet. In the early stage, you can wear a thin coat to cover the child, drink some warm ginger water to induce sweating, and there is no need to rush to take medicine as soon as the temperature reaches 38.5°C. Both of these ideas are actually correct. The core thing is to look at the child's condition: if the child is still running, jumping, eating and laughing even when the temperature is 38°C, and the child is still in good spirits even when the temperature is 39°C, you can observe it first. ； If the baby wilts, cries non-stop, or even shows signs of convulsions such as chills and straight eyes, you can give medication or go directly to the hospital even if the temperature is 38°C.

I met a father a while ago. His baby had a fever of 38°C and he hurriedly fed Merrill Lynch. As a result, the baby was sweating profusely and his body temperature dropped to 35°C. His face was pale when he carried the baby. In fact, it is completely unnecessary. It is much more important to observe more than to memorize the temperature line.

There are also parents who rush to give cough medicines to their babies when they hear they hear coughs. There are different principles here: Western medicine generally believes that children under 6 years old are not recommended to take over-the-counter cough medicines. Coughing itself is a self-protection mechanism for phlegm elimination. Forcibly suppressing coughs will hold secretions in the respiratory tract. Patting the back more frequently, and drinking warm honey water for babies over 1 year old can relieve the pain. Traditional Chinese medicine will treat cold and hot coughs differently. For example, you can eat roasted oranges for cold coughs, and drink unsweetened pear water for hot coughs. These are very mild intervention methods, and you don’t need to take medicine as soon as you start.

When it comes to prevention, many people's first reaction is to take supplements for this and that. I had an old patient whose child had a cold every month. The parents were so anxious that they spent several thousand on protein powder that was said to improve immunity, but the child still got sick. I asked her if she usually wrapped her up like a rice dumpling as soon as the temperature dropped, and stuffed her with various snacks and supplements after school. Sure enough, she did. In fact, the most practical preventions are small things: don’t feed your baby too much accumulated food, wipe it in time if you sweat, don’t take off a thin vest immediately to protect your back, don’t blow the air conditioner, wash your hands first after returning from kindergarten, and go to crowded and closed playgrounds less often. These are more effective than any health care products. Oh, by the way, there is also controversy here: Should we give our children immunity-boosting health products? Western medicine generally believes that a normal balanced diet, more than one hour of outdoor activity a day, and enough sleep are enough. Most of the immune globulin and lactoferrin sold on the market are IQ taxes. Unless children are diagnosed with immune deficiency, they need to be supplemented according to the doctor's advice. The idea of ​​​​traditional Chinese medicine is that if the child usually has a weak spleen and stomach and often accumulates food and sweats a lot, he can eat something that has the same origin as medicine and food, such as boiling some Huaishan tangerine peel water and fried malt water. However, it is not recommended to eat it for a long time. The core is to adjust the daily diet and rest.

As for the home management of common diseases, the most common pitfall is "worrying about symptoms": For example, if a baby has diarrhea and is given antidiarrheal medicine first, it will trap the toxins in the body. In fact, giving oral rehydration salt first to avoid dehydration is the first priority. If the child has diarrhea frequently, check the stool routine, and don't give medicine blindly.； Not to mention allergies, don’t listen to others who say, “As soon as a child’s allergies grow up, they will be fine. Check for allergens when you need to, and avoid when you need to avoid them. If you insist on it, it will only get worse.

After all, there really aren’t that many rigid rules that you must abide by when raising a baby. You know your baby’s physical condition best when you take care of it. No matter how good the method suggested by others, it can only be used as a reference. If you are really not sure, just seek help from a professional doctor. It’s better to observe your baby’s condition than to mess around on your own. Oh, and here’s a little reminder: Don’t stock up on too many medicines in the medicine cabinet at home. Many children’s medicines have a short shelf life. If you accidentally give them to your child after the expiration date, something could happen. It’s enough to prepare antipyretics, oral rehydration salts, and calamine lotion. You can buy the rest when you really need them.