What to do if your baby has a viral cold

A viral cold in a baby is the most troubling thing for parents. Many parents are at a loss at this time. So what should they do? This is what many parents want to know very much. We have also helped everyone consult experts in internal medicine to hear what they say about it. Everyone should read carefully and you will understand how to treat it after reading it. I hope that through the content compiled by the editor, parents can understand and gain something.

Differentiate between the common cold and the flu

Due to the large temperature difference between day and night recently, the number of patients with colds has increased significantly. In this regard, experts pointed out that autumn and winter are the peak seasons for seasonal colds, and there are many patients suffering from coughs and colds every year. Some parents of sick children are more sensitive and have unclear understanding of the common cold and influenza A, so they feel nervous.

Experts told reporters that the common cold and influenza are not the same thing and there are also big differences in clinical symptoms. The common cold is an upper respiratory tract infection. Among children's upper respiratory tract infections, 80%-90% are caused by viral infections, and the rest may be caused by infections with bacteria, other microorganisms, or secondary bacterial infections after viral infections. Clinically mild symptoms mainly include clear nasal discharge, nasal congestion, sneezing, tearing, slight cough, or throat discomfort. Many patients do not have a fever.

The clinical symptoms of influenza include fever, early chills, headache, cough, joint pain, etc. Some people may also experience diarrhea or vomiting, muscle pain or fatigue, red eyes, etc., and may even develop severe pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome and other serious symptoms. The runny nose and sneezing that most people experience are actually just symptoms of the common cold. They can be treated symptomatically and the family members of the sick children do not need to worry too much.

However, experts remind that since there is almost no difference between the symptoms of influenza A (H1N1) and seasonal influenza, laboratory testing is required to determine whether you have contracted influenza A. Therefore, if you have flu symptoms, you should go to the hospital to test the virus through scientific means.

Don't use antibiotics for viral colds

Nowadays, many parents have dual concerns when taking their children with colds to the hospital: on the one hand, they worry that not going to the hospital will delay the child’s illness; on the other hand, they worry that going to the hospital will cause cross-infection, causing the child’s illness to worsen.

Experts point out that it is not recommended to go to the hospital for the common cold. Hospitals are now overcrowded and cross-infection is very likely to occur during long waiting times and infusions. If your child has a fever, it is not recommended to use medication if the fever is below 38 degrees. You can give your child a warm bath to reduce the temperature. At the same time, let your child drink more water and urinate more to excrete toxins from the body. If the fever is 38.5 degrees, you can give your child some antipyretics. If the fever is 39 degrees, you need to go to the hospital for treatment in time.

It should be noted that if the cold is caused by a viral infection, do not use antibiotics. Otherwise, not only will it not help the cold heal, but it will also cause the intestinal bacteria in the body to develop drug resistance. Long-term use of antibiotics can also easily cause fungal infections.

Differentiate the types of colds and use medicines rationally

Experts warn that although the cold is a common disease, if not treated properly, it can develop into laryngitis, rhinitis, bronchitis, pneumonia and even myocarditis. Severe cases can cause heart failure and endanger life. From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, colds are generally divided into wind-cold colds, wind-heat colds and summer-dampness colds. If accompanied by other symptoms, they are further divided into colds with phlegm, colds with stagnation and colds with shock. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the type of colds in children and use medications scientifically and rationally.

Wind-heat cold: The main symptoms are fever, fear of wind, sweating or no sweating, headache, conjunctival congestion, nasal congestion and purulent nasal discharge, sneezing and coughing, thick white or yellow sputum, thirst and sore throat, red or swollen throat, red tongue, thin white or thin yellow tongue coating. Therefore, the treatment needs to dispel wind and heat, and promote lung function and relieve exterior symptoms. It is advisable to use pungent and cool drugs that can relieve exterior symptoms, such as Vitamin C Yinqiao tablets, Yinqiao powder, Sangju cold tablets, Isatis root granules, pediatric clearing throat granules, wind-heat cold granules, cold and fever-reducing granules, heat-clearing and detoxifying oral liquid, Shuanghuanglian oral liquid, etc.

Wind-cold cold: more common in the early stage of a cold, with fever and fear of cold (mainly fear of cold or even chills), mental fatigue, mild fever, no sweat or slight sweat, nasal congestion and clear runny nose, sneezing, cough with sputum, thin green sputum, itchy throat without desire to drink, not obvious red throat, and thin white tongue coating. Therefore, treatment requires dispelling wind and cold, promoting lung function and relieving exterior symptoms. It is advisable to use drugs that are pungent and warm in nature to relieve exterior symptoms, such as Fangfeng Tongsheng Powder, Jingfang Baidu Powder, Ganmao Soft Capsules, Fenghan Ganmao Granules, and Xiaoer Qingganling Tablets.

Summer-heat and dampness cold: a cold that is more common in summer, characterized by high fever without sweating, headache and drowsiness, chest tightness and nausea, loss of appetite and no thirst, vomiting or loose stools, nasal congestion, runny nose and cough. The tongue is red, with a greasy white or yellow coating. The treatment should be aimed at clearing away dampness and heat, dispelling exterior pathogens and tonifying the lungs. The disease is mostly caused by the hot and humid summer, greed for coolness (such as low temperature in an air-conditioned room) or excessive consumption of raw and cold food, and external pathogens. It is advisable to use medicines that can dispel heat, relieve exterior symptoms, eliminate dampness and harmonize the middle, such as Huoxiang Zhengqi oral liquid, honeysuckle dew, and Xiangsu Zhengwei pills.

Exogenous infection with stagnation: There are symptoms of a cold, high fever and cough, irritability, loss of appetite, nausea and vomiting, sour and smelly vomit, abdominal distension and preference for lying prone, sour and smelly stools, possible diarrhea or constipation, and thick and greasy tongue coating. Therefore, treatment requires drugs that can clear away heat, resolve stagnation and relieve exterior symptoms, such as Zhibao Tablets and Baohe Pills.

Exogenous infection with phlegm: It has cold symptoms, with severe cough, phlegm in the throat, and thick and greasy tongue coating. If the cold is more of a wind-cold, you should use drugs that are pungent and warm in nature and can clear the lungs and resolve phlegm. However, the superficial cold in children usually turns into heat quickly and enters the interior, so you can use children's lung-clearing oral liquid. If the cold is caused by wind and heat, you need medicine that is pungent and cool and can relieve the symptoms, clear the lungs and resolve phlegm, such as Baishoudan.

External infection with convulsions: In addition to the symptoms of a cold, there are high fever, irritability, restless sleep, delirium, panic and even convulsions. The tongue is red and the coating is yellow. Treatment requires drugs that can clear away heat, relieve exterior symptoms, calm the nerves and relieve convulsions, such as Xiaoer Jindan and Xiaoer Huichundan.

Now we know that babies’ viral colds need to be treated according to their types. Therefore, if your baby has a viral cold, you must first see what type it is and then choose the corresponding method for treatment. As long as the viral cold is discovered early, it can be cured as soon as possible. The only worry is that some parents discover it too late and miss the best time for treatment.