Characteristics and treatment of herpetic pharyngitis in children

Herpangina is a disease caused by an enterovirus. It is characterized by sudden onset of fever and sore throat, which brings great trouble to people's lives, especially in children, where the incidence rate is relatively high. Therefore, curing this disease has become an issue that many parents are eager to know. Here we will introduce the treatment method of herpetic pharyngitis in children.

Herpetic pharyngitis symptoms

It is more common in children aged 3 to 10 years old, and is more common in summer and autumn. The same patient may have multiple episodes caused by different types of viruses. The incubation period is 3 to 10 days. It usually starts with a sudden high fever, which may reach a peak within 24 to 48 hours, rising to 39 to 41°C, accompanied by headache, throat discomfort, myalgia, etc. Infants and young children often have vomiting, refusal to eat, and even high fever convulsions; older children and adults often have severe sore throat, dysphagia, myalgia in the limbs, anorexia and fatigue, etc. After 4 to 5 days, small gray papules appear in the pharynx, which develop into blisters and ulcers within 24 hours. The characteristic lesions are surrounded by a 1 to 5 mm red halo. Lesions often appear on the anterior pillars of the tonsils, the edge of the soft palate, and the uvula. The ulcer heals after 1 to 5 days, and the fever usually subsides and the symptoms disappear within 3 days.

Treatment of herpetic pharyngitis

(1) Rinse with compound borax solution, normal saline or 3% hydrogen peroxide; apply 2% chloramphenicol glycerol or 1% gentian violet to the affected area to promote healing of the ulcer surface.

(2) Get enough rest, drink plenty of water, eat more fresh vegetables and nutritious and easily digestible foods to enhance your body’s resistance.

(3) To prevent secondary infection and shorten the course of the disease, penicillin, gentamicin, etc. can be injected intramuscularly. For patients with severe systemic symptoms, antibiotics are often given intravenously in combination with hormones. For example, 8 million U of penicillin combined with 240,000 U of gentamicin and 5 mg of dexamethasone intravenously, or 6-8 g of cefazolin combined with 0.48 g of amikacin and 5 mg of dexamethasone intravenously, have good therapeutic effects and generally no complications. Children should use a reduced dosage.

(4) Traditional Chinese medicine treatment: This medicine is very effective for this disease and can be divided into two categories: internal and external use. Medication should be selected according to the condition. Commonly used drugs are as follows:

① Clearing away heat: raw rehmannia, forsythia, honeysuckle, light bamboo leaves, akebia, raw licorice, Sichuan dendrobium, sophora flavescens, and broad-leaved green tea.

②Reduce heat: Phellodendron chinense, Scutellaria baicalensis, Coptis chinensis, Gypsum, Anemarrhena asphodeloides.

③ Nourishing Yin: Asparagus cochinchinensis, Ophiopogon japonicus, Rehmannia glutinosa, Radix Yuanshen, White Peony Root, Adenophora Root, Radix Trichosanthis.

The above content introduces in detail the symptoms and treatment of herpetic pharyngitis in children. It is a common disease in children in summer. To prevent this disease, parents should pay attention to maintaining their children's personal and indoor hygiene, and try not to take their children to noisy public places, so as to reduce the risk of our children contracting this disease.