How to treat a sore throat in a child 2 years old

Angina is an unpleasant and rather serious disease, even for adults. What can we say about a small child with an imperfect immune system, in whom it can quickly provoke numerous complications. But at the same time, many mothers continue to consider it a common respiratory disease, which can be eliminated with the help of exclusively traditional methods of treatment. As a result, the baby ends up in a hospital bed or operating table.

Features of the flow

To understand why only a doctor should treat a sore throat in a child 2 years old and younger, you need to know the features of the course of the disease in young children. Angina is an inflammation of the tonsils, which can be acute or chronic and in 90% of cases is of an infectious nature. It is called streptococci - pathogenic bacteria that can enter the baby's body in any way: through dirty hands, contaminated dishes, food, common items, or by airborne droplets.

The first defensive reaction is inflammation and severe redness of the tonsils, which are composed of lymphoid tissue permeated with numerous blood vessels. In fact, the tonsils are a natural barrier to infection, preventing it from getting deeper into the respiratory tract. They produce special immune cells - phagocytes, which destroy pathogenic microorganisms.

But the problem is that streptococci have a special defense mechanism. They also produce a substance that is destructive to phagocytes. And usually microbes win, so sore throat develops. Continuing to resist the disease, the child's body begins to produce antibodies that are aggressive to all foreign cells. Sometimes antibodies attack even the cells of the body itself, provoking active inflammatory processes in other organs. Gradually developing: rheumatism, pyelonephritis, rheumatic heart disease, etc.

There is only one way to prevent the development of serious and sometimes life-threatening complications - timely adequate treatment with antibacterial drugs, the action of which is aimed directly at destroying the causative agents of the disease.

Yes, it happens that angina in a child has non-infectious causes. And then antibiotics may not be needed. But you can find out by showing the child to the doctor and passing the examination.

How not to confuse sore throat with acute respiratory infections

Many mothers, especially young ones, are frivolous about angina solely out of ignorance. At the initial stage, they take it for a common cold and go to the doctor only when a characteristic white bloom or purulent rash appears on the child's glands. Although tonsillitis can be recognized at an early stage by its characteristic features:

sudden rise in temperature to 38^OC and higher;
severe redness of the throat and a noticeable increase in the tonsils;
the child begins to be capricious for no reason, cry;
A 2-3-year-old child begins to wheeze, hoarseness appears;
sleep becomes restless, or the baby cannot fall asleep for a long time;
appetite completely disappears, the child refuses even his favorite food.

In this case, there are usually no other signs of a respiratory disease - there is still no cough, runny nose, swelling of the mucous membranes. If you find three or more of the above symptoms in your baby at the same time, it's time to sound the alarm and go to a doctor's consultation.

Sore throat treatment

Treatment of angina in a preschool child always begins with a thorough diagnosis. In the acute course of the disease and the moderate condition of the baby, the doctor can immediately prescribe a broad-spectrum antibiotic in order to prevent the rapid development of complications. If the child feels satisfactory, they limit themselves to the use of antipyretic and anti-inflammatory drugs until the test results come.

But even in this case, time is not worth wasting. You can treat the throat by rinsing, irrigating and using topical preparations, including antibiotics. Experience has shown that the combination of folk methods with effective, correctly selected pharmaceutical preparations gives the fastest and most tangible results. Complex treatment of sore throat includes:

Rinses. Antiseptic solutions or decoctions of medicinal herbs. Good results are obtained by a solution of sea salt, furacillin, potassium permanganate (very weak!). Of the herbs, oak bark, eucalyptus, St. John's wort, celandine, peppermint are useful. Gargle at least 5-6 times a day. This will constantly moisturize the mucous membranes and free them from toxic plaque.
Irrigation of the throat. Excellent results are obtained with a spray with antibiotic "Bioparox". It is harmful to most bacteria and even some fungi. It is better to irrigate the throat after rinsing or rinsing, and after that, do not let the child eat or drink for at least 20 minutes, so that the drug remains on the mucous membranes as long as possible.
Syrups and medicines. A very convenient form of drugs that relieve sore throat, relieve inflammation and restore damaged mucous membranes. But the doctor should also select the syrup for the child, since they are divided into different categories: expectorant, mucolytic and antitussive. Which one will help the baby depends on the form of sore throat and the individual characteristics of the course of the disease.
Warming up. At home, vodka compresses, which are put at night, help well for sore throat. But they can be done only after the temperature does not cross the 37.2 mark.^OWith and with the permission of the attending physician. Physiotherapeutic procedures are useful: quartz tube, laser heating, darsonval. But they are usually only available in clinics.
Pills and injections. All medications: antibiotics, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, antihistamines and others are prescribed by the pediatrician after receiving the results of the examination. Your task is to comply with all the prescriptions, dosages and time of taking medications as accurately as possible. Antibiotics in injections are usually prescribed to children under one year old or in severe cases of the disease, when a quick result is needed. Therefore, if the doctor made such a decision, you should not dispute it.

With properly organized treatment, the baby's condition improves significantly already 3-5 days from the beginning of the course. If this does not happen, this is a reason for a second visit to a doctor. Perhaps one of the drugs is not suitable or the causative agent of the disease was identified incorrectly and a correction of the course of treatment is needed.

Surgical removal of tonsils today is considered an extreme measure. It is prescribed only in case of transition of the disease into a chronic form, which cannot be cured conservatively.

Urgent surgery may be prescribed if severely swollen tonsils block air access and prevent the child from breathing and eating normally. In other situations, the tonsils, which perform important protective functions in the body, are trying to preserve.

You should not be afraid of the operation. It is performed under local anesthesia and is less traumatic. High-tech equipment (laser or ultrasound) minimizes the risk of postoperative wound infection or complications. Already a day after the operation, if the outcome is favorable, the baby and his mother can go home.

But it is important to remember that by removing the tonsils, you are depriving the child's respiratory organs of the natural defenses, so he will often get sick with colds and other respiratory diseases.

Baby care

An important part of the treatment of sore throat is the proper care of the child until complete recovery or the end of the rehabilitation period after the surgical removal of the tonsils. The first day after the operation, it is better for the child to be in the hospital, and then (in the absence of complications), you can continue the treatment of the throat on an outpatient basis. And then the same rules come into force as with ordinary angina:

Bed rest. When a baby is only two or 3 years old, it is simply unrealistic to keep him in bed by force. Think of an interesting activity that he could do while lying down: read him a fairy tale, look at pictures, play with dolls. A sick baby will quickly get tired of any active actions and fall asleep without crying, which is completely unnecessary for a sore throat.
Warm drink. It is needed in large quantities. And this must be monitored. The kid will be capricious, and this is understandable - it hurts him to swallow. Prepare the drink he likes: weak tea with honey, rosehip decoction, dried fruit compote, water acidified with lemon. Alternate drinks, drink from your favorite cup, drinkers - whatever you like, but the baby should drink at least a liter of liquid a day.
Fruit juices. Juice is food, not drink. And undiluted, they contain a lot of sugar and organic acids, which will irritate an already sore throat. Do not give them undiluted to a sick child! But diluted in half with warm water, they will replenish the supply of vitamins and microelements lost during dehydration and will be able to satisfy hunger a little.
Thorough cleaning. Necessarily wet, carried out without the use of household chemicals and at least twice a day. It is necessary to ventilate 2-3 times a day to ensure the flow of oxygen. If it's cold outside, and there is nowhere to take the baby out of the room, you need to cover him with a blanket and take him in your arms while the window is open. When there is an opportunity to quartz the room - great, but you can do this no more than once a day for 10-15 minutes.
Diet. A sick child cannot be force-fed - it will still not do him any good. He may refuse to eat, because it hurts him to swallow. Or because all the body's resources are aimed at fighting the disease and there is simply no energy left to digest food. Prepare your child a semi-liquid puree from your favorite foods: potatoes, vegetables, pumpkin. Don't use salt and spices. Make a banana milkshake to heal your throat and rejuvenate.

And most importantly, be patient. Yes, sick children are much more capricious than healthy ones. But they do this not out of harm, the child just does not understand why he feels bad, he is very upset and exhausted by this state.

If you scream or demand strict observance of the rules, he will often cry, and this is an extra strain on his throat. Make him an ally. Turn the treatment process into an interesting game - and your baby will recover much faster.

Prevention measures

It is almost always necessary to treat angina with antibiotics, which are not very useful for a growing body. Therefore, it is better to do everything initially to minimize the child's chances of catching this infectious disease:

if there is a sick sore throat in the house, completely protect the child from contact with him;
during massive outbreaks of respiratory diseases, do not visit crowded places with your baby;
take measures to strengthen the child's immunity: daily walks, hardening procedures, vitamin therapy are required;
try not to expose your baby to sudden changes in climate and time zones - this greatly reduces the immune defense;
adherence to a reasonable daily routine is mandatory at least until secondary school age;
provide your baby with high-quality healthy food based on natural products, without chemicals and preservatives.

In this case, the chances of getting sick when faced with an infection are less for a child of 3 years or less, and he will bear the disease much easier than his unhardened peers.

And remember that treatment must always be followed through. Even such a phenomenon as a residual cough can be a signal that a focus of infection has remained, which can lead to the transition of the disease into a chronic form.