How to cure a red throat for a child under 3 years old

The most common diseases in children from one year to 3-x years are colds. The nasopharynx is the entrance gate for infection, which is extremely vulnerable in childhood, when the immune system is not yet fully developed. The throat contains clumps of lymphoid tissue that are part of the immune system. The largest clusters are the palatine tonsils, they are the first to become inflamed when pathogens enter the nasopharynx. Red throat - just a symptom, not a disease. To answer the question of how to treat a child's throat, you need to find out the cause of this symptom. The correct diagnosis is the key to successful treatment.

Causes

A child's throat may hurt for the following reasons:

1. In 99% of cases, the cause of nasopharyngeal inflammation is acute respiratory diseases, which children under 3-x years can get sick on average up to eight times a year. Such a prevalence of pathology at this age is explained by the attendance of children in kindergarten and weak immunity. In the first year of life, a child can get sick up to 15 times. V two years - up to 7 times, in the third year of life - up to 5 times a year. After 3-5 years, the incidence of diseases decreases due to the fact that when infected, immune cells are produced and immunity becomes stronger. However, too frequent colds have a negative impact on physical and mental development.

More than 200 viruses are the causative agents of ARVI.

Immunity is developed in children from one type of virus. This means that even cured the baby can get sick again when the immune system is attacked by another type of pathogen. For the disease to develop, predisposing factors are necessary: hypothermia, stay in a draft or under air conditioning, constant change of weather conditions, vitamin deficiency, anemia, congenital diseases, lack of tempering, contact with sick people.

2. Laryngitis is an acute disease in which the larynx becomes inflamed, a type of acute respiratory disease.

3. Pharyngitis - inflammation of the pharynx, which occurs when the mucous membrane of the pharynx is exposed to bacteria, viruses, fungi, allergens. Pharyngitis can be caused by an injury to the pharynx.

4. False croup (acute stenosis of the larynx, stenosing laryngotracheitis) is a serious condition characterized by a sharp narrowing of the larynx lumen, making breathing difficult.

5. True croup (diphtheria) is a life-threatening condition, an acute infectious disease of the upper respiratory tract with damage to the central nervous system and cardiovascular system, caused by a diphtheria bacillus. The danger to life is precisely the causative agent of diphtheria, which secretes diphtheria toxins.

6. Acute and chronic tonsillitis develops under the influence of bacteria, viruses, fungi, sticks, helminths with adverse factors: hypothermia, contact with a sick person, with a tendency to allergies, with blood diseases.

7. The cause of sore throat in children before 3years, there may be a chemical burn and injury when swallowing a foreign object.

Clinical manifestations

SARS are characterized by the following symptoms:

elevated or normal temperature;
severe or weak manifestations of intoxication (pain in muscles, joints, head, vomiting);
watery eyes, runny nose, cough, sneezing;
lethargy, decreased appetite, sleep disturbance;
redness and pain in the nasopharynx.

With laryngitis and pharyngitis, in addition to intoxication, there is pain when swallowing, perspiration, dryness, hoarseness of the voice up to its loss, dry cough at the beginning of the disease, during the development of the disease - a wet cough.

False croup most often affects children at the age of three. The disease begins with an acute attack, in which there is a spasm of the larynx and glottis. The patient has difficulty wheezing. A plaque forms on the tonsils and mucous throat, which, unlike true croup, is easily removed. The condition requires immediate medical attention.

Diphtheria symptoms:

low-grade fever at the beginning of the disease and an increase in temperature up to 41 degrees with a toxic form of diphtheria;
lethargy, apathy, drowsiness, headaches;
repeated vomiting;
pain when swallowing;
significant increase and swelling of the tonsils, shortness of breath. In the toxic form, the tonsils are so enlarged that they can completely block the entrance to the pharynx. In this case, the patient dies without specialized help;
first, there is a white bloom on the tonsils, then a gray bloom on the entire surface of the oropharynx, which cannot be removed;
cervical lymph nodes are significantly enlarged;
subcutaneous tissue in the neck and chest area is edematous.

Sore throat symptoms:

abrupt start, rapid development;
high fever, aches throughout the body, vomiting;
severe pain when swallowing;
tonsils are hyperemic, edematous, enlarged, covered with plaque and purulent plugs;
severe weakness, lack of appetite, sleep disorder.

Diagnostics

The diagnosis is made by a pediatrician or pediatric otolaryngologist based on the patient's complaints and an examination confirmed by laboratory data. The main diagnosis is the study of a smear from the oropharynx. If necessary, a biochemical examination of blood and urine, an ultrasound examination of the abdominal organs, and chest x-ray are performed.

Traditional therapy

How to treat the throat of a one-year-old child, as well as children of two and three years old. General complex scheme:

the patient must comply with bed rest, visits to preschool institutions are excluded;
plentiful warm drink: non-acidic fruit drinks, jelly, teas, still mineral water, skim milk, fruit juices diluted with water;
a diet high in vegetables and fruits, except for citrus fruits without a peel; Foods should be soft, warm, and easily digestible. Heavy and irritating food is excluded: meat, fatty fish, canned food, marinades, sauces, chocolate, sweets, freshly squeezed juices;
antihistamines to relieve edema (cetrin, diazolin, suprastin);
antipyretic, pain relievers (paracetamol, ibuprofen);
antitussives, cough syrups: pertusin, mucaltin, bronchodilator, bromhexine;
multivitamins;
local treatment: nasal sprays, gargling with saline, mustard plasters on the neck. Warming compresses can only be used at normal temperature;
during the period of illness, it is necessary to maintain a comfortable indoor climate. The children's room should not be hot and dry, you need to regularly ventilate and do wet cleaning;
treatment of true and false croup is carried out only in a hospital setting.

Antibacterial therapy

Often, children under 3 years old with colds are prescribed antibiotics unreasonably, as a prophylaxis of possible complications. But antibiotics are not a preventive measure, so with their help it is impossible to avoid the development of any complications.

For viral diseases, antibiotics will not be beneficial, and they can cause side effects.

The main complications of antibiotic therapy in ARVI are the development of allergic reactions and dysbiosis. Antibiotics are prescribed exclusively for bacterial infections: bacterial sore throat, bacterial pharyngitis, purulent processes in the nasopharynx, accession of a secondary bacterial infection.

Antiviral therapy

In most cases, the treatment of viral infections is complete without prescribing antiviral drugs. But with severe acute respiratory infections, the appointment of antiviral drugs is justified. Their effectiveness is high if drugs are started to be used during the first days of the disease.It is possible to treat a 1-year-old child's throat with viruses with 0.2% rimantadine syrup in combination with no-spa. Children aged 3 years are prescribed a five-day course of 100mg rimantadine tablets per day.

A 2-year-old child's throat can be treated with a low-toxic antiviral drug Arbidol 50mg. It can be used already in the middle stage of the course of the disease. Rimantadin and arbidol shorten the acute phase by a day.

The universal antiviral agent interferon and its inducers, which simultaneously stimulate the body's immune response, can mitigate or even interrupt the course of the disease. Children 1-3 for years, they receive gripferon in the form of nasal drops 4-6 drops per day or in the form of rectal suppositories.

The maximum effect of interferons is when they are used at the very beginning of the disease.

Treatment with folk remedies

How to cure a sore throat for children under three years old knows traditional medicine, which must be used in combination with traditional remedies:

if the child is 2 years old, then he can already put a vodka compress on his neck. Heat vodka with camphor oil 1: 1, soak a cloth in a warm composition, put on the neck area, put compress paper on top, put a warm handkerchief in the third layer, fasten it tightly with a kerchief on top, but not tightly. If parents are afraid to use vodka, then you can take 5 ml of vinegar in half a liter of water or a salty solution of 2-3 grams of salt in 200 ml of warm water;
Frequent gargling with salt water can help heal a sore throat. You can use table salt or sea salt. You don't need to add anything to the sea salt solution, it contains all the useful substances. And in the solution with edible salt, you can add soda at the tip of a knife and a drop of iodine, if the child is not allergic to iodine. Children from two years old already know how to spit, so rinsing should not be a problem. A one-year-old baby can do irrigation: tilt his head slightly forward and to the side, sprinkle an antiseptic solution from a small syringe into an open mouth. In this case, the liquid will flow freely from the mouth;
add 10 grams of honey and 5-10 grams of butter to a glass of milk. Heat the mixture, drink it warm through a straw;
tea with raspberry jam or with mashed black currant jam helps;
inhalation of potato vapors or essential oils should be carried out with one of the parents. Put the baby in your arms, cover yourself with a blanket, bend over a saucepan with hot potatoes, boiled in a peel. Sit for 7-10 minutes;
give herbal decoctions to drink: calendula, sage, chamomile, St. John's wort, elderberry. You can also rinse with these broths;
pour mustard powder into cotton socks, put on one more socks on top. The procedure is carried out at night.

Pathologies in which children under three years of age have a sore throat can be complicated by the following conditions: pneumonia, bronchitis, tracheitis, pleurisy, laryngospasm, frontal sinusitis, otitis media, meningitis, encephalitis, laryngeal edema, rheumatism. To prevent this from happening, you need to carry out therapy in a timely manner.

It is not recommended to travel with sick children by plane, especially to a country with a different climate. It is necessary to properly temper children, play active games with them, make sure that the child does not overcool and does not come into contact with infected people.