What to do when the child has a high fever, sore throat?

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted with Master, Doctor Phan Ngoc Hai - Department of Pediatrics - Neonatology - Vinmec International General Hospital Da Nang. Dr. Hai used to work at the Neonatology Department of Da Nang Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital and Hoan My Da Nang Hospital. His strength is in general pediatric examination and treatment, neonatal examination and treatment, pediatric resuscitation.
Canker sores are a common disease in children. Ulcers create a burning sensation, especially when in contact with food, making it difficult for children to eat and drink, fuss, stop eating, stop sucking, and salivate. Children often have trouble sleeping at night and often wake up crying due to mouth pain.

1. Causes of high fever and sore throat in children

Canker sores in children usually manifest as small sores a few millimeters in size. Ulcers can be solitary or appear in clusters, often concentrated on the inner surface of the cheeks, nasopharynx, tongue, and lips.
There are many reasons why your baby has mouth sores and fever. The most common causes are:
Mechanical impact: The child accidentally bites the tongue or the inner cheek; children eat hard, fibrous foods that cause scratches to the oral mucosa such as toast, sugarcane... Oral hygiene is not clean: One of the causes of mouth ulcers in children is due to the attack. attack of bacteria and viruses into the oropharynx. Most children often do not like to brush their teeth and gargle with salt water, and their oral hygiene is not clean, so it is easy to create conditions for disease. Parents should pay attention to teach children the habit of brushing their teeth clean, gargling with salt water to prevent sore throats, canker sores, tonsillitis, etc. Children suffering from malnutrition or an unbalanced diet: Children with lack of essential vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B12, vitamin C, iron and folic acid. Abuse of antibiotics: The body of young children, especially infants, is very sensitive to antibiotics. If a child abuses antibiotics when they are sick, it will easily cause side effects such as fever and mouth sores, sore throat, and difficulty breathing. bear and pain, even the baby may have a very dangerous antibiotic allergy. Children with certain diseases: Mouth ulcers in children can also be seen in some diseases related to disorders of the immune system or infectious diseases such as chickenpox, herpes,... Children with these diseases, the risk of direct infection and outbreaks is very high. The characteristic that is easily recognized in children with sore throat caused by these diseases is the presence of blisters in the mouth area and the mucosa of the throat bursting, causing ulcers.

Especially for children, if they have mouth ulcers and fever, they should pay attention to hand, foot and mouth disease. This is a fecal-oral disease that often presents with sores in the lining of the mouth and can be fatal to children.
Based on mouth sores alone, it is difficult to distinguish mouth ulcers caused by hand, foot and mouth disease or other causes, so parents need to be careful and closely monitor if they suspect that their child has hand, foot and mouth disease.

2. What to do when the child has a high fever, sore throat?

It is important when mouth ulcers in children that parents need to keep their children's oral hygiene. Because of the pain, many children are often lazy to drink water, do not swallow saliva, which will create conditions for bacteria residing in the mouth and throat to develop, causing superinfection. It is best to use physiological saline to rinse the child's mouth after each meal, before going to bed, and waking up.
It is possible for children to gargle with physiological saline after eating, before going to bed, and waking up.
Regarding the diet, parents should use cold, diluted foods such as porridge, soup, milk... At the same time, strengthen vitamin-rich fruit juices, especially C to increase resistance for children. young. If the resistance is poor, the body can re-infect many times, in some cases, the fever will return for a few days after being cured. Give your child plenty of water to drink to prevent dehydration.
The disease is caused by a virus, so it usually goes away on its own after 3-7 days, just need to treat symptoms, relieve pain. Parents are advised to use antibiotics only when there are signs of superinfection. Self-medication makes the disease not better but even worse because the child may have diarrhea as a side effect of antibiotics. Children are anorexia because of pain, plus going to the toilet will make them even more tired.
Mouth ulcers can also occur when the baby has to use certain antibiotics for a long time. In this case, you should wipe your mouth, especially your baby's tongue, clean after each dose.
When the baby has mouth ulcers and fever, give him fever reducer when he has a fever above 38.5 degrees Celsius. Some children only have a fever, but if it's too painful and interferes with eating and drinking, fever-reducing drugs can be used to relieve pain in the right way. instructions, 4-6 hours/time according to the child's weight. However, it is not necessary to take oresol, unless the child has a bowel movement and vomits a lot. In addition, the infusion must also absolutely follow the doctor's prescription.
Besides, when you have a viral fever, it is important to rest, so that the body can focus on eliminating the virus. Therefore, if the child has just had a fever, parents should not let the child go to school, run and jump, otherwise the illness will take a long time to recover.

3. Prevention of sore throat, high fever in children

To prevent canker sores in children, parents need to:
Teach your child the habit of frequent hand washing to avoid contact with bacteria. Give children adequate nutrition, especially rich in minerals and vitamins A, C, and E. Instruct children on proper oral hygiene, gently clean with soft bristle brushes. After a child recovers from illness, parents must change their child's toothbrush to help prevent the illness from returning. Instructing children on hygiene and eating for children. Do not allow children to suck their hands, feet or unclean toys. Regularly clean the house with disinfectant solution and wash hands with antibacterial soap regularly before taking care of children. Get your child vaccinated against chickenpox and other necessary vaccines. If the child has an infectious disease such as chickenpox, hand, foot and mouth disease, the child must be isolated from contact with other children. If they notice the symptoms of mouth ulcers in children, parents need to quickly take their children to reputable medical facilities for timely examination and treatment.
To prevent high fever as well as sore throat in children, parents should add some supportive foods containing lysine, essential micro-minerals and vitamins such as zinc, chromium, selenium, B vitamins. , ... helps to fully meet the needs of nutrients while supporting the immune system, enhancing resistance, reducing the risk of upper respiratory tract infections, bronchitis, flu.
Lysine is very necessary for the development of children, Lysine promotes the production of digestive enzymes to stimulate children to eat better and digest easily and effectively, increase food metabolism, maximize absorption of nutrients. Nutrition from food. Fortifying lysine for babies also helps the body create antibodies, develop resistance to help reduce cough, thin phlegm in children.
Parents can learn more:
Why do you need to supplement Lysine for your baby?
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