Worrying about children getting a sore throat when the weather is erratic
30 Sep 2021 by Trân Trương

Children with “pharyngitis” is a common condition, so many parents are often very subjective and neglectful when their children are sick. However, in reality, this disease can cause many dangerous, even life-threatening complications.
In countries with a tropical climate like Vietnam, sore throat is a very common disease in both adults and children at the time of season change or when the weather turns cold. When a child has a sore throat, a child will be very tired and uncomfortable due to a sore throat, making parents extremely worried. What causes sore throat and which cases of pharyngitis are considered dangerous?
Beware of streptococcal pharyngitis
Pharyngitis is a condition in which the lining of the throat is damaged, infected, and causes sore throat. Because the pharynx is the “gateway” position to bring air, food and water into the body, microorganisms are easy to penetrate and cause disease. There are many causes of sore throat such as:
Allergies: Doesn’t cause pain but can irritate the throat causing coughing.
Influenza: Sore throat is a common symptom, in addition, children also have a runny nose, sneezing.
Virus: The most common cause, accounting for 80% of sore throat cases in children. In addition to sore throat, children also have a high fever.
In addition to the above causes, sore throat can also be caused by group A beta-hemolytic streptococci. This is a very dangerous type of pharyngitis because the shell of this type of streptococcus has a structure similar to that of the renal membrane, pericardium, and joint membrane. If not treated in time, the body will produce antibodies against this type of strep, and attack the kidneys, heart and joints, causing arthritis, glomerulonephritis.
Group A beta-hemolytic streptococci are often produced from polluted environments, dense with dust and exhaust gases. Therefore, at a time when air pollution is at an alarming level like today, this disease has become more dangerous than ever.
Not only that, this type of bacteria is also very easily spread from person to person through sputum when an infected person coughs and sneezes. It can also be spread through shared eating, drinking, and can even spread when hands touch surfaces containing bacteria and then bring them directly to the nose, mouth, or eyes. Therefore, if children do not have the habit of washing their hands regularly, they will be at high risk of contracting this disease.
Signs that a child has a sore throat
With babies, the signs of sore throat in young children are easy to be confused with the usual teething symptoms.. Specifically, the child will have symptoms such as:
- Cough, sore throat, red swollen throat
- Swallowing painful saliva, difficult to open mouth
- The tonsils appear many white pus spots
- Your baby may have a fever with different levels: low fever, moderate fever or high fever
- Nasal congestion, runny nose, clear or yellow-green nasal discharge
- Tired body
- Babies cry a lot, lose their appetite, stop breastfeeding
With cases of strep throat, children will have the following symptoms:
- The throat and 2 sides of the tonsils will have spots, white streaks and may be red and swollen
- Fever more than 38 degrees Celsius
- Painful swelling of lymph nodes in the neck
- Severe and persistent sore throat
- Rash on the neck and chest (rare)
Experts warn that if children from 3 to 6 months old have a fever above 38.5 degrees Celsius, mouth pain, they should be taken to the doctor immediately because this is a warning sign that a sore throat has begun to be serious. For babies over 6 months old, if the child has a fever of 39 degrees Celsius, the throat has abnormal signs such as swelling, redness, can’t open the mouth because of pain, difficulty breathing, poor feeding (sucking), constant crying continuously, it is necessary to quickly reduce the fever safely and take the baby to the doctor immediately. Absolutely do not let the baby get so bad that he has a throat infection, can’t eat, drink, have trouble breathing, have a high fever, and drool continuously before taking him to the doctor because that way the child will be very susceptible to dangerous complications.
How to treat sore throat in children?
If you see that your child has a sore throat and a high fever continuously, you should not be too worried, but calmly find out the cause of the disease and find appropriate treatment:
- Take your child to the doctor to determine the cause and have appropriate treatment. If the child has strep throat, the doctor will give the child antibiotics to treat, and if the child has a viral sore throat or other causes, the child will be prescribed medicine depending on the condition.
- Use a towel dipped in warm water to wipe the baby continuously, paying special attention to the neck, armpits and groin area.
- Give your baby a lot of water to drink because the fever is high it’s easy to get dehydrated
- Use pain relievers and fever reducers such as paracetamol, acetaminophen and ibuprofen. Absolutely do not give aspirin to children because it is related to Reye’s syndrome in children.
- Feed your baby nutritious, easy-to-eat and easy-to-swallow foods such as porridge, soup, etc. and divide the meal into several small meals.
If the baby is still nursing, the mother needs to increase breastfeeding to strengthen the child’s resistance.
Preventing the risk of sore throat for children
Pharyngitis is not a dangerous disease, but you should not be negligent, especially at a time when air pollution in big cities is at an alarming rate. To protect your baby from the “obnoxious” sore throat, you need to take the following precautions:
Children’s resistance is still weak, so parents need to pay attention to keeping the child’s body warm when the weather changes or when going out.
- Do not bathe your baby at night.
- Let children play in sheltered places.
- Provide a complete diet of 4 food groups: sugar, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals to improve resistance.
- Encourage your child to drink plenty of water.
- Maintain hygiene, eat safely, eat cooked food, drink boiling water, avoid eating foods for a long time, avoid drinking water that is too cold.
- Take care of your teeth clean, regularly rinse your mouth with warm salt water diluted.
- Cleaning the house and living environment around is always clean, ensuring the living space is cool, free of dust and mold.
- Always wear a mask for your child when going out to prevent the “attack” of dust, bacteria and other harmful agents.
In addition to the above methods, you also need to pay attention to hand hygiene for children. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hand hygiene is considered a very simple and easy preventive medicine. Just one movement of washing hands with soap has reduced the risk of transmission of respiratory diseases by 19-45%, including sore throat.
Reference source: Hellobacsi.com
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