The current weather is very inconsistent. One day it’s hot, another day it’ Such change of weather may cause illness, both for children and adult.
One of the most common illnesses is nothing else other than the common cold, an infection in the respiratory tract, especially in children. For families that have many children, having never ending colds in the house is very common. One child will catch cold when another child is almost cured. Here are some tips to manage colds in the household..
1. When the cold lasts for longer than 10 days, with symptom of coughing and having a runny nose, your child may eat less.
We would suggest that you have them drink more water, either water or milk is fine . However, if your child is having trouble breathing with stertorous breathing, we would suggest you put a damp cloth alongside their bed to make the room more humidified and use saline nasal drops which will help them breathe easier.
2. If your children are having stertorous breathing that sounds like a snore or a cough, it may a symptom of an infection in the respiratory tract. Such symptom will start from having fever, cough, gruff voice, and trouble breathing during night time. Having your children sit straight may help, however these symptoms may also be the beginning of diphtheria or croup disease, which occur from a virus. Therefore, we would suggest your children should be checked by a doctor.
3. If your children vomits while they catch cold or cough because they swallow the phlegm, let them lie down over your knees or hold them over your shoulder then gently pat their back may help.
4. If your children also have fever when they catch cold or cough, have them take paracetamol for children to lower the fever. Also, have them drink more water, either boiled or milk is okay.
5. Sometime having chronic catarrhal rhinitis may lead to bronchitis, which includes shortness of breath that may cause the mouth to turn green and gasp for breath. Therefore, we strongly suggest that you should take your children to the doctor if they have chronic catarrhal rhinitis. 6. Children that catch cold frequently also have high chances of otitis. The reason for this is because their Eustachian tube which connects between the middle ear and the upper neck is rather short.
Therefore germs can go in easily resulting as an inflammation. Your children may cry a lot, but the symptom will usually go away within 2 – 3 days without any treatment. However, if your children have fever and are also pulling their ears all the time, we would suggest that you take them to the doctor. Children that catch cold frequently are usually those who were born with a lighter weight, shortened gestation, or were not raised with breast milk which helps strengthen immunity. Lack of nutrition and having congenital disease are also related. However, children may catch cold as often as 10 – 12 times per year. If it is a normal cold, the infection may last for 5 – 7 days.
Taking paracetamol may help lower the fever and ache. Receiving vaccine injections to strengthen immunity may also protect your children from colds, but not 100% because there are more than 200 types of virus. In addition, there is still no proof that taking vitamin c daily will help prevent cold. Children with colds must be taken care of as the symptom may change drastically or complication diseases may occur if they are not treated properly.
If their symptom does not improve, we would suggest that you take your children to the doctor for proper treatment. Last but not least, taking good care of your children includes their diet, getting enough sleep, proper exercise, receiving all required vaccines and have good growing environment. These are all important factors that will prevent your children from catching cold or heal quicker and easier if they do catch cold.
