Insights on the prevention and treatment of common childhood diseases

As a "double-faced practitioner" who has been in pediatric clinical practice for 6 years and raised two children at the same time, I dare to say that the core of preventing and treating common childhood diseases has never been to stock up a drawer of children's medicines and memorize the entire medication guide. It is to lay a foundation for layered prevention in advance, to look at the condition before making a judgment when the disease occurs, and not to look for "standard answers" when intervening. It is more effective than anything else.

Last winter, there was a flu epidemic in kindergarten. 21 of the 30 children in my middle school class fell ill. Many parents didn't even go to class and went to the hospital every day. My two children were just a little tired the day before. They drank two large glasses of warm pear water and slept one night before bouncing back to school. Many parents chase after me and ask if I have given their children any "miracle preventive medicine". In fact, there is no such thing. It is just a foundation accumulated through daily habits.

I have always heard old people at home say that "spring covers the autumn cold" is a common rule. Some young parents also say that this is rubbish. What should I do if my child catches a cold? I was confused at first. It wasn’t until I wrapped my boss in three tops and a down vest one winter. He ran downstairs for 20 minutes that his back was completely wet, and his fever reached 38 degrees that night as soon as the air dried. Then I slowly figured out the pattern: the so-called spring covering is to cover the back of the neck and The waist and abdomen are not even covered with gloves and hats, and the autumn frost is freezing the ends of the hands and feet. The baby is not wearing unlined clothes on a very cold day. The back of the neck is warm when you touch it without sweating. It means that you are in the right state of dressing, which is much more accurate than looking at the thermometer to add or remove clothes.

Speaking of fever, this should be the most panicked thing for all parents. Now there is a fierce quarrel between two groups on the Internet. One group says that as long as the temperature is over 38.5, you must give antipyretics, otherwise it will be too late to regret it if you have a fever. The other group says that fever is caused by the immunity. Don't intervene when the temperature is below 39 to avoid damaging immunity. I have seen too many parents holding a thermometer and getting stuck on the value. The child is obviously full of energy and can tear down the house, but they rush to give medicine as soon as the temperature reaches 38.6. I have also seen the child so feverish that he can't open his eyes, and they insist on not taking medicine, saying that they need to "train their immunity." It is really unnecessary. Last year, my eldest son suffered from childhood rash. He had a fever of 39.2 and sat on the carpet playing with Lego for half an hour. I wiped his neck and armpits every half hour and gave him more electrolyte water. After three days of fever, the rash was cured and I didn’t take any medicine. ； Last month, my second child got herpetic angina. As soon as he reached 38.5, he lay in my arms and even pushed his favorite strawberry away. I immediately gave him acetaminophen, and after half an hour he was able to run after his brother on the ground. To put it bluntly, the temperature value is only a reference, and the mental state is the core judgment criterion. This really needs to be engraved in your mind.

Oh, by the way, there is also the big pitfall of compound cold medicines. When I first became a mother, I also stocked up on several types, such as children's cold granules and cough syrups. After Corey's unified training, I learned that the FDA clearly does not recommend the use of compound cold medicines for children under 4 years old. The superposition of antipyretic and antitussive ingredients in them can easily increase the burden on the liver and kidneys. Last month, a parent brought his child to the emergency room. He said that the child had a cold and he took two kinds of compound cold medicine at the same time. As a result, the child developed a rash and vomited twice. It took him a long time to recover. It was really not a mistake. The common cold is actually a self-limiting disease. There is no specific medicine. If there is a congestion, spray the nose with normal saline. If the child is over 1 year old, drink some warm apple juice to moisten the cough. It will heal on its own in about a week. It is safer than taking any medicine.

Many people also ask me whether traditional Chinese medicine methods such as children's massage and moxibustion are reliable? There are two examples around me. Nurse Zhang’s baby in the same department has a weak spleen and stomach, and often eats too much to gain weight. She went to a regular pediatric massage doctor at a traditional Chinese medicine hospital for half a month, and her food tasted much better, and she seldom had diarrhea. ； Another colleague’s child has allergies. The last time my grandma secretly gave her moxibustion, she developed rhinitis on the spot. She sneezed more than 20 times in a row and the cough lasted for almost a week before she recovered. To put it bluntly, these methods are not absolutely good or bad. It depends on the baby's physical condition and must be operated by a regular medical institution. Don't just go to a massage parlor in the community and give your baby random massages, which may cause problems.

In fact, after working in pediatrics for so long, my biggest feeling is that there is really no standard answer to raising a baby. You don’t have to try it on your own baby when you see how other babies are doing, and you don’t have to worry so much that you can’t sleep all night when your baby feels a little uncomfortable. It's not a bad thing for a child to get sick from time to time. Just like the last time my eldest son got hand, foot and mouth disease, and after he recovered, hand, foot and mouth disease became popular again in the class, and he didn't have any problems. In fact, his immunity gradually upgraded every time he fought with the virus.

Oh, by the way, one last thing to mention, the most effective prevention method is actually to get vaccinated on time. Whether it is a free first-class vaccine or a self-paid second-class vaccine, try to get it if you can. My two children have all received hand, foot and mouth, influenza, and 13-valent pneumonia vaccines. This is also the key reason why they rarely get serious illness. Don’t listen to people who say that second-class vaccines are useless and don’t give them to your children. It is really a loss.