Summary of experiences on prevention and treatment of common childhood diseases

The core of prevention is to "pay attention to daily routines instead of hoarding health care products, and focus on contact instead of over-disinfection." The core of treatment is to "identify signals instead of just looking at body temperature, and follow consensus instead of blindly following folk remedies." There is no standard solution that is universally applicable. It must be adjusted flexibly based on the child's individual condition. Neither overreaction nor indiscriminate use of medication can be imposed, nor can the condition be delayed.

Speaking of which, I am not just making a random conclusion. It is based on my experience last winter when my son had fever three times in the first half month of kindergarten and the whole family was in a state of turmoil. At that time, the old man was holding antibiotics and pediatric Chinese medicine to pour into the baby's mouth, saying, "If you have a fever for a long time, it will burn you to death."” ； My best friend, who is a pediatric nurse, advised me remotely not to give medication blindly. She said that as long as I am in good spirits, I should drink more water and cool down physically. ； My cousin, who studies Chinese medicine, looked at the baby's tongue coating in the video and said it was due to external wind and cold. She had to boil onion and ginger water to induce sweating to dispel the cold. Each of the three parties had their own reasons. I didn’t know who to listen to while holding my hot baby in my arms, so I finally took a taxi to the emergency room. The doctor’s explanation was very practical: all three ideas are reasonable, but the key point is to look at the child’s condition. There is no need to stick to one theory.

I have gone through many extremes before. When I first became a mother, I stocked up on three or four boxes of lactoferrin and gummy vitamins, which were claimed to improve immunity. However, when I went for child care for the first time, the doctor told me: "If you give your baby 300-500ml of milk, an egg, and two hours of running outdoors every day, it will be more useful than any health supplement." ”At that time, I still had mysophobia. I soaked my children’s toys with disinfectant tablets every day, and steamed the tableware in a steamer. As a result, my children had diarrhea every now and then. I later learned that over-sterilization eliminates the children’s opportunities to come into contact with normal flora, which in turn affects the establishment of intestinal flora. There is a fierce quarrel online between the "sterile-enriched" and "muddy-raised" factions. My own experience is that there is absolutely no need to go to extremes: wash your hands according to the seven-step method before eating and after using the toilet, wipe your hands promptly after touching public facilities when going out, and don't let the baby touch the hands, feet and mouth with rash, or children in the acute stage of influenza. I don't agree with those who deliberately throw the baby in the mud to "exercise immunity". After all, the soil in the community may be stained with cat and dog feces, which will be troublesome if it is infected with parasites.

Let’s talk about the most panicked treatment of fever. I used to break out in cold sweats when I saw the ear thermometer jump to 38.5. Later, after talking to the doctor more, I realized that the temperature value is really not the first priority, but the child’s mental state is the core indicator. Last time my baby had a fever of 39.2 and squatted on the ground playing Lego without raising his head. I gave him the appropriate dose of ibuprofen and some more pear water, and the fever subsided after two days. ； On the contrary, last month my fever reached 38.1, and I felt so weak that I didn’t want to move in my arms. I rushed to the hospital and was found to have a streptococcal infection. I needed antibiotics in time to get better. Oh, by the way, there are a lot of controversies about fever management now: for example, some doctors suggest that ibuprofen and acetaminophen can be used alternately to cool down faster, and some say that using a single drug is safer and less likely to overdose. At present, the mainstream consensus is to give priority to using a single antipyretic drug. Only if the child still has an uncomfortable fever 4 hours after taking one drug, should the alternation be considered. And be sure to remember the medication time and dosage. Do not use ibuprofen for babies under 6 months old. This is a hard standard, so don’t try it randomly. There are also warm water baths. Some evidence-based bloggers say that it will increase the discomfort of children and is not recommended. Every time my child feels uncomfortable with a fever, he asks for a warm towel to wipe his neck, so just wipe it. There is no need to follow popular science dogma. The most important thing is that the child is comfortable.

There is also allergic rhinitis, which is easily confused with colds. Last year, my child kept rubbing his nose and sneezing early in the morning. I thought it was a recurring cold, and I took cold medicine for almost a week, but it didn't work. Later, I went to the otolaryngologist for a checkup and found out that it was an allergy to dust mites. There are two completely different views here: some doctors say that as long as allergens are found, foods must be completely avoided, while others say that as long as there are no rashes, vomiting, or coughing and wheezing reactions, you can eat them normally, and there is no need to deliberately avoid them. My baby was found to be mildly allergic to milk. I tried to stop milk for a few days, but he kept asking for it every day and didn't feel any discomfort after drinking it, so he didn't stop. Now after six months of reexamination, he has tolerated it normally. Now that I think about it, if I had completely stopped drinking milk, it might have affected my growth. Oh, by the way, I have stepped into the trap of Internet celebrity sea salt water before. When I first bought it, I sprayed it into the middle of my baby's nostrils. As a result, I broke the nasal mucosa and caused a lot of nosebleeds. Later I learned that I should spray the outside of the nostrils diagonally, not towards the nasal septum, and not to use too much force. These are all details made by stepping on the traps with real money.

Let's talk about it, based on my experience in raising children in the past few years, there really is no perfect standard answer. No matter how much science you read on the Internet, it is better to find out your own baby's "baseline" yourself - for example, if your baby is usually lively and active, but suddenly becomes too weak to talk, you should pay attention to it even if the body temperature is only 37.8. ； If you are usually a noisy person and can still chase balloons when your fever reaches 39 degrees, you don’t need to panic. When you are really in doubt, go to the hospital. Don't force yourself to do anything, and don't blindly give your baby folk prescriptions. It's better than anything else.