What to do when a child has a purulent pharyngitis?

Pharyngitis is a serious respiratory disease in children. Children with purulent pharyngitis after treatment often have a very high risk of recurrence. If the child recurs many times, the child will be more likely to have more serious problems such as chronic pharyngitis or lead to many complications of otolaryngology.

Purulent pharyngitis is a common respiratory disease caused by viruses and bacteria, causing children to have a prolonged sore throat, the mucosa in the throat wall is inflamed and swollen into granules or pus. The breath of children with purulent pharyngitis often has an unpleasant odor that causes many inconveniences in daily life.

Pharyngitis is mainly caused by group A Streptococcus bacteria (this group of bacteria specializes in causing diseases in the throat and human skin). Normally, bacteria will invade and attack the upper respiratory tract, causing an infection in the throat mucosa. Then gradually multiply and cause pus to appear in this location.
There is also the possibility that the child may develop purulent pharyngitis caused by a viral agent, usually after the child has a cold, flu, measles, chickenpox...

Acute pharyngitis : In case the child has an acute sore throat but is not treated thoroughly, it will be the cause of the formation of purulent pharyngitis. Dry throat: If the throat is dry due to dry weather, breathing through the mouth for a long time, sleeping in an air-conditioned room, or a child who talks a lot or screams excessively, these can all be factors that increase the incidence of the disease. Oral hygiene: Not paying attention to clean oral hygiene is also a cause for bacteria to multiply and reside in the oral cavity.

Allergies: Sore throats in children can also be caused by allergies. When children come into contact with some irritating agents such as pollen, animal hair, dust, mold, etc., it can irritate the throat, causing sore throat and gradually forming purulent pharyngitis. Unscientific eating: If children eat unhealthy foods, often eat hot and cold spicy foods, they can cause irritation in the throat area, increasing the rate of sore throat in children.

Purulent pharyngitis in children will have different manifestations depending on age. However, in general, there will be the following manifestations:
Cough: Children may have a persistent cough at night, may or may not cough with sputum. Fever: Sore throat accompanied by fever is the body's natural response when the body has a virus or bacteria in it. The child may have headaches, abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting. Sore throat: When children have purulent pharyngitis, it is easy to see that the child will have pain when swallowing food, drinking water or swallowing saliva. For children under 2 years of age, children rarely complain of pain, but often react by refusing to eat and crying when eating. bear. Purulent throat, tonsils: This is the most obvious sign of purulent pharyngitis with the naked eye. White or pale green pustules appear scattered on the throat wall or on the tonsils, when the child coughs or spits up sputum they can follow. Bad breath: Children may have drooling, bad breath. Pus in the throat will cause bad breath.

When noticing the above signs, parents should take their children to medical facilities early for diagnosis and treatment. Early recognition of the signs of a child with purulent pharyngitis will help the treatment achieve higher results and prevent dangerous complications.

Purulent pharyngitis, if not detected and treated promptly, will easily lead to dangerous complications as follows:
Disseminated infection: Due to the structure of the ear, nose, and throat area, when the throat is inflamed, Infected children are prone to ear and nose complications such as: rhinitis, otitis media, sinusitis. Complications of the airways: inflammation around the tonsils, pharyngitis (tonsillitis) pus, abscesses of the pharynx, pneumonia... Other complications: rheumatic heart disease, rheumatism, glomerulonephritis, blood infection, nasopharyngeal cancer ... Purulent pharyngitis can completely spread from infected people to healthy people through nasal secretions and saliva.

When a child has purulent pharyngitis, in addition to taking the child to the hospital for timely examination and treatment, parents need to:
Clean the child's ears, nose and throat every day. If you find that the nasal discharge is too much and thick, you can use a nasal aspirator to suck it up for the child, use a soft tissue to wipe the baby's nose and drool, and then throw it away. Take antibiotics by prescription: Pharyngitis requires antibiotic treatment to reduce fever, relieve pain, reduce inflammation and avoid complications. If the child is in pain, you can take Paracetamol as directed by the doctor. Reduce fever when the child's fever is over 39 degrees Celsius (fever is a useful response to help children fight bacteria, but parents also need to pay attention to adjust the child's body temperature accordingly). Sore throat relief: You can give your child warm water or fruit juice or even ice cream. Children over 8 years old can gargle with warm physiological saline to both help relieve pain and reduce inflammation. Prepare meals for children paying attention to nutrition, easy to digest, easy to swallow. Should eat soft foods such as porridge soup (cold), avoid spicy and salty foods, give children enough water to drink: cool water, yogurt, soft ice cream. Children should eat according to their needs and divided into many small meals throughout the day.

When the child has the first symptoms of the disease, parents should still take the child to see a doctor soon. It is necessary to seriously treat and care for children properly to avoid bad complications arising that directly affect the health of children.

Purulent pharyngitis is considered a severe advanced stage of pharyngitis in children. When a child has purulent pharyngitis, the child will always feel a burning pain and discomfort in the throat. It is best for parents to take the initiative to prevent recurrence of the disease in children by the following measures:
Strengthening the child's resistance by adjusting a scientific and healthy diet (avoid eating sour, spicy, hot foods) , cold). Add healthy foods to the child's diet such as green vegetables, fruits, milk, meat, eggs... Keep the child warm: Always keep the child's body warm, avoid getting cold, eat well. Drink boiling water, limit letting children sleep in air-conditioned rooms when not needed. Teach your child to cover his mouth when coughing.

Limit children's contact with people who are suffering from respiratory infections. When children have fevers, colds, flu... it is necessary to pay attention to thorough treatment, do not let children share personal items with others. Maintain good oral hygiene for children regularly and properly. Instruct children to brush their teeth twice a day and remind them to rinse their mouth with dilute salt water. Clean the ears and nose for children 2-3 times/week with specialized ear washes and nasal washes. Ear, nose and throat specialist - Vinmec International General Hospital specializes in examining and treating common ENT diseases such as: rhinitis, pharyngitis, purulent pharyngitis, tonsillitis, tinnitus, non-allergic rhinitis response, throat cancer; tumors of the head, face and neck, congenital malformations of the ear, nose and throat area by common surgical methods.

To register for examination and treatment of Otolaryngology at Vinmec International Hospital, you can contact Vinmec Health System nationwide, or register online HERE.

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