Question
My nephew suddenly caught a cold a few days ago, with a runny nose, sneezing, and later developed a fever. After going to the hospital for a check-up, the doctor said it was an upper respiratory infection and recommended hospitalization for treatment. How should I handle an acute upper respiratory infection?
Answer
Pediatric acute upper respiratory infections are usually caused by viruses and present with symptoms such as nasal congestion, runny nose, and coughing. In terms of treatment, you can consider using traditional Chinese medicine like Platycodon granules for antiviral therapy. For mild coughs, it is not necessary to use medications like children’s cough and asthma granules. Additionally, it is generally not recommended to use antibiotics early in the infection because the course of the disease usually lasts about seven days, making it a self-limiting condition that does not require excessive antibiotic use. In summary, for pediatric acute upper respiratory infections, comfortable treatment and moderate medication use should be the main approach, with close monitoring of the patient’s condition changes.