Question
How should I deal with a 23-month-old baby’s slight fire toxicity? Condition Description: The baby is 23 months old and weaned this spring. She was breastfed until then. Since weaning, she has had bad breath in the morning with a fishy smell, dry stools, and a thick white tongue coating in the middle. She repeatedly gets fire toxicity and catches colds, with coughing. Sometimes her palms and soles feel hot, but she doesn’t feel hot all over and can sweat. Previous Treatment and Effectiveness: She has taken fever-reducing medicine, cold medicine, cough medicine during colds, but still gets fire toxicity after the cold subsides, and has also taken Han Chen Shi Qinghuo Bao (Han’s Fire-Cooling Pill). The effects were not satisfactory. What kind of help do I need now? I don’t have a cold right now, and I want to ask the doctor how to help the baby cool down and what kind of vegetables or fruits should I feed her?
Answer
Most children’s coughs are caused by lung heat, and the presence or absence of phlegm is one of the criteria for distinguishing cough types. It is advisable to give some traditional Chinese medicine. If there is no fever with the cough, let the child drink more water or brew some rock sugar pear water. Cold weather and dramatic temperature changes can also cause children to suddenly cough, so it is recommended to wear a mask when going out to avoid the strong stimulation of cold air. Since the baby is breastfed, the mother’s diet has a significant impact on the baby. You can observe whether the baby’s stool is bright red or dark red or black. If it is bright red, it may be due to dry stools that are difficult for the baby to pass, causing bleeding similar to anal fissure - don’t worry too much. If the baby has black stringy stool, it may be due to stomach or other bleeding - then a check-up is needed. You can give the baby some chrysanthemum dew or plum blossom water.