Question

An 11-year-old child has a fever, coughs, sneezes, and has a runny nose. He has been taking strong vitamin C silver lozenges and rifampicin tablets for two days, but the effect is not good. He wants to know if the medication is not symptomatic and what medication or treatment he should take.

Answer

The symptoms of fever, cough, sneezing, and runny nose in a child may indicate a cold. Fever usually indicates inflammation in the body. Here are some suggestions for handling the situation:

  1. If there is no redness or swelling of the tonsils, you can take cold medicine such as cold syrup with Platycodon grandiflorus, three times a day.
  2. If the tonsils are red and swollen, you will need to take anti-inflammatory medication such as amoxicillin (do not use if allergic to penicillin). If there are no throat abnormalities, you can use absorbent medications.
  3. If the cough is mainly during the day with thick phlegm, in addition to anti-inflammatory medication, you can also pair it with some cooling blood medicine. If the cough is severe at night, you can perform cupping therapy on the back for 15 to 20 minutes.