Question
A mother anxiously inquired, her 8-month-old baby suddenly developed a fever of 38.4 degrees and went to the hospital after physical fever-reducing methods failed. The doctor diagnosed it as a viral upper respiratory infection and mentioned that the baby’s throat was slightly inflamed. Concerned about the ineffectiveness of fever-reducing medication, the mother sought professional medical advice.
Answer
A professional doctor suggested that the baby’s symptoms might be due to catching a cold and a decrease in body resistance leading to a viral upper respiratory infection. Besides avoiding antibiotics to prevent further lowering of white blood cell levels, the doctor recommended giving the baby oral cold medicine tablets and ribavirin granules, drinking plenty of warm water, and avoiding oral fever-reducing medication when the body temperature does not exceed 38.5 degrees, considering physical cooling methods. Additionally, the diet should be light and easy to digest, avoiding extremely cold, hard, and spicy irritant foods, and ensuring warmth to prevent catching a cold, which can help alleviate the baby’s cold symptoms.