Question
How should I treat a 3.5-year-old child who has been coughing with a lot of phlegm since last Friday?
Answer
The 3.5-year-old child started coughing with a lot of phlegm last Friday. After going to the hospital, it was said that they had caught a cold due to catching a chill, so medication was taken. In the afternoon, after taking a nap, she had a fever of 38.2 degrees Celsius, but after going for a walk in the neighborhood, the fever went down. However, the medication prescribed by the doctor didn’t work after two days, so we went back to the hospital again. They still said it was a cold with a bit of tracheitis and prescribed three more days of medication to take back home. In recent days, I noticed red spots on my child’s mouth, hands, and feet. It was only after taking her to the hospital for blood tests that we found out it was hand, foot, and mouth disease. After taking this week’s medication, the cough has stopped, but there are still occasional coughs with phlegm. Could this be related to hand, foot, and mouth disease? The doctor prescribed an inhalant spray. Can hand, foot, and mouth disease heal itself without medication? Should we just use the spray to let her heal? Regarding this phlegm issue, will the phlegm naturally disappear if hand, foot, and mouth disease subsides?