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Child Having Throat Pain With Red Splotches On It And Runny Nose. How To Overcome This?

Posted on Tue, 26 Mar 2013

Question: My eight year old daughter started complaining yesterday about her throat hurting. She had no fever and a slight runny nose. So I sent her on to school. When she got home from school she was lathargic, even taking a nap (unheard of!). This morning she was still complaining so I looked in the back of her mouth. I noticed red splotches in the back of her throat. Still she has no fever and very mild sniffles. I had her gargle with warm salt water. Is there anything else I should do?

Answered by Dr. Naveen Kumar Nanjasetty (1 hour later)

Hi

Thanks for posting the query

After going through the history, I am of the opinion that your daughter is suffering from acute upper respiratory tract infection (URTI), probably of viral in origin. The red spots seen are the congestion around minor salivary glands in the palate secondary to URTI.

Do not worry! With appropriate measures she will be alright.

My suggestions to you are:
1. Encourage your child to drink plenty of warm water. Warm water increases the blood supply to the mucosa; by doing so, the healthy white blood cells get recruited to the affected area and clears-off the infection.
2. Use saline nasal spray 3-4 times a day, followed by steam inhalation. This reduces the nasal congestion, post nasal drip and throat discomfort. Apart from that, it keeps the mucosa of the nose and throat moist.
3. Try giving her paracetamol or ibuprofen suspension three times a day for throat discomfort.
4. Advise her to do gargles using povidone iodine mouth gargles. This will reduce the inflammation of the throat mucosa.
5. Avoid chilled food and beverages.
6. If the above measures are not beneficial, she will require a potent antibiotic to take care of the infection.

Hope I have answered your query: I will be available for the follow-up queries.

Regards
Dr. Naveen Kumar N.
ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar

Follow up: Dr. Naveen Kumar Nanjasetty (2 days later)

Hi Dr. XXXXXXX

I have followed your recommendations to the letter. The good news is the red splotches in the back of my daughter's throat appear to be getting better (photo attached). The bad news is when she woke up this morning she had a slight fever (100.5 F), in spite of the fact that I've been giving her the ibuprofen suspension once every 6 hours (2 tsp) since Saturday at 2:00 PM. She has also begun to complain of an ear ache in her left ear. Is there anything additional I should be doing to aid in her recovery?

Thanks

Answered by Dr. Naveen Kumar Nanjasetty (6 hours later)

Hi

Thanks for writing back

I have gone through the images both pre and post treatment, there is significant improvement in the congestion.

The fever and earache could be due to acute otitis media. During an attack of flu or Eustachian tube (the tube connecting nose and the ear) gets blocked. Blockage of the tube induces negative pressure in the middle ear. This negative pressure causes acute pain; simultaneously, there will be trapping of secretions in the middle ear, worsening the earache.

Do not worry! This is one of the commonest ENT problems in the children. If possible, consult your doctor for a complete examination of ear, nose and throat. She will require a potent antibiotic such as Amoxycillin + Clavulanic acid (this is a combination) or Cefuroxime to take care of the infection. Also, continue with rest of the medicines and use ibuprofen only when required. I can assure you, your daughter will definitely recover with the above measures.

I wish her good health, god bless her.

Regards
Dr. Naveen Kumar N.
ENT and Head & Neck Surgeon

Note: Consult an experienced Otolaryngologist / ENT Specialist online for further follow up on ear, nose, and throat issues - Book a Call now.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar