Suggest Treatment For Inflamed And Sore Mouth In A Child

Posted on Sun, 20 Dec 2015

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Sun, 20 Dec 2015 Answered on

Mon, 11 Jan 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : my 2 and a half year old says her mouth hurts and I know its not her teeth as she only has 3 teeth left to come out and has never acted like this. She won't eat and can barely sleep because the pain keeps waking her up. Tylenol and Motrin don't seem to help and as soon as she puts anything in her mouth she starts to cry and says it hurts. She won't let me see inside her mouth and says it hurts. What can I do? She had hand foot and mouth about a year and a half ago. her cheeks seem a bit swollen and her speech is a little less clear than usually.

Answered by Dr. Eric Goldstein (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Mouth

Detailed Answer:
Hello. I just read through your question.
In most cases, these signs and symptoms are indicative of a harmless viral illness. The approach is motrin or Tylenol for pain and fluids to prevent dehydration.
in some cases, however, this could indicate strep throat. This can't be diagnosed without an office test. This would mean visiting your pediatrician to have it done. Its a painless test, but the younger patients are sometimes frightened by it. A good pediatrician can do it effortlessly without causing any anxiety for the child.
The treatment would be antibiotics if the teat is positive.
I recommend consulting with your pediatrician about it.

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