We are in the full season of flu and respiratory viruses, but the banal cold, especially in the case of children, gives us emotions. Often, the cough, the sneezing, the nose that flows or the slightly feverish state panic and sends us with the little ones directly to the hospital. Although, perhaps, we would need to consult the family doctor first. Therefore, how should we proceed correctly in such a way as to protect our child but at the same time, not to be unnecessarily crowded? Two doctors explained for the “truth” the route that the small patient should follow.
The syncytial respiratory virus mainly affects children. Archive
Dr. Emiliana Costiug, a family doctor and the president of the Association of Family Physicians in Cluj, said we are going through a period when the number of respiratory viruses is at the peak. “We are in the cold season, the period of viruses. We have the flu, flu, we face the syncytial respiratory virus, adenovirus infections but also enterovirosis ”, explains the specialist.
However, as every year, we face the disease itself, which mainly affects the children, but also with fear, often unjustified, of the parents, who are panicked from the first sneezing and end up blocking the hospital guard room. “There are situations when the child should not even be brought to the family doctor’s office ” said Dr. Costiug.
When we keep the baby sick at home and why
“It is much better for the child, when he has a fever, to stay at home, to be hydrated, to receive vitamin C, antitermic, ie paracetamol or ibuprofen syrups,” says the doctor. However, the specialist continues, the most important aspect is to respect the child’s hydration, rest and isolation. “It is very difficult for the child to take him to a community, in a waiting room with the family doctor or the emergency unit, to the pediatric centers, to permanent centers because you submit it to an increased epidemiological risk. ” In the waiting rooms of the medical offices, patients with different conditions are presented. Therefore, you can come up with one disease and leave with another. “There are other children with other viruses and then we pass from one virosis to another. Why risk if the little one is not in a serious condition? ”
It is good to know that a respiratory virus can evolve with fever for up to three days. During this period, it is important to moisturize the child with water, tea, liquids that he agrees. At the same time, we must keep the fever under control. “But I am referring here to a fever that passes 38 degrees Celsius. A body temperature of 37.5 is not dangerous. Until 38 is a beneficial fever, a fever that helps the body get rid of invading microorganisms. If the temperature jumps 38 degrees, then we administer paracetamol or ibuprofen, moisturize the child and give him the necessary rest in a more airy space. That’s all we have to do ”, the family doctor continues. If the little one feels bad, if his neck hurts, if his head hurts, parents can administer anti -terminal who also have an analgesic role, to combat pain.
When should we go with the child to the family doctor
If things get complicated, if the fever lasts more than three days, the child does not eat, does not hydrate, has a general bad condition, if in periods without increased fever, he does not have normal behavior, then we should consult the family doctor. “But there is no need to go to the office physically. The family doctor can also be consulted online, and on the phone ”, recommends Dr. Emiliana Costiug. In this way, we will keep the child from other viruses that he could take from the other patients in the waiting room. Attention, though! There are family doctors who only receive you with programming and doctors who can receive you urgently, “between patients”. You need to know exactly how your doctor is doing. If he receives you, go directly to him, if not, it is advisable to contact a hospital or call the ambulance.
In general, parents are scared when the child is fever. Then this is the time when most go to the guard room. “Fever is a source generating great emotions”, said pediatrician Mihai Craiu. “In fact, in the medical literature there is the term “Fever Phobia”, a phenomenon observed in doctors, not only to parents. However, I think you have to put on an emotional anchor, because each child reacts to fever in his own way ”, the doctor continues. Which is why we should not be scared more than is the case. “If we ask a hundred parents why they are afraid of fever, some will answer that they are afraid that fever would hide a severe disease. If we ask them about this severe disease, most likely will refer to the risk of the brain or, possibly, to the risk of febrile seizures, ” Dr. Mihai Craiu also states.
He points out that only one child between the ages of 6 months and 6 has a higher risk of febrile seizures, and this happens with the sudden increase or drop in. These are the thermal shocks that unbalance the body. “And, in principle, we should be afraid if there is a family history. So, the level of temperature from which seizures could occur does not necessarily take on how high the fever is. It is perceived differently by each organism separately, and the reactions are tailor -made. As we perceive the salinity or cold differently. Obviously, we have some biological values preset in our software: if in the family there is someone with a history of fever in childhood, then, yes, and the child inherits this genetic dowry ”, Dr. Mihai Craiu also draws attention.
Mihai Craiu, pediatric doctor. Archive
When we go with the child to the hospital
“If the condition of the child is indeed very bad, it does not feed, it does not hydrate, so it does not accept liquids, it does not accept to eat anything, it has an altered general condition, it is soft, as the parents say, then it is no longer at home, you have to go to the guard room.” He advises the doctor coastal to his parents.
Note: There are also permanent centers, where family doctors provide consultations outside program hours, from 8 pm to 08.00 in the morning, during the week, on holidays and on weekends. There is also the “Peditel” online service, where professional tips can be obtained. “The application works on the basis of an algorithm. The questions are so formulated and ordered that, depending on the answers, the recommendations are of great accuracy and trust ”said the doctor Emiliana Costiug. In conclusion, the specialist recommends the parents that before they run to the guard room to think first of all the good of the child and not to his own anxiety. “The risk of leaving there with another disease, perhaps even more serious, is very high during this period ”.
Five signs of alarm
There are five signs that parents can follow in terms of physical condition of the little one and who should send you to the emergency, explains the doctor Mihai Craiu. “A baby who cannot be awakened to give him the bottle, a older child that you cannot get out of bed, even if you use a higher tone … there should be signs that things are serious. The alteration of the state of consciousness must send you with the child to the guard room ”.
The second episode we need to follow are seizures. “Those uncontrolled spasmodic movements that cannot be stopped with the parent’s hand. The third sign appears when the child cannot receive fluids as he needs. The fourth is difficult to breathe. That means over 60 breaths per minute in the small baby, until two months, that is, once a second. In the child up to a year, over 50 per minute and the child between one and five over 40 per minute. There are landmarks of an inefficient breath whether or not the little one has a fever ”, continues the doctor Craiu.
Last but not least, parents must observe the color of the child’s skin. “Cyanosis can be installed, that is to say, the lips, tongue, nails.” If we do not notice any of these five signs, then the child can be taken to the family doctor and until then as well as possible.
Pediatric doctor Mihai Craiu said that dehydration in young children, who should send you to the hospital, comes with a few specific signs. “We realize that the baby is hydrated by looking at three things. First of all, we caress him on the head. If the previous fontanela, that pit near the crest, is not very hollowed down, it means that the baby is fine. Then we look at his eyes. They do not have to be clogged in orbits or attempts. We then look at the lips and the tongue, if they are not dry, “fried”. Also, the child’s saliva should not be viscous, when crying should not be missing from the sky. ” In the case of older children, with the fontanela closed and who are no longer so fat that the face is very well observed due to dehydration, we look at Pampers. “Normally, a older child should change about five pampers in a day. If it changes only one or two it means they are dehydrated ”, the pediatrician also explains.
How the system works in the UK
If you do not take the child directly to the hospital it is only a recommendation, in other European states it is a rule. “If you do not qualify by the severity index of the disease, you really do not get to be seen at the hospital ”, explains the doctor Craiu. “In the United Kingdom, when you call the emergency number, a voice would live the realities of fear. Depending on the age of the child and symptoms, you can receive the recommendation to give you the little paracetamol or to introduce with him to your family doctor. If the patient’s condition is serious, you are directed to an operator who will allocate you an emergency medical service ”, Dr. Mihai Craiu continues.
Today’s parents have lost their peace, I see only the negative part of things, the doctor considers. “No one has patience beyond the first hours of fever, no one has patience beyond the first episodes of cough, pain, modified chairs.” In the old days, he says, the parents were more relaxed. “Before there was a Bible for parents, “Mother and child” of the deapraru spouses, which is probably as valuable and now. For those who will advice. There was also the book written for parents by Ciofu spouses, again a very valuable resource to identify the so -called moments of danger ”, says the doctor Mihai Craiu.
