What should a child with purulent tonsillitis do?

If not diagnosed and treated promptly, purulent tonsillitis can lead to many dangerous complications such as arthritis, bronchitis, blood infection, and even death. The following article will answer the question: “What should a child with purulent tonsillitis do?” When understanding this pathology, parents will be more proactive in the process of healing and preventing purulent tonsillitis for their children.

What is purulent tonsillitis in children?

Amidan (almond gland) has English name as tonsils. This is part of the lymphatic system, and is the largest lymphatic organization of the body, located below the pharyngeal mucosa, forming a lymphatic ring around the nasopharynx and two large tissues on either side of the throat wall. With the task of maintaining immunity, this organ secretes antibodies and lymphocytes, helping the body to recognize and attack harmful bacteria.

Amidan has a structure of many cavities and compartments. Therefore, this organ is very susceptible to bacterial attack. Over time, the tonsils will become inflamed, with a white clump of pus and a characteristic stench. Purulent tonsils can occur at any age. However, due to weak resistance, children are the most susceptible to this disease. When bacteria invades, the baby’s body is still not able to repel the pathogen. 

Purulent tonsillitis in children occurs when pathogenic bacteria get into the tonsils (the junction of the airway, the food tract and the throat), thereby forming a purulent cavity. At this time, the tonsils are greenish-white and have a characteristic stench. This is often a complication of acute tonsillitis .

Typical symptoms of purulent tonsillitis in children include: hoarseness, difficulty breathing, difficulty swallowing, sore throat, a great impact on the baby’s health and daily life. Because the treatment of this pathology will encounter many difficulties, as soon as it is discovered, parents need to actively take their children to see a doctor for effective treatment, and at the same time, prevent serious complications.

The cause of purulent tonsillitis in children

Purulent tonsillitis is a fairly common childhood problem. This can be caused by the following causes:

• The body lacks the ability to adapt to sudden changes in weather.
• Weakened immune system after illness: cough, fever, flu …
• Children have to live in a toxic, polluted, and smoky environment.
• Children with ear – nose – throat diseases such as pharyngitis , rhinitis, otitis media, vasomotor rhinitis … These diseases often make mucus run down the throat, irritating tonsils and causing damage to this organ.
• The child’s nose and throat area is not clean and properly cleaned.
• Children have acute long-term tonsillitis and are not treated completely. Therefore, over time, the purulent cavities accumulate in the tonsils, resulting in chronic purulent tonsils.
• Children eating too many stir-fries, hot spicy foods, greasy fast foods, hard foods and drinking carbonated soft drinks … can increase inflammation in the tonsils, and also create favorable conditions for disease. Purulent tonsillitis develops rapidly.
• Baby is infected with viruses or bacteria.

Symptoms of purulent tonsillitis in children

Experts say, although the symptoms of purulent tonsillitis in children are relatively clear, parents often confuse this pathology with nasopharyngeal cancer, which leads to mistakes in the treatment process. , making the illness worse. Be aware of the typical symptoms of purulent tonsillitis, which include:

• High fever (up to 40 degrees C) or mild fever.
• Excessive salivation.
• Dry throat, sore throat and throat (sometimes the pain spreads to the gills).
• Sore throat is red, swollen, difficult to swallow, swallowing, or painful when swallowing.
• Hard, painful lymph nodes appear below the jaw or sides of the neck.
• Hoarseness, a lot of cough, difficulty breathing, may cough up white pus.
• The surface of the tonsils has white pus (or greenish white) spots, an unpleasant fishy odor.
• When examining throat, parents will see a large layer of white pus, gathered into a mass like bean pulp.

Is purulent tonsillitis in children dangerous?

When realizing the symptoms of the disease, many parents are often subjective, not taking their children to visit early. This can lead to unpredictable, even life-threatening consequences. At first, a child with purulent tonsillitis will find it difficult to eat and drink. In some cases, this pathology will spread to the ear – nose – throat area and cause sinusitis , rhinitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis, otitis media … if not treated promptly.

In addition, purulent tonsillitis can also lead to inflammation in many other organs such as arthritis, rheumatic fever, glomerulonephritis, rheumatism. If the illness becomes severe, the child will develop a blood infection.

Here are the specific complications of purulent tonsillitis in children that parents need to pay special attention to:

• Malnutrition: Purulent tonsillitis will make it difficult for children to eat and drink, causing anorexia and malnutrition. As a result, the child will be mentally and physically retarded compared to their peers.
• Rhinitis, sinusitis, otitis media, bronchitis: These diseases occur when bacteria move from the sockets of the tonsils to attack the vicinity of the ear – nose – throat area.
• Snoring, apnea: According to statistics, about 1-4% of children with purulent tonsillitis have experienced this symptom. The swollen amidan compresses the respiratory system, puts pressure on the lungs, making it difficult for the child to breathe or temporarily stops breathing. Apnea often occurs at night, disrupting sleep, making children tired and less focused during the day. Some studies have shown that sleep apnea can increase the risk of depression, high blood pressure, heart attack and stroke as children enter adulthood.
• Tonsil abscess: This is the most serious infection when a child has a chronic tonsil infection that is not treated completely. Over time, the bacteria will multiply and exponentially, forming concentrated colonies.
• Rheumatoid arthritis, glomerulonephritis: These complications are often caused by streptococci.
• Nasopharyngeal cancer: This is a dangerous disease with symptoms that are easy to confuse with common respiratory diseases such as: sore throat, hoarseness, headache, stuffy nose, coughing up phlegm, lymphadenopathy, ringing ear…
• Blood infection (sepsis): This is the biggest immune response of the whole body to the penetration of bacteria into the blood. This emergency can lead to rapid organ failure, directly threatening the child’s life.

In order to minimize dangerous complications from purulent tonsils in children, as soon as the pathology is discovered, parents need to actively take their children to visit reputable medical facilities.

What should a child with purulent tonsillitis do?

There are many ways to cure purulent tonsils in children. Based on the level of infection and the health status of the baby, the doctor will recommend the most appropriate and effective treatment regimen. 

• For mild cases: Specialists will encourage your baby to use anti-inflammatory, analgesic and some other products that are known to strengthen the immune system. However, parents should let their children use these drugs as prescribed by their doctor. At this time, the body’s defense mechanism is activated, thereby preventing and completely preventing pathogens.
• For severe illness: The doctor will prescribe the child to take an antibiotic with a carefully calculated time and dosage. This helps to minimize the unwanted effects of the drug. Since this drug can cause many side effects (especially for young children), parents should never arbitrarily give their children antibiotics without consulting a doctor. If a child has tonsillitis 3-4 times a year, doctors will consider whether or not to remove the tonsils because even with this minor surgery, the disease can still recur and more or less affect overall health. the baby’s body later.

Here are some of the most popular treatments for purulent tonsillitis in children today:

Use Western medicine

The use of Western medicine can quickly improve symptoms and control complications effectively. Medications commonly prescribed by doctors for a child with purulent tonsillitis are:

• Antipyretics and pain relievers are used when the child has a fever of over 38.5 degrees C. In this case, the doctor may prescribe paracetamol at a dose of 10 – 15 mg / kg and a maximum of 75 mg / kg / day or ibuprofen. (if your baby is over 6 months old allergic to paracetamol).
• Expectorants, cough suppressants (bromhexin, dextromethorphan, N-acetylcysteine) are used when a child has a lot of cough, thick phlegm, difficulty spitting, insomnia and exhaustion.
• Throat rinse (betadine, oropivalone, lysopaine).
• Antibiotics belong to the beta lactam group (ampicillin, amoxicillin, cefixime, cephalexin, penicillin G) and the macrolide group (clarithromycin, erythromycin). This medicine is only used when your baby has a bacterial infection or is at risk of complications. 
• Anti-inflammatory drugs ( prednisolon, alphachymotrypsin, methylprednisolon) can quickly reduce swelling, redness of the tonsils.
• Vasoconstrictors, anti-allergic, hypoglycemic drugs (chlorpheniramine, diphenhydramine, pseudoephedrine) for children with runny or runny nose

Note:

• Parents should consult a doctor or an ear – nose – throat specialist before giving their child any medication (over-the-counter and prescription drugs).
• Follow the time and dosage of medication as directed by doctor or recommended from the manufacturer (clearly printed on the product packaging).
• Absolutely do not buy and give children Western medicine to treat purulent tonsillitis at home, especially cough medicine, antibiotics and anti-inflammatory corticosteroids.
• Do not take advantage of old prescriptions or other children’s prescriptions, do not reduce the dose or stop the medicine when the child’s symptoms have just improved.
• During treatment with western medicine, if the baby has nausea, diarrhea, allergies, rash … or other unusual signs appear, parents should immediately stop the drug and quickly take the child to visit at the clinic. reputable medical facility.

Tonsilectomy

If your baby has a chronic and recurrent purulent tonsillitis, the doctor may recommend that parents have the child remove the tonsils. After this minor surgery, your baby will recover quickly in just 14 days. During this period of time, parents need to ensure proper nutrition, proper oral hygiene, and at the same time limit the child’s vigorous exercise.

The best age for tonsillectomy is over 4 years old. Tonsillectomy too early can negatively affect your baby’s immune function and overall health. In addition, the tonsils may regrow if the child has this minor surgery before the age of 3. According to experts, tonsillectomy will be performed in cases such as:

• Tonsillitis recurs too often (5-6 times / year)
• Purulent tonsillitis with complications
• Purulent tonsillitis is suspected to be malignant or cause swallowing, bad breath
• Amidan is large in size, leading to snoring, apnea, and obstructive eating

Some of the most popular methods for removing tonsils are: 

• Coblator method
• The method of dissection with a knife
• Electric sluder method or regular sluder
• Method using unipolar and ultrasonic scalpels

Although rare, parents should note that minor tonsillectomy can lead to a number of risks such as: 

• Bleeding (most cases are due to improperly cut by the doctor)
• Infection
• Can not improve symptoms of sore throat, ear infections, sinusitis …
• Change the voice

Application of oriental medicine

Oriental medicine treatment is a suitable solution for cases of purulent tonsillitis in children with mild form. In addition to being used to safely and effectively repel disease symptoms, traditional medicine also strengthens the body, improves sleep, strengthens the immune system and prevents disease.

According to the Oriental medicine concept, purulent tonsillitis in children occurs when toxic heat, typhoid enters the body, injures the spleen and waste, causes loss of new fluid, and leads to the weakening of the main gas. Therefore, for the radical treatment of this disease, it is necessary:

• Canopy, room, heat, detox
• Waste, kidney, spleen supplement
• Recover damaged organs
• Nourishes the main qi, regulating yin and yang

Based on the above principles, the following four oriental medicine remedies can quickly reverse symptoms, and at the same time help your baby improve health. 

Medicine number 1

• Prepare 10g retired algae, 10g room, 10g safflower, 10g white angel, 10g philosophical sample, 10g basil paint, 10g natural pollen, 10g honeysuckle, 3g licorice, 3g brew a medicine, 3g of emulsion incense. 
• Sac for water, divided into 2 equal parts, used up during the day. Every day drink 1 ladder.

Medicine number 2

• Prepare 25g field, 20g herbal paint, 15g curd, 10g spirit, 10g knit, 10g jelly, 10g king, 10g tri sample, 10g ginseng, 10g burdock, 10g describe, 10g cremation , 10g of paint, 10g from her. 
• Sac for water, divided into 3 equal parts, used up during the day. Every day drink 1 ladder.

Medication number 3

• Prepare 15g of curd, 15g of ginseng, 15g of localization, 10g of white leaves, 10g of cardamom, 10g of knitting, 10g of sage, 10g of paint from her, 6g of mint
• Sac for water, divided into 3 equal parts, used up during the day. Every day drink 1 ladder.

Medication number 4

• Prepare 15g of honeysuckle, 15g of ginseng, 15g of dandelion, 10g of royal bird, 10g of kienkai, 10g of burdock, 10g of sand, 10g of rhubarb, 10g of pollen, 6g of licorice, 6g of pine, 6g Hoang Lien. 
• Sac for water, divided into 4 equal parts, used up during the day. Every day drink 1 ladder.

Note:

• The cure of purulent tonsillitis in children can last 1-3 months. Therefore, parents need to persistently apply these remedies to their children.
• You should buy these herbs from reputable oriental medicine pharmacies, avoid using floating, poor quality products with no clear origin. 
• Please consult the physician in the process of treating babies according to Oriental medicine methods.

Treat yourself at home with folk tips

Tips for treating purulent tonsillitis in children often take advantage of the medicinal properties of safe and familiar natural herbs. Therefore, this method has few side effects. Parents can refer to some of the following remedies:

Turmeric remedy

• Prepare 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder and 200 – 250ml of warm milk
• Mix turmeric powder in milk, stir well
• Give your baby milk 1 time / day in the evening before going to bed

A remedy from chives leaves

• Prepare 1 handful of chives leaves and 3 teaspoons of rock sugar
• Rinse, cut the chives leaves and put in a cup with alum sugar for 15 – 20 minutes
• Let your baby swallow the mixture slowly on both water and one
• Do it 2-3 times / day for 1 week

Medicines from honey

• Prepare 3 – 5 green kumquats and 2-3 teaspoons of honey
• Rinse, cut in half
• Take the kumquats and honey to steam for 15 – 20 minutes
• Let your baby suck the water from the mixture over 3 times / day, at least 30 minutes after meals, for many consecutive days.

Note:

• You should not use honey to treat purulent tonsillitis in children under 12 months old (avoid poisoning).

In addition, parents can give your baby a drink of fish lettuce juice or peppermint tea every day to detoxify, fight inflammation, relieve swelling, clear sinuses, and relieve sore throats.

Care and prevention measures

To help your child recover quickly and prevent a recurrent purulent tonsillitis, parents need to note the following issues:

• Regularly clean the child’s mouth, practice the habit of brushing their teeth 2 times / day and rinse with normal saline.
• When a baby has a runny or stuffy nose, parents can overcome it by using a nasal suction device to suck out the mucus in the throat, then thoroughly clean the throat with normal saline. This has the effect of limiting the multiplication and development of harmful bacteria.
• Instead of letting your baby blow his nose hard in one go using both sides of his nose, teach him how to gently blow his nose from each side. This approach works to prevent the risk of otitis media, while protecting the nasal mucosa.
• Pay attention to keep the baby’s limbs and chest warm when the weather changes suddenly. 
• Parents should use a nebulizer, a humidifier in the baby’s room.
• Regularly clean the air conditioner to remove pathogens such as bacteria and dirt.
• Do not let your child use hot, greasy, cold foods, ice or carbonated soft drinks.
• Fully equipped with masks and protective tools when children go out.
• Encourage your child to eat well and rest properly.
• Tell your baby to limit too much movement, not contact people who are infected or suffer from ear – nose and throat diseases as well as avoid going to polluted, smog, crowded places.
• Take your child for vaccination, follow-up on time, and regularly check the general health.

With useful information about tonsillitis in children above, hopefully parents can be more proactive in detecting, handling and preventing this condition in their children. When a baby shows unusual symptoms, parents should quickly take their child to see a doctor for prompt diagnosis and treatment.

Nguyễn Thị Huyền