Just before Covid hit back in early 2020 Caspian suffered from a bad case of Strep Throat. We know how awful this is and how miserable your child can get. Mainly for the child but it’s easy to feel helpless when your little one is suffering. Like many bacterial infections, strep throat (streptococcal pharyngitis) is prevalent in children and is usually accompanied by pain. As a mother, you naturally don’t want your child to be in any pain because of that, as it can affect how they eat, play, and rest. Not to mention their routine easily goes out the window which affects the whole family.
The good thing is strep throat isn’t too difficult to handle. Hopefully, you won’t need to seek medical assistance and go see the doctors. Once you know what’s wrong with your child, there are some things you can try at home to help them heal. Obviously if in doubt do contact a medical professional.
HOW TO INDENTIFY THAT YOUR CHILD HAS STREP THROAT
Sometimes, you may not know that something’s wrong with your child unless they tell you or you notice changes in their behaviour or appearance. If they haven’t reached an age where they can fully express their discomfort and symptoms you might need to look out for the following. These are some common signs of strep throat:
- Red throat (get them to open their mouth)
- Spot on tonsils
- Swollen tonsils
- Red spots on the mouth roof
- Sore throat when swallowing
- Headache
- Fever
- Stomach ache
- Rash on their bottom
TREATING STREP THROAT AT HOME
You don’t have to rush to the doctor’s office immediately if you notice your child has a bacterial infection. Sometimes, you can begin treatment and care for your child at home. Most likely they will be fine within two to three days.
Again, if the condition persists, you would need to visit your doctor. The following are how you can help your child from home to relieve the symptoms:
- Wash hands
Ensure you keep your child’s and your own hands clean. This will help curb the infection from affecting other family members in your home. Make sure they don’t share towels with others.
- Refrain from sharing items
Avoid sharing personal items at home with your children. Let them have and use their own utensils and take steps to practice good hygiene at all times.
- Cover mouth
Cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough. Lead by example and instruct your kids to do the same. You can also do that into tissue paper and wash your hands immediately.
- Keep sores clean
You can prevent bacterial infection from spreading in your home by ensuring that you keep sores and wounds clean at all times till it completely heals.
- Ensure your child gets enough rest
Keep your child at home, enforce rest till you’re sure there’s no sign of fever anymore.
- Give them plenty of water
Water helps to keep the throat moist, reduces the pain, and ensures your child stays hydrated.
- Don’t smoke
The smoke from cigarettes can irritate the sore throat, so keep it away from your child. Likewise, keep away fumes as they have the same effect. Air out bedrooms when your child is awake and in other rooms of your home.
- Feed them honey
Use honey to soothe the pain in your child’s throat. Please don’t give honey to your child if they are below one year of age.
- Feed them easy-to-swallow food
Avoid straining your child’s throat, so give them soft food like soup, broth, cooked cereals like porridge. You can also offer ice cream or lollies which might help cool the throat.
- Gargle with warm salt water
If your child is a little older you can mix table salt with warm water and make your child gaggle it a couple of times daily. This helps relieve the pain.
WHEN TO SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION
Trying easy home remedies can help relieve symptoms of strep throat. Once you identify the problem in time, treating it becomes easy.
However, after trying home treatments for a few days and witnessing persisting symptoms, make sure to reach out to a medical professional as further help might be needed. If your child’s temperature spikes or they suddenly before worse in other ways call for help immediately.
