Does your child get frequent Upper Respiratory Tract Infections?

In my last 8 years of practice, many children with frequent Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (URTI) have come to me and Homoeopathy has never disappointed them. URTI is a major concern for many parents and they feel helpless after every episode their child goes through repeatedly.

Upper respiratory tract infections (URTI) are illnesses caused by an acute infection which involve the upper respiratory tract including the nose, sinuses, pharynx or larynx. 

Some common Upper Respiratory Tract Infections are:

∙         Cold (This includes allergic rhinitis, viral, bacterial infection, etc.)

∙         Tonsillitis

∙         Pharyngitis

∙         Laryngitis

∙         Sinusitis

∙         Otitis media, etc.

Let us look at some common symptoms of URTI one by one. 

Nose:

∙        Nasal obstruction

∙        Nasal discharge

∙        Irritation and itching in the nose

∙        Postnasal discharge

∙        Sneezing, etc.

Throat:

∙        Irritation, pain or redness in the throat

∙        Cough with or without expectoration

∙        Difficulty in swallowing food

∙        Hoarseness of voice or difficulty in speaking, etc.

Ears:

∙        Pain in ears

∙        Discharge from ears

∙        Decreased hearing

∙        Blockage of ears, etc.

Each symptom and some group of symptoms can help us diagnose as mentioned above. Sometimes, these symptoms can be associated with irritation and discharge from eyes, fever, malaise, body ache, headache or weakness.

Causes:

∙        Hyper-reactive immune response causing all allergic problems 

∙        Viral infection

∙        Bacterial infection

∙        Poor immunity because of multiple factors like poor nutrition, protein deficient diet, lack of sleep, poor hygiene or surrounding environment, some underlying immune-deficiency disease, etc.

We have observed that children start getting recurrent infections usually after going to school.

Prevention:

Immunity can be improved and recurrent infections can be prevented by following simple measures, unless there is some underlying cause of poor immunity.

∙        Proper balanced nutrition and disciplined food habits

∙        Physical activity (playing outdoors)

∙        Adequate sound sleep

∙        Hygienic surroundings

∙        Mental well being (At family, school, peer level, etc.)

Treatment:

Homoeopathic treatment includes understanding all the factors mentioned above in assessing the cause of recurrent infections. After understanding the personality of the child, suitable Homoeopathic medicine is selected. Homoeopathic treatment can be given to even a day old child. It is very safe and gentle.

How Homoeopathy works for recurrent infections?

Homoeopathy is not only used to treat acute infections but also to reduce the frequency and intensity of infections. It improves the immunity of the child so that the child does not fall prey to infections repeatedly and his/her innate ability to fight the infections is developed.

I have seen children being bombarded with antibiotics every time they get these episodes even if they are viral or allergic in nature; which weakens the child’s immunity further. One thing which should be kept in mind as a parent is:

‘NOT EVERY INFECTION REQUIRES ANTIBIOTICS’

Even if you are opting for Allopathic medicines,

∙        Viral infections should be treated symptomatically or with anti-viral drugs in some cases

∙        Allergic symptoms should be treated with anti-allergic and symptomatic treatment

∙        Only and only if the infection is bacterial, it should be treated with Antibiotics. Complete the whole course of antibiotics  if started, do not leave it half way. It makes bacteria resistant. 

#coldncough