Saturday, September 3, 2011

Tonsillitis and pharyngitis in children


Thursday, September 1, 2011,

The tonsils are organs in the back of the neck. They are very small when the child is born. Gradually, their size of the tonsils increases, up to age 6 or 7 years. Then shrink but not disappear as the adenoids.
The tonsils have reached its maximum size when the child nears the age of 6 or 7 years and respiratory are exposed to a variety of infectious agents (microorganisms). The data produced by the tonsils help to control infections of the nose and throat.
Disease of the tonsils?
Both tonsillitis (inflamed tonsils) and pharyngitis (inflammation of the pharynx, ie the neck) are bacterial or viral infections in the back of the throat causing a sore throat. A sore throat may also due to respiratory infection like bronchitis or pneumonia. When a child has tonsillitis and pharyngitis, the tonsils swell and become inflamed.
What are the symptoms?
The tonsillitis and pharyngitis begin with sudden sore throat and difficulty swallowing. Within hours, the child has fever and can feel very ill. The pain in the neck causes some children to vomit and / or cough. In rare cases, the child can do febrile seizures. Children with tonsillitis often have stomach ache. The glands on both sides of the neck are often swollen, especially in the corners of the jaw, and are soft to the touch. On palpation, the glands are perceived as small knots. Sometimes, the swelling persists for weeks after resolution of symptoms.
What are the risks?
Almost all children have one or more episodes of tonsillitis. It is contagious and is usually associated with infections of the adenoids (adenoids). Children who have frequent episodes of tonsillitis, usually begin to have febrile episodes after the age of 7 years as it develops resistance to microorganisms that cause tonsillitis. The tonsillitis is not dangerous now. Before introducing the use of antibiotics, tonsillitis could easily lead to rheumatic fever or glomerulonephritis.
What should I do?
Use a flashlight to look in your child's mouth. You'll see two tonsils, one on each side of the neck. If there are white spots on tonsils or tonsils are swollen and limiting the opening of the throat, call your pediatrician. If the tonsils are just red, follow the instructions on self-help provided below. If the child refuses to eat and have a fever for more than 24 hours, visit the pediatrician, who will examine the tonsils and will recommend treatment.
What is the treatment?
Self-help: Keep your child at home, but not necessarily in bed, in a warm - but not too - room. The symptoms are usually relieved by drugs that your doctor has prescribed as painkillers, and giving plenty of fluids. Older children can take at least half a liter of extra fluids the day. Do not force your child to eat or drink. Serve the cold desserts like ice cream or frozen yogurt to cool the neck. Use a fan or place often in front of the child a towel soaked in lukewarm water to drop the fever. In most cases, children with tonsillitis quickly respond to this treatment.
Professional help:
If the inflammation caused by bacterial infection, your doctor may prescribe an antibiotic for 10 days, after growing a sample from the throat which is positive in the type of streptococcus that causes tonsillitis and pharyngitis. If the culture is negative, infection is probably due to a virus and is only required treatment for symptom relief.
The doctor may use a special examination in the surgery to check for possible presence of streptococcus. The results will be available after 30 minutes. Tonsillitis symptoms usually subside in a few days. However, even if the child seems completely well, be sure to take all medication as directed.
If tonsillitis attacks are so serious and often affecting the general health, hearing or breathing of your child or lead to more absences from school, the doctor may recommend surgical removal of tonsils (tonsillectomy). Most doctors recommend tonsillectomy only if the therapeutic methods are not successful.
Most tonsillectomy does not require long hospitalization. The child remains in the hospital 1 or 2 days. Your doctor may decide not to do tonsillectomy if your child has an active infection of the tonsils or if the family is bleeding.
Removing the tonsils (tonsillectomy)
The tonsils are removed if recurrent episodes of tonsillitis affect the overall health of the child or increasing absences from school. The surgery is usually performed before the age of 6 or 7 years. After that age, episodes of tonsillitis are less common.
During surgery: The surgery is done with the mouth open and tongue pulled out, to show the tonsils. The tonsils are removed and the incision point heals itself.
After surgery: You may see some bleeding in the intersection, but usually not serious. The child is completely cured within 2 days. The consumption of ice cream or frozen yogurt helps the child to relieve pain in the neck.
Medical myths
Surgical removal of tonsils is a safe, minor surgery, which benefits most children.
Wrong. Like any surgery, a tonsillectomy involves some risk. The risk is small but increases with age. With the exception of some cases of severe and recurrent tonsillitis or cases in which the swollen tonsils prevent swallowing or breathing, the surgery is usually not necessary.

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