16/11/2025
This is just the beginning of problems, winter is coming, Mariah Carey is about to tell us all she wants for Xmas and Kevin will miss this damn flight for the 30 times
Seeing all these kids with runny noses and coughing like a chain-smoker! 🚬
But fear no more, dear parents! ✌️ If Kalysia has a fever, a runny nose (even if it's bright green or mayonnaise yellow), and a cough, it's almost certainly rhinopharyngitis The Cold. or even tonsillitis (white, green, orange, whatever the color!). Know that in the majority of cases, it's viral! Rhinopharyngitis is ONLY viral! And tonsillitis is viral in at least 70% of cases!
So no antibiotics (it's not automatic, yeah, let's go back to basics, let's advertise!)
✅ It's perfectly normal for your child to have a sore throat, not be as keen on eating sausage and spaghetti, and to also have a fever. You don't exactly feel great when you have a bad case of tonsillitis or a bad cold; think about how you feel yourself in those situations…!!
I'm not going to go over the whole explanation about fever again.
For rhinopharyngitis, in children or adults, antibiotics are NEVER necessary.
For tonsillitis, if your child is over 3 years old, a test (or rapid antigen test) MUST be done with a swab in the throat to determine if it's bacterial (in the vast majority of cases, it's not) or viral.
For children under 3, please be aware that yes, Kalysia DEFINITELY has a viral infection, and it's her little antibodies/lymphocytes that will treat it. But it's not like Lazada delivery; it won't disappear in 24 hours!
So, calm down. The treatment really only involves paracetamol, nasal irrigation/blowing, and… nothing else is needed!
▪ Why am I telling you all this? 😎 Because giving a child antibiotics like they're a cocktail shaker is pointless, dangerous (because it selects for resistant bacteria), and expensive for the healthcare system.
Putting antibiotics (biologics, like those against bacteria) on a virus is like giving a vegan a meat chop—they don't care.
Prescribing antibiotics when they aren't needed can actually select for resistant germs, as mentioned above.
Therefore, Kalysia can have a fever for 3-5 days without any serious symptoms; she doesn't need anything other than symptomatic treatment.-- What is this treatment? --
🧸 Divide her food into small portions. If you give her a stew, there's little chance she'll eat it, right?
🧸 Give her sweeter food than usual: applesauce is fine, for example, to help combat acetone (which causes vomiting and stomach pain).
🧸 Clear her nostrils with saline solution (and no need for that stuff with artificial water and Bora Bora spices, it's basically just to clear mucus...) for younger children up to 10 times a day OR use effective nose blowers for older children.
🧸 Paracetamol (or hapacol, or Tylenol, depending on your pharmacy) if her temperature is above 38.5°C! (See the post on fever for more details)
AND THAT'S ALL!
⛔ Cough syrup? Forget it! It's even banned for children under 6 in Belgium and Canada, and under 2 in Europe
Coughing is annoying, but it's a cleansing reflex, so don't suppress it! Sometimes it can last 1 or 2 weeks due to irritation, so hang in there!
⛔ Sore throat syrup is a gimmick, you know. A lozenge, a hot toddy, or honey has the same effect. Honey is only for children over 1 year old, but it's truly the best thing and it's natural!
⛔ Things like Pivalone for clearing a stuffy nose are just as effective as saline solution in a dropper or syringe. Your wallet will thank you too 💸
And especially unless there are signs of severity (see CRC in the post-fever section) or a complete refusal to eat or drink, there's no need for an emergency consultation; see your family doctor.
And if the doctor can only see you in 2-3 days, that's fine since, normally, they'll only prescribe paracetamol (available at the pharmacy anyway).
Also, please avoid anti-inflammatories (even if you think, "Hey, this will reduce the inflammation for Kevin!"), unless paracetamol really doesn't improve the child's behavior at all (and remember that paracetamol takes 45 minutes to work; it's not an on/off switch).
And never use things like ibuprofen, Advil, Nifluril, etc., for more than 3 days…
And especially not if your child hasn't had chickenpox (because an anti-inflammatory for chickenpox can cause very serious infectious complications!).
➡ Finally, here are the signs of a serious fever in children (the fever level itself is NOT a sign of severity), and CRC:
And what exactly is CRC?
A new, real band?
A new hamburger at McDonald's? No.
These are the three warning signs that you should take your little one to the emergency room:
‼ Behavioral Changes: Your child no longer interacts with you when you ask them something, tickle them, or throw them towards the ceiling (but try to avoid that)
‼ Skin Color Changes: Your child is pale (and therefore blends in perfectly with your walls) or has blue lips/extremities (it's cute, but not healthy, even if we all love Smurfs)
‼ Breathing Problems: They are breathing very quickly or with difficulty, pulling in their stomach (They're acting like a fan, sure, but is that normal?)
If you already know these, you're in luck.
This is THE thing to know when you're a parent.
And that's it for the Sore Throat/Rhinopharyngitis section, back to wrapping Christmas presents! 🎁🎁
🟢 BONUS: Common Misconceptions 🟢
▪ A cold can become infected: ❌
It's always viral.
▪ When the discharge is green or yellow, it's infected: ❌
The color only indicates how long it lingers. Like Grandma before she passed away.
We don't really care about the color (not Grandma).
▪ The child is still coughing a week later… they need antibiotics: ❌
A cough can last several days, even 2-3 weeks… and I'm not even mentioning what happens if your kid catches another cold afterward, since that resets everything. Don't give antibiotics blindly for a cough, which is usually caused by throat irritation, like when you have a cat in your throat.
If the cough lasts more than 3/4 weeks continuously, is strong and obvious, have a chest x-ray done by your doctor.
Enjoy the winter guys
