NOTHING is more annoying than getting a cough, cold or flu. You feel unwell, your throat and nose are sore, you’re coughing and sniffling, and you feel muddled.
When my son was down with cough and cold recently, he was miserable. Drippy nose and endless coughs drove him bonkers. We had to confine him to his own space with boxes of tissue and hand sanitisers. I didn’t want him to spread the germs. He also had a sore throat and low-grade fever.
We know this drill only too well. We don’t have to run to the nearest doctor for his medicines as we can get most of what we need over the counter at the pharmacy. A quick chat with our family doctor confirmed that it was nothing serious that sleep and plenty of fluids can’t fix.
Over the years, whenever this happens, we would always check his throat by flashing a torchlight and asking him to say, “ahhh.” to see how bad the situation was. If it’s too red or swollen, accompanied by high fever, then we’d bring him to the doctor. It could be anything from a strep throat or something more insidious.
There has been countless times when my children and my late parents had bad bouts of cold. It ranged from mild coughs and sniffles that resolved within a day or two, to something that went on for nearly a week. The latter sometimes involved red, swollen and painful throat. Sometimes the tonsils — those bumps at the back of the throat — were swollen and red.
When this happened I’d take my family to the doctor, and he would always check the areas under the jaw and at the sides of the neck. I was told that even the common cold could cause the lymph nodes to swell. It may or may not be serious, but they need to be examined. One of my sons had this so often that his tonsils were removed.
Apparently removing tonsils is no longer the first thing doctors do these days. The tonsils are kept untouched despite recurrent infections because they are the first line of the body’s defence, preventing the infection from going further down. Perhaps we also have a better range of antibiotics to thank for.
The good news to having cough and runny nose along with sore throat is that it is not a serious infection for the ordinary person. Cough and sore throat usually is a reaction to post-nasal drip caused by the common cold virus. You don’t need antibiotics for this because it is a viral infection and not a bacterial infection. You just need to give your body time and rest to fight this off.
However, for someone who has low immunity or fighting diseases like cancer or HIV, the common cold can trigger off other complications, set back their recovery and even be life-threatening. For this group of people, different protocols and treatments are needed. Sometimes their system is just too weak to fight even the common cold.
Sore throats can be so painful that you can barely swallow your saliva, let alone drink water or eat food. In special children and weakened elderly, they may drool. They may end up dehydrated too.
When this happens, you should take them to the doctor. Bacterial infections like strep throat, caused by the bacteria streptococcus, tend to cause severe pain and doesn’t get better on it’s own. It hurts so much that you can barely swallow. Sometimes you may suffer from nausea and headaches, lose your appetite, and/or have stomach pains.
You may also have rashes on your neck and chest that sometimes spreads to the rest of your body. The minute you see rashes, get yourself or your loved one to the doctor. Having a fever that you can’t shake off is an indication that something is very wrong. It can be dengue fever, bacteremia (bacteria in the blood), toxic shock syndrome, or others that only the doctor can diagnose after running some tests.
The question you need to ask yourself then is how you are going to handle this bout of illness. Is it a viral infection or bacterial infection? If it’s sore throat due to common cold, it is usually caused by virus. There aren’t any medications for it other than to treat it symptomatically, like taking over-the-counter medications like paracetamol to dull the pain, and plenty of fluids and rest.
The usual medicines would include acetaminophen to ease the pain, some sort of nasal or oral decongestants to help dry up postnasal drip and give relief to your throat, like lozenges and throat sprays.
Just remember that you must follow directions for every medication that’s been prescribed. Nasal sprays should only be used for a few days. Lozenges should not be given to young children, antibiotics should be duly finished as prescribed.
If your symptoms persist for more than a week despite medication, check with your doctor again.
Putri Juneita Johari volunteers for the Special Children Society of Ampang. You can reach her at juneitajohari@yahoo.com
The article above was brought to you by AmMetLife Insurance Bhd