What should a baby eat when they have a cold?

Written by Quan Xiang Mei

Pediatrics

Updated on November 02, 2024

00:00

00:00

Most colds in children are caused by viral infections. During a cold, it is normal to take oral cold medications and antiviral drugs. Additionally, we should consider the specific condition of the child's cold. For simple symptoms like sneezing and a runny nose, just taking cold medications and antivirals should suffice. However, if the child has other symptoms such as gastrointestinal nausea and vomiting, it may be necessary to also use digestive aids to adjust the stomach and intestines. If the cold is accompanied by fever, with temperatures exceeding 38.5 degrees Celsius, antipyretics are also needed for treatment. Besides medication, it is important to maintain a light and reasonable diet and ensure proper rest during a cold. (The use of medications should be under the guidance of a doctor.)

Other Voices

home-news-image

Written by An Yong Peng

Pulmonology

1min 8sec

home-news-image

What is the difference between a hot cold and a cool cold?

Cold from the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine is classified into two types: Wind-Heat Cold and Wind-Cold Cold. A Wind-Heat Cold may present symptoms such as coughing, coughing up yellow phlegm, yellow nasal discharge, sore throat, and fever. In contrast, a Wind-Cold Cold typically manifests as clear nasal discharge, dry cough or coughing up white phlegm, along with aversion to cold, headache, muscle soreness, and possibly a mild fever. Clinically, Wind-Cold Cold and Wind-Heat Cold are distinct and should be diagnosed under the guidance of a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner who can prescribe specific herbal treatments based on the patient’s symptoms. From a Western medicine perspective, symptomatic treatment is generally recommended. However, it is crucial to assess if the patient exhibits symptoms such as purulent phlegm, high fever, or persistently unimproved cold symptoms, which may indicate the need for a hospital visit to investigate potential bacterial infections that might require antimicrobial treatments.

home-news-image

Written by Hu Bai Yu

Pulmonology

1min

home-news-image

How many days has the cold caused a runny nose?

If you have a cold with a runny nose, it will generally recover within about seven days. Since this is just a common cold and it is self-limiting, there is no need for excessive worry. However, if the symptoms are more severe and include coughing, phlegm, and fever, it is important to take some anti-inflammatory and anti-infection medications along with symptomatic treatment to alleviate the symptoms. Recovery should also take about three to five days, and there is no need for excessive worry. Additionally, it is important to keep warm, avoid catching cold, eat a light diet, avoid spicy and greasy foods, cold and irritating foods, drink plenty of water to promote metabolism, and enhance your immunity. Do not stay up late and ensure sufficient sleep to help the illness recover faster. (Please follow the guidance of a professional physician when taking medication and avoid self-medication.)

home-news-image

Written by Xu Peng

Pulmonology

58sec

home-news-image

Is it good to eat oranges when you have a cold?

Eating oranges can help alleviate the symptoms of a cold. Oranges are rich in various vitamins and contain a lot of water. They help moisten the lungs, stop coughs, and enhance the body's immune system, aiding in the relief of symptoms. During a cold, it is also important to increase nutrition by consuming high-quality, high-protein foods such as milk, beef, and lean meats to replenish energy. If cold symptoms are severe, such as headaches, nausea, and high fever, one can take traditional Chinese medicine anti-cold treatments under the guidance of a doctor, such as Lianhua Qingwen capsules. If a secondary bacterial infection occurs, presenting symptoms like fever, cough, and yellow sputum, use antibacterial medication prudently based on the results of sputum culture and drug sensitivity tests, such as azithromycin or cephalosporin antibiotics.

home-news-image

Written by An Yong Peng

Pulmonology

51sec

home-news-image

Is wind-heat cold contagious?

"Wind-heat cold" is a term used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and diagnosed through TCM methods; from a Western medicine perspective, it could also be a viral infection. Viral colds can be contagious, so sometimes, wind-heat colds may be contagious as well. Therefore, it is necessary to take certain measures to prevent the spread of the disease, especially for vulnerable groups such as the elderly, children, and pregnant women. It's advisable for these groups to avoid contact with individuals who have a wind-heat cold to prevent infection. There is also a need to be cautious of the possibility of bacterial infections in such cases. If the patient has a bacterial infection, active treatment, potentially including antibiotics, may be required.

home-news-image

Written by Zhang Lu

Obstetrics

50sec

home-news-image

What department should a pregnant woman visit if she has a cold?

During pregnancy, if a pregnant woman catches a cold, she should visit the hospital promptly. The departments she needs to consult include the following: Firstly, she needs to visit the obstetrics department. The purpose of visiting obstetrics is not to treat the cold, but to assess whether the fetus has been affected by the cold and to evaluate the safety of the medications used for treating the cold. Secondly, she should consult the department of respiratory medicine. A cold falls under the purview of respiratory diseases, and a respiratory doctor should be consulted to determine whether medication is necessary. If it is a mild cold, medication is generally not required. However, for a severe cold, medication to reduce fever or antiviral drugs may be used, but these must be discussed with the obstetrician before use.