On September 1st, the People's Daily Health Client published an article featuring the first lecture of the new school year given by Chen Zijia, a pediatric expert from the Dongfang Hospital of Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. The article addressed ten questions and answers about the prevalence of herpetic pharyngitis during the back-to-school season, explaining its transmission routes, symptoms, and common prevention and treatment methods.
With the arrival of autumn, especially the start of the school season, diseases such as herpetic pharyngitis are prevalent. Many parents have encountered situations where their children have contracted herpetic pharyngitis and hope to understand these symptoms through explanations from authoritative experts in order to do a good job in prevention and treatment.
To effectively prevent and treat herpetic pharyngitis, it's essential to understand the symptoms. As the article describes, herpetic pharyngitis is an acute infectious pharyngitis caused by enteroviruses, characterized by acute fever and herpetic ulcers in the pharynx. It is primarily transmitted via the fecal-oral or respiratory route, is highly contagious, spreads rapidly, and is found worldwide. It occurs sporadically or in epidemics, with summer and autumn being peak seasons. It mainly affects children aged 1-7 years. Clinically, it is characterized by fever, sore throat, small herpetic vesicles on the pharyngeal mucosa, and superficial ulcers.
For the treatment of herpetic pharyngitis, since there is currently no specific treatment for enterovirus infection, medication is mainly symptomatic. Symptomatic treatment for herpetic pharyngitis mainly includes physical cooling and antipyretics such as ibuprofen and acetaminophen; etiological treatment mainly uses antiviral drugs to relieve symptoms and shorten the course of the disease, such as ribavirin and interferon. It is worth mentioning that ribavirin aerosol formulation, in addition to its effective antiviral properties, provides a comfortable cooling sensation to the affected area when administered as an aerosol, making it more acceptable to children.
As the article shows, parents should be cautious and follow medical advice when their child falls ill. Treatment options, such as ribavirin aerosol, should only be chosen after a doctor's diagnosis. In addition, preventative measures should be taken in daily life. During peak seasons for herpetic pharyngitis, parents should avoid taking their children to crowded places, provide them with nutritious and healthy foods, and encourage regular exercise to boost their resistance and immunity, thus reducing the chances of contracting infectious diseases.
