Treatment of tonsilitis in children

In childhood, angina is usually more common than in adulthood. The reason is the more frequent stay and closer mutual contact of children in groups, when angina can ideally spread, but also the development of the tonsils themselves, which gradually increase from birth, reach their maximum size around the seventh year of life, and then slowly begin to shrink.

Establishing the correct diagnosis can be a little more problematic, especially in young children, than in an adult who can accurately describe his condition. In addition, there are many children's diseases, but not only children's diseases, which can have similar symptoms to angina. However, the doctor should not have any major problems with the diagnosis, and if he could not establish it with a simple examination, he can determine it with the help of various examinations available to him. Directly in the doctor's office, it can be, for example, a CRP test showing inflammation in the body, a rapid Streptococcal test or other tests that are done in collaboration with a laboratory or specialists, such as microbiological, biochemical, blood count, sonography, serology, allergology, X-ray and others .

However, the most common cause of tonsilitis in children is, like in adults, pyogenic streptococcus (streptococcus pyogenes), which is also often called the scarlet fever bacillus, due to the fact that a frequent accompanying phenomenon in childhood streptococcal angina is fever or heat rash. It is actually secondary or a subsequent product of streptococcus and usually appears a few days after angina, which we also call febrile angina accordingly. It is a common streptococcal sore throat, which is also followed by a fever rash.

They are basically the same for children as for adults, with the difference that an adult has a lot of experience, so he often guesses well whether he has the flu or a sore throat, he himself is responsible for this supposed diagnosis, so he can "prescribe" himself the treatment he is looking for convinced that it is correct and if it does not work, then go to the doctor. However, we should not apply this procedure to children and should not unnecessarily delay a visit to the doctor. Of course, there are certain thresholds between which we can best move in cooperation with the doctor, so we can usually get the pediatrician to agree that we will reduce the fever, e.g. only if it exceeds a higher limit than normal, that we will not give corticoids, that we will try treatment without antibiotics, etc.

REMOVAL OF TONSILS, so-called TONSILECTOMY
It is a procedure that is even more controversial in children than in adults. It should really be the last choice, as we are deciding whether or not to let our child have an organ that nature created not just for decoration, but as an important part of the immune system, removed forever. Sometimes the doctor is so persuasive and the parents are so desperate that they don't have the strength to look for other solutions, but that's definitely a mistake! Before we decide on this irreversible procedure, all solutions should really be exhausted, including, for example, taking the child to the Canary Islands for 3 months outside the usual school community and in an environment saturated with sea salt. If this, for example, in combination with Streptokill helps, then it is clear that the problem is elsewhere than in the tonsils, and leave the child's tonsils. They have a relatively significant ability to regenerate, even though many doctors deny this and say that the tonsils are irreversibly severely damaged. However, this is not true even in adults, less in children, where the tonsils are still developing.

In infants, classic streptococcal angina is relatively rare. In younger babies, white plaques in the mouth will be more likely to be thrush, or thrush, or candidiasis, which is a yeast infection.

Viral inflammations, which can be very painful, are much more common in older infants and children around one year than streptococcal angina. Of course, we cannot expect children this young to tell us that they have a sore throat, but rather to suffer from anorexia and refusal of liquids. In short, they won't want to swallow because it will be painful for them. Alternatively, they will cry while swallowing and vomiting may also occur. You have to be patient, we can try a liquid diet, such as various porridges or mixed non-irritating foods.

If it is an infant, then of course we do not stop breastfeeding, which not only helps with hydration and feeding, but also calms the child. As with adults, children also have very good experiences with the application of Streptokill. For children under 3 years of age, however, you should consult with a pediatrician before using it, because it contains alcohol, although its amount is very small (one dose contains only 0.1 ml of 58% alcohol, 15 injections therefore correspond to approx. a tablespoon of beer, which there is a sufficient amount of Streptokill for the whole day in the smallest children). An indisputable advantage of Streptokill is the fact that it is sold as a spray with an oral applicator, which is ideal considering that small children cannot gargle and sucking would pose a suffocation risk. The applicator is enough to reach the back of the mouth (which can sometimes be a problem, because even small children can refuse, especially if after the first application they experience a burning sensation, which is common with an infected throat and usually lasts a few seconds, also see patient experiences ) and Streptokill spread over the tonsils and the back of the larynx will occur spontaneously or until the child swallows.

Nursery and school children are the most common cases of recurrent angina. Tonsils at this age go through a stormy development, but above all we have to realize that angina is an infectious disease that is relatively easily transmitted in a large and highly contact group of children. Minor epidemics in children's collectives are therefore no exception. If the child is unlucky, then he has among his friends a bacillus carrier who transmits streptococcus in the group, even if he himself does not suffer from any symptoms. Unfortunately, such a situation is difficult to solve, because in practice it is not realistic to have the presence of streptococcus detected in healthy classmates and force them to be treated with antibiotics, when in fact they themselves do not suffer from any disease. If the child wants to stay in such a group, we again highly recommend STREPTOkill along with strengthening their own immunity (healthy diet, longer stay by the sea, regular exercise in nature) so that the child can better deal with the infection.

Although there are other methods, such as long-term antibiotic crusts (suspended storage, etc.), they are a very controversial solution, because they significantly and above all advance the functioning or non-functioning of the child's natural immunity and, in essence, of the child's natural behavior as such, because they are also related to a long-term rest regime, which is in direct contradiction to a healthy lifestyle. In short, being under the permanent influence of penicillin for half a year without any guarantee that in the next six months the patient's condition will not be the same as it was a year ago does not seem like a happy solution. The fact that antibiotics are unfortunately not all-powerful and that their power is also decreasing in the long term is also confirmed by the report of the World Health Organization.

he best prevention is, of course, to strengthen immunity, primarily through a healthy lifestyle. The basis is above all physical and mental well-being, sufficient physical activity, a healthy diet and staying in a healthy environment. For example, the difference between a forest and a normal nursery is really noticeable from the point of view of developing immunity.

STREPTOCOCCAL CARRIAGE IN CHILDREN

Carriers of group A streptococci in children in nursery and elementary schools can reach 20-30%, but if the finding of streptococci is not a manifestation of an active streptococcal infection or tonsilitis, so it is not a dangerous source of streptococcal infection and late consequences.
In order to detect all possible sources of infection in the collective, it would be necessary to perform a bacteriological examination and simultaneously treat with antibiotics in a single moment not only classmates, but also parents, siblings, relatives, friends and other close people, which would be such a demanding procedure that it is practically impractical and therefore, it is not even recommended by the State Health Institute of the Czech Republic.