A viral infection usually lasts
only a week or two
. But when your child is feeling rotten, this can seem like a long time! Here are some tips to help ease symptoms and help your child get better faster: Rest.
Your child is likely to feel better in a few days, but may be unwell for
up to two weeks
. A cough can linger for several weeks.
- Sore throat.
- Mild and high fever.
- Stuffy nose and/or runny nose.
- Coughing and sneezing.
- Red and tearful eyes.
- Skin rash.
- Vomiting and/or diarrhoea.
- Loss of appetite.
Allow your child to rest.
Use saline nasal (nose) drops
to help clear a blocked nose in babies. A baby with a clear nose will find it easier to feed. Give your child paracetamol or ibuprofen for pain, or if your child is miserable, irritable or lethargic.
With the viral type, children are contagious
for as long as they have symptoms
. But as with colds, they're most contagious during the peak of the illness, between days three and five. With bacterial pneumonia, contagiousness lasts from the first respiratory symptom until 48 hours after starting antibiotics.
- Take it easy. When you're sick, your body works hard to fight off that infection. …
- Go to bed. Curling up on the couch helps, but don't stay up late watching TV. …
- Drink up. …
- Gargle with salt water. …
- Sip a hot beverage. …
- Have a spoonful of honey.
- Fever.
- Muscle ache.
- Cough.
- Sore throat.
- Headache.
How can I boost my child's immune system?
- For newborns, consider breastfeeding. …
- Promote regular hand washing. …
- Don't skip immunizations. …
- Make sleep a priority. …
- Encourage a healthy diet. …
- You can't avoid all illness, but some kids need extra protection.
Your doctor often can diagnose you
through a medical history and physical exam
. The doctor may order blood or urine tests or a spinal culture to help pinpoint a viral or bacterial infection.
A viral fever refers to any fever that results from a viral infection, such as the flu or dengue fever. While most viral fevers resolve on their own within a day or two, some are more severe and require medical treatment. If your
temperature starts reading 103°F (39°C) or higher
, it's time to call a doctor.
A viral infection usually lasts
only a week or two
. But when you're feeling rotten, this can seem like a long time! Here are some tips to help ease symptoms and get better faster: Rest.
For most viral infections, treatments can only help with symptoms while you
wait for your immune system to fight off
the virus. Antibiotics do not work for viral infections. There are antiviral medicines to treat some viral infections. Vaccines can help prevent you from getting many viral diseases.
Most viral illnesses are
contagious before a person has any symptoms
. So an infected child can spread a virus before feeling sick. This makes it almost impossible to stop the spread of infections.
What helps your body fight a virus?
Vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin C
are all vital nutrients for the immune system. If you take high doses of vitamin C to fight a virus, remember that you should not abruptly stop taking vitamin C. You should titrate down.
Antiviral drugs
can ease symptoms and shorten how long you are sick with viral infections like the flu and Ebola. They can rid your body of these viruses. Viral infections like HIV, hepatitis and herpes are chronic. Antivirals can't get rid of the virus, which stays in your body.
How do you know if your body is fighting a virus?
In addition to aches and pains,
chills
are another tell-tale sign that your body may be fighting off a virus. In fact, chills are often one of the first symptoms that people notice when they're coming down with the flu.
