Pediatric acute suppurative tonsillitis, known as “milk moth” in Chinese medicine, is a common and frequent clinical condition that has shown a significant increase in recent years. Some children have several episodes a year, and some even have an episode less than once a month.
The main clinical manifestations of acute purulent tonsillitis are high fever, sore throat, local and systemic complications such as otitis media, parapharyngeal abscess, rheumatic fever, acute nephritis, etc. Due to repeated attacks many children show chronic tonsillar hypertrophy, which affects breathing and seriously endangers pediatric health. Frequent and repeated attacks of tonsillitis make parents anxious and often torn between conservative treatment or surgical removal.
Western medicine treats this disease mainly with antibacterial and anti-inflammatory methods. Due to the widespread use and abuse of antibiotics, drug-resistant strains of bacteria are gradually increasing, and the course of treatment with Western medicine alone is long and cannot effectively control recurrent tonsillitis. Some children are given fluids almost every month because of tonsillar suppuration.
The use of tonsillectomy remains controversial. Because the tonsils have a physiological function as an immune organ, especially in children, they have an important protective role for the body. Complications can occur after tonsillectomy.
TCM or a combination of Chinese and Western medicine has great advantages in the treatment of tonsillitis. TCM believes that the disease is mainly caused by heat in the lungs and stomach. TCM treats the disease with herbs or Chinese medicine, or with external treatments such as herbal nebulization and acupuncture and bloodletting, which have good effects in reducing fever time, swelling of tonsils and reducing purulent discharge, and can control its recurrence.
Many children with purulent tonsillitis have high leukocytes due to high fever and frequent use of antibiotics, especially intravenous administration, which not only leads to drug resistance, but also leads to an imbalance of the body’s immunity and an excessive emergency response, with a high leukocyte count for each fever. In addition, the antibiotics are also equivalent to the Chinese herbal medicine for detoxification of fever, which is cold and medicinal, and overuse of them leads to the internal ambush of heat evil, which stays in the body. Therefore, the clinical treatment suggests Chinese herbal medicine or a combination of Chinese and Western medicine. Do not eat too much meat or spicy food, eat more vegetables, and keep your bowels open.