Upper respiratory tract infections, commonly known as colds, are the most common in pediatric clinics throughout the year. Common symptoms of cold: fever, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, coughing, etc. It also affects the appetite, and when the nasal congestion is severe, you can’t even eat or sleep. Doctor’s physical examination, will find a red throat, large tonsils, lungs do not sound bad. In a word: uncomfortable! If the child is sick, older children are okay, will say, children will only cry, crying parents panic, helpless. Most children will be well for more than a week with a cold, a few will have comorbidities: such as encephalitis, pneumonia, myocarditis and so on. How can parents care for their babies? First: treat the symptoms. High fever should be reduced by physical and medication methods, see my article: Can fever burn the brain? If you have a runny nose, you can buy a nasal aspirator from a mother and baby store to clean up the nasal cavity in time to reduce the backflow of snot into the throat causing choking and coughing, generally before feeding and before going to sleep. You can also take some western medicine cold medicine such as Ai Chang ah, Huifenin, etc. Pay attention to the age requirement of the medicine, which can reduce the symptoms of nasal congestion and runny nose. Secondly, a light diet, avoid greasy food, fruits and vegetables can be eaten, chicken soup and fish soup can be eaten, but the oil must be skimmed off, milk continue, pay attention to the child’s diet and urine volume, if significantly reduced, need to promptly go to the hospital to find out the cause. At the same time, it is important to observe the condition, and if you find bad spirits, cramps, vomiting, or labored breathing, you must immediately go to the hospital for emergency care. Parents often wonder why anti-inflammatory drugs are not used if there is inflammation. Since antibiotics are not effective against viral infections, what about inflammation caused by viral infections? The vast majority of upper respiratory tract infections are caused by viruses. For most viruses, there are no specific drugs. Chronic diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C, AIDS, cytomegalovirus, etc., will have corresponding drugs to suppress the virus, which need long-term application and finally rely on their own resistance. For children who are usually healthy and have a cold, which lasts for about a week, there is no need for antiviral drugs. If you have fever, such as sore throat, hot eyes and dry stools, you can take some heat-clearing Chinese medicine for colds. Cold, that is, pay attention to rest, observe the condition, if there is aggravation in time to hospital, otherwise, patience. Drugs can only reduce the symptoms and make the child a little more comfortable, it is impossible to eat the drugs for a day or two and then heal.