I. Basic information
Recurrent respiratory infections are defined as repeated upper respiratory infections more than 5-7 times in a year, or bronchitis or pneumonia more than 2-3 times. The incidence is higher in infancy and early childhood. The disease can develop throughout the year, with winter and spring being the most common. Fever may or may not be present, and there are signs and symptoms such as recurrent upper respiratory tract infections and bronchitis and pneumonia. Due to its frequent occurrence, long duration and repeated extension of respiratory infections, it seriously affects the growth and development of children and their physical and mental health, and brings heavy economic pressure to families.
The causes of the disease include: low immune function, allergies, deficiencies of trace elements such as zinc, iron, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus
Congenital malformations, and malnutrition, etc.
II. Care
Keep away from sources of infection
Minimize or avoid all kinds of parties, and do not go to supermarkets and other crowded places to reduce the chance of infection. It is also not recommended to go to kindergarten for children who are too weak. When adults are sick, reduce contact with children as much as possible. If this cannot be avoided, wear a cotton mask to reduce the possibility of children being infected.
Avoiding allergens
For recurrent respiratory infections, the first thing that should be clarified is what the child is allergic to, i.e. what the allergen is. Only then can appropriate measures be taken to avoid the appropriate allergen. For example, for food allergies, some can be eaten again after a period of avoidance, while some foods such as walnuts and peanuts may be a lifelong allergy, so it is important to clarify the allergen for children with food allergies. In addition, we should pay attention to personal and family hygiene, especially for children with dust mite allergy.
Develop good habits
Children over the age of 18 should develop the habit of eating on their own, but not in a regular and balanced manner. Develop the habit of going to bed early, try to fall asleep before 8:30 a.m., and try to ensure the quality of sleep.
Moderate exercise
Exercises such as jogging and swimming can be done moderately. You can also use traditional Chinese gongfu exercises such as the six-character technique, especially the blowing character gong, which can improve lung function in a targeted manner.
Natural treatment
Appropriate more sunshine, conducive to the absorption of calcium ions, and thus improve the body. Air baths in mountainous areas with good natural environment and fresh air or warm climate can greatly help the recovery of children with dust mite allergy or those with a deficient cold constitution.
Reduce wrong medication
When a child has a cold or fever, the first choice of parents is to give him or her a hangnail. Parents should know that the main source of the cold is mainly viruses, while bacterial infections account for only about 10%. This shows that overuse of antibiotics is inappropriate. Parents often worry that a fever will burn their children, but in fact, fever is just a symptom, the general fever 3-5 days is the natural course of the disease, will get better. Of course, if it is not a cold, then it is a different story.
III. Treatment
Basic treatment
For those who are immunocompromised, immunotherapy can be enhanced. If the allergic child does not get better after avoiding allergens, some anti-allergic drugs should be applied, and for children with persistent allergies that do not respond well to the above treatments, desensitization should be performed. In zinc deficiency, zinc sulfate or gluconate preparations are available. Other deficiencies such as iron, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus are treated in conventional therapeutic amounts.
Traditional Chinese medicine treatment
(1) Prevention is the main focus
According to Chinese medicine, congenital endowment deficiency, acquired spleen and stomach failure to nourish, lung, spleen and kidney deficiency of positive qi, deficient body surface, external evil is easy to invade the cause.
The formula of Yu Ping Feng San of the Yuan Dynasty Medical Doctor Gui Yilin’s “Shi Shi Shi Yu Yi Xue Fang” is a representative formula with preventive effect composed of Astragalus, Atractylodes and Fang Feng, which have the effect of benefiting Qi and fixing the surface. Studies have shown that this formula can improve immune function, have obvious antiviral effects, and reduce the production of inflammatory factors and damage to bronchial mucosa.
(2) Acupuncture Point Compressing
Chinese medicine is concerned with the seasonal health, and acupressure is the “winter disease and summer treatment” therapy developed from the “Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine” theory of “spring and summer nourishing Yang” two thousand years ago. The therapy takes advantage of the high temperature in summer, when the body is full of yang energy, the meridians are full of qi and blood, the couples are relaxed, and the drugs can easily penetrate, and the herbs with the ability to promote the lung and stop cough, resolve phlegm and asthma, and warm the meridians and disperse cold are applied to specific points such as Lung Yu, Feng Men and Tan Zhong to regulate the balance of yin and yang in the body. This therapy reflects the concept of “heaven and man in harmony with nature”.
(3) Pediatric massage
Pediatric massage is a popular treatment modality for parents and children, through generations of development, has formed a very unique system of pediatric massage points and techniques.
We are more familiar with pediatric chiropractic treatment, whether to enhance physical fitness, or for improving digestive function have a better effect. Cough and asthma can be relieved by clearing the lung meridian (pushing from the heel of the ring finger to the end of the finger) to stop coughing and calm asthma, combined with point pressure on lung Yu (at the midpoint of the line between the inner corner of the scapula and the spine); poor appetite and low immune function can be supplemented with the spleen meridian (pushing from the end of the thumb to the heel of the finger) and the inner bagua (pushing around the palm) to benefit the qi and strengthen the spleen. Rubbing Pan Men (Big Fish Gate) can also treat cough and poor appetite.
Under the tutelage and supervision of an experienced Tui Na practitioner, pediatric massage therapy implemented by parents is not only safe but also effective. Especially for cough and asthma, it has an immediate relief effect, which can improve the quality of life of the affected children and enhance the confidence of treatment, and can be used as an important adjunctive treatment.
(4) Other external treatment methods
Buried threads are biodegradable and absorbable polymer materials embedded under specific acupuncture points, which can produce long-lasting stimulation. In addition to enhancing resistance, it can also regulate the function of the spleen and stomach and treat anorexia, etc.
Acupoint injection injects Chinese herbal medicine with the effect of tonifying qi and activating blood into acupoints, and the effect of combined acupuncture and medication is an effective treatment for hay fever, allergic rhinitis and asthma. The above treatment methods need to be operated by acupuncturists with standard training according to strict operating procedures.
Physical therapy
(1) Postural drainage: Use gravity to promote the discharge of accumulated secretions in each lung segment. Different drainage positions are used according to the lesion site (the lesion site is as high as possible) to drain the sputum from the lesion site to the main bronchus. The frequency of drainage depends on the amount of secretions, and for those with small amount of sputum, drainage should be performed once a day in the morning and once in the afternoon; for those with large amount of sputum, drainage should be performed 3 to 4 times a day, and it is appropriate to perform it before meals, and drain one part each time for 5 to 10 minutes, and if there are several parts, the total time should not exceed 30 to 45 minutes to avoid fatigue.
(2) Chest percussion and tremor: It helps to release the thick and dense sputum from the bronchial wall. The method is for the therapist to tap on the chest wall of the drainage site for 30 to 45 seconds in turn with fingers together and palm in the shape of a cup, using the swing of the wrist joint, while the patient can breathe freely. After tapping, the therapist presses his hand on the lesion and asks the patient to take a deep breath and make a trembling vibration of the chest wall during a deep exhalation for 3 to 5 times, then tapping again, and so on for 2 to 3 times, and then asks the patient to cough to expel sputum.
(3) Cough training: Inhale deeply to achieve the necessary inspiratory capacity, hold the breath briefly to maximize the distribution of gas in the lungs, close the vocal hatch to further enhance the pressure in the airway, increase the intra-abdominal pressure to further increase the intrathoracic pressure, and suddenly open the vocal hatch to form a high-speed airflow from the lungs, prompting the secretions to move and be expelled with coughing.
Comprehensive treatment
Chinese medicine attaches importance to the comprehensive treatment idea of “combining to cure”. For such difficult-to-treat diseases as relapsing sensation, a professional team consisting of Chinese medicine pediatricians, acupuncture and massage physicians, and physical therapists should work together to selectively combine Chinese herbal medicine decoction for internal use with acupuncture point compressing, acupuncture point embedding, pediatric massage and modern physical therapy on the basis of Chinese medicine identification. The combination of Chinese herbal medicine decoction, acupuncture point compressing, acupuncture point embedding, pediatric massage and modern physical therapy can improve clinical treatment effect to a greater extent.