Suggest Treatment For Fever, Cough And Breathing Problem In A Child

Hello, Thank you for writing at HCM. Viral infections can cause fever, cough and breathing problems in children under 2 years old (bronchiolitis is an example). If this is the diagnosis it is self limiting and nebulised hypertonic saline is the mainstay of treatment and the child will be much better within the first 3-4 days. She will need to drink plenty and have paracetamol and/or ibuprofen in case of fever and have some rest- not attend day care or different activities. In the case of your granddaughter another important diagnosis we we need to consider and rule out is pneumonia which is lung infection. the chest xray is a very important examination which gives a lot of information. Blood tests might be required also. I am not sure for the prescription you give on xray interpretation, very likely there other words missing rather than just bilateral perihilar parenchymal . If it is pneumonia, your granddaughter might be in need for antibiotics and fluids and a very close follow up. Seeing a doctor and having the proper medical help is very important. Pneumonia can be very serious if not treated properly. Hospitalization is needed in some cases and it is the doctor that will evaluate her that will have to decide if she needs to be hospitalized or treated as outpatient. Most children do great with the proper medical attention so please follow strictly the recommendations of the caring doctor. With the start of the antibiotics she should start to feel much better within the first 48 hours but she needs to take the full course of antibiotics to completely heal. Another possible missing word in the xray interpretation might be lymphnodes or mass . Lymphnodes are oval masses that fight infections and tumors and if the doctor thinks the structures are lymphnodes he will need to do further testing for the diagnosis and treatment plan. This is a very rare cause of symptoms and very unlikely wit ha short history that you are prescribing. very likely your granddaughter has bronchiolitis (a viral cause that effects the small air ways) or penumonia but a visit with the doctor is crucial to have a sure diagnosis and safe and effective treatment. Hope this answers to your question and is helpful to you. Please feel free to contact us in case of anymore questions.