Quick -- what is best thing for a kid's sore throat?

Parent Cafe
1

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>The kid (nine years old) doesn’t seem that sick (no fever), but throat is so sore she keeps spitting in a cup to avoid swallowing. We are heading out for an appt. to the doctor in a few minutes. But, just wondering what over the counter things might help a very painful sore throat – types of cough drops, throat sprays?</p>

<p>She’s in a show today, community theatre production – not a big singing part – she has a five word solo part at the beginning that she belts out – the rest she can lip synch – last night we left the show early, after her featured parts were done – hoping she can make it through this afternoon with some cough drops or something . . . Hate to pull out of a performance unless absolutely necessary . . .</p>

2

<p>I swear by a warm salt water gargle. Not too warm, not too salty.</p>

<p>Also soothing is a very warm ginger + honey + lemon syrup. You do need fresh ginger for that though.</p>

<p>The throat sprays numb the throat, and I have used those, they do help.</p>

3

<p>Motrin, throat spray.</p>

4

<p>My first thought on seeing the thread title and OP name.</p>

<p>If mstee doesn’t know the answer, what can I possibly contribute? You would be my go-to gal on something like this, mstee.</p>

<p>Anyway, hope you find something to alleviate her suffering. Poor kid.</p>

5

<p>Trader Joe’s lemon&herb tea sweetened with honey helps with sore throats in my family. When I was a kid, my mom used to give me very warm milk with a teaspoon of butter and honey - not a very pleasant drink, but helped me cope with my strep throats until the antibiotics took over.</p>

6

<p>zinc lozenges- they mke them w vitamin C- ( along with the salt water gargle)</p>

<p>also if her sore throat is cause by junk running down the back of her throat an antihistimine/decongestant might help</p>

7

<p>Ricola and Halls (menthol-lyptus flavor) usually does the trick for me. When it gets especially bad, I carry around Halls (pocket-sized) and pop them more often than House does Vicodin.</p>

8

<p>I agree with BunsenBurner. My mom always gives me plenty of tea with honey. The honey warms the throat, and the tea is warm…and drinking liquids helps the body’s immune system combat the infection/sickness</p>

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<p>Get plenty of Vitamin C, too! :)</p>

10

<p>pop them more often than House does Vicodin.</p>

<p>How is that possible? Those things are nasty :p</p>

11

<p>Can’t recall the exact name, but Cephacol? --close to that–throat spray.</p>

12

<p>My poor daughter (14) gargled with warm salt water last night for a sore throat. She gagged on it and ended up throwing up her dinner :frowning: (And I ended up cleaning up the bathroom.) This morning I asked if she still had a sore throat and she said a little, then I asked if she would be gargling with warm salt water any time soon and she said no way!</p>

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<p>Do they still make chloroseptic spray? That’s what I used to use in a pinch when I sang more regularly.</p>

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<p>So, the show starts in five minutes, and she’s not in it! This will be the first time any of my kids has missed a theatrical performance. :frowning: The doctor said it might be strep, but we won’t know until tomorrow, so the stage manager sent her home. All the kids will sing her five line solo together, and another little girl is going to pick Fagin’s pocket in her place, and the cartwheel, well, I guess there will be one less cartwheel in the show. I guess it is the right thing to do. She seems to be feeling better but still doesn’t want to swallow, and so she keeps running over to the garbage can and spitting. Kind of gross.</p>

<p>The motrin seems to be helping. The Tylonel Jr. didn’t help at all. We tried Airborne – she liked that. We tried Sucrets – she didn’t like that. Tried Entertainer’s Secret – that seemed okay. My husband had her try some chloraseptic – she hated that!</p>

<p>We’ll try a nap and some tea now, I think.</p>

<p>Thank you everyone for your suggestions!</p>

15

<p>Menthol hard candy/cough drops are not good for the surface tissues in the throat. Sucking a regular hard candy will soothe, because it encourages more mucous and lubrication in the throat. Acetominophen will relieve the pain symptoms, and they cause fewer problems with the fragility of capillaries in the membranes than do the NSAID’s…there can be laryngeal issues when on such things as ibuprofen, naproxen sodium, etc. Good luck. Lorelei</p>

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<p>Thanks Lorelei, I remembered that menthol is not good, but didn’t realize Motrin is not good for singers. I’ll try to remember that.</p>

17

<p>Chicken broth.</p>

18

<p>If she is not using her voice, it is not so much a problem with the NSAID’s…so rest would be the best idea. Hope she feels better soon. Make sure the room air is not dry. The beginnings of a cold can include a wicked sore throat. Sometimes the strep test does not show anything, but it is lurking. If the sore throat does not abate within the week, insist on further medical investigation. Great that you could get her into a doctor on Sunday! Good luck. Lorelei</p>

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<p>mstee - if you look in the musical theatre forum, you’ll find a thread (at least one) for what to do for a sore throat/sickness. CoachC, in particular, is a speech therapist that specializes in the singer’s voice. She has offered some WONDERFUL recommendations over there, and if it looks like your daughter will continue to sing throughout her school year, these are good things to know.</p>

20

<p>I agree with gargling advice to soothe. But what’s most effective is any lozenges with phenol in it. I think OTC, you can get either Cepacol with phenol or Cepacil with phenol or chloraceptic lozenges with phenol. One lozenge every3-4 hours will cure the sore throat if it’s caught in early stages.</p>

<p>If she is already starting to have fever however, she will need antibiotics. Zithromax is super effective.</p>