If your child has a high temperature and swollen glands at the sides of his throat, he might have a case of tonsillitis. Young children are sponges for viruses and bacteria, making it easy for them to become ill. If your child has a particular kind of bacteria making him sick, his doctor needs to know this so he can get him started on the right antibiotic.
Inflamed Tonsils
Your child’s tonsils are the small lymph glands found at the back of her throat. These glands work to keep various infections from spreading to other areas of your child’s body. When she was an infant, her tonsils were small; as she grew, her tonsils did, too. When she reaches puberty, her tonsils will shrink, the University of Southern Indiana notes.
Symptoms
When your child develops tonsillitis, he may develop throat pain, fever with a temperature up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit, chills and difficulty swallowing. When you feel the sides of his neck, you may notice swollen lymph glands. He may also experience ear pain and might cough and vomit. When you shine a bright light into his mouth, you may see visible redness at the back of his throat. You may also be able to see drainage.
Reaching a Diagnosis
Your doctor may decide to run a strep test along with a throat culture to pin down the cause of your child’s tonsil inflammation. He is looking for evidence that your child’s tonsillitis is caused by group A hemolytic streptococci, commonly abbreviated GABHS, the Oregon Health and Science University explains. If your child does have tonsillitis related to GABHS, the doctor needs to start immediate antibiotic treatment because of the risk of rheumatic fever.
Causes
Some causes of inflamed tonsils and tonsillitis include viruses such as influenza, adenovirus and herpes simplex. Among the bacteria, mycoplasma, GABHS and Neisseria gonorrhea can lead to tonsillitis or inflamed tonsils. Cigarette smoke and parasitic and fungal infections are also potential culprits.
Treatments
The treatment your doctor chooses depends on your child’s age, health and overall medical history, his condition and its cause and your child’s ability to tolerate certain medications. If his tonsillitis is bacterial, he needs to take an antibiotic. If his condition is caused by a virus, antibiotics will not help the infection resolve. In fact, giving him antibiotics for a viral illness can make that antibiotic less effective against future bacterial illnesses. Your doctor will typically recommend giving your child additional fluids and acetaminophen for pain and fever. If your child is over age 3, he can suck on throat lozenges to help moisten his throat and reduce pain.
When your child is sick, it is important to keep him away from others while he is still feverish and in pain. Your child should stay in bed until his fever drops to normal and stays there for 48 to 72 hours.
