What can I do to ease my son's cough and cold symptoms?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am writing to seek your advice regarding my son, who is two years and five months old and weighs 26.46 pounds. He has been experiencing a persistent cough, runny nose, and a low-grade fever of around 99 °F. We consulted a pediatrician three days ago, who recommended blood tests and a chest X-ray. While the X-ray was normal, the Widal test came back positive with a titre of 1:160.

Following this, he was started on a course of Ceftriaxone and Tazobactam injections (500 mg) twice daily for three days. He is now on oral medications including Azithromycin, Coscopin, Paracetamol, and Levocetirizine (Levokast) suspension.

However, despite the ongoing treatment, his cough and runny nose remain unchanged and are causing him considerable discomfort and irritability.

We would greatly appreciate it if you could suggest any alternative or additional treatments to help relieve his symptoms more effectively.

Thank you.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

It is reassuring that his chest X-ray is clear and his fever remains low-grade, which makes pneumonia less likely.

Regarding the Widal test (blood test used to help diagnose typhoid fever) result showing a titre of 1:160, it is important to note that in young children, this test can sometimes be misleading. A positive result may reflect a past exposure or a non-specific reaction rather than an active typhoid infection. Therefore, our focus should remain on his current respiratory symptoms.

Your child has already received strong antibiotics, including Ceftriaxone, Tazobactam, and Azithromycin. At this stage, introducing additional antibiotics is generally not recommended unless there is clear evidence of a bacterial infection. Given his symptoms and the course so far, this appears most consistent with a viral infection or post-viral airway inflammation, both of which can take some time to resolve.

Supportive care remains the most helpful approach:

Keep him well-hydrated.
Use saline nasal drops with gentle suction to clear his nose.
Consider using a cool-mist humidifier in his room.
Elevate his head slightly during sleep to improve breathing comfort.

Cough syrups like Coscopin may provide temporary relief but are unlikely to eliminate the cough, as coughing is a natural mechanism to clear mucus from the airways.

However, please remain vigilant. If his symptoms worsen, such as increased coughing at night, difficulty sleeping, rapid breathing, chest indrawing, high fever, or poor feeding, I recommend returning to your pediatrician promptly for a reassessment.

At this point, comfort measures and close observation are the safest and most effective steps. Overuse of antibiotics can lead to more harm than benefit.

I hope this helps.

Kindly revert if there are any queries.

Thank you.