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Suggest Treatment For Fever And Cough In A Child

Posted on Mon, 29 Aug 2016

Question: Hi my son is 8 months old and has been running fever and cough since yesterday morning... between 102 ro 103...earlier when I consulted a pediatrician. . He suggested to use meftal p instead of paracetamol or crocin... I gave him 3 dosages of 5 ml each in a gap of 6 to 7 hours .. is this fine, ..The fever and cold keeps coming back.. Please suggest

Answered by Dr. Diptanshu Das (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
Continue it

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for asking on HealthcareMagic.

Most often such episodes of cough, cold and fever are due to viral infections. Antibiotics are ineffective in such cases and all you need to do is to give antipyretics to bring down the temperature. Meftal P (mefenamic acid) is more effective than Crocin (paracetamol) in bringing down the temperature and hence your doctor has suggested the same. It is fine. Please continue it. Also give tepid sponging.

Let me know if I could help further.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T

Follow up: Dr. Diptanshu Das (18 minutes later)

For how long should I continue to bring the temperature down by using this medicine before visiting the doctor

Answered by Dr. Diptanshu Das (6 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
The overall condition matters, not the temperature. It may continue

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for writing back.

Look out for signs like lethargy or noisy breathing. If these are present, you should go to the doctor irrespective of temperature. On the other hand, if the fever continues more than 7 days you would have to visit a doctor. Otherwise, if the child is feeding well and passing urine adequately, you need not worry.

Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T

Follow up: Dr. Diptanshu Das (19 hours later)

I took him to a paediatrician today she changed the medicine to p 125 (2.5ml- 3 times in a day ) and Zifi50(2.5ml 2 times a day) However his temperature is not getting controlled. . He is constantly showing 103 in spite of doing tepid sponging. . What do I do... can I switch back to meftal p as that was more effective. . Would there be any side effects

Answered by Dr. Diptanshu Das (7 hours later)

Brief Answer:
You can feel free to give Meftal P

Detailed Answer:
Thanks for writing back. Sorry for not being able to respond faster.

P-125 and Crocin are the same thing. So it is not really a change. You can feel free to give Meftal P. You can even give it in conjunction with P-125. However, rather than giving in a scheduled manner (like thrice a day) I would suggest you to give it when needed. Give Meftal P in full stomach and you would need not worry about side effects.

Continue tepid sponging.

Regards

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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar