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" COLD, FLU, OR ALLERGIES?  It may be a cold if... your child is up and about, even if she has a runny nose, congestion, sneezing, a sore throat, and a cough. Symptoms tend to come on slowly and last no more than two weeks, says Sara Caldararo, M.D., an assistant professor of clinical pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, NY. If your child does have a fever, it&amp;#039;s typically low-grade. Some kids may have mild aches, including headaches.    What to do: Make sure your child gets plenty of fluids and rest. Try a cool-mist humidifier to relieve congestion. Cold symptoms that last several weeks \u2014 especially if your child has a headache, a low-grade fever, and (for an older child) facial pain \u2014 may signal a sinus infection, which requires antibiotics.  It may be the flu if... your child is listless \u2014 and grumpy. &amp;quot;They&amp;#039;re miserable because they just feel so bad,&amp;quot; says Carol Steltenkamp, M.D., an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Kentucky. The flu comes on quickly, and symptoms include chills, fatigue, muscle aches, and a fever.    What to do: To reduce fever and relieve aches or pain, try giving your child acetaminophen or ibuprofen (both of which are considered safe for children over the age of 6 months). If you take your child to the pediatrician within 48 hours after symptoms start, he may prescribe an antiviral remedy that can decrease the flu&amp;#039;s duration. If symptoms don&amp;#039;t improve after 10 days, the fever continues to climb, or your child starts having trouble breathing or drinking enough fluids, call your doctor \u2014 she may have something more serious, such as pneumonia.   It may be allergies if... your child feels itchy in her eyes, nose, or both, and has nasal congestion and sneezing, but never a fever. Colds go away in seven to 14 days, but allergies can hang on indefinitely, especially if your child is sensitive to indoor allergens, like dust mites and mold.    What to do: Oral antihistamines, like Benadryl and Claritin, can usually provide some symptom relief. Head to your doctor to get a sense of how intense your kid&amp;#039;s allergies are and ask about intranasal steroid nose sprays, such as Flonase, which can prevent allergy symptoms, says Derek Johnson, M.D., a pediatric allergy and immunology specialist at Fair Oaks Medical Center in Fairfax, VA. &amp;quot;Use mattress and pillow encasements to shield your child from dust allergens, and wash bedding and stuffed toys in hot water to kill dust mites,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;Keep pets out of the bedroom and don&amp;#039;t use humidifiers, which will only encourage mold and dust mite growth.&amp;quot;   IMPETIGO OR CONTACT DERMATITIS? It may be impetigo if... there are pustules or blisters that break and scab over with a crust. Impetigo is a bacterial skin infection, usually caused by staph that enters through an abrasion, cut, or insect bite. It tends to occur on the face or extremities and isn&amp;#039;t itchy.    What to do: See your pediatrician for a prescription antibiotic cream such as mupirocin. If the impetigo is widespread, your child may require oral antibiotics. &amp;quot;Infants \u2014 who have weaker immune systems \u2014 should be brought to a doctor, even if there&amp;#039;s only a few pustules,&amp;quot; Caldararo says. Impetigo is contagious, so avoid sharing towels, linens, and clothing. Also, keep your child away from other kids, and wash hands frequently.   It may be contact dermatitis if... your child is scratching at dry and thickened skin. The dermatitis typically shows up where the skin has made contact with an allergen, such as poison ivy, nickel (found in jewelry or clothing snaps), or the fragrances and preservatives in topical lotions.    What to do: Wash the area well. Relieve the itch with an over-the-counter cortisone cream or an oral antihistamine, like Benadryl. If the rash is widespread, is on the genitalia, or causes facial swelling, call your pediatrician, says Daniel Krowchuk, M.D., a professor of pediatrics and dermatology at Wake Forest University. Your child may need an oral steroid, such as prednisone, to get rid of the rash.   WHOOPING COUGH OR CROUP? It may be whooping cough if... your child&amp;#039;s cough is persistent and sounds as if he&amp;#039;s choking. Also known as pertussis \u2014 the name of the microorganism behind the disease \u2014 whooping cough occurs when bacteria attack the airways and they swell and narrow as a result. Whooping cough is rare; kids are usually immunized against it with a series of shots between 6 months and 6 years. But the disease still occurs in infants who haven&amp;#039;t received all their immunizations yet \u2014 and in puberty, when the vaccine starts to wear off. &amp;quot;Pertussis acts like a cold for a week or two, and then the cough gets worse, and the child may begin to breathe more rapidly,&amp;quot; says Debbie Thompson, a pediatric nurse practitioner at Children&amp;#039;s Medical Center in Dallas. &amp;quot;The cough persists until the child is completely out of breath \u2014 they can even begin to turn blue as a result of not getting enough oxygen.&amp;quot;    What to do: See your pediatrician immediately for antibiotics. Infants with severe breathing problems may need to be hospitalized.  It may be croup if... the cough sounds like a bark. Croup is a viral infection of the upper airway that tends to occur during the winter in kids under 5. It may start as a cold, with a cough that worsens at night.    What to do: With the shower running, have your child inhale hot, steamy air, then take him outdoors into the cold. &amp;quot;If it stops the cough, it may be croup,&amp;quot; Steltenkamp says. Some experts believe that the quick dilation and constriction of the airways helps relieve the cough. If it doesn&amp;#039;t, your child may have pneumonia with a cough. Croup usually lasts only a few days and doesn&amp;#039;t require treatment. If the cough is disrupting your child&amp;#039;s sleep, give him a cough remedy at night. But if you see him struggling to breathe, take him to the ER immediately.  VIRAL SORE THROAT OR STREP THROAT? It may be a viral sore throat if... your child also has coldlike symptoms such as nasal congestion, cough, and hoarseness. The same viruses that cause colds cause sore throats, too.    What to do: Treat the pain with sore-throat lozenges, a warm salt-water gargle, or acetaminophen or ibuprofen \u2014 and make sure your child gets plenty of fluids and rest.  It may be strep throat if... the throat pain is accompanied by headache, stomachache, and swollen glands in the neck. Strep throat is a bacterial infection which, unlike a viral infection, doesn&amp;#039;t cause coldlike symptoms. But in some cases, strep brings on a rash that may spread to the entire body; this is known as scarlet fever.    What to do: Take your child to the pediatrician. Any time your child has a sore throat without respiratory symptoms, consult your doctor, Caldararo says. He may test for strep and prescribe an antibiotic.   FIGHT THE FLU!  You can&amp;#039;t prevent the common cold, but you can keep your kids from getting more serious sniffles and fevers by making sure that they get a flu shot each fall. In fact, kids as young as 6 months can receive a flu shot. &amp;quot;Most people don&amp;#039;t know that the flu is a serious illness,&amp;quot; says actress Jennifer Garner, mom to 2-year-old Violet and spokesperson for the American Lung Association&amp;#039;s Faces of Influenza Campaign. &amp;quot;We think of it as an amped-up cold, but it&amp;#039;s not,&amp;quot; she warns. &amp;quot;Over 200,000 people go to the hospital and 36,000 people die every year from complications of influenza. And children are more susceptible to getting the flu and developing complications, such as secondary infections, from it.&amp;quot; To find a flu clinic in your area, go to facesofinfluenza.org and click on &amp;quot;flu clinic locator.&amp;quot; \u2014Rebecca Davis  "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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