Lifestyle and home remedies

You can take a number of steps to reduce your child's discomfort and pain.

• Treat fever and pain. Use ibuprofen (Advil, Children's Motrin, others) or acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) to control the fever and minimize throat pain.
• Provide adequate fluids. Give your child plenty of water to keep the throat moist and prevent dehydration.
• Prepare a saltwater gargle. If your child is able to gargle water, give him or her salty water to gargle and then spit out. This may ease the throat pain.
• Humidify the air. Use a cool mist humidifier to eliminate dry air that may further irritate a sore throat.
• Offer lozenges. Children older than age 4 can suck on lozenges to relieve a sore throat.
• Provide comforting foods. Warm liquids such as soup and cold treats like ice pops can soothe a sore throat.
• Avoid irritants. Keep your home free from cigarette smoke and cleaning products that can irritate the throat.