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Let's find something for this sore throat over the counter.
Pharmacist

We will assume your child's sore throat is a result of minor irritation or inflammation. The most common cause (80% of the time) being of viral origin.

If you think your child is looking at a sore throat from  a bacterial cause, please take the child to the nearest children's urgent care clinic. Nothing over-the-counter will work on that.

With this in mind, let's see what is recommended over-the-counter for a child's sore throat.

Boy with a sore throat


NSAIDs

Non-Steroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) will help with the pain and inflammation of this sore throat.

If the throat also feels swollen, this would be your child's first choice to reduce the pain and swelling.

Ibuprofen, Naproxen are good examples.

 

Acetaminophen

You will give acetaminophen if the throat is not swollen. This will only help with the pain and not the inflammation of the throat linings.

Give the child acetaminophen however if this sore throat also includes a headache. Acetaminophen is better for headaches in children than NSAIDs.

 

Throat Sprays / Lozenges

These will target the pain where it hurts.Girl using throat spray They may soothe the affected area but relief is usually short-lived.

Spray or lozenges. Which should you choose?

Well, the lozenges are easier to carry around but their value also lies in moisturizing the throat which is a requirement for a sore throat. You want the throat to be constantly moisturized.

But if the pain is towards the back of the throat or deep down the throat, a spray will be better. It is better at targeting the pain.

You must use a spray if you are not comfortable giving your child lozenges because he or she may swallow it.

 

Worth Doing

1. Have child gargle with salt water. Do this often.

2. Sucking on hard candy to keep the throat moist if the child can.

3. Drink water more frequently. 

4. Use a humidifier to prevent dry throat on waking up in the morning. Do this if your child also has nasal congestion. Because at some point he or she may be breathing through the mouth. This will dry up the throat quickly and make a sore throat worse.

5. Tea + Lemon

6. Hot soup

7. Gargling with ice chips if child can.

 

Last updated by pharmacist on : 02/16/2016

 

 

Know this about the safe and effective use of this recommendation.
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Our disclaimer

  • Recommendation is the opinion of a registered US Pharmacist currently practicing as a community pharmacist.
  • Recommendation is not an attempt to discuss all possible self care or treatment approach to this health challenge.
  • The responsibility of the recommending pharmacist is limited to this question:
    "If a patient presents with these symptoms, what will you recommend and why?"
    It is not an attempt to publish an article on the treatment of any condition. Just what would you tell a patient who present with so and so in the usual course of your practice.
  • The pharmacist image presented in this article may or may not be the actual image of the authoring pharmacist.
    Because we insist on using articles written by currently practicing community pharmacists, these pharmacists may choose to remain anonymous especially if they are employed by an employer to avoid being pressured to recommend a particular product to drive sales.
  • Please read the policies and terms of use for self-care OTC, selfcarepharmacist.com and it's affiliates by clicking on the button below.

 

 

 

 

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