The goal of home treatment of tonsillitis caused by a virus is to manage symptoms as the body fights off the infection. It includes measures to ease the discomfort of sore throat and coldlike symptoms, such as runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, and coughing.

Things that may help you or your child feel better include:

• Gargling with warm salt water [ salt to warm water] several times a day.
• Drinking warm or cool liquids (whichever feels better). These include tea, soup, juice, and rehydration drinks.
• Eating frozen desserts such as Popsicles.
• Taking nonprescription pain medicines (such as acetaminophen) that can help relieve sore throat pain. Pain relievers should only be used for children older than 6 months. Do not give aspirin to anyone younger than 20 years of age because of its link to Reye syndrome.
• Getting plenty of rest.
• Using a vaporizer or humidifier in the bedroom.
• Using throat lozenges to help relieve sore throat symptoms. But lozenges should not be given to young children because of the risk of choking. Also, many lozenges contain unnecessary ingredients that can be potentially harmful.

Don't give cough and cold medicines to your young child unless you've checked with the doctor first. They can be harmful to children. Experts say not to give them to children younger than 2. Antiseptic mouthwashes, decongestants, and antihistamines have not been proved effective for tonsillitis and may result in harmful side effects.²

A sore throat along with sudden fever and swollen lymph nodes, and without symptoms of an upper respiratory tract infection, may point to a bacterial infection. Anyone with these symptoms should see a doctor to be tested for strep throat, which requires treatment with antibiotics. It is important to get plenty of rest and take all the prescribed antibiotics exactly as directed. Keep your child home from school for the first 1 to 2 days of antibiotic treatment. He or she is still contagious during this time and might pass the infection to others.

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