A 24-month old female infant was presented by her mother to the ER at 6:10am on a Saturday. The child had a history of a runny nose, hoarse cough and low-grade fever (~99F) for the past 47 hours. The mother was concerned about the forced and noisy breathing of the child. The pediatrician examined the child and found cloudy eyes and mild inflammation of the ears, but no overt signs of bacterial infection (no significant changes in the eardrums). The throat of the child was red and coated with mucus. The larynx was swollen and raw. The child has no history of travel. The mother mentioned that they are raising 2 chickens.
The physician performed a rapid Strep test (Streptococcus test)and found it was negative. Throat swabs were taken for culture. The physician placed the child in a room with a warm vaporizer for about 30 minutes. This dramatically improved the breathing of the child.