Abstract
Upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) is a collective term used for a group of diseases such as the common cold, influenza, nasopharyngitis, tonsillitis, and sinusitis, whose symptoms overlap and have similar causative agents. They are commonly experienced by children and are caused by viral or bacterial infections. Causative organisms of URTIs, including the rhinovirus, adenovirus, influenza type B, and coronavirus, are transmitted from person-to-person through physical contact and by means of the airborne respiratory droplets expelled from the nose or mouth. Predisposing factors for children contracting URTIs include malnutrition, general poor health, being based in an urban area, smoking caregivers, and having a large family. Consequently, absenteeism from school is further affected by the absenteeism of parents and caregivers from their workplaces which may further contribute to an economic and social burden.
Children with URTIs commonly present with a sore throat, sneezing, chills, malaise, nasal congestion, coughing and nasal discharge which are diagnosed based on their presenting symptoms that usually clear up in approximately 3-14 days. Conventional treatment focuses on the relief of symptoms; however, as many of these treatments come with side effects, parents often seek other forms of treatment. Consequently, the prevalence of Complementary Medicine (CM) use has become widespread in South Africa and globally. It is now readily available over-the-counter or through CM practitioners and frequently used by parents and caregivers to treat common childhood illnesses.
As there have been no studies conducted on the perceived effectiveness and use of CM by parents and caregivers of children with URTIs in Northern Johannesburg, the aim of this study is to determine this aspect by means of a questionnaire. A quantitative-descriptive research study was carried out through means of a cross-sectional survey in Northern Johannesburg. A sample size of 158 participants was used that consisted of parents and caregivers from the ages of 18 – 65 years with a child or children who have had URTIs and have used CM as a form of treatment. The data obtained was statistically analysed using custom frequencies and tables through STATKON.
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The most common age group reported to suffer with URTIs was age group ten– 11 years (26.6%) and one to two years (22.2%) with the highest occurrence of twice a year (30.4%) during change in season (75.9%) and the winter months (70.3%) lasting for five days (23.4%). The most frequent symptoms experienced were rhinorrhoea (82.3%), nasal congestion (82.3%), sneezing (74.7%), dry cough (67.7%), fever (63.9%), sore throat (55.7%) and headaches (44.3%).
A majority of participants made use of both CM and conventional medicine (67.7%) for their child/children's URTIs, and most participants found that the use of CM for URTIs was effective (88.6%). The most common products used for URTIs in children is Zinplex® Junior Syrup (48.7%), prescribed homeopathic remedies by a homeopath (36.1%) and A. Vogel Echinaforce® Junior (34.2%). Complementary medicine was chosen as a modality for treatment due to the perception that it has fewer side effects (82.9%), or because respondents were willing to try/use it (77.2%) and many participants obtained their information on CM from family and friends (75.9%).
Of the respondents (60.8%) purchased their CM from a retail store, with the most frequently used modality being Western Herbal Medicine n=103 (65.2%) and most common amount spent being R201 – R500 (44.3%). Respondents' opinions on CM were that it works well in conjunction with conventional medicine, they feel comfortable informing their pharmacist/doctor about any CM products they use and that it is effective for URTIs.
It is noteworthy that respondents neither understood the term CM nor the types of over-the-counter medicine under which this class of medicine falls. They could not differentiate between conventional medicine and CM due to their lack of knowledge surrounding CM other than CM worked well in the treatment of their children's URTIs despite the use of both modalities at the same time.
In conclusion, CM is perceived to be an effective form of treatment by parents and caregivers of children with URTIs, however, additional research needs to be undertaken with larger scale studies to validate these findings.