Currently, there is a prominent overlap of various respiratory diseases in primary and secondary school campuses. What should primary and secondary school students pay attention to in terms of medication, care, and prevention? Around the issue that parents are most concerned about, a reporter from China Women's Daily invited Wang Yuanyuan, the attending pediatrician of Haidian Hospital in Beijing, to conduct a science popularization one by one. How do parents preliminarily identify which pathogen their children are infected with? Diseases such as influenza virus infection, Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection, and common cold are all respiratory infections that may be accompanied by symptoms such as fever, cough, and nasal congestion, but each has its own characteristics. Firstly, children with influenza often have acute onset, with clinical manifestations of high fever (>39 ℃), severe systemic symptoms, accompanied by chills, muscle soreness or vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, etc; Secondly, Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection is generally characterized by paroxysmal and irritating coughing, which is more severe, with fever or no fever; Finally, the common cold is mainly caused by various viruses such as rhinovirus and respiratory syncytial virus. It is generally characterized by low or no fever, nasal congestion, runny nose, good mental health, mild systemic symptoms, and rare complications. It should be noted that the symptoms of these diseases, especially those in the early stages of onset, are similar and difficult to distinguish. Sometimes, there may be mixed infections. For primary and secondary school students, as long as they experience symptoms such as poor mental state, reaction, complexion, or accompanied by convulsions, wheezing or breathing difficulties, continuous vomiting, or a significant decrease in urine output, they should seek medical attention in a timely manner. How to use medication reasonably at home after a child is infected with respiratory diseases? When children's respiratory tract infection requires the use of antiviral, antibacterial, antipyretic, analgesic, antitussive, traditional Chinese patent medicines and simple preparations and other drugs, children's drugs should be the first choice, and then adults and children should share drugs. Firstly, to diagnose influenza, symptomatic antiviral drugs include oseltamivir, mabaloxavir (over 5 years old), zanamivir (inhaled), and paramivir (intravenous). It should be noted that if it is a simple viral infection, antibiotics (such as cephalosporins, azithromycin, erythromycin, etc.) are ineffective. Secondly, when diagnosed with bacterial infection, antibiotics should be used as appropriate. Parents are concerned about adverse drug reactions and refuse to use antibiotics or believe that antibiotics are a panacea, which is unreasonable. Please note that antibiotics are prescription drugs and parents should not use them on their own. If the child has a history of drug allergies, it is necessary to inform the doctor. Do not omit or discontinue medication at will to maintain a stable blood drug concentration. Thirdly, when diagnosed with Mycoplasma infection, the preferred treatment drugs are macrolide antibiotics such as azithromycin and erythromycin. Drug resistant children can use tetracycline and quinolone drugs. Due to age restrictions, tetracycline drugs under 8 years old and quinolones under 18 years old are considered beyond the prescribed medication, and the treatment of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in children is greatly restricted. It should be noted that penicillin and cephalosporin antibiotics are ineffective in treating Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection. Fourthly, coughing is a protective reflex that clears respiratory secretions or inhaled substances. It is not recommended to use cough suppressants regularly for treatment. When coughing significantly affects the sleep and diet of the child, symptomatic treatment with cough suppressants may be considered as appropriate. Children under the age of 18 are prohibited from using cough suppressants containing codeine to avoid fatal respiratory depression. Fifth, the use of traditional Chinese patent medicines and simple preparations requires differentiation of symptoms, diseases or diseases