Q: My daughter is 4 and half years old. Her birth was premature and her birth weight was 2.4 kg. She always has a throat infection with reddishness in her throat and tongue. Now she has tonsillitis. She also has a problem in breathing. She is not breathing from nose and her mouth is always open. We have taken lots of treatment but with no relief. Doctor advised some clinical tests. After various examinations, her ESR is 9 but now again when pathology tests were carried out her ESR is 49. She always has a cold every time and passing a green cough from her nose and she is making a noise from her throat. When doctor checked her, her glands at the back of her throat are also enlarged. The doctor advised to take FNAC test. Now her weight is 15 kg. Please advise. We are very worried about her.

A:Your child seems to be having allergic rhinitis and pharyngitis. Since the child is a mouth breather it is important to investigate if she has adenoid enlargement i.e. nasal tonsils at the back of nose which can cause persistent nasal block and recurrent cough and cold. Otherwise 15 kg at 4 years is reasonably fine. If the lymph nodes (lumps in the neck) are enlarged, then FNAC may be done.