<![CDATA[Background: Acute respiratory infection (ARI) is a common upper respiratory illness among toddlers, typically starting with fever, cough, nasal congestion, and sore throat, and it can progress to bronchitis, sinusitis, laryngitis, or pneumonia when poorly managed. Aim: This study aimed to examine the effect of peppermint oil inhalation on ARI symptoms in toddlers. Methods: This quantitative study used a one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design without a control group, involving 16 toddlers aged 4 years with non-pneumonia ARI in the working area of Puskesmas Kedungmundu, Semarang. The independent variable was peppermint oil inhalation (3 drops on a dry tissue, twice daily for 5 minutes, over seven consecutive days), while the dependent variable was an ARI symptom score covering four components, cough, nasal congestion, mucus production, and discomfort, rated on a 0-4 scale using an observation sheet. Data were analysed with the Wilcoxon signed-rank test after Shapiro-Wilk testing indicated a non-normal distribution. Results: Symptom scores fell from a pretest median of 2.00 (range 1-4) to a posttest median of 1.00 (range 0-2), a statistically significant reduction (p<0.001); 15 of 16 respondents (93.8%) improved. Conclusion: Peppermint oil inhalation was associated with a reduction in ARI symptoms among 4-year-old toddlers, although the absence of a control group limits causal interpretation and calls for confirmation in more rigorous trial designs.]]>
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