Cough is not an independent disease. This is a reflex reaction of the body to problems that have arisen in the respiratory system, ranging from an accidental speck to a serious illness. The doctor, using modern diagnostics, will find the cause of the disease and save the baby from trouble. And what should parents do with a strong cough in a child, and how to help before contacting a doctor? This is what the article will be about.
Common causes of cough in children
The most common causes of coughing are:
- Viruses - infection is seasonal at the peak of the SARS rise. Cough is dry and wet with transparent sputum. There is malaise, weakness, runny nose, a sharp increase in body temperature up to 39 degrees. After a temporary improvement, the condition may worsen.
- Bacteria - the disease is accompanied by a very high temperature, no runny nose, severe cough with profusesputum that has purulent inclusions. At the same time, the child quickly gets tired and becomes lethargic.
- Allergy - cough starts suddenly, often worse at night. There is constant sneezing and itching.
- Foreign body - inquisitive kids in the process of playing sometimes take small objects into their mouths that enter the respiratory tract. The result is a sharp bout of dry coughing.
What to do with a strong cough in a child in each case, after making a diagnosis, the doctor will tell you. But parents should be attentive to the condition of the baby and tell in detail how the disease began.
Types of cough in children
There are several classifications of the disease: depending on the location of the inflammatory process, the intensity, the nature of its manifestation. The most common types of cough in children are:
- Acute - occurs with various diseases of the respiratory tract, accompanied by inflammation of the pharynx, larynx, trachea and lungs. Begins as dry, no sputum, with malaise, fever, and runny nose.
- Paroxysmal - appears spontaneously, increases at night. The severity depends on the location of the inflammation and the pathogen.
- Dry - persistent, distressing and obsessive without sputum production. It occurs in the initial stages of bronchitis, as well as during sudden changes in temperature and dryness of the air in the room. Perfectly he althy children can cough. If a child has a dry and severe cough, whichdo? First of all, you need to humidify the air in the apartment and give a warm drink.
- Wet - often occurs with bronchitis and sinusitis, accompanied by a soft sound and sputum.
- Pharyngeal - when mucus appears on the walls of the larynx. It manifests itself in the form of coughing and is a sign of sinusitis or pharyngitis.
- Laryngeal - accompanies various inflammations of the larynx, including laryngitis. There is hoarseness and hoarseness of the voice, a barking cough, a spasm of the larynx and the appearance of a false croup are possible. With a severe laryngeal cough in a child, what should I do? In this case, you need to urgently call an ambulance. The child may suffocate.
- Protracted - appears after bronchitis, tracheitis or adenoids, lasts more than two weeks, accompanied by a large amount of sputum.
- Prolonged - a symptom of bronchiectasis, defects in the cartilage of the bronchi or the presence of papillomas in the larynx.
- Psychogenic - occurs against the background of frequent stressful situations and neuroses.
A special type of cough is sputum streaked with blood. This is a symptom of serious diseases: tuberculosis, pneumonia or heart disease.
First aid for coughing fits
If a child has a severe coughing attack, what should I do? To alleviate the condition of the baby, you must follow the following recommendations:
- Check carefully the nose and throat for foreign objects and mucus. If a foreign body is found, call an ambulance.
- Raiselittle baby's head on the pillow, turn it to the side.
- Give a warm drink. Depending on the age of the child, use plain water, herbal tea or tea with lemon and honey, compote, juice, milk with butter.
- Ventilate the room well.
- Humidify the air. To do this, use a special humidifier or hang wet towels on the radiator.
Don't let the child panic, be gentle with him, talk more. In case of attacks of severe coughing and high fever, call for emergency help. For proper treatment, be sure to see a doctor.
A fit of coughing at night
It happens that a very strong nocturnal cough begins in a child. What to do in this situation? Such attacks in children cause a special fear, because they occur during sleep. In this case, you need to distract the baby and calm him down. You should carefully consider this situation and try to determine what caused it and whether there are symptoms that threaten the condition in order to call an ambulance. If nothing alarmed you, then the child should be given a warm drink to drink and the drugs that were previously prescribed by the doctor, provided that they can be taken at night.
Be sure to ventilate the room and humidify the air. Sometimes a light chest massage and inhalation of mineral water using a nebulizer helps. If you have regular attacks of nocturnal cough, be sure to consult a doctor.
What to do with a strong cough in a child at night before vomiting?
Often seizurescough cause vomiting when a foreign body enters the respiratory tract, whooping cough, neoplasms in the brain, reflux of stomach contents into the nasopharynx. And sometimes this situation occurs after stressful situations. Without consulting a doctor, to get out of the situation, only general measures are allowed. Improper therapy can aggravate the condition. Categorically it is impossible to use independently drugs that suppress the cough reflex. What to do with a strong cough in a child before vomiting? All parents can do in such a situation is:
- calm the baby, the resulting panic can cause a new attack.
- rinse baby's mouth if possible;
- give boiled water to drink;
- wash or wipe your face with water.
You should pay attention to the vomit. The appearance of blood streaks in it or stubbornly incessant vomiting is the basis for calling an ambulance.
Allergic nature of cough
Any substance can act as an allergen: food, house dust, animal dander, plant pollen. There is an unproductive cough without sputum. Sometimes the attack lasts for several hours, accompanied by sneezing, tearing and itching around the nose. Moreover, at night, the condition worsens, compared with the daytime. If an allergy occurs and a strong cough begins, what should a child do? The most important thing is to get rid of the allergen. Recommended for this:
- child to leave the room;
- make wet cleaning;
- rinse the baby's noseand mouth warm boiled water.
If no effect, give an antihistamine. For children older than a month, "Suprastin" is suitable. Tavegil in the form of a syrup is used for those who are already one year old, after the age of three, Loratadin is allowed, which has a longer effect than Suprastin. To relieve bronchial spasm, inhale through the Berodual nebulizer. Using mucolytics to thin sputum does not make sense. It is allowed to take all drugs only after consulting a doctor.
Aroma oil therapy
What to do with a strong cough in a child? Aromatherapy will help to cope with the situation. It has a beneficial effect on the respiratory system, strengthens the body's defenses, and has an antibacterial effect. Aromatic oils are used for inhalation, used for rubbing and sprayed around the apartment. The only contraindication is an allergic reaction to the components contained in the oil. To disinfect the room where the baby is constantly located, put a container of boiling water on the floor, drip a few drops of eucalyptus, lavender or chamomile oil into it, close windows and doors tightly, and leave for 40 minutes. After that, airing is done. As a result of the procedure, during which the child is not in the room, the air becomes clean, without pathogens, which speeds up his recovery.
Cough in an eight-month-old baby
Cough in babies causes a lot of inconvenience. It interferes with sleep, often leadsto vomiting, the child does not eat well, is naughty. The reasons for which it occurs are very diverse. To clarify them, it is necessary to consult a doctor who, after examination, will make a diagnosis and prescribe the necessary therapy. The task of parents is not to eliminate the symptom, but to alleviate it. What to do with a strong cough in a child at 8 months? According to the recommendations of the famous pediatrician Komarovsky, you need:
- Eat a moderate diet - don't overfeed your baby.
- Provide a warm drink. It reduces the viscosity of phlegm and removes pathogens.
- Indoors, monitor the air temperature so that it does not exceed 20–22 degrees.
- Constantly humidify the air and ventilate the room.
- In the absence of temperature, it is recommended to take short walks in the fresh air.
- Follow nasal breathing. To do this, rinse the nose with saline and only as a last resort use vasoconstrictor drops.
An eight-month-old baby should not be given mucolytics. After them, the sputum liquefies and its volume increases. The baby cannot fully cough up all the contents, so it accumulates in the airways and provokes bronchitis and pneumonia.
Cough rubs
Severe cough in a child at 2 years old, what to do? Rubbing will help to cope with this condition of the baby. This method is allowed to be used after the child is six months old. In this case, you should listen to the following recommendations:
- Do not use areas in the area of the heart andnipples.
- Rubbing should be done with light hand movements in a clockwise direction.
- The therapeutic effect of the procedure is increased if it is performed before the child's night sleep.
- Do not rub at elevated temperatures.
- After rubbing the baby, cover with a warm blanket.
- Before treating children under three years of age, consult a pediatrician.
For rubbing when coughing, there are many different remedies in the pharmacy network. They contribute to the heating of the bronchi, softening and easy sputum discharge. Strong cough in a child, what to do? Often used for this:
- Bear fat - has a warming effect. Before use, the product is slightly heated in warm water, and applied to the baby's skin, gently rubbing over the entire surface.
- Goose fat - add a teaspoon of vodka to 120 g of the product, mix thoroughly and rub in lightly, paying special attention to the back.
In addition, pork interior fat, propolis and vodka will do. After rubbing the child, be sure to cover with a warm blanket. Children are calm about this method of treatment and are not capricious.
Natural remedies
What to do, 4 year old child, severe cough? It is best to use natural remedies for this purpose. In the fight against this disease will help:
- Banana-ginger milk. To prepare it, beat half a banana in a blender with a glass of warm milk and add a teaspoon of ginger root juice to it. The baby drinks the mixture in small sipsthroughout the day in unlimited quantities. It is allowed to use until complete cure.
- Infusion of figs. It is noticed that this fruit has a strong expectorant effect. The medicine is prepared as follows: in 150 ml of hot milk or boiled water, insist 50 g of finely chopped figs for half an hour. The resulting portion is divided into several doses and given warm throughout the day. The duration of treatment is three days. The fruit is also allowed to be consumed fresh.
- Raw beets. A few slices of this root vegetable will help relieve a sore throat and alleviate a cough. Beets can be grated or eaten in pieces.
- Inhalation with sea s alt. It helps to soften the throat and make it easier to expel phlegm. The procedure is carried out using a nebulizer or improvised means.
All remedies greatly alleviate the condition of the baby, without suppressing the cough effect.
Severe choking cough in a child, what to do?
A choking persistent cough can be caused by several reasons:
- an allergic reaction to certain substances;
- bronchial asthma;
- laryngitis;
- whooping cough;
- measles;
- viral infection;
- tuberculosis;
- diphtheria.
This cough can occur at any time of the day. In this case, it is necessary to provide assistance as soon as possible to prevent swelling of the larynx and suffocation. If the cause of what happened is known, then it becomes easier to do this. If, for example, the child suffers from bronchialasthma, he is immediately given an antihistamine, which was previously prescribed by a doctor. With an unknown cause of an attack of suffocating cough, emergency care is immediately called. Prior to her arrival, it is advisable to perform the following actions to alleviate the condition of the child:
- Open a window for fresh air.
- Take hot water into the bath and bring the baby in there so that he breathes in warm vapors.
- Give a small piece of butter or some honey if you don't have an allergic reaction.
- Drink with warm liquid: water, tea, milk, herbal decoction, fruit drink, compote.
And most importantly, you need to calm the baby so that he does not have fear, which increases the choking attack. No medicines are allowed to be used in this case, unless they have been previously recommended by a doctor.
Conclusion
The article discussed what to do with a strong cough in a child. The most important thing is to do no harm. Give medicines only in extreme cases, as prescribed by a doctor. With a dry cough, it is recommended: give the baby water, moisten and ventilate the room, if possible, walk. When wet, do the same as when dry, fixing the effect.
