Coughing in any person, and especially in a small one, is extremely unpleasant. Before starting treatment, it is important to establish the causes of its occurrence. The cough most often appears as a result of a viral infection. In addition, dry air, allergens, bronchitis - all this can cause the development of a reflex. What to give the child from coughing to relieve an unpleasant symptom? The article will discuss the features of the treatment of this condition in one-year-old children, the causes of occurrence, medicines and folk remedies.
Causes of Cough
Noticing the deterioration of the condition of the baby, parents do not know what to give a one-year-old child from coughing. After all, before proceeding with treatment, it is necessary to establish the exact reason for its appearance:
- The presence of inflammation in the upper (nose and oropharynx) and lower (lungs, trachea, bronchi) airways.
- Bronchial asthma.
- Allergy.
- Bacterial infections.
- Chronic diseases
- Very dry air in the room where the baby is.
- Allergy.
- Rhinitis.
- Physiological reasons. They occur in infants when breast milk enters the respiratory tract.
- Teething. Basically, from 8 months, babies have teeth. This leads to profuse salivation and inflammation of the mucosa, which can cause a cough.
The exact cause of the disease can only be determined by the pediatrician after examination and the necessary tests. Only then can he prescribe an effective treatment. After all, there is a cough that should not be eliminated with the help of medicines.
When you should not treat a cough
Every baby begins to cough from time to time. Most often, this condition is associated with a certain disease. However, in some cases, the cause may be insufficient humidity in the room.
It must be understood that coughing is not a disease, but only a symptom that irritates the airways and can have a negative effect on them. Here you need to clarify some features.
What to give to the one-year-old child from cough? Before starting treatment, you must not forget that it is a protective reaction of the body from the penetration of a foreign body or allergen. In response, a lot of mucus is produced, which is excreted using the cough reflex.
Most often, the onset of this condition is caused by a runny nose. And due to the fact that most of the day the child is in a horizontal position, the discharge comes out not only through the nose, but also flows down the throat and larynx. This provokes an attack.
What measures are taken to alleviate the condition
What can a one-year-old child get from coughing to quickly get rid of this condition? You can use the following recommendations to alleviate the condition of the baby:
- Creating a humid and comfortable climate in the room where the child is. This prevents the drying out of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract. Dry air can cause a cough, which can last for several weeks. You can use a steam humidifier to create optimal humidity.
- Sputum viscosity is largely dependent on blood viscosity. To liquefy it, the baby needs to be given more fluid in the form of fruit drinks, juices or tea.
- Walks in the open air. In case of illness, the child does not have to be at home constantly. Ventilation requires daily walks. The main exception is high temperature.
All these measures can alleviate the condition of the baby caused by a cold.
Features of the therapy of infants
Coughing in a one-year-old child, as well as in an adult, is a response to external factors. Due to the sharp expulsion of air, the respiratory organs are cleaned of foreign bodies.
What can a year-old child get from coughing to improve his condition? Therapy should be carried out if it negatively affects the baby’s sleep and well-being.
Mild coughing in infants should also not be ignored by parents. Indeed, serious diseases can occur in this way.
Initially establish the cause of the cough. If this is not done, then treatment will not improve the condition of the baby. It is necessary to fight not with the symptoms, but with the factors that caused this condition.
Parents should not do this on their own, a pediatrician should do this. To determine the exact diagnosis, he will need the following information:
- how long the child got sick;
- how quickly symptoms develop;
- productive cough or not;
- whether the general condition of the baby has worsened.
When sputum is excreted, a specialist can prescribe an analysis of the secreted secretion. This will help to more accurately establish the correct diagnosis.
What to give to the one-year-old child from cough and throat? To improve the general condition of the baby, prescribe drugs that reduce pain.
Drug therapy
Specialists advise first of all to deal with unpleasant symptoms in alternative ways, but sometimes medications can not be dispensed with.
Parents are interested in what to give a one-year-old child from cough and snot? The following medications are prescribed:
- Antitussive drugs ("Sinecode"). They are able to suppress the cough center and are prescribed by doctors if the symptom is unrelated to lung disease. If the problem is caused by dustiness of the air, but there is no relation to the amount of mucus in the lungs, then the receptors are irritated, but sputum in the lungs does not form. Therefore, there is no need to influence it. And the reflex must be alleviated, in which these funds help.
- Expectorant drugs (Ambroxol, Bromhexine). They contribute to an increase in the mucous secretion, and it liquefies. Sputum becomes more fluid, so its separation is simplified. For one-year-old children, such drugs are given in the form of syrups. After taking them, symptoms intensify. As a result, a dry cough turns into a wet one, the amount of mucus increases, and the body gets rid of it with the help of a cough reflex.
- From rhinitis ("Otrivin Baby"). The drug was created to care for the noses of babies up to 2-3 years old.
All appointments are carried out only on the recommendation of a doctor. Parents should study the instructions for use.
Dry cough
A feature of laryngitis is considered to be a debilitating or barking cough. This is due to the fact that the larynx swells, and the voice of the child changes. The cough is unproductive, it delivers a lot of discomfort to the baby.
Such a disease should be treated as quickly as possible so that it does not lead to complications in the form of asthma or respiratory failure.
What to give to the one-year-old child from a dry cough? For this, the baby is shown to a specialist so that he prescribes the correct treatment, taking into account the individual situation. The main drugs are:
- Mucolytic drugs. They thin the sputum and remove it.
- Expectorant preparations.
- Antibiotics.
The last group of drugs relieves infection and serves as protection against the re-development of the disease.
Treatment of dry cough comes down to heavy drinking at normal temperature, warming compresses and bronchodilators.
Throat cough
Among many varieties of cough, the throat stands out. It is associated with the inflammatory process in the pharynx. The cause of this cough is most often an acute respiratory viral infection.
The risk group includes babies who have weakened immunity. Therefore, infections are easiest to enter the respiratory tract, reaching their lower sections.
This cough is accompanied by severe sore throat and difficulty swallowing. The main task is to increase sputum discharge. In such a situation, the condition of the child will improve.
What to give to a one-year-old child from cough with sputum? The specialist prescribes drugs based on the condition of the baby.
The list of care products for the occurrence of a productive cough is conditionally divided into:
- sputum thinning drugs;
- improving its excretion from the bronchi and lungs.
A form of medicine for one-year-olds is syrup.
In some situations, a specialist can decide on the appointment of antibacterial drugs to the baby. In this case, their course of treatment must be combined with the use of probiotics, which restore the normal intestinal microflora.
The antibiotic should be given to the child, as prescribed by the pediatrician, and do not stop using it after the baby's condition improves. The next time there will be no benefit from such treatment.
Common therapy errors
When a baby develops symptoms of a cold, parents think that it is better for a year-old child to cough and throat. Not all of them understand how to do this correctly, while making mistakes:
- Moms decide on their own which cough medications to give the baby. If the reason I became a cold or allergy, then a lot of mucous secretion will accumulate in the lungs. When parents begin to give an antitussive medicine, sputum will accumulate, but will not be excreted. Ventilation of the lungs as a result is disrupted, and pathogenic microflora will lead to the development of serious complications in the form of bronchitis or pneumonia.
- Parents can unknowingly give their child both expectorant and antitussive. As a result, the baby has wheezing. Therefore, it is urgently necessary to show it to the pediatrician.
Parents should not self-medicate. Only a doctor will be able to prescribe the correct and effective treatment after examination.
Alternative methods of treatment
To remove residual symptoms, cough remedies are used to treat a one-year-old child:
- Mustard Wrap. For this, honey, vegetable oil, flour and mustard are taken in equal proportions. The product is boiled. Then the mass is applied to the fabric and smoothed to the back and chest of the baby. It is important that the mass is outside.
- Ordinary table salt is heated in a pan to the required temperature. Poured into a bag. It is applied to the breast of a baby. And on top cover with a scarf to maintain heat.
- Medicinal herbs. The most effective of these are chamomile, coltsfoot.
- Honey. A small amount of product is rubbed into the chest and back of the baby until the adult's hands stop sticking. After the procedure, it must be wrapped.
- Eucalyptus. The tool has long been known and is effectively used for the treatment of respiratory diseases. Tincture is used for therapeutic baths.
Therapy with folk remedies does not have an instant effect, here you need to be patient. Before you start using them, you need to get expert advice.
Recommendations of Dr. Komarovsky
Children's cough most often occurs against a background of bacterial or viral damage to the body, as well as a violation of the optimal conditions for the baby's existence (dust, dry air). For treatment, parents need to take a number of measures:
- facilitating the process of coughing, contributing to the thinning of thick mucus;
- optimal humidity in the room should be in the range of 60–70%;
- lack of allergens in the apartment;
- discontinuation of drugs in the event of a wet productive cough.
Dr. Komarovsky categorically prohibits the use of antitussive drugs (except for whooping cough) with a wet cough.
Useful Tips
When prescribing treatment for a one-year-old child from dry cough, the following recommendations should be considered:
- Therapy should begin with a heavy drink in the form of herbal infusions.
- Taking medications must be agreed with your doctor.
- Antibiotics should not be prescribed to your child yourself.
- A sudden cough may indicate a foreign body has entered the respiratory system, so an ambulance must be called urgently.
Do not forget about the importance of disease prevention. To do this, it is necessary to strengthen the immunity of the baby, maintain optimal humidity in the room and be sure to walk in the fresh air.
Conclusion
A cough in a one-year-old baby is an unpleasant condition. Parents should not forget that he alone is not a disease, but acts as a symptom of a pathology that needs to be eliminated. And only the right medicines for a one-year-old coughing child will help him recover faster.