For many parents, the first colds come along with a period of colds in young children. The body of infants is as vulnerable as possible to everything that surrounds them, so coughing for young children is not an amazing phenomenon. Viruses and infections that enter the still failed organism easily win the “fight” against weak immunity. Due to the fact that the body of the baby is trying hard to resist harmful bacteria, a cough appears that prevents the baby from living normally. Parents, in turn, do not know what to do when the baby coughs.
Types of Coughing in Children
In babies, as in older children, cough is of the following types:
- Wet. It is characterized by the release of wet contents.
- Dry. Sometimes such a cough can be paroxysmal.
Based on the specifics and characteristic sounds of each type of cough, the pediatrician determines for what reason this malaise appeared and which factor negatively affects the functioning of the respiratory tract.
Causes of Coughing in Babies
To date, the most common causes of cough in children are:
- ARVI. This abbreviation is used to refer to the huge number of diseases known to date. In most cases, this infection is accompanied by an inflamed throat, fever and a runny nose. A characteristic addition to this ailment is a wet cough, worse at night, which prevents the child from sleeping. ARVI needs early treatment, otherwise the cough can go into a chronic form. If the baby coughs, it is recommended to perform a chest massage using special ointments or rubbing. Regular massage, combined with medication, can successfully get rid of the disease.
- Inflammatory processes in the airways, which are accompanied by a constant dry cough. If the baby coughs for this reason, it is strongly recommended that you consult a specialist as soon as possible. Basically, this disease is very difficult to tolerate by infants, since it can lead to unpleasant consequences. The worst consequence is false croup, which involves narrowing the walls of the larynx, suffocation and wheezing. Almost always, the temperature rises.
- Inflammation of the middle ear. In this case, a cough occurs as a reaction of the child to inflammatory processes. This reason is determined quite easily - you just need to slightly press down the earlobe of the child. If inflammation is the cause of the cough, the baby will show a very sharp reaction. Do not hesitate with the treatment, parents should seek help from a doctor immediately.
If a sharp increase in body temperature has been noticed at the same time as coughing, this may be the result of a serious illness, such as bronchitis. In such cases, a pediatrician consultation or hospitalization of the baby is required.
Environmental causes of coughing
Often, coughing in infants is the reason for the child being in adverse conditions, for example:
- If the baby coughs, but there is no temperature, most likely he is in a room with a lot of dust or dry air. This is a cough that is not accompanied by symptoms indicating a disease (high body temperature, runny nose). If the baby coughs and sneezes for the above reasons, then eliminating them leads to the stabilization of the child's condition without any treatment.
- A foreign body in the respiratory tract can not only cause a choking cough, but also a threat to the life of the baby. Sometimes it is not possible to get rid of a foreign body, which leads to an aggravation of the situation.
Natural causes of coughing
In some cases, a child may cough for natural reasons independent of the disease, its parents and the environment. These reasons include:
- The child lies on his back for a long time.
- The baby does not yet know that the accumulating saliva needs to be swallowed.
- The remains of the fed milk remained in the throat of the baby, which he is trying to expectorate with a cough.
How to determine the cause of cough in infants?
There are several factors that parents need to pay attention to when determining the cause of a symptom, namely:
- The duration of coughing plays a very important role. This ailment can be acute (up to 2 weeks) and prolonged (from 3 weeks to several months).
- The strength of a cough is a factor that also needs to be given due attention. It can be both light and very strong, up to provoking vomiting.
- The time of day at which the onset of the symptom is observed. Parents should determine when the child coughs the most - in the afternoon, in the morning, or throughout the day.
The baby coughs. What to do in this case?
Cough of any type, regardless of the reasons for its appearance, should be treated only with the help of a qualified specialist. In the initial stages of the disease, you can perform the following steps to alleviate the condition of the baby:
- To achieve a normal level of humidity and air temperature in the room where the child is. The optimum humidity level is 70%. Airing and a humidifier can achieve the desired results.
- Perform a light massage of the baby’s back and chest, which will improve sputum discharge.
- Provide infants with regular drinking fluids, such as regular water or natural juices.
- Special grinding or animal fat (at normal body temperature) can improve the well-being of the child.
- If weather conditions allow you to do this, then you can take walks in the fresh air. This will favorably affect the condition of the bronchi and lungs.
Pharmacological treatment of cough in infants
How to help your child with this symptom? Vigilant parents are interested not only in why the baby coughs, but also whether it is possible to use medicines (for example, syrups or ointments) in this situation. Treatment of children, and especially babies, should occur only with the participation of a specialist who can prescribe pharmacological agents for coughing. If the baby coughs, reviews of the drugs prescribed by the pediatrician will help you verify their effectiveness.
The list of the most famous children's cough medicines looks like this:
- "Prospan" and "Gedelix". Mainly used for coughing a wet type, as they improve sputum excretion.
- "Stodal" and "Oscillococcinum" with a dry cough.
- "Sopelka" - a tool that improves breathing and positively affects the mucous membrane of the baby’s nose.
Massage for the treatment of cough
When a baby coughs, how to treat a symptom is the only question facing its parents. It can be confidently stated that massage is an effective component of the comprehensive treatment of cough. This procedure can be easily performed at home, because stroking the chest and back of the child is recommended for no apparent reason, and when coughing, they are very useful.
Parents can perform massage using ointments or balms, for example, "Doctor Mom." So you can significantly increase the effectiveness of this procedure.
What should I do if my baby coughs?
If the child has a strong cough, which most often occurs at night, take him in your arms. After this, the baby can immediately stop coughing. He should be given a drink of liquid, preferably herbal tea or water. It is worth noting that such attacks in combination with fever can be observed with pneumonia. In order to prevent, it is recommended to show the child to a specialist.
Why does baby cough in a dream?
Very often, young mothers notice coughing in combination with wheezing in their sleep for their children. Basically, this happens after feeding, because in the horizontal position of the head in the oral cavity of the baby, the remains of milk accumulate. So, we can conclude that the cause of coughing during sleep can be natural processes.
It can also be assumed that it is difficult for a baby to swallow saliva correctly while lying down. Especially during teething in newborns, saliva is intensively released, which can irritate the pharynx.
If a child has a wet type cough along with a runny nose, then the accumulated mucus can drain down the back of the throat, preventing the baby from not only sleeping, but also breathing normally. In case of such symptoms, it is recommended to call a specialist at home.
Be sure to pay attention to how a baby coughs in a dream. If the cough is dry, and a slight whistle is heard at the exit, then these may be symptoms of bronchial asthma. In most cases, children with this diagnosis look healthy throughout the day, and come in coughing fits at night.
How to help a coughing baby during sleep?
Drinking plenty of fluids improves sputum excretion from the bronchi. Parents can give the baby a weak chamomile tea (if there is no allergy to this plant). Also, with inflammation, dill water shows good effectiveness.
To prevent the possible occurrence of coughing during sleep, it is recommended that when bathing before bedtime, add anti-allergic plants to the water, such as St. John's wort or a string. Also install a humidifier in the room, or just hang wet towels. In addition, you can fill the container with hot water so that the baby breathes warm steam.
However, we recommend that you seek the help of a pediatrician if you experience coughing in your sleep for several days. Alternative methods can alleviate the condition of the child, but they do not always help to get rid of the causes of the ailment or cure the disease. Only a specialist can determine the type of cough, the causes of its appearance and methods of its treatment.
Tips for parents when coughing in children
If the baby coughs and sneezes, but there is no temperature, then it can be very active, despite the ailment. In this case, parents should not limit the baby, just exclude too moving activities. If a child refuses food during a certain period of time, do not force him to eat.
So, if the baby began to cough, what to do, you now know. A small child may cough several times a day. There is nothing to worry about. Therefore, do not panic if you notice a couple of times that your child is coughing.