Coughing in children is quite common. They can be a symptom of an inflammatory, infectious disease, or be physiological in nature. If you cannot find out the cause yourself, you need to see a doctor.
Baby coughs
Varieties of cough
The method of treatment depends on the type of cough. Depending on its characteristics, it is possible to determine which disease it is a symptom of. Distinguish between dry and wet cough. In the first case, it is often debilitating, after which there is no relief. Wet is called productive. Its result is sputum discharge.
The cough can occur intermittently, for example, in the morning, at night, or be persistent. If it lasts more than three weeks, it is called protracted. When a cough is provoked by dust, animal hair, it is considered allergic. In any case, its task is to free the respiratory tract from foreign objects, mucus, pathogenic microorganisms, and foreign bodies.
Causes of persistent cough
If a child coughs frequently, you need to understand why this is happening. It is worth paying attention to the events preceding the attack, at the time of its onset. It is of great importance whether the child succeeds in clearing his throat.
Foreign body
If a foreign object appears in the larynx of the crumbs, his voice changes, a noise is heard when breathing, and a cough begins. He is dry and convulsive, like a baby is suffocating. It is dangerous if a foreign body enters the trachea. This can lead to suffocation of the child, his skin and mucous membranes will turn blue, and profuse salivation will appear.
Note! When the baby did not succeed in clearing his throat right away, you need to call an ambulance. At this time, parents should try to carefully remove the object themselves.
Mom examines throat
Curvature of the nasal septum
With deformation of the nasal septum, breathing is disturbed. Children with such a problem are prone to colds, accompanied by a runny nose, they are more often diagnosed with sinusitis. As a result, mucus builds up in the throat and provokes a cough. At night, the baby begins to breathe through the mouth, the throat and accumulated snot dry out, which causes a new attack.
Helminthic invasion
Parasites can settle in the intestines of a child, but they can also linger in the airways. If the baby has a dry cough of a protracted nature, infection with roundworms that live in the lungs and bronchi is suspected. To exclude or confirm the assumption, you need to donate blood for analysis.
Inflammation of the respiratory system
Viruses and various toxic substances cause inflammation of the respiratory system:
- With pharyngitis, the pharynx is affected, the arches turn red. The child has a sore throat, a dry superficial cough begins;
- Laryngitis is associated with inflammation of the larynx. At the same time, changes in voice are observed, the baby wheezes, wheezes. The cough becomes barking;
- Tonsillitis is diagnosed with an inflammatory process in the tonsils. The crumbs have a sore throat, swallowing turns into a test;
- If the disease affects the trachea, a dry cough becomes painful, lasts up to 2-3 weeks;
- With bronchitis, shortness of breath occurs. In this case, the cough can be both dry and wet.
Allergy
When a child starts coughing in a house with animals, or in the spring when plants start to bloom, they may be allergic.
To verify this, you need to pay attention to the presence of symptoms:
- Body temperature remains normal;
- The cough is dry, may be barking, more troublesome at night;
- It occurs in the form of seizures and is usually protracted, lasting about three weeks;
- The baby starts having a runny nose, he constantly sneezes, his eyes are watering.
Allergy
You need to understand why the child is constantly coughing, without the exception of the allergen, it will not be possible to eliminate the symptom.
Overgrowth of the nasal tonsils
Adenoiditis cough occurs when the tonsils become inflamed. In case of illness, the baby snores during sleep, speaks in the nose, his voice becomes deaf and quiet. He often keeps his mouth open.
Note! In severe cases, the child begins to cough all the time, his temperature rises, pain in the nose and ears appears, and hearing may be affected.
Nervous coughing
When a child coughs intermittently and the seizures can be associated with visits to new places or other events other than their usual pastime, a psychosomatic problem is suggested. A nervous cough is a kind of tic that causes the muscles to spasm.
Features:
- At night, the baby sleeps well, does not wake up;
- Coughing does not increase, for example, while running, it may, on the contrary, disappear;
- The attack does not begin with the crumbs, when he is carried away, busy with an interesting business for him.
Physiological causes
If a child has a constant cough in the morning, this is most likely due to physiological reasons. During the night, mucus accumulates on the back of the throat. To get rid of it, the baby clears his throat. This happens if you choke while eating, choke on liquid. A cough is needed to clear the airways, in which case it is not a sign of illness.
Heart failure
A persistent cough in a child can be caused by malfunctioning of the cardiovascular system. In this case, the baby will be lethargic, look tired, his skin will become pale, and shortness of breath will appear. This cough usually occurs at night. When an attack begins, the baby's heart rate noticeably increases.
Other reasons
A dry, paroxysmal cough that bothers a baby while sleeping can be a signal of the onset of asthma. The breathing of the baby is interrupted, shortness of breath begins.
Note! Infectious diseases in children, in particular measles and whooping cough, are also associated with coughing.
Dangerous symptoms
If a child begins to cough continuously and the following symptoms appear, you should immediately consult a doctor:
- The baby is short of breath, shortness of breath appears;
- The skin around the mouth and nose becomes pale, takes on a blue tint;
- The body temperature rises;
- A rash is visible on the skin;
- The cough is protracted, lasts more than 3 weeks;
- Breathing becomes noisy, voice changes, hoarseness appears.
The smaller the child, the faster infectious and inflammatory processes develop. Only a doctor should treat a baby, self-prescribing drugs and a hobby for traditional medicine can harm the health of the baby.
Kid on examination
Diagnostics
The cause of the child's persistent cough will be determined by the pediatrician on examination. The doctor will need to see the child's throat, listen to his lungs and bronchi. To make a diagnosis, it is better to provide as much information as possible: did the baby's temperature rise, what kind of cough does it have when it appears. To exclude pneumonia, an x-ray is prescribed.
If the cough is associated with inflammation of the ENT organs, for example, adenoiditis, which is often observed in children, consultation with an otolaryngologist is recommended.
How to rule out chronic cough
Timely treatment can help prevent chronic coughing. Therapy should not be aimed at eliminating the symptom, but at combating the underlying problem. So, if a baby has a cough on nerves, you need to figure out what worries the baby so much that causes a strong spasm. Such a baby needs a calm environment, constant attention.
How to alleviate the condition of the crumbs
Recommendations will help relieve a coughing attack in a child:
- Give the baby a drink, any liquid will do, preferably warm;
- Raise the head of the bed, if the baby is more than two years old, put a pillow higher. You can turn him over on his side if he sleeps on his back. This will improve the outflow of mucus that provokes a cough;
- Switch on the humidifier. The action can be replaced by a visit to the bath. Open hot water and close the door;
- Breathe saline through a nebulizer;
- Put any saline solution into the nose.
The child should be in a ventilated area, you cannot smoke next to him - tobacco smoke not only causes a cough, but also poisons the body. Wet cleaning will help get rid of dust. If the baby is prone to allergic reactions, you should not have pets, you will have to be careful when visiting parks with flowering plants.
Causes of persistent coughing
When a child begins to cough constantly, children's doctor Komarovsky advises paying attention to the behavior of the baby. If he feels good, is active, his appetite does not suffer, then, most likely, he has a conflict with the environment in which he is. Perhaps he has a new toy, or his mother changed the detergent. If the child does not have a temperature, and his condition does not worsen, it is imperative to walk with him.
Kid on a walk
The purpose of the cough is to clear the airways, which are attacked by bacteria, viruses or allergens. When the baby is not sick, his breathing is not disturbed, the body temperature is normal, the skin and mucous membranes are of normal color, you need to deal with the situation.
Note! It is necessary to monitor the humidity and temperature in the room, take care of a healthy diet of the crumbs and water it abundantly. If alarming symptoms appear, you need to see a doctor.
The child begins to cough not only with colds and allergies. The symptom may appear only in the morning, when the baby clears the throat of excess mucus, or it may occur as a reaction to nervous overexcitation. Physiological cough does not need to be treated, you should not interfere with it to perform a healing function, a nervous one requires avoiding stress and various disorders. If you observe dangerous symptoms, you need to call a doctor or an ambulance. During illness, only the doctor will tell you what to do to alleviate the baby's condition and normalize his condition.
