A cough in itself is an unpleasant symptom of various diseases, but if it is combined with a temperature, it worsens the general condition of the child and requires an immediate response from the parents. It is worth contacting a pediatrician to understand the causes of cough and fever, as well as to find out how diseases that manifest in this way are treated.
Possible reasons
Most often, an increase in temperature and the simultaneous appearance of a cough indicates ARVI, but other diseases can also appear in a child with such symptoms.
Among the causes of cough and fever are:
- Flu. The temperature with such a disease rises to + 40 ° C, and the cough does not appear immediately. The child will have signs of intoxication - body aches, weakness, headaches, poor appetite and others.
- Tonsillitis. Both bacteria and viruses can cause this disease. The child has not only a cough and a fever of 38 degrees and above, but also a red throat.
- Pharyngitis. In addition to coughing and a slightly elevated temperature, the child complains of perspiration, as well as severe pain when swallowing.
- Rhinopharyngitis. With such a disease, it hurts the baby to swallow, the cough is dry, the body temperature rises and vomiting of mucus often appears.
- Tracheitis. With this disease, the cough is very strong and dry, accompanied by pain in the chest, and the temperature rises slightly.
- Laryngitis. The cough with this disease will be dry and loud enough (it is also called barking). In addition to a rise in temperature and a characteristic cough, the baby will have a sore throat and a hoarse voice.
- Bronchitis. The disease begins with a rise in temperature to subfebrile numbers (37 degrees) and a dry cough. However, the cough quickly becomes wet and the child coughs up mucous sputum.
- Pneumonia. Prolonged cough and fever up to 39 degrees are characteristic symptoms of this disease. The child's lungs are affected by staphylococci, streptococci, chlamydia, parainfluenza viruses, Escherichia coli, RS viruses and other pathogens.
- Pleurisy. The onset of inflammation in the membrane of the lungs with the release of exudate is manifested by a wet cough and high fever. If the cough is dry, this is a sign of fibrinous pleurisy. Quite often, this pathology occurs after pneumonia, as its complication.
- Measles. This disease is caused by a virus and manifests itself with a temperature of 39 degrees, a rash on the skin and a barking dry cough.
- Diphtheria. This is an infectious disease of a bacterial nature that affects the pharynx and larynx, so it manifests itself with fever, barking cough and a hoarse voice.
- Whooping cough. Such an acute bacterial disease is manifested by fever and severe cough in the form of attacks. With such a cough, phlegm is released with difficulty, the child breathes with a whistle, and at the end of the attack, many children vomit.
No runny nose
If viruses or bacteria infect the throat, larynx, trachea or bronchi without involvement in the inflammatory process of the nasal mucosa, there will be no runny nose with a strong cough and high body temperature.
Runny nose as an additional symptom
Inflammation of the nasopharynx, in which the child develops snot, is combined with a cough and fever with an adenovirus infection. In addition to these symptoms, inflammation of the conjunctiva and diarrhea can be noted in children.
How to treat?
In the treatment of cough in children who also have an elevated body temperature, efforts are directed to identifying the cause and determining the characteristics of the cough, since therapy will differ for children with bacterial infection from treating babies with ARVI, as well as for children with dry cough from treating children, in whose cough has already become productive. In addition, the age of the child is taken into account, because many drugs have their own age restrictions.
Medicines that can be prescribed to a child:
- Antipyretic. They are recommended for children whose temperature exceeds 38 degrees. Young children are prescribed suspensions and syrups containing ibuprofen or paracetamol, and older children can also be given tablet forms of such drugs.
- Expectorants and mucolytics. Such drugs are indicated for thinning viscous phlegm and better coughing up mucus from the respiratory tract. The most popular medicines are in the form of syrups. Among them are Herbion syrups, Doctor Mom, Prospan, Licorice root syrup, Alteika, Tussamag, Gedelix, Bronchipret, Dry cough mixture, Lazolvan and other drugs.
- Antitussives. Such drugs are prescribed by a doctor for a very painful dry cough, for example, caused by whooping cough. Among the drugs in this group are Sinekod, Codelak, Libeksin and others.
When is antibiotics needed?
Antibiotics are warranted in situations where cough and fever are symptoms of an infectious disease caused by bacteria, such as pneumonia, tonsillitis, or whooping cough. The pediatrician should prescribe the antibiotic, choosing the dosage based on the age and weight of the child. Babies are often prescribed drugs, the active ingredient of which is amoxicillin, azithromycin or clarithromycin.
Komarovsky's opinion
A well-known pediatrician calls ARVI the most common cause of cough, and that is why such a symptom is often combined with an increase in body temperature. Komarovsky advises parents not to give babies with coughs and high fever any medications before the doctor examines the child, so as not to interfere with the specialist from making the correct diagnosis and prescribing the necessary treatment.
A popular doctor recommends that parents, in the event of a cough, focus on the quality of sputum, that is, to make it easier to cough up. To do this, according to Komarovsky, you need to give the baby more warm drink and provide access to the child's respiratory tract of clean, moist and cool air. If the child drinks little and is in a room with warm dry air, medications will not help him, and the coughing attacks will continue.
Watch the following short video for some helpful advice from the doctor.
Tips
- To make the cough wetter faster and torment the child less, let the baby drink warm milk, warm tea, herbal teas, compote, non-acidic fruit drink, mineral water. Food should also be served warm, as food that is very cold or too hot will further irritate the throat and may aggravate the cough.
- When a child is recovering, he already has a low temperature, and his cough has become more productive, you can use such methods to help the baby cough up phlegm and make it less viscous, such as steam inhalation, drainage massage and inhalation through a nebulizer with mineral water.
- If the child's temperature is slightly elevated, and the cough is dry and has lasted for 5 days, do not delay, but show the child to the doctor (if you went to the doctor at the beginning of the illness, call him again). The specialist will listen to the lungs and send the baby for tests, after which he will prescribe a treatment that will quickly relieve the child of unpleasant symptoms.
