A child's cough always indicates some kind of disturbance in the functioning of the body. This is not an independent disease, but only a manifestation of a real disease. It is advisable to find this reason and only then decide in what way to be treated - medication, folk or two at once. As a rule, experienced parents always have in mind several effective methods to defeat a cough, and a wet cough is easier to treat at home than a dry one. We will talk about how to treat such a cough reflex at home in this article.
Features:
It is imperative to know the type of cough in order to properly treat it:
With a dry and unproductive cough, when phlegm is not produced and not separated, it is best to use antitussives and folk recipes with this effect.
However, if the cough is wet, everything changes: you need not suppress the cough reflex, but stimulate it so that the phlegm goes away faster. For this purpose, mucolytic and expectorant drugs are used, as well as recipes for traditional medicine with this effect.
The characteristics of a wet cough, also called wet, are in its productivity. Each attack of the cough reflex is accompanied by expectoration of sputum. It is formed in the bronchi as a defense mechanism against viruses and bacteria, and often such a cough appears in a child at the second stage of influenza or ARVI illness. It replaces dry cough, and it is quite simple to recognize it: the child has wheezing and gurgling in the bronchial area. Hoarseness of the voice with a wet cough is usually not observed.
A wet cough should not be attributed to manifestations of allergies, with which the reflex is almost always dry or barking.
Dr. Komarovsky will tell you about how to help a child with a cough, what are the optimal treatment options.
A wet type of cough definitely needs competent treatment, otherwise, it can be complicated by pneumonia and other unpleasant and dangerous ailments. This can happen if the discharge of abundant bronchial secretions is insufficient or the mucus dries up right in the bronchi.
When you can't do with only folk methods?
If the cough is prolonged (more than two weeks) and chronic. Such forms of the disease should be treated with medications under the supervision of a physician. Folk remedies may well become a worthy addition to therapy, but they cannot replace drugs.
If you notice an admixture of pus, blood in the sputum, the child has a high temperature, this is also the basis for starting medication therapy, sometimes even requiring antibiotic treatment.
Often, a wet cough is a sign of a serious inflammatory process in the respiratory system. Therefore, any treatment for such a condition must be agreed with the doctor, especially when it comes to children's health.
Effective folk remedies
As already mentioned, all folk remedies for a wet cough must have the ability to thin and remove bronchial secretions. To this end, you can use one of the following recipes and methods.
In general terms, home treatment should include a set of measures: warm and plentiful drink, decoctions and infusions of medicinal plants, compresses and foot baths, throat rinses.
Marshmallow root
You can buy it at the pharmacy and brew it yourself. By the way, this ingredient forms the basis of most pharmaceutical cough syrups. To prepare a home remedy, you will need one root, which must be chopped and boiled for half an hour with boiling water. After that, the broth must be filtered through cheesecloth and given to the child in the age dosage indicated on the packaging with plant materials. The taste of this drink is not very pleasant, and the smell leaves much to be desired.
If the child is not allergic to honey, and age allows giving him bee products, add a spoonful of honey and a little milk to the finished broth.
Turnip
This root vegetable is excellent for sputum drainage. You need to peel one turnip, chop it in a blender or grate it, mix with milk and a spoonful of honey. You need to give such a drink to a child extremely warm, so turnip juice will work more effectively.
Horseradish
In combination with honey and lemon, horseradish can quickly relieve a child of a wet cough. Horseradish needs to be grated, covered with warm boiled water and insisted for about 4 hours. In half a glass of warm milk of any fat content, add one teaspoon of horseradish infusion, and the same amount of honey and lemon juice.
Aloe
The leaves of this houseplant should be stored in the refrigerator for several hours after cutting. Then they are passed through a meat grinder and the gruel is mixed with honey. You need to store the resulting medicine in the refrigerator, give the child a teaspoon after each meal.
Compresses and rubbing
Badger fat is great for warming up the chest with a wet cough. It is sometimes mixed with honey, previously melted in a water bath. The application time of such a warm compress is from 30 to 45 minutes.
According to parents, a compress from boiled potatoes effectively helps. Warm, but not hot, mashed potatoes are laid out in a piece of natural fabric, wrapped on both sides and applied to the child's chest and back for one hour.
Drainage (vibration) massage
This procedure helps to enhance the effect of treatment with both medicines and folk remedies. With a wet cough, this massage is recommended by all pediatricians. Moreover, the cost of the services of a massage therapist is not required, since all manipulations are simple and can be performed by mom and even dad on their own. An infant is picked up and gently tapped with fingertips on the back. Then they put it on their back and the tapping is repeated in the chest area.
Children over one year old should be placed face down on the lap of an adult so that his arms hang down and his head is one level below the priests. Light movements of the fingers make circular and longitudinal movements along the back, and then proceed to rhythmic tapping. Then the baby is lifted up and asked to cough. The exercise is repeated 7-10 times in one session.
The second part of the session is performed while standing. The child is asked to stretch his arms forward in front of him, with the tips of his fingers tapping the ribs on the right and left. The exercise should also be completed with a cough. Repeat also 7-10 times.
Massage helps to drain phlegm.
How to do massage for coughing children correctly, Dr. Komarovsky will tell in the next video.
Tips
- It is strictly forbidden to make compresses at a temperature, this can cause an increase in the inflammatory process in the respiratory organs.
- To prevent the mucus from drying out in the bronchi, you need to humidify the air in the room where the child lives. To do this, use a special device - a humidifier, and if it is not there, they place basins of water around the house and hang wet towels. Recommended humidity is 50-70%.
- Do not restrict a child with a wet cough in motion. Bed rest is contraindicated for him. The only exceptions are cases with increased temperature. If there is no heat, make sure that the baby moves as much as possible, plays, runs, walks and breathes fresh air. All this will contribute to liquefaction and faster removal of bronchial secretions.
- If treatment with folk remedies for a week does not bring positive changes in the child's condition, you should consult a doctor as soon as possible. Further delay can cause an advanced form of the inflammatory process, which will require hospital treatment.
