What conditions should I pay attention to? Once the following conditions occur, you must take your child to the doctor as soon as possible: breathing more than fifty times a minute in a quiet state, you need to let the doctor listen to the lungs, poor spirits with oxygen deprivation: breathing difficulties, with blue lips, etc.; coughing yellow or green sputum with fever; coughing for a long time or with increasing symptoms: it may be due to bacterial infections, allergies or cough variant asthma, or even foreign bodies in the airways. The cough may be caused by bacterial infections, allergies or cough asthma, or even foreign bodies. Special note: The younger the child, the greater the risk of severe pneumonia and oxygen deprivation, so children under 3 months of age with cough should see a doctor early. Coughing is more common, but is it a cough that will definitely develop into pneumonia? Should we use medicine to prevent pneumonia? There are so many cough medicines in pharmacies, so is it possible to use them all for a baby’s cough? A child’s occasional cough may be a reaction of the respiratory tract to changes in the air, not necessarily a problem. Viral infections of the respiratory tract are very common in childhood. After infection, secretions and necrotic shed tissues increase and sputum is formed. By coughing, the phlegm can be expelled, which facilitates the recovery of the infection. When the cold gets better, the cough slowly gets better too. The most common cause of a child’s cough is inflammatory irritation, such as an inflammatory response caused by microbial infections such as viruses, bacteria, and mycoplasma. In addition, common causes include mechanical irritation (such as choking on water, foreign bodies in the airways, etc.) and chemical irritation (inhaling irritating gases such as smoke. Cough is not a disease in itself and has a protective effect on the body. Blind coughing may instead deprive the child of this self-protective mechanism. By coughing, the respiratory tract can expel sputum and other secretions from the body, which is a beneficial action that keeps the airway open and avoids the risk of airway blockage and secondary infections. Coughing in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. However, if a child coughs incessantly, it indicates a possible condition of the child’s respiratory system and may be a sign of illness. According to current research, cough medicines commonly used in adults, such as dextromethorphan and codeine, have limited effectiveness in children and can have many side effects, such as addiction, respiratory depression, and even death in severe cases. The FDA recommends against the use of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for children under the age of 4, while the UK, Canada and Australia recommend against them all under the age of 6. In China, there is no regulation in this regard. In general, cold and flu medicine should be used with caution within two years of age, especially for babies within six months, and fever reducers should be used especially for babies within three months, and should not be used if possible. If the child’s cough does not affect appetite, sleep and other daily activities, it can be observed mainly. In addition, you can refer to the following points: 1. Encourage your child to cough if he or she can cough up phlegm so that it does not get stuck in the airways; or pat your child’s back with an empty palm to help him or her expel phlegm. 2. Keep the air fresh and moist Coughing and air have a lot to do with each other, and air that is too dirty or too dry can aggravate a cough. When the weather is good, you should open more windows and doors to keep the air inside the house fresh; when the weather is bad, you can use an air purifier to help improve the indoor air; if the air is dry, you can open a humidifier to increase the humidity in the room to keep it at about 40% to 50%, but too much humidity is not good, as it can easily make the room breed mold. 3, use the bathroom steam before bedtime can be put in the bathroom for a while in the hot water, to be filled with steam bathroom, let the child go in for a while, so that the respiratory tract is more moistened by water vapor, but also help to relieve cough. 4. Stay away from smoke Don’t expose your child to smoke. Both active and passive smoking can aggravate a cough. Also, take a look at the guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics: 3 months to 1 year: Feed your child 5-15mL of warm water or apple juice 4 times a day when coughing. 1 year or older: You can drink 2-5mL of honey (some studies suggest that for nighttime coughs, honey is more effective than cough water, but children under one year old should not eat it to avoid botulism).