My baby is coughing again, what should I do? Many mothers encounter the problem that their children often cough for no apparent reason but have no other symptoms. In fact, pediatric coughing is a protective breathing reflex action for babies. Coughing occurs when foreign bodies, irritating gases, and respiratory endocrine secretions stimulate receptors in the respiratory mucosa and impulses are transmitted through afferent nerve fibers to the medullary cough center, causing a cough. This movement helps to eliminate secretions in the respiratory tract and helps to expel phlegm from the respiratory tract via the oral cavity.
Causes: Not all coughs in babies are due to illness
Usually, the causes of cough in babies are divided into pathological and non-pathological causes, the main ones being the following.
I. Pathological factors
Diseases such as colds, bronchitis and pneumonia tend to cause a persistent and severe cough, often accompanied by fever, runny nose, spitting up of sticky phlegm, shortness of breath, chest pain, etc. In such cases, parents should send their children to the hospital immediately for medical treatment and should not use cough suppressants on their own.
II. Non-pathological conditions
1. Habitual, subconscious behavior: This cough is dry, without sputum, and without fever, chest tightness, general discomfort, etc. It can be controlled, sometimes it is habitual, such as students coughing when answering questions or when embarrassed. Cough, say stop can stop, distract the child’s attention can not cough, this does not need to be treated with drugs.
2, foreign body inhalation: baby milk or food accidentally swallowed to the trachea will appear choking coughing cough, coughing at the right time is to help the foreign body cough out, should encourage its cough, parents can also change the child’s position, pat the back to facilitate the coughing out of foreign bodies, when the foreign body coughed up (removed) can slowly do not cough.
3. Allergies: When a baby is allergic to something or is allergic to pollen in spring, cold air in autumn and winter or perfume, animal hair and excrement in general, the best solution is to avoid allergens.
Listening for a cough: the secret of your baby’s cough
Many diseases can cause coughing symptoms in babies, but the sound of coughing differs from one disease to another. If parents know something about coughing, they can understand the priority of their baby’s illness, which is more helpful for treatment. Parents are invited to learn more about it below.
First condition.
Symptoms: Cough with phlegm, regardless of the time of day or night. Also accompanied by drowsiness, runny nose, watery eyes and a mild fever (usually not higher than 38.6°C).
Analysis: Common cold, caused by viral infection of the nose, sinuses, throat and main airways of the lungs. Usually the cough symptoms last for the whole course of the cold (about 7 to 10 days), while in some cases the cough lasts longer (about half a month to about 20 days).
Treatment: Keep your child’s nasal passages clean; a stuffy or runny nose will aggravate cough symptoms. If the cough and nasal congestion symptoms persist for many days and do not improve, the child may have sinusitis or asthma, allergies, pneumonia, etc. and should be seen by a hospital promptly.
Second condition.
Symptoms: Coughing with wheezing or shortness of breath, a long cough, and a cough that worsens when the child is exposed to pollen, cold air, animal dander, or dust. In addition, the child may have difficulty breathing or shortness of breath and straining.
Analysis: Due to asthma. Common factors that cause asthma include environmental irritants, viral infections, and exercise. Usually, children with asthma have more sensitive lungs.
Treatment: If there is a family history of allergies and asthma, the child is more likely to have the disease. Parents should take their children to the hospital for careful examination in order to confirm the diagnosis if they find the above symptoms.
Third condition.
Symptoms: Paroxysmal spasmodic cough. The child makes a sharp roaring sound when inhaling hard and sometimes the nose bubbles up. The cough is preceded by symptoms of a cold but not a fever.
Analysis: When your baby has the above symptoms, it is likely that he or she has pertussis, a highly contagious bacterial infection of the larynx, trachea and lungs. Children who have not received this type of vaccination are more likely to be sick. As a rule, infants are vaccinated at 2 months, 4 months and 6 months of age, again between 1 and 1.5 years of age, and again between 4 and 6 years of age.
Treatment: If a child’s cough does not get better for a week, parents should take him to the doctor to control the cough symptoms. When the diagnosis of whooping cough is confirmed, parents should cooperate with the treatment while actively taking care of the child at home.
Fourth condition.
Symptoms: A slightly hoarse cough that emanates from the throat, at intervals, sometimes dry, sometimes with phlegm. In addition, the child will be listless and have symptoms such as headache, back muscle and leg muscle pain, along with a runny nose, fever and nausea.
Analysis: Due to influenza. The clinical symptoms of influenza in infants and children are often atypical and may present with high fever convulsions. Typical symptoms of flu in babies are high fever of 38.6℃ or more, vomiting, diarrhea, anorexia, and not wanting to drink water.
Treatment: Parents should observe carefully and take the baby to the hospital immediately for examination and treatment if they find suspected flu symptoms.
Do a good job of daily care to keep your baby away from coughing
1. Pay attention to keeping your baby warm, especially to avoid the back of your baby getting cold.
2. Keep the indoor air flowing and avoid stimulating your baby’s respiratory tract with smoke, dust and odors from decoration materials.
3. Keep the room at the right temperature and humidity to avoid overheating, overcooling and excessive dryness, which can easily cause coughing in babies.
It should be noted that in terms of diet, babies should also avoid cold foods, such as cold drinks and cold fruits; do not let them eat a lot of meat, fish, shrimp, crab or fried foods at once; in addition, do not let them eat too many nuts containing a lot of oil such as peanuts and melon seeds.