What to do if your child has a severe cough

Children's cough is a common disease that occurs during the child's growth process. This is a very troublesome disease because there are many reasons for coughing. If it is not handled properly, it will make the cough worse. Therefore, when a child has a cough, it is important to find the cause in time and treat it symptomatically. A child with a severe cough will show some symptoms and characteristics, so parents should pay more attention to observation before treatment.

1. Cough caused by common cold

Characteristics: Mostly irritating coughs, like itchy throat, without phlegm; occurring at any time of day or night, not accompanied by wheezing or shortness of breath.

Symptoms: The baby is sleepy and has a runny nose, which may sometimes be accompanied by fever, with the body temperature not exceeding 38°C; poor spirits and loss of appetite. After sweating and fever subside, the symptoms disappear, but the cough may continue for 3 to 5 days.

Cause: It is prevalent in all seasons and is more common when the temperature difference is large. People usually experience colds, such as kicking off the quilt when sleeping at night, wearing too little clothes, catching a cold when taking a bath, etc.

Doctor's opinion: Generally no special treatment is needed. Feed your baby more warm water, ginger water or onion water. Try to use less cold medicine. When your baby is irritable and has a fever, you can give him a little Xiaoerxin orally. Avoid using adult antipyretics, and do not feed him cough syrups, cough tablets, or other cough medicines. Do not abuse antibiotics.

2. Cold air irritation cough

Characteristics: The cough is initially an irritating dry cough.

Symptoms: light sputum, no fever, no shortness of breath and other accompanying symptoms.

Cause: Cold air is a purely physical factor that irritates the respiratory mucosa and causes an irritating cough. It is common in babies who do little outdoor activities. When the baby suddenly goes out and inhales cold air, the delicate respiratory mucosa will experience congestion, edema, exudation and other inflammatory reactions, thus inducing a cough reflex. There is no microbial infection initially, but if it persists for a long time, viral and bacterial infections may occur.

Doctor's opinion: Let your baby get exercise in temperature changes from an early age. Take your baby outdoors frequently, even in cold seasons. Only a well-trained respiratory tract can withstand the stimulation of cold air.

3. Flu-induced cough

Characteristics: A slightly hoarse cough occurs in the throat, which tends to gradually worsen, and the amount of sputum increases from a small amount to a large amount.

Symptoms: Accompanied by obvious clicking symptoms (increased tears, mucus, and respiratory secretions), often accompanied by high fever above 38°C, which is generally difficult to reduce and lasts for a week; coughing and rapid breathing during high fever, and the baby is in poor spirits.

Cause: Caused by viral infection, often occurs during the influenza epidemic season in winter and spring, and often occurs in clusters.

Doctor's opinion: If you suspect you have influenza, you should seek medical attention immediately, get a clear diagnosis, and receive treatment under the guidance of a doctor.

4. Cough caused by pharyngitis

Characteristics: Coughing makes a "hollow, hollow" sound.

Symptoms: Hoarseness, purulent sputum, little is coughed up and most is swallowed. Older babies will complain of sore throats; babies who cannot express themselves often become irritable and refuse to feed.

Cause: Coughing is mostly caused by stimulation of inflammatory secretions and is often caused by cold.

Doctor's opinion: See a doctor promptly and receive symptomatic treatment after a clear diagnosis.

5. Allergic cough

Characteristics: Continuous or recurrent severe coughing, mostly in paroxysmal attacks. The coughing worsens when the baby moves or cries, and the coughing is more severe at night than during the day.

Symptoms: Thin sputum, shortness of breath.

Cause: Caused by antigenic or non-antigenic stimulation, more common during the pollen season.

Doctor's opinion: For babies with a family history of asthma or other allergic diseases, special attention should be paid to coughing, and they should seek medical treatment as soon as possible, get a clear diagnosis, and actively treat to prevent the disease from developing into asthma.

6. Tracheitis cough

Characteristics: It is a mild dry cough in the early stage, which later turns into a wet cough with sputum sound or coughing up yellow purulent sputum.

Symptoms: There are cold symptoms in the early stages, such as fever, sneezing, runny nose, and throat discomfort.

Cause: More common in older babies, mainly caused by respiratory tract infection.

Doctor's opinion: When the symptoms of a cold are obvious at the beginning, you can use cold medicine. If you have a fever, you can use antipyretics and expectorants. Cough suppressants should not be used. Excessive or purulent sputum indicates a secondary bacterial infection, and appropriate antibiotics should be used for treatment based on the doctor's advice. If not effectively controlled, it may develop into pneumonia.

7. Bronchiolitis cough

Characteristics: Irritating dry cough, which can produce a lot of sputum.

Symptoms: Cough with fever, shortness of breath and wheezing.

Cause: The virus invades the mucous membrane of the bronchioles and causes inflammation, which is most common in babies under 6 months old.

Doctor's opinion: If your baby has trouble breathing or is unable to eat or drink, seek medical attention immediately. If the symptoms are mild (just wheezing without any symptoms such as difficulty breathing), you can put a humidifier in your baby's room to help remove mucus from his lungs, and give your baby plenty of water.

8. Cough caused by other diseases

1) Whooping cough

Cough characteristics: The cough is mild during the day and severe at night. After coughing for more than ten times, one will be out of breath. At the end of the cough, there is a cock-crow sound like inhaling.

Associated symptoms: sneezing, low fever, coughing up a lot of thick sputum

2) Reflux esophagitis

Cough characteristics: wheezing and persistent hoarse cough after eating

Associated symptoms: burning sensation when swallowing food, or vomiting or projectile vomiting

Foreign body inhalation

3) Coughing characteristics: Sudden coughing while playing or eating

Associated symptoms: difficulty breathing, cyanosis of lips

4. Pneumonia

Cough characteristics: irritating dry cough with sputum

Associated symptoms: fever, shortness of breath, flaring of the nose

5.) Tuberculosis

Cough characteristics: recurrent dry cough