What is the correct way to give cough medicine to young children?

It is very common for children to cough. Coughs are classified into different categories and have different causes. For example, children will cough when they have a cold or when they have allergies. Coughs may also be accompanied by symptoms such as headache and fever. Sometimes the cough is accompanied by phlegm and sometimes it is a dry cough. Therefore, the situation is very complicated and medication must be targeted.

1. Children’s wind-heat cough

The cough is uncomfortable, the sputum is yellow and sticky and difficult to cough up, there is thirst and sore throat, runny nose, accompanied by fever, headache, aversion to wind, slight sweating, thin yellow tongue coating, red tongue, and floating and rapid pulse. The treatment is suitable for dispelling wind and clearing the lungs, resolving phlegm and relieving cough.

1) Fritillaria and fresh pear tea: 6 grams of Fritillaria (core removed), 1 fresh pear, and appropriate amount of rock sugar.

Efficacy: Nourishes yin and moistens the lungs, resolves phlegm and relieves cough. It is suitable for cough due to lung heat, with yellow, thick and sticky phlegm that is difficult to cough up. It is also suitable for lung yin deficiency, persistent dry cough, etc.

Usage: Wash the fresh pear, cut it into slices, boil it in water together with Fritillaria and rock sugar, and drink it as tea at any time.

2) Mulberry, apricot and rock sugar drink: 5 grams of mulberry leaves (Yupin), 3 grams of almonds, and 5 grams of rock sugar.

Effect: Disperse wind-heat, promote lung function and regulate Qi. It is suitable for children with exogenous wind-heat, cough, yellow sputum or white and sticky sputum, and nasal congestion.

Usage: Put mulberry leaves and almonds into a pot, add 1 bowl of water, boil over high heat, then simmer over low heat until half a bowl of water remains. Remove the residue and keep the juice, then add rock sugar. Take with warm water, 1 dose per day.

3) Rock sugar almond pear: 1 duck pear, 3-5 sweet almonds, 5 grams of rock sugar.

Efficacy: Clears heat and relieves cough. It is used for children with exogenous wind-heat, cough, thick and uncomfortable phlegm, dry mouth, and general heat.

Usage: Wash the pears, cut a horizontal cut 2 cm from the stem, save the cut part for lid, and dig out the pear core; peel and crush the sweet almonds, put them into the pear belly together with rock sugar, cover the pear with the lid, put it in a bowl with the mouth facing up, and steam it. Take 1 dose every night, warm and take for 3 consecutive days. If the effect is seen, take it for another 2 days.

4) Reed root and wax gourd seeds soup: 50 grams each of fresh reed root and wax gourd seeds, appropriate amount of rock sugar.

Efficacy: Clears heat, resolves phlegm, and relieves cough. Used for children with cough, thick sputum that is difficult to cough up, dry mouth and preference for cold water.

Usage: Wash the fresh reed root, cut it into small pieces, remove the outer mucus of winter melon seeds, put them into the pot together with the reed root, add 2 bowls of water, boil it and then simmer it on low heat until 1 bowl of water remains, remove the residue and add rock sugar. Take 1 dose daily, divided into 3-4 times. Take it for several days.

5) White radish and rock sugar drink: 1 white radish, 12 grams of rock sugar. Cut the white radish into slices, add water and rock sugar, bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. Effect: Clears heat and resolves phlegm.

6) Loquat Leaf Porridge: 12 grams of loquat leaves, 50 grams of polished rice. Wrap the loquat leaves with gauze, add water and boil, remove the residue and keep the juice, add polished rice and cook into porridge for consumption. Effect: Antitussive and expectorant.

7) Remove the core of a duck pear, add 9 grams of almonds and 15 grams of rock sugar, decoct in water and drink. It is suitable for wind-heat cough.

2. Children’s cough due to cold

At the beginning, the patient has frequent coughing, itchy throat and heavy sound, thin white sputum, nasal congestion and runny nose, chills without sweating, fever and headache, or body aches, thin white tongue coating, and a floating and tight pulse. The treatment is suitable for dispelling cold, clearing lungs, resolving phlegm and relieving cough.

1) Fried eggs with mugwort charcoal: 5 grams of mugwort charcoal, 1 fresh egg, and appropriate amount of sesame oil.

Efficacy: Dispel cold and relieve cough. Suitable for children with colds, coughs, sputum, nasal congestion and runny nose.

Usage: Place 5 grams of dried moxa leaves in a clean bowl, burn it into charcoal, beat in 1 egg and stir well. Add appropriate amount of sesame oil to the wok, put it on the fire and heat it until it is 100% hot, then pour in the mugwort charcoal eggs and fry until the eggs are cooked. Dosage: Take once every night, eat while hot. Take it for several days.

2) Ginkgo candy and egg: 5 ginkgo nuts, 20 grams of rock sugar, 1 egg, and appropriate amount of sesame oil.

Efficacy: Warms the lungs and replenishes Qi, relieves cough and eliminates phlegm, strengthens the lungs and calms asthma. Suitable for children with cough and excessive white sputum.

Usage: Peel off the skin and bud core of the ginkgo nuts (the bud core must be removed completely to avoid poisoning). Pour an appropriate amount of sesame oil into a wok and heat it to 80% hot. Fry the ginkgo nuts until cooked. Add 20 grams of rock sugar and an appropriate amount of water. Boil for 2 to 3 minutes, then beat in the eggs and cook until done. Take once every night for 3 to 5 days.

3) Perilla, tangerine peel and white radish drink: 3 grams of perilla, 3 grams of tangerine peel, 5 grams of white radish slices (dried), 1 spoon of brown sugar.

Efficacy: Dispel cold, relieve cough, relieve exterior symptoms, and regulate qi. Suitable for children with cough, fear of cold, thin white tongue coating, and nasal congestion.

Usage: Put perilla, tangerine peel, white radish slices and brown sugar into a pot, add 1 bowl of water, bring to a boil and then simmer until half a bowl of water remains. Remove the residue and take the soup. Take it while hot, once a day for 3 consecutive days.

4) Ginger, garlic and brown sugar soup: 5 slices of ginger, 12 grams of brown sugar, 3 slices of garlic. Add water and cook for 10 minutes, then drink the soup. Effect: Warming the lungs and relieving cough.

5) Ginger, sugar and tofu soup: 200 grams of tofu, 50 grams of brown sugar, 3 slices of ginger, add a little water and cook until done. Effect: Nourishes the spleen and warms the lungs.

6) Boil 9 grams of perilla, 9 grams of tangerine peel, and 12 grams of white radish slices in 1 bowl of water until it becomes half a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and drink while hot. It is suitable for treating cough caused by wind and cold.

7) Crack an egg into a bowl and stir it evenly with chopsticks until it creates foam. Place a clean wok on the fire, pour in 50 grams of sesame oil, heat until smoke appears, then pour in the eggs. When the eggs are fried into pieces, use a spatula to cut them into small pieces, fry for a while, remove from the pan and drain the oil, then drizzle with an appropriate amount of honey. Serve eggs while hot. Make it before eating, twice a day, for several days. Used for children with cold cough, little or no sputum.

3. Children with phlegm and heat cough

Cough with a lot of sputum that is thick and sticky and difficult to cough up, fever, red face, red eyes and lips, bitter taste in the mouth and thirst, irritability and restlessness, and even nosebleeds, short and dark urine, dry stools, yellow tongue coating, and a slippery and rapid pulse. The treatment is suitable for clearing the lungs, resolving phlegm and relieving cough.

1) Mulberry bark honey drink: 10 grams of mulberry bark (dried), 30 grams of honey.

Efficacy: Clears the lungs and reduces heat, relieves cough and reduces phlegm. It is used for children with cough due to heat and phlegm, large amount of yellow phlegm, dry mouth and preference for drinking cold water.

Usage: Scrape off the outer orange-red skin of the mulberry root bark to get the mulberry bark, wash it, and dry it in the shade for later use. Cut the mulberry bark into small pieces, put it into a wok, add appropriate amount of honey, stir-fry on low heat until the honey is absorbed, add a large bowl of water, and boil until it is half a bowl. Take 1 dose daily, divided into 2 doses, for 3 consecutive days.

2) Fresh loquat flower soup: 50 grams of loquat flower (fresh), 20 grams of rock sugar.

Efficacy: Clears away heat and resolves phlegm, promotes lung function and relieves cough. Suitable for children with cough and sputum caused by bronchial infection. It is not suitable for children with chills and fever.

Usage: Put loquat flowers and rock sugar into a casserole and add appropriate amount of water. Simmer for half an hour, discard the residue and keep the soup. Take 1 dose daily instead of tea for 7 consecutive days.

3) Soy milk, duck egg and rock sugar drink: 200 ml soy milk, 1 duck egg, and appropriate amount of rock sugar.

Efficacy: Clears the lungs and reduces fire, nourishes yin and produces body fluid, relieves cough and resolves phlegm, relieves sore throat and moistens the throat. Suitable for children with throat infections, coughs and sputum, dry mouth and thirst, and preference for cold and aversion to heat.

Usage: Crack the duck eggs into the shell and put them into a bowl. Add crushed rock sugar into the bowl and mix them evenly. Bring the soy milk to a boil and immediately pour it into the bowl containing duck eggs and rock sugar. Cover and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Take 1 dose per day. Children can take it all at once, while infants and young children can take it in several doses.

4) Add 30g of Houttuynia cordata, 6g of almond and 6g of Platycodon grandiflorum to water and decoct for oral administration. It is suitable for cough caused by phlegm and heat.