8 month old baby coughing with phlegm

Many babies have phlegm when coughing, and this situation is usually caused by a cold in the baby. In addition, if the baby's throat is irritated, it may cause the baby to cough. If the baby has phlegm when coughing, parents should carefully observe the baby's tongue coating, determine the cause of the child's illness and give the baby timely treatment. So, what is going on when an 8-month-old baby coughs and has phlegm?

When a baby coughs and has phlegm, it is usually an exogenous cough. Exogenous coughs are divided into wind-cold coughs and wind-heat coughs. Coughing is a defensive response against germs. Coughing can help expel germs, mucus and other irritants from the airways. Although coughing is a normal physiological mechanism to clear the respiratory tract, long-term coughing is not good for your health.

Parents can observe their child's tongue coating. If the tongue coating is white, it is a wind-cold cough, which means the child has a severe cold. The sputum from the cough is thinner, whiter, and stickier, and there is also nasal congestion and runny nose. If the child's tongue coating is yellow or red, it is a wind-heat cough, which means that the child has a lot of internal heat. The sputum is yellow and thick, and is not easy to cough up, and there is a sore throat.

Parents must first understand that coughing is a self-protection reflex of the human body. Foreign objects in the respiratory tract, including sputum, will irritate the trachea and cause people to cough. Therefore, coughing is a self-protection way for the human body to eliminate foreign objects. Although it has its upside, severe and prolonged coughing can lead to respiratory bleeding. Parents must pay more attention to this. With proper care, the baby can stay away from coughing and recover his health.

When the baby coughs and has phlegm, parents should not give the baby cough medicine casually. They should observe the situation first and then treat it accordingly. If the condition is not serious, you can choose daily care or diet therapy. If the condition becomes serious, you should see a doctor immediately.

What should you do if your baby has a cough and phlegm? First, you can clap out the phlegm for the baby, or you can give the coughing baby cough suppressant and phlegm-reducing medicine, or do a nebulization treatment. In daily care, let your baby drink more water and wear loose and comfortable clothes so as not to affect the baby's breathing. A comfortable environment should be created for the baby at home and the room should be well ventilated.

1. Sputum removal care

Parents can clasp their hands and pat the child's back from bottom to top and from outside to inside, because this is the direction of the child's lung lobes and bronchi, which can help the child to clear up phlegm. Mothers can let their children lie on their forearms and use their other hands to pat them. When patting the back, you need to use more force. Too light a force will not have much effect. You must be extra careful when caring for a coughing baby at night to prevent sputum from blocking the respiratory tract and affecting the baby's normal breathing.

2. Take cough and expectorant medicine

When your baby coughs and has phlegm, you should take cough suppressants and expectorants or undergo nebulization treatment to moisten the respiratory tract and dilute the phlegm. However, you cannot use cough suppressants because cough suppression and expectoration are two different things. Cough suppressants will affect the discharge of phlegm and make the condition worse. Parents should not let their babies rush to seek medical treatment!

3. Pay attention to ventilation in the room

Pay attention to indoor ventilation to keep the air fresh, control the temperature at 20℃-24℃, and the humidity between 50%-60%. Family members try to avoid smoking at home. Even a little bit of smoke can make the baby's respiratory tract uncomfortable, and phlegm will be more difficult to cough up smoothly, so for the baby's health, the home should be a smoke-free place.

4. Dress appropriately

Dress your baby appropriately. Don’t rush to add more clothes to your baby just because you think he is sick, to prevent him from catching a cold. In fact, when the baby is sick, the clothes should not be too many or too few, and should be loose. Pants with elastic bands should not be too tight or worn to the chest to avoid affecting the baby's breathing.

5. Drink enough water

When the baby coughs and has phlegm, parents should give the baby more warm boiled water. Adequate water can effectively help the baby dilute the phlegm and facilitate coughing up the phlegm. The diet should also be as light as possible. Breastfeeding mothers should also pay attention to their diet, drink plenty of water, and eat less irritating foods, because these will be passed to the baby through breast milk.