What to do if your child is coughing and wheezing

Coughing in children is a very common phenomenon, which is mainly caused by inflammation of the bronchi and other parts. Therefore, if a child has symptoms of constant coughing, anti-inflammatory treatment is needed as soon as possible. Some parents find that their children not only cough all the time, but also gasp for breath, which greatly affects their breathing. So, what should we do if our child is coughing and wheezing?

This may be related to childhood bronchial asthma. Asthma is a heterogeneous disease characterized by chronic airway inflammation; presenting with a history of respiratory symptoms of wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, and cough, with variable expiratory airflow limitation, which can vary in intensity over time. Asthma can occur at any age, but most cases begin before the age of 4 to 5 years. There is no cure for bronchitis yet, and the goal of treatment is to relieve symptoms and control attacks.

Treatment principles

Asthma control treatment should be started as early as possible. We must adhere to the principles of long-term, continuous, standardized and individualized treatment. Treatment includes: ① Acute attack period: rapid relief of symptoms, such as antiasthmatic and anti-inflammatory treatment; ② Chronic persistent period and clinical remission period: preventing symptom aggravation and recurrence, such as avoiding triggering factors, anti-inflammatory, reducing airway hyperresponsiveness, preventing airway remodeling, and doing a good job of self-management. Emphasis should be placed on the combination of drug treatment and non-drug treatment, and the role of non-drug treatments in the long-term management of asthma, such as asthma prevention and treatment education, allergen avoidance, treatment of psychological problems in children, improvement of quality of life, and pharmacoeconomics, should not be neglected.

Cause: The causes of bronchial asthma are multifaceted, including internal factors such as specific constitution and external factors such as allergens.

(1) Genetic allergic constitution: Children with asthma are often found to have a tendency to exudative lesions of the skin and mucous membranes, such as a history of eczema, urticaria, angioedema, etc., and family members often have a similar medical history.

(B) Allergens. Allergens can be divided into three categories: ① Pathogens and their toxins that cause infection, such as syncytial virus, rhinovirus, influenza virus, etc. that often cause respiratory diseases. In addition, some local infection foci, such as sinusitis and tonsillitis, can also be the cause of the disease. ② Inhalation of inhalants and irritants, such as dust, pollen, mites, cold air, chemical gases, etc., can often irritate the human body and cause attacks of bronchial asthma. ③ Certain foods such as seafood, milk, spices, frozen foods, etc. can also cause asthma attacks in infants and young children, but the number is relatively small and usually gradually decreases after 4 to 5 years old.