What should I do if my child has been coughing for several months and still not getting better?

Although a mild cough is not a big problem, if you keep coughing, it will affect your mood and make you dizzy due to the long-term coughing vibration. If it is a child, coughing will distract his attention. Long-term coughing will have a great impact on the child's learning state, and parents will also worry whether it will cause other diseases. What should I do if my child has a persistent cough?

The causes of chronic cough in children are relatively complex and closely related to age. The younger the age, the greater the possibility of congenital organ abnormalities. The characteristics at the onset of the disease help to diagnose the cause. For example, if a child chokes or vomits while feeding, it often indicates tracheal fistula or gastroesophageal reflux. Nocturnal cough or morning cough with large amounts of sputum should be considered as bronchial dilatation. Dry cough during the day and no cough at night are the hallmarks of psychogenic cough. Coughing paroxysms accompanied by runny nose, nasal congestion, snoring at night, mouth breathing, etc. indicate chronic sinusitis. Cough variant asthma often occurs at night or early in the morning and is often an irritating cough, often triggered by upper respiratory tract infection, inhalation of irritating odors or cold air, contact with allergens, exercise or crying.

The cause needs to be identified and treated accordingly. If the cause is unclear, empirical symptomatic treatment can be performed in order to achieve effective control. If the cough symptoms do not improve after treatment, reassessment should be performed. Commonly used drugs are as follows:

If children's cough is accompanied by phlegm, the principle should be to eliminate phlegm. Do not simply suppress the cough, so as not to aggravate or cause airway obstruction. N-acetylcysteine, ambroxol hydrochloride, guaifenesin and traditional Chinese medicine expectorants can be used.

2. Antihistamines

Such as chlorpheniramine, loratadine, cetirizine, etc.

3. Antimicrobial drugs

Patients with chronic cough that is clearly caused by bacterial, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, or Chlamydia pathogens may consider using antibacterial drugs. People infected with Mycoplasma pneumoniae or Chlamydia trachomatis can choose macrolide antibiotics, including erythromycin, azithromycin, clarithromycin, etc. If antibiotics need to be adjusted after initial empirical treatment for infections caused by other pathogens, they should be selected based on the results of drug sensitivity tests.

Including glucocorticoids, β2 receptor agonists, M receptor blockers, leukotriene receptor antagonists, theophylline and other drugs. It is mainly used for targeted treatment of bronchial asthma, eosinophilic bronchitis, allergic rhinitis, etc. Reassess after 2 to 4 weeks of glucocorticoid treatment. Cough after infection can generally be relieved on its own. For those with severe symptoms, short-term use of inhaled or oral corticosteroids, leukotriene receptor antagonists or M receptor blockers can be considered.

5. Digestive system drugs

If gastroesophageal reflux is considered, the use of H receptor antagonists (such as cimetidine) and prokinetic drugs (such as domperidone) is recommended.

6. Antitussive drugs

It is not recommended to use strong antitussive drugs for chronic cough, especially before the cause is clear, and the use of such drugs is related to the morbidity and mortality of some diseases.