What to do if your child is prone to coughing

Children's coughing is not something that should be taken lightly. Generally, children do not have nose hair right after they are born, so they are very sensitive to the external environment. I often cough because of this. If a cold also causes coughing symptoms, if the child keeps coughing, he or she needs to go to the hospital for prompt treatment to find out the cause and do not delay seeing a doctor.

1. Cough that requires urgent medical attention

1. If your child suddenly starts coughing severely and has difficulty breathing, there may be a foreign object blocking his trachea. Things that are easy to swallow accidentally include peanuts, pencil cases, pills, buttons, coins, etc. This situation is very dangerous and you should go to the hospital immediately.

2. If you have a high fever, cough, wheezing and difficulty breathing, you need to be sent to the hospital for emergency treatment immediately.

3. Babies are very susceptible to bronchiolitis, a type of pneumonia. If the child's face looks bad, often turns purple, or his breathing becomes faster, his shoulders sway when he breathes, and the lower chest wall collapses when he inhales, he should be sent to the hospital for treatment immediately.

2. Parents can observe the cough first and do not rush to the hospital

1. Although there is cough and fever, the patient is in good spirits. It is mostly a cold or tonsillitis.

2. Coughing continues after having a cold, fever and cough.

3. Cough and excessive sputum, but no fever and good spirits.

4. A cough that only occurs in the early morning.

5. Mild coughing when you are nervous or after exercise.

Nursing measures:

1. Rest and keep warm. Children should reduce activities, increase rest time, and slightly raise the head and chest when lying in bed to allow unobstructed breathing. Keep the indoor air fresh, maintain appropriate temperature and humidity, and avoid convection wind.

2. Ensure adequate water and nutrition supply. Encourage children to drink plenty of water and supplement intravenously when necessary. Provide easily digestible and nutritious food, and it is advisable to eat liquid or semi-liquid food during fever.

3. Keep the mouth clean. Because the child has fever, cough, and has a lot of thick sputum, and severe coughing may cause vomiting, it is important to maintain oral hygiene to increase comfort, improve appetite, and promote the excretion of toxins. Infants and young children can be fed an appropriate amount of boiled water after eating to clean their mouths. Older children should rinse their mouths in the morning, after meals, and before going to bed.

4. Fever care: No special treatment is required if the fever is not high. When the fever is high, physical or drug cooling measures should be taken to prevent convulsions.

5. Observe the nature of respiratory secretions and whether the sputum can be effectively coughed up; guide and encourage the child to cough effectively; if the sputum is thick, the humidity in the ward can be appropriately increased, and the indoor temperature should be maintained at around 60% to humidify the air and dilute the secretions. Ultrasonic nebulization inhalation or steam inhalation can also be used; for children who cannot cough effectively, the body position should be changed frequently and the back should be patted to make the respiratory secretions easier to discharge and promote the dissipation of inflammation; if the secretions are excessive and affect breathing, a suction device should be used to clear the sputum in time and keep the airway open. People with cough and wheezing symptoms can be given oxygen inhalation.