Why do children cough at night but not during the day?

Coughing is one of the most common symptoms in people's lives. From a physiological point of view, coughing is a way for the human body to protect itself. For example, when some harmful gases are inhaled, the harmful gases will be expelled by coughing, which can cough out the blockage in the throat, etc. Parents will find that children are more likely to cough at night, and the following factors should be considered at this time.

Why do children cough at night but not during the day?

1. This condition is medically called "poor tracheobronchial compliance" and usually occurs in children who suffer from asthma, have suffered from severe tracheobronchitis, or often suffer from tracheobronchitis. However, it does not rule out allergic or irritant coughs caused by people who have insufficient saliva swallowing reflex during sleep, people with acid reflux, or dust or mites in the quilt.

Second, after a person falls asleep, the muscles of the whole body relax, including the muscles of the trachea and bronchi. Therefore, under normal circumstances, the diameter of the trachea and bronchi will become smaller after the smooth muscles of the throat, trachea, and bronchi relax. However, if a child has suffered from severe trachea, bronchus, or asthma, the tracheal cavity is relatively small (because of edema or "scars" left after inflammation), an irritating cough and edema may occur when the child relaxes.

3. Recommendations: (1) Wash quilts, pillows, pillowcases, sheets, bed covers and other items that come into contact with the body during sleep, and expose them to the sun (note: "expose") for 4 hours; (2) Give children calcium and vitamin AD supplements, as calcium and vitamin AD supplements can reduce allergies. (3) Strengthen nutrition, especially vitamin C. Take 2 tablets of vitamin C (200 mg, once or twice) every day. The symptoms will be greatly relieved after three months. (4) Strengthen exercise, because exercise can promote the function and recovery of the trachea and bronchi.

Dietary considerations for children with cough:

1. Avoid eating cold food. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that "a cold body and cold drinks can damage the lungs", which means that once the body is exposed to cold, drinking cold foods can damage the lungs. Coughing is mostly caused by lung diseases that lead to lung qi stagnation and upward flow. If the food is still too cold at this time, it will easily cause blockage of lung qi, aggravating the symptoms and not healing over time. Whether it is a child or an adult, coughing is often accompanied by phlegm, and the amount of phlegm is related to the spleen. The spleen is the foundation of acquired constitution and is responsible for the digestion and absorption of food in the human body. If you eat too much cold food, it will damage your spleen and stomach, causing the spleen's function to decline and moisture to accumulate and produce phlegm.

2. Avoid eating fatty, sweet and greasy foods. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that cough is mostly caused by lung heat, especially in children. In daily diet, eating too much fatty and sweet food can cause internal heat, aggravate cough, and make the phlegm thick and difficult to cough up. For children with asthma, eating too much fatty and sweet food can cause phlegm and heat to combine, blocking the respiratory tract, aggravating asthma, and making the disease difficult to cure. So you should eat some light food during coughing.

3. Do not eat oranges. Many people believe that oranges can relieve coughs and reduce phlegm, so they let children with coughs eat more oranges. In fact, orange peel does have the effect of relieving cough and reducing phlegm, but orange flesh can generate heat and phlegm. It is impossible for ordinary children to eat only the peel without eating the orange flesh.