Most of the concerns of young mothers are associated with the two most common health problems of children: a digestive disorder and a cough. In this article, we will dwell in detail on the second of these, or rather, consider one of the types of cough - dry barking cough in a child.
The nature of dry and wet cough is different, therefore, the therapy of different types of cough is not the same. In this article, we will talk about how to treat barking cough, whether it is possible to do inhalations with barking cough and how effective it is, we will tell you about first aid methods for barking cough, the causes of coughing attacks and other important details that will help you to quickly cope with this an unpleasant phenomenon.
Barking cough in a child: causes
Coughing is a reflex protective reaction of the body to irritants, potentially dangerous for the normal operation of the respiratory system. With the help of a cough, the airways are cleaned of foreign objects and objects that interfere with the normal passage of air through them.
But the peculiarity of dry cough is that sputum irritating the walls of the respiratory tract does not come out, and because of the persistent cough the tissues of the trachea, throat and lungs erupt, because of prolonged barking cough, the vocal cords can become inflamed, the child's voice becomes hoarse, or else and completely disappears. That is why the main goal of treating dry cough is to turn it into a productive moist cough, in which pathogenic bacteria are excreted from the body together with mucus.
Parents should know that barking cough in a baby or an older child is very often a symptom of a false croup - a severe form of laryngitis. Most often, bouts of heavy barking cough are observed at night. The attack begins, as a rule, unexpectedly - just a peacefully sleeping baby suddenly starts to choke, convulsively coughs, frightens and cries. In this case, parents, first of all, should calm the baby, call a doctor and immediately give the baby first aid.
Medications and folk remedies for barking cough
Strong barking cough in a child can serve as a symptom not only of false, but also true croup (diphtheria), pneumonia, asthma, bronchitis, allergies and other diseases of the respiratory system. To facilitate spasm of the bronchi and to remove the swelling of the respiratory tract, first of all, the baby should be provided with the most suitable atmosphere: warm and very moist air. If the air in your apartment is over-dried, and there is no way to quickly change the situation, you can organize a treatment zone in the bathroom - collect hot water in the bathroom, buckets, bowls, close the door and from time to time bring the crumb to get a steam. Good results are provided by soda inhalation: 2 tsp. soda dilute in a liter of boiling water, pour into a large bowl and let the crumb breathe the resulting steam. If the child does not have lactose intolerance, you can give a drink of warm milk with the addition of soda - such a drink well relieves a fit of coughing.
Barking cough without fever is most often observed with allergies, laryngitis and bronchial asthma. Precisely determine the cause of the cough and prescribe an adequate treatment can only a doctor, so do not give the drug drugs on the advice of friends, neighbors or relatives - in the matter of choosing medicines you can trust only the doctor in charge.
Among the most effective folk methods to combat dry cough, it is necessary to isolate the juice of black radish with sugar - this syrup should be given to the baby in small portions during the day. A good effect also have broths of dogrose, cowberry, cranberry and kalinovy mors - all these drinks should be given to the child in warm, small portions, but often.
If your baby has a dry barking cough, never leave him unattended - a coughing attack starts unexpectedly and develops very quickly, in severe cases, suffocation can occur in a few minutes. For the same reason, it is undesirable to allow a baby to sleep a lot - in a dream, the attack develops more rapidly.