Coughing is one of the most frequent symptoms of respiratory diseases. He can testify about a variety of diseases, from banal ARI to tuberculosis. Parents need to know that coughing a child can be dry or wet, and distinguish between these two concepts, because the approach to their treatment will also be different.
Wet, or so-called productive cough in the child is different in that, coughing, the baby coughs up sputum accumulated in the bronchi. This process is a physiological variant of self-healing of an organism, and often does not require additional treatment. For example, this situation can arise when a child has a runny nose and mucus not only escapes from the nose, but flows down the throat inward, causing a wet cough without temperature. This is absolutely normal phenomenon, and you need to treat here not a cough, but a cold, creating for this comfortable conditions (fresh moist air, a healthy sleep, a plentiful drink).
But often the causes of the appearance of a wet cough are more serious diseases, such as bronchitis, pneumonia, lung abscess, bronchial asthma and others. On such a symptom it is necessary to respond by an immediate visit (or a call to the house) of a doctor. Attention to parents should be such signs:
- strong and frequent moist coughing in the baby, especially at night;
- wheezing;
- sputum unusual color, turbid, with greens or blood;
- combination of cough with high temperature (more than 38.5 ° C);
- a prolonged (prolonged) wet cough in a child that does not pass for a month or longer.
Treatment of wet cough in children
How to treat a wet cough, in each specific situation, the doctor decides, having inspected and listening to the lungs with the help of a phonendoscope, and if necessary and making tests. It directly depends on the diagnosis. Independently "appoint" the child cough medicine in any case can not be - this can only aggravate the situation. Parents are encouraged only to alleviate the suffering of the baby, remembering the following.
- With a damp cough, only expectorants can be used, but in no case drugs to suppress cough. The first include drugs such as lazolvan , doctor mom, ambroxol, bromhexine, licorice root syrup, pectusin, breastfeeding and others. They dilute sputum and promote easier removal from the bronchi, while antitussive drugs only contribute to suppressing the cough reflex, which in this case is ineffective and will lead to deterioration of the child's condition and complications to the lower respiratory tract.
- In addition to syrups and pills, great importance in therapy is played by the air that a sick child breathes. The air in the room should always be cool and damp. If the child does not have a temperature and is not shown bed rest, be sure to take a walk 1-2 times a day.
- Abundant drink, as you know, well removes toxins from the body. That's why doctors recommend it for any infectious diseases. Give the child warm teas with honey and lemon (in the absence of allergies), compotes of fresh fruits and berries,
nectar, mors from raspberry, black currant, cranberry or kalina. - Inhalations with a damp cough also help to sputum. Use for this purpose decoctions of medicinal herbs (sage, chamomile, breastfeeding ) or water with the addition of soda. Remember that steam inhalations are contraindicated for children under one year, so a wet cough in the baby should be treated with other methods.
Keep in mind that without the involvement of a doctor, it is unlikely to solve the problem, therefore, the sooner you contact a qualified pediatrician, the faster will be the annoying and exhausting cough of your child.