Today is a week since my younger one-year-old daughter started caughing and it gets worse and worse. We have already started taking in antibiotics for our pediatrician heard some weeze inside. But there are some general rules about cough and its treatment in children.
Coughing is a healthy and important reflex that helps protect the airways in the throat and chest.
Coughs are one of the most common symptoms of childhood illness. Although a cough can sound awful, it's not usually a sign of a serious condition.
there are different types of cough, among which are
Barky coughs are usually caused by a swelling in the upper part of the airway. Most of the time, a barky cough comes from croup, a swelling of the larynx (voice box) and trachea (windpipe).
Croup usually is the result of a virus, but can also come from allergies or a change in temperature at night. Younger children have smaller airways that, if swollen, can make it hard to breathe. Kids younger than 3 years old are at the most risk for croup because their airways are so narrow.
A cough from croup can start suddenly and in the middle of the night. Often a kid with croup will also have stridor, which is a noisy, harsh breathing (often described as a coarse, musical sound) that occurs when a child inhales.
Whooping cough is another name for pertussis, an infection of the airways caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis. Kids with pertussis will have spells of back-to-back coughs without breathing in between. At the end of the coughing, they'll take a deep breath in that makes a "whooping" sound. Other symptoms of pertussis are a runny nose, sneezing, mild cough, and a low-grade fever.
Although pertussis can happen at any age, it's most severe in infants under 1 year old who did not get the pertussis vaccine. Pertussis is very contagious, so your child should get the pertussis shot at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 15 months, and 4-6 years of age. This shot is given as part of the DTaP vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis).
The Tdap vaccine (which is similar to DTaP but with lower concentrations of diphtheria and tetanus toxoid for adults) is given to children at 11-12 years and once again in adulthood as a part of one of the tetanus boosters. Adults are recommended to receive this pertussis vaccine since immunity to pertussis lessens over time. By protecting yourself against pertussis, you are also protecting your kids from getting it.
Since pertussis is very contagious, it can spread from person to person through tiny drops of fluid in the air coming from the nose or mouth when people sneeze, cough, or laugh. Others can become infected by inhaling the drops or getting the drops on their hands and then touching their mouths or noses.
Cough With Wheezing
If your child makes a wheezing (whistling) sound when breathing out, this could mean that the lower airways in the lungs are swollen. This can happen with asthma or with a viral infection (bronchiolitis). Also, wheezing can happen if the lower airway is blocked by a foreign object.
Nighttime Cough
Lots of coughs get worse at night. When your child has a cold, the mucus from the nose and sinuses can drain down the throat and trigger a cough during sleep. This is only a problem if the cough won't let your child sleep.
Asthma also can trigger nighttime coughs because the airways tend to be more sensitive and irritable at night.
Daytime Cough
Cold air or activity can make coughs worse during the daytime. Try to make sure that nothing in your house — like air freshener, pets, or smoke (especially tobacco smoke) — is making your child cough.
Cough With a Fever
A child who has a cough, mild fever, and runny nose probably has a common cold. But coughs with a fever of 102° F (39° C) or higher can sometimes be due to pneumonia, especially if a child is weak and breathing fast. In this case, call your doctor immediately.
Cough With Vomiting
Kids often cough so much that it triggers their gag reflex, making them vomit. Also, a child who has a cough with a cold or an asthma flare-up might throw up if lots of mucus drains into the stomach and causes nausea. Usually, this is not cause for alarm unless the vomiting doesn't stop.
Persistent Cough
Coughs caused by colds due to viruses can last weeks, especially if your child has one cold right after another. Asthma, allergies, or a chronic infection in the sinuses or airways also might cause persistent coughs. If the cough lasts for 3 weeks, call your doctor.
In my opinion it is relevant to consult the doctor every time it concerns your kid`s health just to be on the safe side. But there some signs which indicate that you cannot wait longer and should see the pediatrician right away. So, call your doctor if your child:
1. has trouble breathing or is working hard to breathe
2. is breathing more quickly than usual
3. has a blue or dusky color to the lips, face, or tongue
4. has a high fever (especially if your child is coughing but does NOT have a runny or stuffy nose)
5. has any fever and is less than 3 months old
6. is an infant (3 months old or younger) who has been coughing for more than a few hours
7. makes a "whooping" sound when breathing in after coughing
8. is coughing up blood
9. has stridor (a noisy or musical sound) when breathing in
10. has wheezing when breathing out (unless you already have a home asthma care plan from your doctor)
11. is weak, cranky, or irritable
12. is dehydrated
Here are some ways to help your child feel better:
For a "barky" or "croupy" cough, turn on the hot water in the shower in your bathroom and close the door so the room will steam up. Then, sit in the bathroom with your child for about 20 minutes. The steam should help your child breathe more easily. Try reading a book together to pass the time.
!A cool-mist humidifier! in your child's bedroom might help with sleep. Remember that the most comfortable temperature in a babt`s room is 21 degrees C and humidity should be about 65%.
Sometimes a brief exposure to the cool air of the outdoors can relieve the cough. Make sure to dress your child appropriately for the outdoor weather and try this for 10-15 minutes.
Cool beverages like juice can be soothing and it is important to keep your child hydrated. But do not give soda or orange juice, as these can hurt a throat that is sore from coughing.
You should not give your child (especially a baby or toddler) OTC cough medicine without first checking with your doctor.
Cough drops are OK for older kids, but kids younger than 3 years old can choke on them. It's better to avoid cough drops unless your doctor says that they're safe for your child.
P.S.
Zinc supplementsPrevious research studies suggest that a mineral called zinc appears to reduce the severity of cold symptoms in healthy children. A recent review of the research on zinc supplements and the common cold found that zinc supplements may reduce the length and severity of cold symptoms, when taken within 24 hours of the first symptoms of a cold. However, there were possible side-effects such as unpleasant taste and nausea. The review concluded that it is not yet clear whether zinc should be recommended as treatment for colds. See the reference at the end for details.
Vitamin C
There has also been research looking at vitamin C for preventing or treating colds. A recent review found that taking vitamin C regularly did not seem to prevent colds in the ordinary population. However, it did seem to reduce the length and severity of symptoms. Also, in trials where people were exposed to short periods of extreme physical stress (for example, marathon runners and skiers) vitamin C halved the risk of developing a cold. More research is needed to answer the question of whether vitamin C can help once the cold symptoms have already started.
Other treatments
Echinacea (a herbal treatment) and garlic have traditionally been used for treating colds. However, recent reviews of research could not find any clear evidence about whether or not they are helpful.
Coughing is a healthy and important reflex that helps protect the airways in the throat and chest.
Coughs are one of the most common symptoms of childhood illness. Although a cough can sound awful, it's not usually a sign of a serious condition.
there are different types of cough, among which are
- "Barky" Cough
- Whooping Cough
- Cough With Wheezing
- Nighttime Cough
- Daytime Cough
- Cough With a Fever
- Cough With Vomiting
- Persistent Cough
Barky coughs are usually caused by a swelling in the upper part of the airway. Most of the time, a barky cough comes from croup, a swelling of the larynx (voice box) and trachea (windpipe).
Croup usually is the result of a virus, but can also come from allergies or a change in temperature at night. Younger children have smaller airways that, if swollen, can make it hard to breathe. Kids younger than 3 years old are at the most risk for croup because their airways are so narrow.
A cough from croup can start suddenly and in the middle of the night. Often a kid with croup will also have stridor, which is a noisy, harsh breathing (often described as a coarse, musical sound) that occurs when a child inhales.
Whooping cough is another name for pertussis, an infection of the airways caused by the bacteria Bordetella pertussis. Kids with pertussis will have spells of back-to-back coughs without breathing in between. At the end of the coughing, they'll take a deep breath in that makes a "whooping" sound. Other symptoms of pertussis are a runny nose, sneezing, mild cough, and a low-grade fever.
Although pertussis can happen at any age, it's most severe in infants under 1 year old who did not get the pertussis vaccine. Pertussis is very contagious, so your child should get the pertussis shot at 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 15 months, and 4-6 years of age. This shot is given as part of the DTaP vaccine (diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis).
The Tdap vaccine (which is similar to DTaP but with lower concentrations of diphtheria and tetanus toxoid for adults) is given to children at 11-12 years and once again in adulthood as a part of one of the tetanus boosters. Adults are recommended to receive this pertussis vaccine since immunity to pertussis lessens over time. By protecting yourself against pertussis, you are also protecting your kids from getting it.
Since pertussis is very contagious, it can spread from person to person through tiny drops of fluid in the air coming from the nose or mouth when people sneeze, cough, or laugh. Others can become infected by inhaling the drops or getting the drops on their hands and then touching their mouths or noses.
Cough With Wheezing
If your child makes a wheezing (whistling) sound when breathing out, this could mean that the lower airways in the lungs are swollen. This can happen with asthma or with a viral infection (bronchiolitis). Also, wheezing can happen if the lower airway is blocked by a foreign object.
Nighttime Cough
Lots of coughs get worse at night. When your child has a cold, the mucus from the nose and sinuses can drain down the throat and trigger a cough during sleep. This is only a problem if the cough won't let your child sleep.
Asthma also can trigger nighttime coughs because the airways tend to be more sensitive and irritable at night.
Daytime Cough
Cold air or activity can make coughs worse during the daytime. Try to make sure that nothing in your house — like air freshener, pets, or smoke (especially tobacco smoke) — is making your child cough.
Cough With a Fever
A child who has a cough, mild fever, and runny nose probably has a common cold. But coughs with a fever of 102° F (39° C) or higher can sometimes be due to pneumonia, especially if a child is weak and breathing fast. In this case, call your doctor immediately.
Cough With Vomiting
Kids often cough so much that it triggers their gag reflex, making them vomit. Also, a child who has a cough with a cold or an asthma flare-up might throw up if lots of mucus drains into the stomach and causes nausea. Usually, this is not cause for alarm unless the vomiting doesn't stop.
Persistent Cough
Coughs caused by colds due to viruses can last weeks, especially if your child has one cold right after another. Asthma, allergies, or a chronic infection in the sinuses or airways also might cause persistent coughs. If the cough lasts for 3 weeks, call your doctor.
In my opinion it is relevant to consult the doctor every time it concerns your kid`s health just to be on the safe side. But there some signs which indicate that you cannot wait longer and should see the pediatrician right away. So, call your doctor if your child:
1. has trouble breathing or is working hard to breathe
2. is breathing more quickly than usual
3. has a blue or dusky color to the lips, face, or tongue
4. has a high fever (especially if your child is coughing but does NOT have a runny or stuffy nose)
5. has any fever and is less than 3 months old
6. is an infant (3 months old or younger) who has been coughing for more than a few hours
7. makes a "whooping" sound when breathing in after coughing
8. is coughing up blood
9. has stridor (a noisy or musical sound) when breathing in
10. has wheezing when breathing out (unless you already have a home asthma care plan from your doctor)
11. is weak, cranky, or irritable
12. is dehydrated
Here are some ways to help your child feel better:
For a "barky" or "croupy" cough, turn on the hot water in the shower in your bathroom and close the door so the room will steam up. Then, sit in the bathroom with your child for about 20 minutes. The steam should help your child breathe more easily. Try reading a book together to pass the time.
!A cool-mist humidifier! in your child's bedroom might help with sleep. Remember that the most comfortable temperature in a babt`s room is 21 degrees C and humidity should be about 65%.
Sometimes a brief exposure to the cool air of the outdoors can relieve the cough. Make sure to dress your child appropriately for the outdoor weather and try this for 10-15 minutes.
Cool beverages like juice can be soothing and it is important to keep your child hydrated. But do not give soda or orange juice, as these can hurt a throat that is sore from coughing.
You should not give your child (especially a baby or toddler) OTC cough medicine without first checking with your doctor.
Cough drops are OK for older kids, but kids younger than 3 years old can choke on them. It's better to avoid cough drops unless your doctor says that they're safe for your child.
P.S.
Zinc supplementsPrevious research studies suggest that a mineral called zinc appears to reduce the severity of cold symptoms in healthy children. A recent review of the research on zinc supplements and the common cold found that zinc supplements may reduce the length and severity of cold symptoms, when taken within 24 hours of the first symptoms of a cold. However, there were possible side-effects such as unpleasant taste and nausea. The review concluded that it is not yet clear whether zinc should be recommended as treatment for colds. See the reference at the end for details.
Vitamin C
There has also been research looking at vitamin C for preventing or treating colds. A recent review found that taking vitamin C regularly did not seem to prevent colds in the ordinary population. However, it did seem to reduce the length and severity of symptoms. Also, in trials where people were exposed to short periods of extreme physical stress (for example, marathon runners and skiers) vitamin C halved the risk of developing a cold. More research is needed to answer the question of whether vitamin C can help once the cold symptoms have already started.
Other treatments
Echinacea (a herbal treatment) and garlic have traditionally been used for treating colds. However, recent reviews of research could not find any clear evidence about whether or not they are helpful.
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