A strong cough in a child is a cause for serious concern on the part of the parents. From our article, find out what provokes this phenomenon, and by what methods it is treated.

Causes of severe cough in a child

When the respiratory organs are irritated by foreign particles or pathogens, a cough begins. Thus, the body is cleaned of viruses, bacteria and dust.

The cause of cough is most often:

  1. Viruses. Microorganisms multiply rapidly on the mucous membranes, which leads to swelling of the larynx, runny nose and pain in the sternum. If a child under three years of age has developed a strong cough, it should be urgently shown to a doctor, since at this age children can not expectorate mucus. Its presence in the body will stimulate an increase in the number of viruses.
  2. Bacterial infections This condition always provokes a sore throat and yellow-green discharge from the nose.
  3. Allergy. In a baby, a strong dry cough may occur due to contact with an irritant. Most often, an allergy occurs as a reaction to pet hair, household dust, chemicals, indoor plants. In addition to coughing, allergies are manifested by tearing of the eyes and nasal discharge.
  4. Foreign object in the respiratory tract. Especially often, parents of infants are faced with this problem.

In some cases, a strong cough can signal the presence of a serious disease that requires the earliest possible diagnosis.

What diseases indicates

A strong cough in a child can be a symptom of many diseases.

Among them it is worth highlighting:

  1. Whooping cough.This childhood illness is considered extremely dangerous. First, the cough begins with a deep sigh, then goes into short strong attacks. At this time, the baby's face may turn blue, vomiting may begin. In severe cases, fainting, cramps, and respiratory arrest are possible. Pertussis bacillus produces a toxin that negatively affects the central nervous system. The result is a spasm of the respiratory system. Coughing, the child still does not feel relief.
  2. Laryngotracheitis. An exacerbation of an infectious disease causes severe coughing attacks. A “barking” cough comes out of the narrowed larynx in the area of ​​the vocal cords. In addition, the baby suffers from nasal congestion, pain behind the sternum. There is a change in voice, fever and deterioration in general condition. Pathology is dangerous with the likelihood of developing false croup, which occurs due to a large accumulation of sputum in the larynx.
  3. Bronchitis. With obstructive bronchitis, cough occurs with shortness of breath. An infection or an allergic reaction can cause the disease. The combination of these two factors provokes a strong cough.
  4. Pharyngitis. With viral inflammation of the pharynx, the child coughs at night.

Any of the above diseases requires qualified medical attention.

What to treat and what to do

Therapy for a strong cough depends not only on its form, but also on the presence / absence of temperature.

Cough with or without fever

A severe cough, complicated by temperature, is a symptom of a viral or bacterial infection. When choosing a therapy, it is important to consider whether the child has a cough: dry or wet. Their treatment is fundamentally different.

  • If the baby suffers from a wet cough accompanied by fever, he is shown expectorant medications and temperature monitoring. Until the mercury column rises above 38.5 ° C, additional therapy is not required. If the temperature rises, the baby needs to take NSAIDs and prompt consultation with a pediatrician.
  • Dry cough with a temperature is more difficult to remove than a wet one. Under the influence of intense heat, inflammation of the throat intensifies, so the child suffers from excruciating attacks without expectoration. Improper treatment of severe coughing can aggravate the condition. First of all, you need to lower the temperature to acceptable values. In parallel, the baby should use mucolytic and expectorant drugs. Additionally, you can use antiseptic rinses.

Therapy for cough without fever involves the use of drugs from the following groups:

  1. Mucolytics. They make the bronchial secretion less viscous and improve its excretion from the lungs. Pediatricians prefer to prescribe Ambroxol or Mukaltin. Today, pharmacies have a large selection of funds for this group, so choosing the right medication will not be difficult.
  2. Bronchodilators. They help to stop a long-term persistent cough. Popular in this category are Saltos and Theophylline. However, their self-administration is unacceptable, funds are prescribed only after studying the symptoms and identifying the cause of the spasm.
  3. Expectorant herbal medicines.

When treating a child, it is unacceptable to neglect the recommendations of the doctor and self-prescribe any medications.

Dry and wet form

Dry cough treatment should be comprehensive. Once diagnosed, cough reflex and local receptor blockers are usually prescribed. Their action is aimed at suppressing the cough center of the brain and stopping dry cough.

Also, a small patient may be prescribed:

  • mucolytics for thinning sputum;
  • bronchodilator pharmaceuticals for eliminating bronchospasm;
  • antihistamines to eliminate allergic reactions.

Well established "Influenza". The medicine is based on natural ingredients, it can be given to children over 12 months old.

The doctor can also prescribe to the baby funds based on codeine:

  1. Kodelak. This universal antitussive agent has a generalized effect on the cough reflex.
  2. "Sinecode." The action is similar to that of Kodelak, but softer. Can be given to children after two months of age.

You can not start cough therapy in children with antitussive drugs without consulting a doctor. Inappropriate prescribing is dangerous by stagnation of sputum and the development of pneumonia.

Often also prescribed "Stoptussin", "Levopront", "Herbion" (can be used without medical prescription) and antihistamines of the 1st and 3rd generation.

Effective in the treatment of wet inhalation cough. The medicinal composition for the procedure is prescribed exclusively by the doctor! The action of pharmaceuticals that entered the body in this way begins directly in the bronchi, which is very effective, but extremely dangerous if the medicines are improperly selected.

When the aggravation of the cough has passed, the child can be treated with physiotherapy. Only the physiotherapist selects the appropriate procedures.

If the baby has a wet cough:

  1. First of all, he needs to be given to drink as much water as possible. This will help reduce intoxication and thin the viscous secretion.
  2. Then you can move on to mucolytics. Preparations of this group dilute mucus in the bronchi and stimulate its excretion. Under the influence of medications, the volume of secretion increases, so they effectively treat an unproductive wet cough. Mucolytics are called drugs based on ambroxol, acetylcysteine, trypsin, chymotrypsin and carbocysteine.
  3. To promote expectoration, special expectorant drugs are prescribed. They are reflex (natural) and resorptive (synthetic). The first irritate the gastric mucosa and the vomiting center, so saliva and bronchial fluid are secreted in greater quantities.
  4. Very often, children with a wet cough are prescribed combination drugs. They are based on several substances with different properties. Ascoril is considered a popular medication of this category. It has mucolytic, bronchodilator and expectorant action. It can be taken by children after the age of two.

Possible consequences

If you ignore the cough in a child, the infection will affect the mucous membrane of the nasal passages, then go down and cause laryngitis, tracheitis, bronchitis and even pneumonia. The child may complain of chest pain. He becomes lethargic and lethargic. If no measures are taken, pathologies can cause the death of the child.

Prevention

The treatment of any disease is always more complicated than compliance with banal preventive measures:

  • If the child is susceptible to respiratory infections, he should be gradually tempered and accustomed to the cold.
  • Avoid unnecessarily crowded places.
  • Balance the diet of the child, supplementing it with vitamins.
  • Provide him with the correct sleep and wakefulness regime - without him strong immunity is impossible.
  • Do not lock your child at home - fresh air is good. For this purpose, daily ventilation of the children's room is also necessary.
  • Provide a normal level of humidity in the house. Dry air is a common cause of coughing in children.
  • Limit contact with potential allergens if your child is allergic.

Preventive measures, if they do not protect against the disease, will significantly facilitate its course.

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