Barking cough in a child, treatment by Komarovsky. Barking cough in a child without fever

Hello everyone! I first learned about croup from O. Komarovsky’s program, there was a program in which he explained in detail what it is and what to do if an attack occurs. To be honest, I remember this episode of the program to this day, I was so frightened by what he talked about in it. Of course, when your child begins to choke in the middle of the night, no parent can help but become confused and panic. At that time, my son was not even a year old, and it was a little reassuring that...

Nowadays, many children are sick. And not all parents know how to deal with this. Therefore, in order to know what SHOULD be done and what NOT to be done, I propose an article by E. Komarovsky on this topic. I know that he has a lot of controversial issues, but I think he is quite competent in treating children. Well, at the end I also give a few links about temperature, ferons, “preventive” medications. Acute respiratory viral infections(ARVI)

Kalinov Yuri Dmitrievich

Reading time: 11 minutes

How to relieve a child's night cough

Sometimes it is not so much the disease itself that exhausts the child and the parents caring for him, but sleepless nights accompanied by a debilitating cough. In such a situation, you must immediately consult a doctor so that he can determine the true cause of the night cough and prescribe treatment.

You will need

1. - rose hips;
2. - chamomile;
3. - viburnum;
4. - raspberries;
5. - sea ​​buckthorn;
6. - thyme;
7. - calendula;
8. - mint;
9. - saline solution;
10. - Kalanchoe;
11. — pine needles (buds);
12. - sage;
13. - fennel seeds;
14. - linden flowers;
15. - soda;
16. - milk;
17. - honey

Instructions

1. In some cases, the cause of a night cough may be an allergy. Take a close look at your baby. If the coughing attacks intensify, as soon as he lies down in his bed, his eyes begin to water, swelling appears, be sure to have the baby examined at an allergy center. Based on its results, you will be given recommendations for caring for your child and, if necessary, prescribed a course of treatment.
2. Most often, a viral infection is the cause of cough. Its exacerbation at night is directly related to the fact that when lying down, mucus accumulates and to remove it the baby has to cough much more often than it does during the day. Dry air in the room, as well as the baby’s stuffy nose, force him to breathe through his mouth, also contribute to increased coughing.
3. To alleviate the child’s condition, wet clean his room in the evening, and ventilate the room a little before going to bed. Give your baby a higher pillow and change his sleeping position more often. This will prevent the accumulation of phlegm.
4. Let your baby drink more fluids throughout the day. A warm decoction of rose hips, chamomile infusion, tea with raspberries, viburnum, sea buckthorn, etc. are best suited for this purpose.
5. Be sure to clean your child's nasal passages before bed: rinse them thoroughly with a special saline solution and ask your baby to blow his nose well, or remove mucus from the nose yourself using a small syringe. Instead of saline solution You can use a decoction of chamomile, thyme, calendula, mint (1 tsp per glass of boiling water).
6. Kalanchoe juice helps clear your nose. Squeeze the juice from a fresh Kalanchoe leaf and drop 2-3 drops into each nostril for your baby. By irritating the nasal mucosa, the juice causes sneezing, which will clear the nasal passages.
7. Give a child (over six months old) steam inhalation. In a small saucepan, bring 250-300 ml of water to a boil, add a tablespoon of pine needles (or buds) to the boiling water and after 3-4 minutes turn off the gas. Let the broth sit for 7-10 minutes, after covering the pan with a lid.
8. After the allotted time, bring it into the baby’s room, place it on the table (chair) and remove the lid (the distance from the crib to the container with the broth should be 60-90 cm). As soon as the steam coming from the broth becomes warm, move the pan to a small chair near the crib (at a distance of 30-40 cm). Using a diaper (sheet), direct warm steam onto your baby's face. The duration of this procedure is 10-12 minutes.
9. No less effective are inhalations using an alkaline solution (0.5 tsp soda per 0.2 l of water), as well as herbal decoctions based on sage, fennel seeds, linden flowers, etc. (1 tbsp per glass of water).
10. If the baby wakes up, give him hot milk and honey. At severe cough Give the cough medicine prescribed by your doctor.
11. Watch your child carefully. If all your efforts do not bring him relief already on the 2-3rd day, consult your doctor again.
12. Do not try to treat your baby yourself. Be sure to coordinate your actions with your pediatrician.

Causes of night cough in a child Komarovsky

Health problems in children are a reason for parents to be wary and concentrate all their efforts on a solution. Night cough is a particularly frightening phenomenon and requires immediate intervention. He was examined, among others, by Dr. Komarovsky. The doctor explained in detail in his broadcast the causes of the disease and methods of elimination.

Causes of trouble

When the baby is in a horizontal position at night, mucus accumulates in the upper respiratory tract. In children, the pulmonary apparatus is not yet perfect, the respiratory bronchial tubes have a small lumen, and the removal of mucus is difficult. The body, trying to get rid of phlegm, provokes the development of a reflex.

There are many reasons for a child’s night cough; prolonged attacks often develop due to colds and infectious diseases.

Before you treat night cough in a child, pay attention to the type of reflex:. Pharyngitis, rhinitis, sinusitis

Dry, irritating cough. It differs in the duration of the attacks. The baby complains of soreness and tingling in the throat. Choking and coughing are observed during the interval between the main attack

Pharyngitis, rhinitis, sinusitis. Dry, irritating cough. It differs in the duration of the attacks. The baby complains of soreness and tingling in the throat. Choking and coughing are observed during the interval between the main attack.

Asthmatic bronchitis. The symptom passes with whistling and wheezing breathing. With an asthmatic night cough, the child develops shortness of breath,

It's hard to breathe. The baby complains of pain in the sternum near the heart.

Whooping cough. Whooping cough consists of 5-10 shocks. They follow non-stop, not allowing the child to breathe. Trying to take in air, the baby makes a whistling sound. The cough is loud, barking and wet, with copious sputum. Mucus is viscous and glassy. In small children, it can separate through the nostrils in bubbles.

Whooping cough often leads to vomiting caused by copious amounts of mucus. The baby's face turns red, trying to clear his throat, he sticks out his tongue and tenses. The cough is so strong that it completely exhausts the child, leading him to exhaustion.

Adenoiditis. The cough symptom for adenoids is characterized by dryness and difficult to separate purulent sputum. Night cough develops even with advanced disease, when viscous mucus accumulates in the nasal passages, descends into the respiratory tract and irritates the laryngeal mucosa.

Gastroesophageal reflux. This pathology is characterized by a dry night cough without fever and sore throat. Manifestations of the syndrome are similar to coughs due to bronchitis or allergies. Strong coughing can cause vomiting and nausea in a child.

Allergy. An allergic night cough begins suddenly. It is loud, barking and often dry (when wet, the child produces clear mucus). An allergic cough goes away with a runny nose and sneezing, but without fever. The child may complain of itching and sore throat.

Colds, flu, parainfluenza. The syndrome develops suddenly and can rapidly increase high temperature. Chills and fever are observed. At the onset of the disease, night cough is characterized by dryness and severe debilitating attacks. The child complains of a sore throat and sore throat.

Tracheitis. At the beginning of the development of the disease, a dry, paroxysmal cough is noted. Painful attacks often occur in the morning. The symptom is accompanied by severe, raw pain in the throat.

In small babies, an attack often develops while crying or screaming. At the same time, the temperature rises (up to +30-40⁰ C), headaches are observed.

Helminthic infestations. Helminthiasis is becoming a common cause of dry cough in a child at night. Helminthic infestations provoke the development of the syndrome at night without symptoms accompanying other diseases (sore throat, chills, fever). Children complain of abdominal pain, nausea, dizziness and upset bowel movements.

A child may develop a night cough due to dry, cold air in the room. The attacks disturb the baby, preventing him from sleeping peacefully during teething, when a lot of saliva is formed and it flows into the larynx, provoking a cough reflex.

When the baby long time he is bothered by a cough at night, during the day he feels tired and exhausted, he should immediately seek help in treatment from a pediatrician. Don't self-medicate! Only a pediatrician can find out the real culprit of a child’s night cough and prescribe proper treatment.

The appearance of a child’s cough, of course, worries his parents. They are especially confused by the absence of any other symptoms - fever, redness in the throat, weakness, runny nose. What happens to the baby in this case? Komarovsky and a number of other pediatricians consider a child’s cough without fever to be a signal that some kind of illness is developing in the child’s body. All that remains is to find out what kind of disease we are dealing with.

How to treat correctly

As already mentioned, cough is not a separate disease, but one of the symptoms. Thus, it is necessary to treat not only him, but the entire disease.

So, let's summarize - how to treat a cough that is not accompanied by elevated temperature? First of all, to soften it, secondly, to help the body get rid of snot.

To do this you will need:

• give the child plenty to drink;
• maintain normal temperature (about 18-20 degrees) and air humidity level in the room where the baby is;
• walk with the baby so that he can breathe fresh air;
• Give the child mucolytics to stimulate expectoration.

What to do with a wet cough

Even if your child does not have a fever, under no circumstances should you take medications at your own discretion. It is necessary, first of all, to consult a pediatrician. Children's doctor will find out the real cause wet cough. But if you come to an appointment, and he immediately writes out a prescription to buy antibiotics, change the doctor. Wet cough in a child that is not accompanied by elevated temperature, it is not advisable to immediately treat it with “heavy artillery” - taking antibiotics.

Cough caused by a viral infection

Not always, the inflammatory process occurring in the body is immediately accompanied by an increase in temperature, sometimes at the beginning of the disease it may be absent. This symptom may indicate inflammation associated with the respiratory tract or even the middle ear. Some of the accompanying symptoms: redness of the mucous membrane of the throat, runny nose, general lethargy of the baby.

Cough caused by a viral infection can be of two types: dry and wet.

• If you have a dry cough, which is most often a precursor to a wet cough, you should consult a doctor to determine the cause of this symptom. And also maintain the level of air humidity in the children's room, give the baby plenty of fluids and, if possible, spend time in the fresh air as often as possible;
• with a wet cough, which is also called productive, the main principle of treatment is the active discharge of sputum from the bronchi. Sometimes it can be caused by diseases gastrointestinal tract. Then coughing occurs due to the fact that food from the stomach rises back up the esophagus and enters the respiratory tract.

The baby is very sensitive to the presence of various impurities in the air or dry air. Therefore, it is advisable to protect your baby from culinary failures (even a slight burning smell can irritate the mucous membranes) and refuse to use all kinds of sprays and air fresheners.

On the contrary, parents need to ventilate rooms as often as possible and purchase an air humidifier or ionizer (air purifier). This will help improve your baby's immunity.

Causes of night cough in a child

The appearance of night cough in children is considered a fairly popular topic of discussion among many parents, various forums, as well as among medical practitioners. When a child develops a painful cough at night, many parents try to cure their child on their own, and then almost everything is used, including mustard plasters, rubbing and all kinds of tablets and syrups. So, what can really help get rid of a cough?

In pursuit of well-being and good health, it is worth remembering that a cough is an internal detector indicating that processes harmful to the body are occurring in the respiratory tract. In addition to this, this is a natural process in the body, the purpose of which is to cleanse the bronchi and lungs.

Suppressing a cough while ignoring the symptoms of its occurrence is detrimental to your health and causes more harm than good.

In the case of a common cold, mindlessly blocking night coughs medicines capable of progression to more severe diseases, in particular pneumonia and tuberculosis.

The reason for such sad consequences is the mucus accumulated in the lungs and bronchi, and it is precisely to remove it that a cough is necessary. If it is not eliminated by coughing, then it will multiply in its accumulations. pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms in progressive numbers.

Many people are concerned about why a child’s cough worsens at night. The answer is quite simple: during sleep, the body is in a horizontal position, thereby complicating the removal of mucus by coughing. In more complicated conditions, namely in a horizontal position, it is difficult for a child’s body to get rid of mucus accumulated in the lungs, the amplitude of cough impulses increases, the night cough becomes intense, and all because the supine position is not optimal.

The human body is a highly organized system. By intensifying his cough at night, he gives us a sign that we need to take some action to help him. What are these actions?

First of all, you should transfer the state of the body from a horizontal position, you can put a pillow under your back, organize a convenient and comfortable half-sitting position.

When the fight against night cough drags on and the methods you use become ineffective and do not give the desired result, this indicates that you have chosen the wrong path, the diagnosis of the cause of the cough turned out to be erroneous, or its symptoms are of a much more serious origin. The only right decision and correct action is an urgent visit to the doctor. You should report the methods of your treatment that did not work. In a medical hospital setting, diagnosis and analysis of the cause of cough moves to a professional level.

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Causes of wet cough at night

A wet cough differs from a dry cough by the ability to discharge viscous sputum. Very often it is accompanied by a runny nose. Such attacks are typical for acute forms of bronchitis and respiratory infections. Additionally, the child exhibits pathological symptoms:

• inflammation of the mucous membrane of the larynx and pharynx;
• redness and swelling of the throat.

Causes of a wet cough can also be:

• pharyngitis - inflammation of the lymphoid tissue of the throat;
• tracheitis - damage to the tracheal mucosa of infectious origin;
• teething (in children of the first year of life);
• inflammation of the adenoids.

A wet night cough is one of the symptoms of inflammation maxillary sinuses. The attacks are caused by the drainage of purulent contents along the back wall of the larynx.

If during the day the child swallows mucous discharge, then at night, due to being in a horizontal position, the mucus penetrates the respiratory tract. Hence the severe attacks of wet cough. They can occur several times a night. You can get rid of a cough only by curing the underlying disease - sinusitis.

Cough with fever in a child

A child's cough is always a cause of concern for parents.

Komarovsky emphasizes that this is just a symptom of the disease respiratory tract. If it occurs with fever, then it is not allergic, but infectious in nature (which, however, does not exclude the opposite: hyperthermia is not always observed during infection)

A cough is the body's reaction to a viral or bacterial irritant. When pathogenic microbes enter the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, the body tries to cleanse itself of them by producing more mucus. This phlegm must be removed. This is how a cough occurs. The main task of parents is to prevent the mucus from drying out and stopping the cough reflex. The first task is accomplished by moist air and drinking plenty of fluids; the second task is accomplished by the absence of cough suppressants in the arsenal.

When coughing with fever, parents are frightened by the unknown: what is its cause? Cough with fever in 90% of cases is viral in nature. Only a doctor can make a diagnosis. Excessive mucus is produced when:

• rhinitis;
• sinusitis;
• adenoids;
• pharyngitis;
• laryngitis;
• tracheitis;
• bronchitis;
• pneumonia.

Almost any acute respiratory infection is accompanied by a cough reflex. The cough can be dry (unproductive) or wet (productive). Treatment in each case is different and is aimed at reducing the viscosity of sputum. Medicines are prescribed by a specialist, and parents must take measures to create favorable conditions, in which the body will fight infection: moist, cool air and drinking plenty of fluids.

Self-medication for cough with fever is unacceptable. The doctor must determine which parts respiratory system amazed. The upper respiratory tract cannot be treated with expectorants, and bronchitis and pneumonia require specific treatment, depending on the pathogen and the severity of the process.

A barking cough in a child is an alarming symptom, indicating damage to the mucous membrane of the larynx, trachea and vocal cords. Often accompanied by chest pain, shortness of breath, sore throat and hoarseness. The causes of a barking, loud cough are laryngitis, tracheitis, false croup, whooping cough, etc. To make the child feel better, mucolytics, secretomotor (expectorant) and antitussives are used.

Causes of barking cough in children

A barking, ringing cough is a forced exhalation, accompanied by a sound similar to a dog barking.

Why does a child have a wheezing cough?

• Laryngitis is an infectious or allergic inflammation of the larynx, which often involves the epiglottic cartilage. The child is bothered by a burning sensation in the throat when coughing and a high temperature. After 2 days, the cough becomes barking, but the sputum is not separated.
• False croup is inflammation and narrowing of the larynx, accompanied by swelling of the subglottic area. It manifests itself as a barking, ringing cough, shortness of breath, and pale skin. False croup is more often found in children under 6 years of age. He's dangerous respiratory failure and suffocation.
• Whooping cough is an inflammation of the ENT organs caused by the whooping cough bacillus (Bordetella pertussis). It manifests itself as a barking spasmodic cough, wheezing, and fever.
• Laryngotracheitis is a combined inflammation of the trachea and larynx caused by viruses or bacteria. Cough attacks occur suddenly, which causes panic. The child complains of chest pain and a burning sensation in the larynx.

Wheezing in the lungs is a sign of bronchitis or pneumonia.

If a child coughs at night but not during the day, the reason most often lies in an allergy to feather pillows or blankets.

How to quickly help with a cough attack

A barking paroxysmal cough is one of the leading symptoms of false croup (stenotic laryngotracheitis). Before you can alleviate the child’s condition, you need to call a doctor at home.

First aid for a barking cough in a child:

1. Calm the baby down. The first thing you need to do is calm the child down. Therefore, take him in your arms and unbutton his tight clothes.
2. Ventilation. To make breathing easier, provide a flow of fresh air into the room. Open the windows or turn on the air conditioner.
3. Mustard plasters. For a barking whistling cough, apply mustard plasters to the calf muscles and feet. This helps reduce swelling of the laryngopharynx mucosa.
4. Warm drink. To relieve spasms in the respiratory muscles, give your child warm milk or tea with honey.

To help your child cope with the attack, speak to him in a calm voice. When the doctor arrives, he will determine the degree of narrowing of the lumen of the larynx.

With grade 1 and 2 stenosis, the child is hospitalized in the infectious diseases department.

How to treat a barking cough in a child

Before you begin treatment for a barking, loud cough, you need to find out its cause. Therapy is preceded by diagnostics, which includes:

• chest x-ray;
• microscopic analysis of sputum;
• laryngoscopy;
• general blood test;
• spirography.

Syrups and tablets

Barking cough medications for children are selected by a pediatric ENT specialist taking into account:

• age;
• severity of symptoms;
• causative agent of infection.

For symptomatic treatment Three types of medications are used:

• Antitussives are medications of central and peripheral action that relieve the cough reflex. The former affect the cough center in medulla oblongata, and the second - on the nerve endings in the ENT organs.
• Mucolytic (secretolytic) - drugs that reduce the viscosity of mucus. Used to convert a dry cough into a wet one.
• Expectorants (secretomotor) - drugs that stimulate the work of the ciliated epithelium and the removal of mucus from the respiratory tract. They prevent stagnation of sputum during a barking, wet cough, which reduces the risk of bronchitis and pneumonia.

For spasmodic cough, you need to give the child tablets or syrup with antitussive or mucolytic action. For prevention side effects medications are selected based on age.

How to treat barking cough in children

Name of medicine	Release form	Operating principle	At what age is it allowed, in years
Panatus Forte	syrup	suppresses coughing, expands the lumen of the bronchi, facilitates breathing	3
Ambrobene	tablets, syrup	reduces the viscosity of bronchial mucus, increases cough productivity	6 (for tablets) 3 (for syrup)
Tussin plus	syrup	inhibits the functioning of the cough center, normalizes respiratory function	6
Bromhexine	pills	thins bronchial mucus, making it easier to cough up	3
Stoptussin	pills	relieves barking paroxysmal cough, pain in the laryngopharynx	5 months (if weight more than 7 kg)
Bronholitin	syrup	inhibits the cough reflex, expands the lumen of the bronchi, improves the drainage function of the lungs	3
Herbion with plantain	syrup	reduces the elasticity of bronchial mucus, relieves inflammation, stimulates local immunity	2
Bronkatar	syrup	reduces the viscosity of sputum, transforms a dry cough into a wet one, stimulates the healing of mucous membranes	3
Pertussin	syrup	stimulates expectoration of mucus, reduces chest pain during a cough attack	3
Mukodin	syrup	thins mucus, stimulates the work of the ciliated epithelium	2
Codelac Neo	tablets, syrup	suppresses barking spasmodic cough, relieves inflammation, expands the lumen of the bronchi	3

To pick up good remedy, the doctor pays attention to the overall clinical picture.

If a child has a sore throat or wheezing in the lungs, syrups with a bronchodilator and anti-inflammatory effect are prescribed.

If acute laryngitis or bronchitis is caused by bacteria, antimicrobial therapy is carried out with the following antibiotics:

• Azithromycin;
• Levofloxacin;
• Roxithromycin;
• Augmentin;
• Moxifloxacin.

Tetracycline antibiotics - Doxycycline, Metacycline, Ericicline - are prescribed to children from 8 years of age.

Compresses

A barking dry cough in an infant without fever is treated with warming compresses. Warming the skin and fiber leads to vasodilation and better blood supply to the lungs. As a result, metabolism accelerates, bronchial mucus thins, and the lumen of the bronchi increases.

Effective compresses:

• Potato. 2-3 large potatoes are boiled for 15-20 minutes. Knead with a fork and mix with 50 ml of melted honey. Form a cake and wrap it in gauze. Warm up top part chest or intercostal area for 15 minutes. Perform the procedure twice a day.
• With vinegar. Warm water is mixed with apple cider vinegar in proportion No: 1. A cotton-gauze pad is moistened in the solution. Apply to the area under the shoulder blades for 25-30 minutes. Apply a compress daily before bed.

When a barking dry cough turns into a wet one, be sure to do a drainage massage. It prevents mucus stagnation, inflammation of the bronchi and lungs.

Rubbing

Local treatment of barking cough in children is carried out with warming ointments that contain:

• levomenthol;
• camphor;
• peppermint;
• eucalyptus;
• turpentine oil, etc.

Local drugs have a distracting, anti-inflammatory, expectorant effect. To transform a dry, rough cough into a wet one, treat with ointments:

• chest;
• wings of the nose;
• feet;
• whiskey;
• back.

Effective ointments and balms for rubbing:

• Propolis ointment;
• Roztiran;
• Doctor Mom Cold Slave;
• Bryony;
• Turpentine ointment;
• Gold Star;
• Badger;
• Dr. Theiss eucalyptus;
• Pulmex baby;
• Vicks Active.

The procedure is performed twice a day – morning and evening.

When treating children under one year old, you should not apply ointments with camphor or eucalyptus to the face - the wings of the nose, the bridge of the nose, the temples, as this is fraught with a cough attack.

Inhalations

A barking cough in a child without fever but with a runny nose is treated with inhalations. To prevent burns, they use nebulizers rather than steam inhalers. Nebulizer turns aqueous solution into an aerosol that easily penetrates the lungs and alveoli.

Preparations for nebulizer therapy:

• Fluimucil;
• Sinupret;
• Ambrohexal;
• Mukaltin;
• Bronchosan.

If you don’t have a nebulizer, you can do steam-moisture inhalations over a pan with alkaline mineral water– Essentuki No. 4, Borjomi, Smirnovskaya. For a barking, ringing cough, inhalation over a decoction of chamomile, oregano, and calendula is recommended. The temperature of the decoction should not exceed 40°C, and the duration of the session should not exceed 10 minutes.

If the child is not yet 1 year old, the procedure is performed for no more than 2 minutes.

Before treating a barking cough with inhalations, consult your doctor. Physiotherapy is contraindicated for pulmonary abscess, cardiac arrhythmia, myocardial insufficiency, and pulmonary hemorrhage.

Medicinal herbs

Difficulty breathing, barking paroxysmal cough - a consequence of swelling and irritation of the mucous membranes. To get rid of symptoms, give your child decoctions of medicinal plants:

• Chamomile. 1 tbsp. l. herbs are poured with 500 ml of water. Boil over low heat for 3 minutes. Strain through a strainer. Give 150 ml 30 minutes before meals 4-5 times a day.
• Collection. Mix raspberry leaves, linden and oregano in equal parts. 1 tbsp. l. pour 500 ml of boiling water. Leave covered for 30-40 minutes. Take an infusion of 150-200 ml up to 4 times a day.
• Thyme. 1 tsp. Boil the herbs in 250 ml of water for 3 minutes. The filtered decoction is drunk 150 ml up to 4-5 times a day.

The course of treatment for barking spastic cough varies from 5 to 10 days. If your health does not improve, contact your pediatrician.

Folk remedies

Alternative medicine is effective in combating the symptoms of ARVI. Many products have anti-cold properties - milk, ginger, honey.

How to eliminate a barking cough in a child at night:

• Milk with honey. 200 ml of liquid is heated to 40-45°C, add 15 ml of flower honey. Give to the child before bedtime for 5-7 days.
• Radish with honey. The radish is passed through a meat grinder and the juice is squeezed out with gauze. Add 1 tbsp to 150 ml of melted honey. l. juice Give the baby 1 tsp. every 2 hours.
• Ginger tea. Ginger root is grated. 1/3 tsp. mixed with 1 tsp. tea leaves. Pour into a thermos and pour 250 ml of boiling water. After 40 minutes, filter. Drink a glass up to 3 times a day.

Use products with radish and ginger with caution, as they often provoke allergies in children.

Drinking regime and diet

A barking cough in a child with fever is treated comprehensively. To reduce irritation of the mucous membranes, provide your baby with a gentle diet. Food can only be given warm. The basis of the diet is cereal porridge, boiled vegetables, and sweet fruits.

Temporarily exclude from the child’s menu:

• conservation;
• spices;
• crackers;
• seeds;
• carbonated drinks;
• sour fruits;
• chips;
• hot sauces.

If a barking spasmodic cough is caused by an infection, the child needs a drinking regime. To remove toxins from the body and prevent dehydration, he should drink 1-2 liters of free fluid per day. To drink, give:

• green tea with honey;
• fruit compotes;
• milk;
• diluted fruit juices;
• degassed mineral water;
• drinking yoghurts.

When following medical recommendations, the recovery period is reduced by 2 times.

Signs of dangerous complications

Children under 3 years of age are difficult to tolerate respiratory infections. A common cold sometimes causes acute laryngeal stenosis, retropharyngeal abscess, myocarditis, glomerulonephritis, etc. You should not postpone a visit to the doctor if:

• shortness of breath;
• separation of yellow sputum;
• high temperature;
• noisy breathing;
• hoarseness of voice;
• pale skin;
• coughing up blood;
• blueness of the nasolabial triangle;
• chest pain.

Cough in children is mainly either viral or allergic. When a virus or allergen penetrates the bronchi, inflammation of their mucous membrane occurs. The body actively fights, producing mucus, which should neutralize the virus. And expectoration is an attempt to remove mucus accumulated in the lungs.

The appearance of a child’s cough, of course, worries his parents. They are especially confused by the absence of any other symptoms - fever, redness in the throat, weakness, runny nose. What happens to the baby in this case? Komarovsky and a number of other pediatricians consider a child’s cough without fever to be a signal that some kind of illness is developing in the child’s body. All that remains is to find out what kind of disease we are dealing with.

TEST: Why do you have a cough?

How long have you been coughing?

Is your cough combined with a runny nose and is most noticeable in the morning (after sleep) and in the evening (already in bed)?

The cough can be described as:

You characterize the cough as:

Can you tell that the cough is deep (to understand this, take more air into your lungs and cough)?

During a coughing attack you feel pain in your stomach and/or chest(pain in the intercostal muscles and abdominal muscles)?

Do you smoke?

Pay attention to the nature of the mucus that is released during a cough (it doesn’t matter how much it is: a little or a lot). She:

Do you feel a dull pain in the chest that does not depend on movements and is of an “internal” nature (as if the source of pain is in the lung itself)?

Do shortness of breath bother you (during physical activity Do you quickly become out of breath and get tired, your breathing becomes faster, followed by a lack of air)?

Causes of cough in children without fever

How to treat correctly

As already mentioned, cough is not a separate disease, but one of the symptoms. Thus, it is necessary to treat not only him, but the entire disease.

So, to summarize - how to treat a cough that is not accompanied by fever? First of all, to soften it, secondly, to help the body get rid of snot.

To do this you will need:

• give the child plenty to drink;
• maintain normal temperature (about 18-20 degrees) and air humidity level in the room where the baby is;
• walk with the baby so that he can breathe fresh air;
• Give the child mucolytics to stimulate expectoration.

What to do with a wet cough

Despite the fact that a child’s cough is not uncommon today, one must be able to distinguish a simple cough from the onset of some disease. In particular, a wet cough indicates that a tiny bit of infection has entered the body.

Even if your child does not have a fever, under no circumstances should you take medications at your own discretion. It is necessary, first of all, to consult a pediatrician. The pediatrician will find out the real cause of the wet cough. But if you come to an appointment, and he immediately writes out a prescription to buy antibiotics, change the doctor. A wet cough in a child that is not accompanied by a fever is not advisable to immediately treat with “heavy artillery” - taking antibiotics.

In order to remove accumulated sputum faster and much more effectively, narrowly targeted mucolytic drugs (for example, Bromhexine or Mucaltin) are usually prescribed.

In addition, when a child coughs, you need to give him a lot of water. Children will enjoy cranberry juice, tea with raspberry jam, and sweet compotes with licorice root and thyme. If the body temperature is within normal limits, you can rub and steam the baby’s legs.

If the child starts barking

If parents hear a barking cough in a child, it is necessary to immediately begin treatment. Otherwise, the disease may become acute and then chronic.

According to Komarovsky, it is not the barking cough itself that needs to be treated separately, but the ailment that provoked the occurrence of this symptom. Medicines and other methods are used for treatment. If a child begins to “bark” due to an allergy, it is extremely important to promptly identify the allergen and eliminate it. If you cannot determine the allergen yourself, you need to be examined by a doctor, who, based on the results, will prescribe the appropriate one. antihistamine medicine. Give your baby regular water in winter warm drinks. This is necessary in order to prevent the throat and larynx from drying out. Dr. Komarovsky also strongly advises getting a humidifier for the children's room.

If the cause of a barking cough is acute form laryngitis and the child is coughing and suffocating, call a doctor immediately. After all, the development of laryngeal edema is a very dangerous condition for the baby. Laryngospasm is relieved with the drugs Loratadine and Desloratadine. Pharyngitis is treated with antibiotics and medications that reduce throat irritation (Inhalipt).

Before sending your child to bed, so that he does not wake up from coughing, you need to give him Mukaltin or Codelac. If the doctor diagnoses the baby with bronchitis or tracheitis, then treatment is carried out with mucolytics - Bromhexine, Lazolvan or Ambrobene.

The main task is to transform a dry cough into a wet one, which indicates a speedy recovery. For this purpose, drugs are used to thin the mucus and improve its expectoration.

If the infection is of bacterial origin, antibiotics are added (Augmentin and Cephalexin). In addition, herbal syrups made from marshmallow or plantain help with barking cough.

Folk recipes

If the baby does not have a fever, some remedies will be effective traditional medicine. Let's give a couple of examples.

• To soften a cough, you can use warm milk mixed with mineral water in a 1:1 ratio. An alternative version of this drug is to mix heated milk with a teaspoon of natural honey and add a small slice of fresh butter. This remedy will soften the irritated throat, and for some time the cough will stop bothering the child.
• A good remedy is radish juice. It should be given to the baby a teaspoon every three hours. How to get this juice? You can divide the radish in half, pour a little honey on each half and sprinkle a little granulated sugar. Then place it in a deep plate so that the radish lies at an angle. Literally after an hour, the healing juice can be drained and used for its intended purpose. Remember that it should not be given to children under one year of age.

After the fact

Finally, it should be emphasized once again that fighting a cough alone is not only meaningless, but is also dangerous for the child. Disorderly reception different drugs and changing medications if the results from their use do not appear instantly are absolutely unreasonable actions that are harmful to the baby’s health. After all, it may turn out that you just need to cover the radiators or remove a new flower from the room, or check whether the baby is allergic to the wool in the blanket.

In any case, it is necessary to find out the cause of the symptom, and only then act on it comprehensively. This is the only way to cure both the cough and the disease that caused it.

Mothers' concern for their child at the first manifestations of the disease is completely justified. But how to treat a dry cough in a child should be determined by the doctor, based on the specific case. You can safely help your recovery with harmless procedures. A cough is a hardwired reaction of the body to any pathogens. In this way, the foreign body or microorganism is removed. A dry barking cough without fever is caused by problems with secretion in the respiratory tract, or is an indicator of high viscosity of secretions. It may be accompanied by swelling of the vocal cords or bronchial spasms in the child.

Before you begin to treat your child, you must determine the cause of dry cough. Based on this information, specific medications and procedures are prescribed. Among main causes of cough the following can be distinguished:

• All possible acute respiratory viral infections(ARVI). Viruses, for example, penetrating the baby’s respiratory tract cause cell inflammation and death. The body, trying to expel viruses out, provokes a cough reflex. Depending on the pathogen, different parts of the respiratory tract are damaged: tracheitis damages the trachea, bronchitis affects the bronchi, and pneumonia affects the alveoli of the lungs.
• Inflammation of the vocal cords caused, for example, by laryngitis, leads to a narrowing of the vocal canal and causes dryness at the baby's. Ligament inflammation it could also be a symptom of poisoning by harmful fumes or allergies. Additional tests are needed to understand how to treat children in this case.
• Cough manifestations of allergies, at which no increase in temperature baby's body with characteristic seasonality(autumn and spring). This is accompanied by coughing profuse runny nose and lacrimation. Extreme stage such an allergy is bronchial asthma.
• Bacterial infections with long-term inflammatory process may manifest as a dry cough. The most famous such infection is tuberculosis, which The baby is treated for a very long time. Also the reason may be diphtheria and whooping cough. Phlegm accumulates in a very thick form in the lungs and is very difficult to cough out.
• Inflammation of the pleura of the lungs(pleurisy) can cause a dry, painful cough in a baby.
• Gastroesophageal reflex. Very often, after eating a baby in a lying position, acid from the stomach flows into the oral cavity. Inhaling acid fumes causes a coughing attack.
• There are both extreme and dangerous reasons dry cough: tumors of the lungs, bronchial lymph nodes, aortic aneurysm, inflammation of the respiratory tract, decompensated heart defects.

Drug treatment of cough in a child

The main component dry cough treatment in children is taking medications.

But you also have to be careful, because they may cause allergies. It is necessary to understand that coughing is a consequence of some disease and medications suppress it only temporarily until the cause is eliminated. Medicines for its treatment are divided into 3 groups:

• Mucolytics. These expectorants direct impact liquefy clots of sputum without increasing its quantity, allowing the child to cough up.
• Secretomotor expectorants. They consist mainly of herbal tinctures. Absorbed through the stomach, they stimulate an increase in sputum secretion.
• Antitussive reflex drugs, suppressing the cough reflex.

Children's doctor Komarovsky: how to treat a baby when he coughs.

Medicines for dry cough

Herbion plantain syrup. Therapeutic expectorant for children herbal based. Helps against inflammation in the upper respiratory tract. The syrup mechanically protects the throat from irritants by creating a thin film on the surface. Vitamin C, which is part of Gerbion, promotes the regeneration of damaged cells.

Erespal treats cough in children under 7 years of age in the form of syrup, and for those older, tablets are used. It is widely used in many diseases of the upper and lower respiratory tract, accompanied by a dry cough.

Ambrobene is one of the most used mucolytic drugs.

Thanks to a variety of release forms:

• syrup,
• pills,
• capsules,

it is suitable for children of any age.

For the treatment of dry cough inhalations with Amrobene solution are often used.

Eufillin (aminophylline) children are prescribed in case of diseases such as bronchial asthma or emphysema. It can also be used on infants, but under strict medical supervision. The dosage calculation depends on the baby’s weight and is approximately 5 mg of medication per 1 kilogram. Possible use in inhalations.

Mandatory in the treatment of dry cough is use of absorbable lozenges, such as Isla Moos. They are used as an adjuvant in therapeutic treatment. Children under 12 years of age are advised not to swallow more than one tablet at a time. They should be used as the sore throat or cough worsens, but more often than every 2 hours.

Among the drugs by suppressing the cough reflex, we can highlight Sinekod. This is a non-narcotic drug, but is sold by prescription. Additionally, the drug has a mild expectorant ability. Children under 12 years of age are strictly prohibited from using Sinecode.

Medicines for high fever

If you have a dry cough accompanied by an increase in body temperature, That reason these are foreign bodies – infections and bacteria. How to treat a child in such a situation? Required for previously prescribed medications add antibiotics, capable of combating harmful microorganisms. But we must not forget that antibiotics disrupt the microflora of the stomach.

To restore it, in parallel, it is necessary to give children medications containing probiotics and prebiotics that restore the balance of microflora.

Klacid for children is very effective and quite safe medicine . Available in the form tablets or syrup and is used for children of almost any age. After the first application, it recedes and relieves general condition. The exact dosage of the drug should be prescribed by your pediatrician.

Fromilid helps for respiratory diseases. Various shapes release, including injections for intramuscular use.

Laktiale is a good modern complex of beneficial bacteria(probiotics and prebiotics)

• restoring normal microflora
• normalizing digestion
• and improves immunity.

For children, Lactiale contains a special additive - bifidobacterium, characteristic of child's body. For children under 2 years of age it is available in the form of a suspension.

Physiotherapeutic procedures for a child

Starting from 3 years old both dry and wet forms, necessary using various physiotherapeutic procedures. Inhalations using either special additives or the addition of

• herbal tinctures (chest extract, chamomile, oregano)
• essential oils (lavender and eucalyptus oils)
• or plain soda.

But you need to do this carefully, otherwise you can provoke an allergic reaction.

Will be useful for treating cough

• rubbing
• compresses
• or mustard plasters.

Ointment for rubbing for dry cough can be bought at any pharmacy.

It is advisable to perform rubbing before bedtime.

You need to rub both your back and chest (but not in the heart area) with your legs. Don’t get too carried away with mustard plasters and apply them maximum once a day.

Treatment with folk remedies

Not worth it neglect treatment of dry cough and folk remedies . They can help no worse than modern pharmacology, but cannot completely replace medications.

• Kalina– an excellent remedy for dry cough. Viburnum flowers and berries are used to brew a healthy hour rich in vitamin C. Very useful for the child!
• Milk with soda and tea with raspberries soothe an irritated throat. If you are not allergic to honey, then let it sit in your mouth to calm the cough reflex.
• Banana may help in treating the child.
• Grapes or grape juice is a natural expectorant. But it is a very allergenic product.

Children's doctor Komarovsky tells how to choose the right medications when your baby coughs.