The child begins to cough, what should I do? Komarovsky. Protracted cough in a child - how to treat it

The famous children's doctor Komarovsky notes that most parents try to do everything to prevent their children from getting sick. However, this care can be excessive: parents immediately wrap up their child as soon as the cold weather sets in. But this is often done in vain: in many cases, the child simply cannot be cold due to his mobility.

As soon as the parents notice that the child begins to cough, they immediately put mustard plasters on him and give him various mixtures, but the cough does not go away. According to Komarovsky, a child’s cough often does not go away because it is not a disease in itself, it is only its manifestation, which signals: not everything is fine with the body. What exactly is wrong should be found out.

Komarovsky video: Cough

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Causes of cough

As Komarovsky says, cough can occur due to allergic or infectious diseases. If the child does not have a fever and his general condition is normal, the possibility of infection is excluded. Perhaps it's an allergy. Then the doctor advises to pay attention to the air in the room: there is a high probability that there is a lot of dust in the room. But if the cough does not go away for a long time, you need to contact your pediatrician to jointly look for the cause of the cough.

Komarovsky video: How to choose a cough medicine

How to relieve a cough

01 If we treat cough in children. Komarovsky advises paying attention to mucus, which can be thick or liquid. The thickness of the mucus is determined by the viscosity of the blood: when liquid blood The sputum is also liquid, but when it is viscous, the sputum is, accordingly, viscous.

02 To thin the blood, you need to drink: without drinking, the viscosity of the blood and mucus will never change, no drugs will do this.

03 Also, for the sputum to be liquid, the air in the room should not be dry, but moist and cool. Especially if the child has a dry cough, Komarovsky emphasizes that moist air is extremely necessary to prevent the sputum from drying out.

04 As Komarovsky adds, a child’s dry cough requires hydration not only by drinking, ventilating the room, humidifying the air, but by walking in the fresh air, if the child’s condition allows.

It is very important to remember, the doctor is sure, that there are two groups of cough medications: expectorants (mucolytics), which increase phlegm, and because of this, the cough sometimes only increases, and drugs that are used for whooping cough. As Komarovsky emphasizes, a cough in an infant should under no circumstances be treated with mucolytics; they pose a real danger to children under two years of age. Drinking plenty of fluids, humidifying the air, and rinsing the nose can provide a good effect, but without any risk to the child’s health.

Komarovsky video: Cough and walks

What parents should do when their child coughs

As a result, Komarovsky says in the video, cough is treated like this:

  • Humid cool air in the room.
  • Drink plenty of water (water, compote, etc.).
  • Finding out the cause of the cough.
  • Contacting a doctor to prescribe treatment.

Komarovsky interview: Cough

We strongly recommend that you watch the entire video clips online, which are located on this same page. They talk about cough in more detail. The article displays the main points that Evgeniy Olegovich highlights, which parents should know first of all. In addition, you can read books by Dr. Komarovsky. where you can highlight a lot of new and useful things for yourself. You can read more about coughs in the books Cough Book. About children's cough for moms and dads. The health of the child and the common sense of his relatives (Chapter Cough) and acute respiratory infections: a guide for sensible parents (Chapters Chapter 4.4. Cough. Chapter 5.11. Bronchitis. Chapter 5.12. Bronchiolitis. Chapter 5.13. Pneumonia. Chapter 7.4. Whooping cough. Chapter 11.7. Cough without stops).

A wonderful book by a famous pediatrician Evgeny Olegovich Komarovsky. Accessible, fun and very useful information, addressed to the future and already.

Dr. Komarovsky's new book is not only a comprehensive guide on the most pressing topic of children's acute respiratory infections, but also a textbook of common sense.

How to treat a persistent cough in a child | Komarovsky

For effective treatment For a cough, it is not enough to simply use some recommended medications. And there is no specific list of drugs aimed at getting rid of this unpleasant phenomenon in children. This is precisely the idea that Dr. Komarovsky expressed more than once when speaking in his own program. But what should parents do if their child’s cough begins to become protracted? First you need to find out its cause.

If a child has a fairly persistent cough, how to treat it, Komarovsky gave the audience a detailed answer. But many parents may not like this answer. The fact is that Komarovsky advises not to treat a cough at all, no matter how strange it may sound. The doctor’s opinion can be explained by the fact that a cough, even a prolonged one, is only a symptom indicating changes in the body. A persistent cough can be caused by:

  • inflammation of the respiratory tract, accompanied by irritation of the mucous membrane;
  • chronic heart disease, which should be treated by a cardiologist;
  • problems of the central nervous system, the solution of which is entrusted to a pediatric neurologist, and sometimes to a psychiatrist.

Accordingly, the problem that causes a lingering cough needs to be treated. How exactly to do this is the concern of the doctor, not the parents. However, it is also important to try to get rid of the child’s cough itself. After all, it happens that it persists after the disease itself that caused it is defeated. First, you should refer to Komarovsky’s general recommendations on how to treat a cough.

Komarovsky’s recommendations on how to treat a persistent cough in a child

The cough itself, even when it becomes protracted, will not harm the child. But it brings a lot of inconvenience. To get rid of a lingering cough, Komarovsky advises following one simple instruction that does not involve the use of dangerous drugs. This instruction looks like this:

  1. First of all, the reasons why the cough persists for a long time are determined. To do this, you need to visit a doctor to make sure there is no danger to the child’s health.
  2. It is easier to treat a cough if the air in the children's room and in the apartment in general is humidified. Therefore, it is impossible to do without constant ventilation of the premises.
  3. In the absence of contraindications, a lingering cough can be treated with inhalations or massage. But it usually helps when the cough is wet.
  4. Komarovsky advises the use of pharmaceutical drugs only with the permission of the attending physician. For a wet cough, mucolytic drugs are used, for a dry cough, they thin the sputum or reduce the sensitivity of the mucous membrane.
  5. Komarovsky recommends treating persistent coughs with folk remedies only if they are approved by a pediatrician. Many of them can cause an allergic reaction in a child, which will only worsen the situation.

From this it turns out that a persistent cough should not be treated without the participation of a professional.

Morning cough, which continues day after day for a long time, deserves special attention.

When choosing exactly how to relieve a child of such a problem, you cannot “prescribe” him medications yourself. Komarovsky emphasizes that only a doctor can accurately determine which drugs will contribute to recovery. In addition, it is necessary to treat not only a lingering cough, but also the problems that caused it.

How to treat a persistent cough: Komarovsky about medications

If we talk about the medications that Komarovsky recommends taking to eliminate a lingering cough, then it is important to talk about a number of recommendations. The child should be treated depending on the nature of the cough. Here, according to Komarovsky, it is necessary to build on the following.

  1. First of all, you need to stop using medications containing codeine. There are at least two reasons for this. Firstly, drugs of this nature are quite dangerous for a child, since they have too strong action. A persistent cough is not so bad as to require serious treatment. Secondly, it is impossible to independently exclude the presence of contraindications in this case. Codeine-containing products themselves have many contraindications.
  2. Komarovsky recommends giving mucolytic agents intended to remove sputum only for those children who are over two years old. Children in younger age Such medications turn out to be dangerous, so it is impossible to treat a lingering cough in this way. Alternatively, you can consider using anti-whooping cough medications that can block attacks.

Although Komarovsky tells in sufficient detail how to treat a persistent cough in a child, relying only on his recommendations is too imprudent. To maintain your child's health, you should consult a doctor. Otherwise, while trying to overcome a persistent cough, you may miss other problems.

Dry cough in a child: how to treat it, Komarovsky

Cough in children appears when the child’s body is exposed to any infectious agents. Cough is not considered an independent disease; it is only a sign that there is some more serious problem in the child’s body. serious illness. That is why it is not the cough itself that should be treated, but the disease that provokes it. Naturally, rather than engage in incomprehensible self-medication, it is better to contact your treating pediatrician.

Where does cough come from?

With the help of a cough, the lungs are cleared of mucus that has accumulated there over time. Mucus is necessary for the body to fight various bacteria and viruses found in the lungs. The body is able to cleanse itself of the mucus in the lungs that has already fulfilled its functions, resorting to coughing. But if a child shows signs of a dry cough, this will not only not bring any benefit, but will also cause serious harm to the child. A severe cough with its constant attacks causes terrible inconvenience, prevents you from sleeping or eating normally, and is terribly exhausting.

Main reasons

The most common cause is colds caused by viruses. First, the child notices an increase in body temperature, then a pain and sore throat appears, a runny nose, and then a dry cough follows. With the flu, a cough also appears, as well as a strong rise in temperature, body aches and severe malaise. There can be various causes of cough bacterial infections, a type of whooping cough that spreads from person to person through the air. There is a possibility that the child has an allergy. In this case, no cold symptoms are observed - the temperature is normal, there is no runny nose or nasal congestion, and the throat does not hurt.

One way or another, you need to know what exactly causes a child’s cough. Do not forget about ventilating the room where a sick child lies; fresh air is extremely necessary for him, as well as a warm drink. But cough syrups and tablets are strictly prohibited without a doctor’s prescription.

E.O. Komarovsky insists that pharmaceutical help should be used in the rarest cases. Initially, the necessary conditions should be created to actively combat the disease. It is advisable to dress the child warmly and regularly moisten and ventilate the room. Sick children usually suffer complete absence appetite. Komarovsky believes that one should not force, insist, or force a child to eat. But he must drink a lot. Warm fruit drinks, compotes, and teas are suitable. The nose must be rinsed with saline solution. The doctor considers cups, mustard plasters and other home appliances to be distracting procedures that are quite useless for the child’s body. He must learn to cope with the disease himself. The doctor takes 5-7 days for this. According to Komarovsky, you should consult a doctor in the following cases:

  • when the child’s well-being first improves, and then there is a sharp deterioration;
  • when the child begins to experience severe pain;
  • when coughing attacks are very strong, while the body temperature is high;
  • when swelling, cramps, and skin rashes appear.

Preventive measures, of course, should be observed, but no child is immune from coughing. Dr. Komarovsky once again draws the attention of parents - before running to the pharmacy, give the child the opportunity to cope with the illness himself. However, there is absolutely safe means, such as mucaltin, lazolvan, bromhexine, etc. They must be present in the home medicine cabinet, but only the pediatrician prescribes the dosage.

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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 cough in a child, 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 cough in a child 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.

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 on your own, you need to be examined by a doctor, who, based on the results, will prescribe a suitable antihistamine. In winter, regularly give your baby 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 sleep, so that he does not wake up from coughing, you need to give him Mukaltin or Codelac. If the doctor has diagnosed 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 traditional medicine will be effective. 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.

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Doctor Komarovsky about a child’s cough without fever

When a child coughs, it causes increased anxiety from parents, as well as teachers in kindergarten, if the child attends this institution. At the same time, the baby feels well, the body temperature remains normal, there are no symptoms of redness of the throat or runny nose. What happens to the child, as evidenced by a cough in the child’s body.

Komarovsky about dry cough

A children's pediatrician, well known to all parents, Mr. Komarovsky notes that most parents make a grave mistake by showing excessive care to their child. For example, as soon as the air temperature drops, parents immediately begin to wrap up the child, putting on several shirts and socks. Unfortunately, practice shows that there is no need to do this, because a child cannot be cold with a slight decrease in ambient temperature due to his activity. After all, children do not stand in one place. They are always running, playing, frolicking, etc.

And as soon as a child coughs, mustard plasters, mixtures, and pills are immediately used. But the cough doesn’t go away. Dr. Komarovsky is sure that in this situation the cough does not disappear for only one reason. Its independent manifestation most likely only signals that pathological changes are occurring in the body. Which ones exactly? This needs to be understood correctly.

Main causes of cough

A child's cough may occur due to allergic reaction or from infection. But if the body temperature remains normal and there is no runny nose, then there is no reason to talk about an infectious disease. Allergy remains. If parents have not previously noticed an allergic reaction in their child, they therefore rule it out. At the same time, few people monitor the level of humidity in their living space. Air conditioners, radiators, etc. increase air dryness. And if you examine the room more closely, you can even see dust, which often provokes coughing.

But what should parents do if they have removed all the irritants, but the cough does not go away? for a long time. Only a pediatrician will help them cope with this matter.

How to relieve coughing attacks

The first thing Dr. Komarovsky recommends is to check for a runny nose, examine the mucus, the thickness of which indicates the consistency of the blood. So, sputum is liquid, which means the consistency of blood is also liquid. With thicker, more viscous blood, viscous sputum will be produced. Accordingly, parents should provide the child with plenty of fluids, which helps thin the blood.

Second rule: monitor the humidity level in the room. If a child has a dry cough, then it is extremely necessary for him to be in a room where the air is humid. For this purpose, you can use special humidifiers.

And if the child feels fine, it is advisable for him to spend more time in the fresh air.
The doctor reminds that there are two types of cough medicines: drugs that doctors recommend for whooping cough, and mucolytics, which increase sputum. The latter can sometimes increase the intensity of the cough.

If an infant has a cough, then giving mucolytics to the baby is dangerous. In general, it is highly undesirable for children under 2 years of age to take mucolytics. Without any risk to his health, it is possible and necessary to provide treatment, which involves drinking plenty of fluids, rinsing the nose and humidifying the room.

Summing up the conversation about cough without fever, Komarovsky once again focuses the attention of parents on how to treat the child:

Humid and cool indoor air
drinking plenty of water,
finding out the cause that provoked the symptom,
visit to the doctor.

We advise you to watch the video at the end of this article, where Dr. Komarovsky explains the treatment of dry or wet cough, what to do if there is no fever or runny nose, and how to independently determine the cause that caused this reflex.
And there are many reasons that cause coughing: from the most harmless to the dangerous.

Cough in infants

Cough can often be observed in infants. Moreover, it appears after waking up, after which the urge disappears and breathing returns to normal. Komarovsky assures that this is a normal phenomenon and the child does not need treatment. Coughing after waking up is a signal from the lungs, which thus get rid of the phlegm that has accumulated while the child sleeps.

You only need to be wary if the child has a hysterical and barking dry cough, which is accompanied by a fever.

Treatment is also necessary if a child’s dry cough lasts for some time and relief does not occur.

A dry, barking cough may indicate that your child has whooping cough. Listen to exactly how the child coughs. If a characteristic strong rumble appears in the chest, then most likely the child has whooping cough. But to make sure of your diagnosis, be sure to show it to your doctor.

And the last point that Komarovsky calls if a child has a cough without fever and there is no runny nose is reflux disease of the esophagus. Stomach acid enters the respiratory system, causing a dry cough.

The cause of a cough can be ordinary household dust, which tends to accumulate in soft toys and pillows. In this situation, it is necessary to remove all irritants and regularly carry out wet cleaning. Treatment consists of limiting the baby from contact with chemical dyes and maintaining a gentle diet.

How to treat a cough without fever

Cough in children should be treated only after the diagnosis has been correctly determined. To get rid of a cough, you first need to get rid of the cause that caused it in the child.

The general rule when treating any type of cough is to drink plenty of fluids at room temperature. The most effective are decoctions based on honey, raspberries, blueberries and lingonberries.

However, the doctor once again emphasizes that there is no need to treat children for cough using the Internet. On the Internet you can only find out the main symptoms of the disease you suspect. And only a healthcare specialist can prescribe treatment, especially for children.

It's no secret that viruses spread in children's groups at lightning speed. One baby will bring the virus - and after a few days a quarter of the group goes on sick leave kindergarten. This is where we need it so much an effective means of preventing and protecting our children from infection in the air. In order to avoid complications, parents, taught by bitter experience, use it to strengthen their child’s immunity.

To become more familiar with Dr. Komarovsky’s recommendations, we advise you to listen to the video lesson, from which each of you can take a lot of useful information for yourself. Firstly, you will find out whether the child’s systematic coughing can cause a complication, while no cold symptoms are observed: there is no high fever, runny nose or headache. In this case, the cough does not stop for more than a week. Is treatment necessary in this situation?

A video consultation with Dr. Komarovsky will allow you to learn a lot of new and useful information about maintaining the health of children.

How many days is the temperature during ARVI in children Komarovsky

Treatment of cough in a child without fever

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A child’s cough worries not only the baby, but also his parents, who strive to help their son or daughter in every possible way. Some are starting to use folk recipes on the advice of relatives, others go to the pharmacy to buy syrup, while others take inhalations. Let's figure out whose actions are correct in the opinion of a specialist, and how the popular pediatrician Komarovsky advises treating a cough.

Before giving your child any medications, be sure to consult your pediatrician. Symptomatic treatment

First of all, when a child of any age coughs, Komarovsky focuses the attention of parents on the fact that this is just a symptom of some disease affecting the respiratory tract. In addition, this symptom is protective, so in most cases it is not worth suppressing.

A popular doctor calls ARVI the main cause of cough in childhood. And therefore, in the overwhelming majority of cases of cough in a child, eliminating its cause, according to Komarovsky, is impossible. But there is no need to leave the child without help, so a well-known pediatrician advises symptomatic treatment.

At the same time He calls the main principle of such cough treatment not eliminating the symptom itself, but increasing the effectiveness of the cough. This can be achieved by influencing the quantity and quality of sputum using:

  1. Humid and cool air.
  2. Drink plenty of fluids.

For more information about this, see Dr. Komarovsky’s program.

Humidify and purify the air

Komarovsky calls providing the child with moist and cool air one of the most important tasks of parents. This will reduce the load on the baby’s respiratory tract and also prevent drying out of the mucous membranes.

If you optimize the conditions in which the child is located, his body will not waste effort on processing the air (heating, cleaning and humidifying it), but will focus on developing antiviral immunity.

In addition to temperature and humidity, the popular doctor draws attention to the need for clean air in the room where the coughing child is. Komarovsky notes that Children's need for clean air when coughing increases several times. This is primarily due to nasal congestion during acute respiratory infections and reduced activity of the epithelium in the respiratory tract. When dust enters the respiratory tract, it leads to poor ventilation and additional mucus production.

Komarovsky advises:

  • Reduce the number of possible dust accumulations in the room, for example, hide books behind glass, put toys in boxes, take out carpets.
  • Avoid child contact with foreign odors and substances, for example, do not use deodorants and perfumes indoors, do not wash the floor with chlorine, and do not spray insect repellent spray.
  • Avoid exposing your child to tobacco smoke.
  • Carry out frequent wet cleaning. A well-known pediatrician does not recommend vacuuming a room with a sick child, and if a vacuum cleaner is used for cleaning, the child should be sent to another room while the room is being cleaned.
  • Maintain the room temperature at +18 degrees.
  • Maintain indoor humidity at 60-70%. Optimal choice will use a humidifier, but if there is no such device in the family, Komarovsky recommends using containers with water and wet sheets.

It is especially important to maintain optimal temperature and humidity levels at night. This will prevent night coughs caused by dry mucous membranes and staying in a lying position, as well as coughs after sleep.

Air humidifiers will help maintain an optimal level of humidity in the children's room Let the child drink more

According to Komarovsky, drinking plenty of fluids is irreplaceable for a child with a cough. It will maintain and restore the properties of sputum by influencing blood rheology, that is, first drinking will make the blood more liquid, which will increase blood circulation in the mucous membranes of the respiratory system and improve their ability to form normal mucus. In addition, the child's body spends a lot of fluid with increased temperature and rapid breathing, which also necessitates frequent drinking.

To ensure that the liquid you drink is absorbed faster, Komarovsky advises giving any drink heated to approximately body temperature. In this case, the liquid will be immediately absorbed in the stomach and enter the blood.

As for the drinks themselves, you can give your child:

  • Rehydration solutions.
  • Not a strong tea, maybe with sugar and safe fruit.
  • Dried fruit compote.
  • Raisin infusion (infuse a tablespoon of raisins with 200 ml of water for 30-40 minutes).
  • Compote of berries and fruits that the child tried before illness.
  • Fruit drink or juice.
  • Still mineral water with a neutral taste.
  • Watermelon.

Komarovsky calls rehydration solutions the best choice of drink, however, with a body temperature of up to +38°C, sufficient air humidification and no breathing problems, you can be guided by the child’s wishes.

A popular doctor advises that infants with a cough should be given something to drink in addition to breastfeeding, since human milk does not cover pathological fluid losses. IN early age The baby can be given a rehydration solution, children's tea, still mineral water and raisin decoction.


You need to give your baby more water if:

  • The air in the room is dry and warm.
  • The child's body temperature is high.
  • Urination is rare, and the urine itself is darker than usual.
  • There is severe shortness of breath and a dry cough.
  • The skin and mucous membranes are dry.

With a slight deterioration in the condition, low temperature, as well as access to cool and moist air, Komarovsky calls the child’s thirst the main criterion for the frequency of drinking. At the same time, you need to offer a drink very often and whenever possible. Supporting the drinking regime is also important in cases where the child has a prolonged and residual cough.

Drug treatment

Komarovsky calls the prescribing of any medications for children with cough the prerogative of the doctor. This is especially true for coughs in infants.

Antitussives

Since coughing is a necessary protective reflex, in most cases such medications are not needed. Komarovsky calls their use justified for whooping cough, when the child is tormented by coughing until he vomits. Also, medications that suppress the cough reflex are needed for pleurisy, oncological process in the respiratory tract and with irritating cough caused by factors affecting nerve endings.

Komarovsky is categorically against parents independently prescribing antitussive medications to their children. He reminds that Some drugs in this group are narcotic and can cause addiction. In addition, many antitussives can also depress the respiratory center, which is especially dangerous in children under 2 years of age. So these drugs can be used in children over 2 years of age only when indicated and after being prescribed by a pediatrician.

Expectorants

The main purpose of using such medications is called by a popular pediatrician to cleanse the respiratory tract of phlegm. It is very dangerous, according to Komarovsky, to combine such medications with antitussives, because in such cases the sputum accumulated in the lungs will not be coughed up.

A well-known doctor divides all expectorants according to their mode of action into resorptive (they are absorbed in the stomach and released in the bronchi, affecting mucus) and reflex (they activate nerve endings in the stomach and affect the muscles of the bronchi and mucus production).

Most modern drugs are drugs with a reflex action. Komarovsky emphasizes that they are safe for children, but their effectiveness has not been proven, and the nature of the cough is more influenced by the conditions in which the child is located than by any expectorant medications.

Mucolytics

Such drugs affect the sputum itself, changing its rheology. Komarovsky names ambroxol, bromhexine, carbocysteine, acetylcysteine ​​and guaifenesin among the drugs in this group. A well-known doctor notes that it is advisable to use such drugs in the presence of viscous, thick sputum. If a child has a mild version of ARVI and has a wet cough, according to Komarovsky, mucolytics are not needed and may even worsen the cough. In addition, the effect of such drugs will be ineffective if the rheology of the blood is not additionally influenced by drinking plenty of fluids.

Home » Cough in children » Long cough a child without fever Komarovsky

Cough without fever

Some cold symptoms occur without fever and therefore sometimes do not cause much concern. In fact, they are very dangerous. For example, a prolonged cough without fever or runny nose indicates the presence of a hidden infection in the body. This symptom is extremely serious. Let's take a closer look at the reasons for this phenomenon and ways to get rid of it.

Causes of cough without fever

If a person coughs for a long time, but does not have a fever, runny nose or sneezing, this may be a sign of the following problems in the body:

  1. Hidden inflammation or allergic reaction. In this case, a cough in the throat is accompanied by a runny nose and sneezing, but the temperature does not rise above 37.
  2. Heart failure.
  3. Venereal disease. With this pathology, constant coughing is accompanied by skin irritation, rash, and the temperature does not rise.
  4. Pneumonia or ARVI.

Sometimes people cough not because of a cold, but because of environmental pollution. Often this symptom, along with a runny nose, is observed in people working in a mine, metal processing or chemical plant. Very often smokers cough for a long time without a runny nose or fever. For allergy sufferers, this condition can be caused by feather pillows that harbor mites. To understand how to treat a prolonged cough without a runny nose or high fever, determine whether it is dry or wet.

Sukhoi

The main reasons that can cause a dry cough (sometimes with wheezing) without fever and runny nose are:

  1. Allergy to external irritants. The body is trying to release respiratory system from irritating particles, such as dust, animal hair, household chemicals.
  2. Ecology. If you live in an environmentally unfavorable place for a long time, then a barking cough with a runny nose without fever may be caused by environmental pollution. Long-term smoking aggravates the situation. All this sometimes leads to chronic diseases respiratory system.
  3. Heart problems. In this situation, the condition worsens when lying down. Sometimes this makes it difficult to breathe.
  4. Laryngeal papillomatosis. The larynx becomes covered with papillomas. The patient also feels discomfort in the throat, but there is no increase in temperature or runny nose, as with a cold.

Wet

The causes of such a cough (in the absence of fever and runny nose) may be the following problems:

  1. Bronchitis, tracheitis, other similar diseases. As a rule, this symptom is a residual phenomenon of past inflammation; its maximum duration is a month.
  2. False croup. With this diagnosis, a person has a very strong cough without a runny nose and fever with painful attacks. There is practically no coughing up of phlegm.
  3. Tuberculosis. A dangerous disease that often does not manifest itself with any other symptoms. Runny nose and cough with sputum containing blood.
  4. Cold. With ARVI, a person also suffers from a runny nose, even if the temperature remains normal.

Paroxysmal

Such a cough in the absence of a runny nose and fever is very dangerous. A man is choking and has a very sore throat. This should never be tolerated or treated at home. It is necessary to urgently consult a doctor who will determine what these attacks are a symptom of. If you sometimes cough almost to the point of vomiting, the reasons for this may be:

  • bronchial asthma;
  • whooping cough;
  • ARVI;
  • tumor in the lungs or bronchi;
  • pneumonia.

Night

A dry cough at night may be a sign of an allergy to natural pillow fillings. But it is also a symptom of others dangerous diseases. You should try to understand what other signs are observed, such as a runny nose or sneezing. If you have snot at night when you cough without fever, it is either a cold or an allergy. Often people cough at night due to abnormal skeletal structure or internal organs, or inflammation of nerve endings.

Protracted

If there is no chills with a prolonged cough, this does not mean that there is no danger. Constant coughing may indicate that the body is somehow not responding to the virus. high temperature. If this lasts for a very long time, you must undergo a medical examination. The reasons for this condition may be:

  • heart disease;
  • tuberculosis;
  • allergy;
  • pneumonia;
  • ARVI;
  • complex form of bronchitis.

How to cure a cough

To cure a prolonged cough without fever, it is recommended to use medications and traditional recipes. If you prefer the first option, first visit your doctor to determine the cause of the problem and write a prescription for the appropriate medications. If it is a cold without fever, then tablets that thin the sputum will help. These include Mucaltin, Ambrobene, Bbromhexine. In more severe cases, antibiotics will be needed.

Wet cough can be treated at home and traditional medicine. A mixture of pureed cranberries and honey (in equal parts) will be very effective. It is also recommended to drink honey with linden blossom and birch buds in a ratio of 1:1:0.5 cups. The mixture is boiled in a water bath for a quarter of an hour, filtered and drunk three times a day with a small spoon. If you don’t know how to stop coughing and how to treat this condition, rub your chest with badger fat, which has an anti-inflammatory effect. Be sure to drink plenty of warm liquid. Different approaches are used to treat cough in children and adults.

In adults

To cure a severe, prolonged cough in an adult, it is necessary to determine the cause of the symptom and eliminate it. A dry cough at night can be treated with antitussive medications so that the person can rest properly. If it is associated with an upper respiratory tract infection, then you will need to take cold tablets. The most important thing is to understand what to take to turn a constant dry cough into a wet one. For this purpose, medications are prescribed to stimulate expectoration:

  1. Reflex. Medicines taken to treat a persistent cold. They affect the areas of the brain responsible for the cough reflex. The most common example is the leaves of coltsfoot, plantain. Medicines: Codeine.
  2. Resorptive. Mucus thinners. Thanks to them, the lungs are intensively cleansed. Often such medications are used for inhalation. Examples: ACC, Amtersol, Ascoril.
  3. Proteolytic. Makes sputum less viscous. These include Gelomirtol and thyme herb.
  4. Mucoregulators. Tablets for increased phlegm production, used to treat colds in most cases. For example, Ambroxol, Bromhexine.

In children

A cough in an infant without fever is normal if the child is not capricious and sleeps well, behaves very actively, and does not complain of a stuffy nose or weakness. But if a barking, dry or wet cough does not go away, then you should consult a doctor. Pain when coughing and frequent long attacks, which sometimes lead to vomiting and do not allow a 3-year-old child to sleep, indicate the presence of serious diseases in the body.

To treat a prolonged cough without fever in a child, the following is prescribed:

  • means that calm spasms (Joset, Askoril, Kashnol);
  • medications to thin sputum (Thyme syrup, ACC, Bromhexine);
  • expectorants (Stoptussin, Bronchicum, Plantain syrup).

If your child has a dry allergic cough without a runny nose, then treatment should be comprehensive. In this situation, you need to take antitussive medications and visit an allergist who will identify the allergen and eliminate it. This could be household dust or pet hair. The specialist will prescribe antihistamines (anti-allergic) and tell you what to drink for general strengthening therapy and boost immunity.

Video: Komarovsky on the treatment of cough in a child

Watch the video in which the famous pediatrician Evgeny Komarovsky explains in detail how to treat a bad cough without a runny nose in an infant. The doctor's advice will help you understand why the cough occurs and what needs to be done to make the illness go away quickly. After watching the video below, you will no longer consider a cough to be something frightening and incomprehensible, and when it appears, you will be able to take the right measures without delay.

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Residual cough in a child - how to treat it. Quick relief from residual cough in a child

Treatment colds left behind, but can't get rid of your cough? The mucous membrane of the respiratory tract in a child recovers slowly after an acute respiratory viral infection and, along with a weakened immune system, an unpleasant residual cough appears. How dangerous is this to health and how to cure a child’s cough?

Why does residual cough occur in children?

Curing a viral infection, bronchitis, pneumonia is only the first step on the path to recovery. Weakened by illness children's body, especially after taking antibiotics, it takes time to recover. And all this time, the sensitive bronchi use the most common protective mechanism - coughing, which prevents the airways from becoming clogged with phlegm, mucus or pus. Therefore, parents need to know the causes, symptoms and how to properly treat residual cough in a child.

Reasons

A persistent cough in a child after suffering from a respiratory tract disease is more likely to be a normal option than a rare occurrence. It takes the baby’s body some time to recover and develop immunity. The viruses remaining after the illness are no longer so strong, but still continue to irritate the bronchi and trachea, causing a residual cough, which with proper therapy should go away in two to three weeks. Among other reasons when a child has a severe cough without fever:

  • relapse of an inflammatory or infectious disease;
  • reaction of the respiratory tract to contact with cold air, excessive physical activity;
  • allergies to dust, pet hair, cigarette smoke;
  • foreign body;
  • stress, nervousness;
  • A rare stomach disease is gastroesophageal reflux.

Symptoms

A situation where there is a feeling that the cold is not going to go away and the child does not stop coughing for a long time should alert parents. At this moment, using some signs, you need to be able to determine where the new disease began, and where the baby has stopped getting sick and is only susceptible to residual effects. The most common symptoms of a persistent cough:

  • periodic manifestation of a residual phenomenon, when the cough itself is shallow, there is no sputum, more often appears in the morning;
  • there is no fever, snot, intoxication or other signs of a cold;
  • within three weeks after completing the course of therapy, the cough becomes less intense and rare;
  • The baby’s immune system, recovering, weakens the cough and copes with it, even without treatment.

When is a child’s cough dangerous after an illness?

A situation that should cause concern is when a child has a loud cough that does not go away for a month, a fever develops, or the child complains of pain. You must be able to distinguish any of these symptoms from residual effects and, if you suspect it, contact your pediatrician so that your baby can undergo additional examination. What is the danger of a prolonged or incessant cough in children? There may be development behind this chronic bronchitis, whooping cough, pneumonia or chest injury that makes inhalation and exhalation painful, tuberculosis will begin. In these cases, serious medical attention is required.

How to treat residual cough

If you are sure that these are residual effects after suffering from acute respiratory viral infection or any other viral infection, then drug treatment may not be needed. After a few weeks, the functioning of the respiratory system will normalize, the mucous membranes will clear and the residual cough will go away if you frequently ventilate the room, do wet cleaning, and use an ultrasonic humidifier. Then how to treat residual cough in a child? I can quickly get rid of an obsessive cough using folk remedies, inhalations, and in special cases, taking medications.

Drug treatment

In order for the baby's airways to quickly clear the phlegm or mucus that accumulates during a cold, a therapy program to eliminate residual effects may include taking medications. Based on the nature of the cough and the general assessment of the child’s body condition, the pediatrician will prescribe thinning (dry cough) or expectorant (wet cough) agents or drugs with spasmodic or enveloping properties. The following help reduce irritation of the mucous membrane and cope with residual effects:

  • Tusuprex is an effective drug against dry cough, which is often used for laryngitis and bronchitis. Available in the form of tablets, drops, syrup; helps inhibit the cough reflex, cure infectious, allergic, irritating or psychogenic cough and is not addictive. For children under 7 years of age, the daily dose cannot exceed 40 mg, and it is recommended to take the medicine at least 3 times a day.
  • "Libexin" is an antispasmodic with a local anesthetic effect. The drug helps reduce the sensitivity of the mucous membrane without affecting the activity of the respiratory center. Knowing how to properly treat residual cough in a child, it is recommended not to chew Libexin tablets, but to swallow them. The medicine is highly effective in treating a prolonged or irritating cough when it begins to debilitate the baby, and the maximum dose for children is 200 mg per day.
  • "Lazolvan" is an antitussive that has an excellent expectorant effect and helps remove sticky sputum. For children, it is better to choose syrup, and other forms of the drug are tablets, inhalation solution, lozenges. Medicine contains ambroxol hydrochloride, which helps to successfully treat diseases of the lower and upper respiratory tract. If you give lazolvan to a baby for a dry cough, you need to monitor the dosage, which depends on the amount of active substance per 5 ml of syrup. Children are prescribed half or one teaspoon, up to three doses per day.

Folk remedies

If a child coughs a lot, then the conspiracy is unlikely to help influence the process. Among folk remedies there are others healthy recipes, which help relieve a child’s dry, frequent cough using decoctions prepared in a special way products, compresses. How to cure residual cough in a child using traditional methods:

  • A warm drink made with milk, and this product is combined with honey, soda, butter, figs, goat fat, mineral water. For one glass of heated liquid, take a tablespoon of another ingredient, and dilute the milk with mineral water in a 1:1 ratio. This treatment of cough in children using folk remedies is considered the most popular, and if you give a warm drink to your baby at night, it helps improve sleep, remove a barking cough, and cure a throat.
  • Yolks (chicken, quail) ground with sugar are the well-known eggnog. If a child coughs to the point of vomiting and a whistle is heard, then this folk remedy will not help, but such a sweet treatment can soften a hard cough. To make the taste even more pleasant, honey, cocoa, and citrus juice are added to the mashed yolks, but provided that the baby is not allergic to these products. To prepare a serving you need to take one yolk and a tablespoon granulated sugar, grind thoroughly to a fluffy white mass, and then add any of the additional ingredients up to a teaspoon.
  • Herbal infusions are prepared in the evening; a thermos is used for this, and the proportions are simple: take 1 tbsp per glass of boiling water. l. vegetable raw materials. To make cough treatment in children faster, take chamomile for infusion, linden blossom, St. John's wort, sage, green cones.
  • Instead of mustard plasters and ready-made pharmaceutical ointments, it is better to rub at night, if the child has a wet cough, with pork, goat, badger, and bear fat, and then wrap the baby well.
  • Compresses are another good folk remedy if a child’s dry cough persists for a long time, and boiled and mashed potatoes, bread crumbs, cabbage leaves with honey are suitable for the procedure.

Inhalations for dry cough without fever

Search effective method How to cure dry cough in children, if the process is a residual phenomenon, leads to treatment with inhalation. Soften - here main goal this type of therapy, and steam is ideal for this. The baby will have to breathe over hot vapors, and the liquid will still gurgle, so parents must be very careful and monitor the baby. Inhalation is well suited for those who suffer from chronic cough, and the procedure takes no more than a quarter of an hour.

In the absence of allergic reactions, essential oils are suitable, for example, pine, juniper, eucalyptus. Dr. Komarovsky advises doing inhalations with medicinal herbs (chain, wild rosemary, coltsfoot), and during the procedure using either inhalers or a nebulizer. An effective and simple folk method is to breathe over a saucepan of potatoes, covering your head with a towel on top.

Video: how to relieve residual cough in a child

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A child has a runny nose and cough without fever: what does this mean?

Colds occur very often in children, and this is especially true for infants. A runny nose without fever occurs due to the fact that the respiratory tract is cleared of various types of contaminants. This phenomenon is considered normal and does not require cause for concern. But sometimes a runny nose and cough without fever can be a reason to see a doctor. There are many reasons for the occurrence of such symptoms, so the doctor’s task is to find the one and eliminate it.

You can find out what to do when a dry cough does not clear your throat by reading this article.

Reasons

As a rule, a runny nose and cough without fever are symptoms of a cold, which are caused by various viruses.

The baby’s immune system begins to recognize pathogenic microorganisms and begins to fight them. But sometimes it can be very difficult to recognize a virus, so it easily penetrates the body’s cells. For this reason, with a bacterial infection, the temperature rises almost immediately, but with a viral infection, the indicators remain normal.

Why a dry cough occurs without signs of a cold is indicated in the article.

If viral rhinitis is left untreated, the cause of such neglect of health can be severe inflammation of the sinuses. In other words, the child will develop sinusitis. It is also important to understand that along with mucus, microbes can enter the throat and trachea. If you do not provide your baby with timely treatment, he may develop the following complications:

  • Pharyngitis, laryngitis;
  • nasopharyngitis;
  • Angina;
  • Bronchitis, tracheitis and pneumonia.

How to treat tracheid cough can be found in the article.

In the video, the child has a runny nose and cough without fever, the reason is possibly a red throat:

You can learn how to treat bronchitis by reading this article.

A viral infection greatly weakens the body’s protective functions, as a result of which a bacterial infection can also join in. ARVI very often activates other pathogenic microorganisms which lead to inflammation of the ENT organs. Based on this, parents must understand that they cannot do without the help of a doctor, even if the cough and runny nose are not accompanied by an increase in temperature.

The next reason for the development of such symptoms is an allergic reaction. Rhinitis allergic form occurs in patients who spend a long time in a dusty room. Very often this occurs due to infrequent wet cleaning. A runny nose can be a reaction to flowering plants, flying insects, children's cosmetics and chemicals. Often, even healthy children are affected by a cough and runny nose due to the very dry air in the room.

If a dry cough and runny nose without fever bother the baby for a long time, then these are very alarming symptoms. Against the background of an allergic reaction, young patients may develop bronchial asthma. In this case, it is very important to provide timely help to the baby, only in this way will you double the chances that your child will grow up healthy.

How to treat dry paroxysmal cough in an adult is indicated in the article.

Therapeutic measures

To overcome a viral infection in a child’s body, it is necessary to have antiviral medications. Without them, treatment will not work positive effect. But before this, a mandatory consultation with a specialist is necessary; only he will be able to determine which of the available drugs will be the most effective and what is its dosage. To the group antiviral drugs includes the following:

These are not all drugs; these are allowed to be used by children from the first day of life. To increase the fight against the disease, it is worth using interferonogenesis inducers in treatment:

You can learn how to treat a wet cough and runny nose without fever by reading this article.

To increase vitality and the body's defenses, it is worth taking echinacea tincture. At the time of therapy for young patients, it is very difficult to do without medications, the action of which is aimed at combating symptoms. When a child has a stuffy nose and finds it difficult to breathe, vasoconstrictor nasal drops can be used:

But you shouldn’t get carried away with them either. It is allowed to use drops for no more than 5 days, otherwise you may develop allergic rhinitis.

What to do when a baby has a runny nose without fever can be found in this article.

When a child is tormented by a wet cough, it is necessary to prescribe medications whose action is aimed at thinning the mucus and its rapid clearance. For these purposes, it is necessary to use tincture of licorice root, marshmallow, Mucaltin, ACC.

To eliminate dry cough, you can use Tusuprex, Pertussin, Libexin. Prolonged cough is perfectly eliminated by herbal chest mixture. But you shouldn’t suppress your cough once again, since you can interfere with the discharge of sputum, and inflammation will occur in the lungs.

To relieve swelling and allergies caused by inflammatory process, it is necessary to use antihistamines. The following types of drugs are in great demand here:

When treating a cold at home, you can use inhalations. Thanks to them, it is possible to direct medications directly into the respiratory tract. For such treatment, it is allowed to use both special inhalers and improvised means. All components of the medications penetrate along with steam into the upper respiratory tract and cleanse the mucous membrane of microbes, relieve pain in the throat, cough and hoarseness in the voice.

Whether there can be a cough during teething will become clear after reading this article.

You can use time-tested steam inhalations. This is inhaling steam from boiled potatoes. It is necessary to thoroughly wash the vegetable and boil it, drain the water and bend over the hot potatoes, covering the top with a towel. Dispense a couple within 20 minutes. If you perform similar manipulations with a 3-5 year old child, then they must be performed together, otherwise the baby may get burns.

When a cold is expressed by a runny nose, then it is worth using nasal drops homemade. For these purposes, you can use Kalanchoe, aloe, garlic and onions.

If you decide to use aloe juice, it is best that its age does not exceed 3-4 years. Dilute the resulting juice with water in a ratio of 1:10 and drip the medicine into each nasal passage, 3-5 drops. You should not combine aloe juice with drugs such as Naphthyzin or Sanorin. Otherwise, this will lead to the development of sinusitis.

How to treat a wheezing cough is indicated in the article.

Features of treatment of infants

If a baby has been diagnosed with a cold, which is characterized by coughing, runny nose and sneezing without fever, then you should immediately go to the clinic. After a thorough diagnosis, the doctor will be able to determine the cause of the pathology and prescribe appropriate treatment.

The video talks about the causes of a runny nose without fever in a baby:

First of all, all actions should be aimed at increasing the body's immune forces. To do this, the baby needs to be given Interferon and Grippferon. Place a drop in the child's nose into each nasal passage 2 times throughout the day. If the baby is already 6 months old, then you can give him children's Anaferon for the treatment of influenza and the prevention of colds. A tablet of this drug should be dissolved in warm water and then given to the baby to drink. The number of doses per day should not exceed 3 times.

How to cure asthmatic cough is indicated in the description of this article.

The sooner parents start treating a cold, the faster it will begin to have positive influence. The presented drugs will prevent damage to the baby’s body during a flu epidemic, when another adult has already fallen ill with it.

Treatment of rhinitis during a cold involves the use of Aquamaris or Solin.

This saline solutions, with which you need to drip the little patient’s nose. If you have severe nasal congestion, you can purchase aloe extract at the pharmacy. For colds, inhalation using garlic has a positive effect. It is necessary to grind this product on a grater and let the baby breathe. It is not permissible to use vasoconstrictor medications for an infant.

To treat a cough, you can give your baby a dessert spoon of chamomile infusion 3 times a day. It can only be taken by a child who is over 6 months old. To irrigate the throat, you should use Tantum Verde spray, do the procedure 2 times a day.

Mother's milk has a disinfecting effect, so a baby with a cold needs to breastfeed as often as possible. In addition, it is worth providing your child with plenty of fluids.

If your baby coughs, you can make a vodka compress. To do this, mix vodka and water in equal proportions, moisten cotton wool in it and place it on the throat, cover with gauze and cellophane on top. Such activities must be carried out with extreme caution, otherwise the baby’s delicate skin can be burned. It is also allowed to use mustard plasters, but here you need to be extremely careful, place them only through 3 layers of gauze and after the doctor has approved such treatment.

If a child has a cold accompanied by a severe cough, then he is allowed to use Mucaltin among medications. This medicine does not have side effects, as it is produced on the basis of natural ingredients.

What does Komarovsky think?

According to the famous pediatrician Komarovsky, during the treatment of cough and runny nose without fever, parents should direct all their efforts to keeping the mucous membranes of the nose moist. Here it is necessary to regularly fill the child’s room with fresh air, so that the room temperature does not exceed 21 degrees, and the air humidity is not lower than 75%.

The doctor gives parents the following advice:

  1. Regularly irrigate the nasal mucosa with saline. You can buy it at any pharmacy, or you can make it yourself. You just need to dissolve a dessert spoon of sea salt in a glass of warm water.
  2. Use the drug Ectericide, which has an anti-inflammatory and softening effect.
  3. Perform inhalations using a nebulizer or improvised means. Medicinal herbs and essential oils are excellent for these purposes.

In the video, Dr. Komarovsky talks about coughing without runny nose and fever:

To avoid colds for your child, Komarovsky recommends following the following rules of prevention:

  1. Strengthen the body, so often walk with your baby outside and play active games.
  2. The baby's diet should be filled with vitamins and microelements.

A runny nose and cough are two unpleasant symptoms that indicate that a virus has settled in the body. A viral disease can occur without fever, which indicates the child’s strong immunity. But even in this case, treatment is a necessary measure. It is important to maintain the baby’s immune strength, otherwise the body will not cope and various complications will arise.

Cough in normal and pathological conditions

Dr. Komarovsky talks about a child’s cough, first of all, as an assistant in the fight against illness, an important immune mechanism, and in addition to this, as a herald of infectious and non-infectious diseases. The sputum secreted by the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract contains enzymes that suppress pathogens.

Purely mechanical removal of inhaled pathogens along with mucus also plays a role. Therefore, the frequency of coughs in diseases of the lungs and upper respiratory tract increases, as the need to remove accumulated mucus increases.

Therefore not always the best option there will be a quick elimination of this reaction. Please note: cough is not a separate disease, but a symptom! Among the diseases manifested in this way are:

  • infectious diseases of a viral and bacterial nature, for example, ARVI, bronchitis, pneumonia, rhinitis, etc.;
  • allergies, bronchial asthma;
  • neoplasms in any organs of the respiratory system;
  • Komarovsky classifies whooping cough, which has attacks of barking cough in a child, as a known, but thanks to vaccinations, rare infections.

This list can be expanded for a long time, but the main thing you need to understand is that eliminating the cough reflex will not help you cure these diseases. Medicines that affect the cough center in the brain inhibit the manifestation of this reflex, but do not help the body cope with the causes of the disease.

As a result, the cough reflex is suppressed, and mucus continues to accumulate in the lungs, which is quite dangerous.

Healthy children normally cough up to 20 times a day. But if this happens more often, and the attacks are prolonged and painful, show the child to the pediatrician.

Most often, children cough with a viral cold, in which case there is a cough, fever and runny nose. Komarovsky also draws attention to the fact that rhinitis can cause attacks at night, or more precisely, in a lying position, when snot flows down the nasopharynx, interferes with breathing and causes a cough.

Treatment

Komarovsky believes that the main thing in treating cough in children is not to self-medicate, not to rush to give the child medicine, but to pay attention to the cleanliness and humidity of the air, and also to increase the amount of fluid they drink. Such measures have a thinning effect on sputum, preventing it from drying out.

Before deciding how to treat a child’s cough, Komarovsky suggests paying attention to the properties of medications often used for this task.

The effects of medications can be aimed at:

  • suppression of the cough reflex, which has a control center in the brain;
  • thinning of sputum;
  • activation of ciliated epithelial cells that push mucus upward;
  • stimulation of the smooth muscles of the bronchi;
  • decreased sensitivity of the respiratory tract mucosa
  • fight against inflammatory processes.

Types of Medicines Used

There are two main groups used in treatment, the first - removes cough (suppresses the reflex), the second - improves productivity, cleansing of mucus (mucolytics and others).

When are drugs that suppress the cough reflex used?

  • whooping cough, since the cough is caused by irritation of the nerve endings of the mucous membrane;
  • pleurisy not accompanied by sputum production;
  • tumors in the chest or upper respiratory tract;
  • irritating cough resulting from prolonged exposure to dry, hot air, dust, etc.

As you may have noticed, such remedies are prescribed when there is no sputum, the lungs are clean and the cough is of no benefit.

Self-medication with antitussives can lead to dangerous consequences!

In other cases, Komarovsky recommends not stopping wet and dry coughs, but promoting cleansing processes by reducing the viscosity of mucus and activating bronchial contractions. Among the drugs with such properties, Komarovsky recommends mucaltin, bromhexine, ambroxol.

The commercial names of drugs containing these components are different - see the active ingredient on the package. The dosage of use should be clarified by the doctor depending on the age of the child and the severity of the case.

Also pay attention to medicinal herbs, for example, marshmallow root, licorice, almost pine, thyme and others. They have an expectorant effect, which is why they are so popular as components of cough syrups.

The doctor also emphasizes that these drugs, as well as inhalations, have an effect that can be achieved by simply drinking plenty of fluids and humidifying the air. These are the main elements that relieve cough, and ignoring them will negate the effectiveness of any pills and procedures.

Taking mucolytics is justified only when the sputum is too thick and viscous, coughing it up is difficult and causes painful sensations in the chest.

Please note that the simultaneous use of drugs that inhibit the cough reflex and drugs aimed at increasing the amount of mucus and thinning it is unacceptable.

Treatment of infants

Dr. Komarovsky emphasizes that the treatment of cough in infants is significantly different from the treatment of adults. Many drugs are contraindicated for them, for example those affecting the cough center.

The child does not know how to cough, moreover, his muscles are not yet developed enough, and his lung capacity is too small to expel mucus effectively. A sick infant should be shown to a doctor; a consultation will not be superfluous in any case.

Situations in which emergency medical care is needed:

Along with viral infections, in infants, cough can often be caused by a runny nose, as well as teething, which is especially noticeable in the horizontal position of the child’s body. If you have a runny nose, saline solution in your nose will help clear your nasal passages, mucus will not interfere with breathing, and the cough will stop.

And during the period when teeth are cutting through, the gums swell, a lot of saliva is released, and the child literally gags, which is why he clears his throat. Raise your head and place your baby on a higher pillow, this will help wait out the teething time.

Conclusion

As you noticed, the main idea is not to rush to mindlessly stuff a coughing child with medicine, but to work on his living conditions, and thus create the prerequisites for a speedy recovery, without interfering with his immune system.

At the same time, the doctor emphasizes that cough can be a symptom of more serious, dangerous diseases.

Therefore, he urges you to trust your pediatricians, because no online consultation can compare with a face-to-face examination.

Thus, cough cannot be cured, but the underlying disease can be cured, and unpleasant symptom it will go away on its own.

Dr. Komarovsky will tell you more about some of the nuances of treating cough in a child in the video attached below.

Doctors know most about how and what, and the experience of famous children's doctor Komarovsky for young parents is a real encyclopedia, which they have to read every day.

Dr. Komarovsky cites excessive parental concern for the baby’s well-being as the main cause of cough in children. The desire to protect the baby from cool air and wrap him up warmer when the temperature drops by several degrees weakens the child’s own defenses.

If we carefully consider all the reasons that cause coughing in children, then we must not forget about house dust, which, according to Dr. Komarovsky, can provoke constant coughing.

Diseases that are accompanied by cough in children include:

  • allergic reactions manifested by;
  • respiratory infections – , ;
  • whooping cough;
  • tumor processes in the lungs.

The most common reason listed is respiratory infection, which is necessarily accompanied by a runny nose. When you have a runny nose, mucus flows down the back wall of the nasopharynx into the respiratory tract. Cough shocks arise reflexively, as an attempt to clear the airways of phlegm.

Treatment

The basic principles of cough treatment, according to Dr. Komarovsky, can be described in his own succinct, succinct words.

To cure a child’s cough, you need:

  1. Moisturize air.
  2. Ventilate room.
  3. Give me something to drink child.

In this case, mucus will not accumulate and dry out in the bronchi, and the baby will not have to suffer from bouts of dry, unproductive cough, trying to cough up viscous sputum.

One of the most basic provisions of the popular pediatrician is that there is no need to fight seizures; on the contrary, you should help the child clear his throat.

Also, it is impossible to treat a child’s cough, as Komarovsky believes, without knowing what causes it. Finding the cause of attacks is the main task that ensures the success of treatment.

If we separately consider such a phenomenon as cough, then we can say about it that this is only a symptom, behind which in children, according to Dr. Komarovsky, may be hidden serious illness. And parents should find the reason why coughing attacks occur, and not try to drown them out with pills and.

Dr. Komarovsky talks about how to act and how to treat a severe cough in a child without a runny nose and fever in a video that specifically emphasizes the harm of self-medication and the use of drugs without a doctor’s prescription.

Features of cough treatment in childhood

It is especially harmful to use in childhood for treatment in combination with. Expectorant medications increase the volume of mucus, and the baby's weak respiratory muscles are not able to cope with the increased amount of mucus.

Which leads to “flooding of the lungs”, to a tragedy when, instead of a night’s rest, a child is urgently hospitalized with an attack of suffocation in a hospital.

Treatment of children with antitussive drugs, according to Dr. Komarovsky, cannot affect the actual cause that caused a wet cough, which makes the use of these drugs ineffective.

And with a dry cough, when a small volume of viscous mucus accumulates in the bronchi, which the patient cannot cough up, antitussive drugs, according to Dr. Komarovsky, only additionally prevent the removal of sputum.

Exceptions are rare. These include, for example, a disease such as whooping cough, in which attacks of dry, unproductive coughing only torment and irritate the throat.

Neither wet nor dry cough in a child can be treated with expectorants, since the weak respiratory muscles of children, according to Dr. Komarovsky, do not allow him to easily cope with coughing up sputum.

What means, according to Komarovsky, can be used to treat a strong, prolonged cough in a child if the attacks do not go away for a long time, up to several months?

Most often, you do not need to suppress the cough, but to help the child cough up the mucus that has formed, for which it should be liquefied. For these purposes, drugs with mucolytic, sputum-thinning properties are used, but not all drugs are suitable for children.

Safe medications for the treatment of wet and dry cough in a child, which can be used to safely treat children as young as 2 years old, and as described in the video with recommendations from Dr. Komarovsky, are medications such as Ambroxol.

Dr. Komarovsky repeatedly emphasizes that the dosage of the drug depends on age, and that before treating a child’s cough, especially if he is under 5 years old, you need to visit a doctor and get a prescription.

Thus, a long, protracted cough that occurs in a child without an increase in temperature can be a symptom, and Komarovsky emphasizes that in this case, mucolytics can only increase the frequency of attacks.

The doctor categorically rejects homeopathic medicines and does not even consider the possibility of using them. The well-known pediatrician is also wary of herbal medicines.

Herbal medicines, according to a famous pediatrician, are safe, but not effective. You should also not give your child infusions of medicinal herbs by choice.

How to treat a wet cough

Mucus in the bronchi should be thinned by increasing daily fluid intake and increasing air humidity. The process of treating both dry and wet cough in children should, as Komarovsky advises, begin with offering the children plenty of fluids. These can be compotes, juices, fruit drinks, but warm, without gas.

For a wet residual cough, Dr. Komarovsky recommends treating attacks without the use of expectorants and antitussives, and paying attention to factors such as air humidity in the house.

If parents do decide to use expectorants, reflex coughing may increase as the volume of sputum increases.

Taking an expectorant tablet or syrup at night will cause the process of mucus production to intensify, and the baby will suffer all night from continuous attempts to cough up.

It is more correct, according to Komarovsky, to use mucolytics, which dilute sputum, in daytime. Moreover, all medications must be prescribed by a pediatrician.

How to treat dry cough

Sometimes, during severe attacks of unproductive reflex attempts to cough, the doctor may prescribe antitussive drugs.

Such debilitating attacks can occur with pleurisy, whooping cough, irritating effects of allergens, and dust. Drugs to suppress the cough reflex cannot be chosen independently.

  • Firstly, because among them there are drugs containing narcotic compounds that affect the cough center in the brain, for example, codeine. Such products may become addictive.
  • And secondly, it is dangerous to suppress both dry and wet cough in children, especially if they are under 5 years old.

To soften a dry cough, a well-known pediatrician advises giving children additional drinks:

  • warm milk with honey;
  • milk with soda added at the tip of a knife to 1 glass;
  • warm milk with figs boiled in it;
  • banana puree diluted with warm boiled water ();
  • decoction of viburnum flowers;
  • weak tea with raspberry jam.

Treatment of infants

Infants have poorly developed respiratory muscles, which makes coughing difficult. As a result, a one-year-old child’s sputum when coughing, according to Dr. Komarovsky, is cleared much worse than even in children 2-3 years old, and treating infants with medications on their own is a serious mistake for parents.

If an infant has a cough in the morning, parents do not need to immediately sound the alarm, since, according to Komarovsky, if this process occurs without a rise in temperature, then it is physiological norm for babies up to one year old.

But how to treat a cough in a child under 1 year of age, what does Komarovsky suggest?

If your child does not have a fever, a cough may indicate reflux disease. With this disease, reflex cough impulses occur in response to irritation of the throat mucosa during the return of food from the stomach.

Reflux disease is not associated with damage to the respiratory tract, and expectorants, and especially antitussives, can only harm the baby.

Very often parents make a mistake, thinking that a child’s cough is a problem that can be easily dealt with on your own. They simply go to the pharmacy and buy cough syrup, unaware of the harm it can cause to the baby.

“For an hour I was in a room with a working TV. Within an hour, I saw 8 times advertisements for medications that, according to the manufacturer, should be swallowed immediately when a cough occurs. My nerves can no longer stand listening to this scam! People, pay attention!, says Dr. Komarovsky.

How to treat a severe cough

When a child has a runny nose, cough and fever, this is an upper respiratory tract disease. Why increase the amount of mucus in the lungs when the baby just has a runny nose or sore throat?

2. Expectorants are sometimes needed for certain diseases of the lower respiratory tract: bronchitis, pneumonia. These funds must be plant origin ! But all diseases should be treated by doctors, not by people who have watched enough TV.

3. Children's cough is much weaker than that of adults. After taking expectorants, children are often unable to cough up the increased amount of mucus. It is not surprising that in many countries it is not recommended to give mucolytics to children under 5 years of age, and prescribing them to children under 2 years of age is generally a crime.
4.How to treat dry cough? Carrot juice is perfect, always freshly squeezed, in a one-to-one ratio with milk. Give this mixture 4-5 times a day. Also brew tea from viburnum berries.

5. Remember that effective impact for sputum even with the most modern drugs is impossible without meeting two mandatory conditions: clean, cool air (+18 ... +20 ° C) in the room where the child is, and a sufficient amount of warm liquid to drink.

Monitor the air humidity in your child's room! It should be 40–70%. After all, a stuffy room is the easiest way to organize complications. And if, in addition to this, the nose is stuffy and the body temperature is elevated, the chances of turning a common cold into monthly treatment pneumonia is at its maximum.

6. It should be noted that self-medication with antitussive drugs can be very dangerous. Cough, as you know, is not just an unpleasant symptom. This is one of the body's most important ways to cleanse the lungs.

Suppression of cough can lead to the accumulation of phlegm in the lungs, which in turn is highly likely to lead to bronchitis or pneumonia, impaired ventilation of the lungs and other troubles. Also, abuse of antitussive drugs leads to deterioration of liver and kidney function.

7. Use of antitussives for treatment of wet cough contraindicated. As mentioned above, suppressing a cough will only make the disease worse, as these drugs promote sputum sedimentation.
It’s a banal truth, but where can one go from it: don't self-medicate! It is not the cough that needs to be treated, but a specific disease, one of the symptoms of which is cough.

The appearance of any type of cough in a child is always unpleasant. Often parents do not want to resort to pharmaceutical drugs, preferring natural remedies. If you need to quickly treat a cough in children with folk remedies, Komarovsky recommends using special compresses, decoctions and tinctures. You can find out more about what the famous pediatrician advises to use below.

Proper treatment of wet cough in children

Cope with wet cough The following folk recipes will help:

  1. Cabbage drink. You need to squeeze the leaves of fresh cabbage so that you get half a glass of juice. Stir with 0.5 tsp. honey or sugar and heat. Give the child 1⁄4 cup, 4 times a day.
  2. Blackcurrant juice. The berries (3 tbsp) are ground with sugar (2 tsp) and poured with a glass of warm water. Mix well and give to the baby to drink. Take half a glass 2 times a day.
  3. Fig porridge. You need to take dried or fresh figs (50 g) and chop them in any way. Mix with 0.5 tsp. liquid honey and 3 tbsp. warm milk. Give the child 2 tsp. no more than 4 times a day.

In addition to the recipes listed, you can use cabbage leaves smeared with honey. It is applied to the baby’s back, in the area between the shoulder blades (for 15 minutes). You also need to remember that treatment with traditional methods should be carried out only after consultation with a doctor.

Treatment of dry cough in children with compresses

A dry cough is much more difficult for a baby to tolerate than a wet cough. In the fight against this condition Compresses will help. The use of such products is based on increasing blood flow in the area where it was applied. This in turn helps reduce pain and inflammation. It should be remembered that compresses should not be used for any skin diseases, wounds, scratches and cuts.

Dry cough in children can be treated with a compress. with boiled potatoes. Then the finished root vegetable is crushed, half a glass of vodka is added to it and mixed. Make a flat cake from warm potatoes, wrap it in thin cloth and place it on the child’s back (on the area between the shoulder blades). Then the baby is dressed in pajamas and wrapped in a blanket. After 40 minutes, the compress can be removed. It is allowed to carry out 2 to 3 such procedures per day.

If you need to quickly treat cough in children with folk remedies, Komarovsky recommends using oil compress. To cook it, you need to warm it up. vegetable oil in a water bath. Then a towel is soaked in oil and placed on top part baby's back. Wax paper is placed on top and wrapped with a down scarf. The child should lie down with this compress for at least 2 hours. During this time, the bronchi will warm up and the cough will become less noticeable.

Treatment of cough with folk remedies

One of the most unpleasant types of cough is barking. In this condition it is recommended gargle with special solutions. This must be done several times a day, an hour before meals or an hour after it. Using this method, you can remove inflammation, relieve pain and moisturize the airways in a short time. Treatment of cough with folk remedies can be carried out based on the following recipes:

  • warm water (200 ml) with the addition of 0.5 tsp. soda;
  • a decoction based on eucalyptus, sage and calendula (1 tsp per 2 cups of water);
  • chamomile infusion (2 tsp per glass of boiling water).

If the cough is very severe, rinsing will help. water with apple cider vinegar(for 1 glass of warm liquid 0.5 tsp of product). Also, to alleviate a dry cough, you need to drink as much fluid as possible. Very effective cranberry juices.

Cough cake based on flour and honey

If you need to quickly treat a cough in children with folk remedies, Komarovsky advises preparing special flatbread. To do this you need to take 3 tbsp. flour and exactly the same amount of water, honey and vodka. Knead the dough and form it into a small ball. Flatten with your hands or a rolling pin. Place it on the baby's chest, being careful not to let the compress touch the heart area.

Then the cake is covered with plastic wrap and fixed. This can be done using bandages or a diaper. This procedure should take at least an hour. To enhance the therapeutic effect, you can cover the child with a duvet. During this time, the sputum will begin to liquefy and the bronchi will clear.

It should be remembered that the lozenge should not be used in children suffering from skin diseases (ulcers, boils, etc.). In addition, this kind of compress is not used if the baby has wounds or scratches on the skin. If a child complains of itching during the procedure, it is necessary to immediately remove the cake and wash the application site with warm water and soap.

How to deal with this condition quickly?

If you need to cope with a cough very quickly, they will help mustard plasters. They not only help improve blood flow, but also warm the bronchi. Mustard plasters can be used in babies after 3 months. If there are no contraindications, it is allowed to use wraps based on such a burning powder. To do this, prepare a solution from mustard powder (0.5 tbsp) and boiling water (0.5 l), and then cool to a warm state.

Soak a towel in this solution, wring it out and place it on the baby’s back. Then cover the baby with a sheet for 2-3 minutes. After this, the fabric is removed and the remaining mustard is carefully washed off the child’s skin. This recipe is suitable for very young children. Those who are older are recommended to use mustard plasters.

The sheets are moistened in warm water and placed on the area between and under the shoulder blades. To make the cough go away faster, you can place mustard plasters on the child’s chest. In this case, you need to avoid the place where the heart is. Duration of the procedure will depend on the age of the baby and how well he tolerates this procedure:

  • from one year to 2.5 years – 2 minutes;
  • from 2.5 to 6 years – 4 minutes;
  • from 7 years and above – up to 15 minutes.

As for the frequency of procedures, you can’t do more than 2 times a day. This may cause irritation to the baby's skin. Contraindications to the use of such products are hypersensitivity to mustard, pustules and microtraumas on the skin. In addition, such treatment cannot be carried out when the child’s body temperature is elevated.

Pediatrician Komarovsky advises caution if a child develops a paroxysmal dry cough. If it occurs at night at regular intervals, then it is likely that the baby has whooping cough. The cough can be so severe that it sometimes even leads to vomiting. In this case, you need to forget about self-medication and urgently call an ambulance. If the cause of a severe cough is a cold, then in addition to folk remedies It is recommended to follow the following rules:

  1. In the room where the sick baby is located, normal temperature conditions must be maintained (from 21 to 25 degrees). In addition, you need to carefully monitor air humidity, especially in winter.
  2. Until the cough disappears, the child cannot be completely washed. Soaring feet are allowed.
  3. Before your baby goes to bed, you need to ventilate the room well. Of course, in order to avoid a new outbreak of the disease, the child must be removed from the room for a while.
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