What is a baby's coughing?
Cough is not a disease, but a symptom that can occur in many diseases. A baby's cough is a defensive reflex action made by the body to expel secretions or foreign bodies from the respiratory tract. In other words, coughing is a protective physiological phenomenon of the baby. But if the cough is too severe and affects diet, sleep and rest, then it loses its protective significance. Therefore, for the baby's cough, it is necessary to identify what caused it, and then treat it symptomatically. Never hear a child cough, immediately think it is a cold or pneumonia, and make blind treatment.
1. The baby coughing
Baby coughing is defensive and protective for the body. It can reduce the inhalation of foreign bodies to a certain extent, prevent the accumulation of secretions in the bronchus, reduce secretions, and prevent respiratory infections. It is to protect the bronchus and respiratory tract.
2. Causes of your baby's cough
Including upper respiratory tract infection, bronchitis, pharyngitis, inhaled foreign body, allergic history, therefore, regardless of the cause of acute or chronic inflammation of the respiratory tract, it may cause the baby to cough. According to the child's onset time, it can be classified into: acute cough, subacute cough and chronic cough.
3. When the baby coughs
Occurs in the early childhood stage and is associated with many diseases. A child’s cough is sometimes a manifestation of physical discomfort. For example, the child accidentally inhales a foreign body, or the nasal cavity is stimulated by a pungent smell, or it may be caused by the accumulation of respiratory secretions (mostly caused by a cold). These will all go through a cough. The action to make the foreign body irritating the respiratory tract expelled.
Causes of a baby's cough
1. Pediatric cough caused by upper respiratory tract infection
Upper respiratory tract infections (such as the common cold) are the most common cause of cough and sputum in babies. Common symptoms include wet cough, or dry cough first and then change to cough with sputum.
2. Pediatric cough caused by bronchitis
It is common for children under three years of age to get bronchitis, which is an acute upper respiratory tract infection. The cough induced by bronchitis is common in children around one year old, and often occurs in spring and winter. Bronchitis has just started acting on the upper respiratory tract, causing the child to cough dry, and then bronchial secretions will appear, making the child's cough worse. If your child's cough does not get better for a long time, you need to go to the hospital in time and follow the doctor's advice. Foods that are too high in sugar or salt may make your child's cough more intense at night, so avoid giving it to your child.
3. Pediatric cough caused by pharyngitis
If the throat mucosa is uncomfortable and the throat is itchy, this situation is likely to be local inflammation of the throat mucosa, which will stimulate the children to cough, and the cough will be stronger. Parents need to take their children to see a doctor as soon as possible for symptomatic treatment.
4. Allergic cough
If your child has a history of allergies or a family history of allergies, you should try to prevent your child from catching a cold and consult a doctor in time. Pay special attention when your child has a cough to prevent asthma.
5. Coughing caused by inhalation of foreign objects
If it is found that the child has inhaled a foreign body, parents must prevent the child from pulling the throat with their hands, otherwise it will cause the food to block the trachea. Instead, let the child cough to cough up the foreign body; if the foreign body cannot be coughed up smoothly, and the child feels unable to breathe If you have qi or coughing violently for a long time, you need to take your child to see a doctor in time, because that may mean that the foreign body has penetrated into the respiratory tract.
How to care for a baby's cough
When a baby coughs, in addition to medication, it is also necessary to strengthen nursing care in daily life:
1. Drink water reasonably, drink more in small amounts
As long as the child coughs, they should drink more fluids instead of waiting until they are thirsty. Children drink a certain amount of water every day, which can thin the sputum within a certain range and make it easy to be coughed up. In addition, drinking water can help promote blood circulation, accelerate the discharge of metabolic wastes from the body, and accelerate the discharge of toxins. Relieve the adverse effects on the respiratory tract.
2. Light diet, avoid cold and greasy
During the child's coughing stage, it is appropriate to eat light foods. You can eat some fresh fruits and vegetables and a little lean meat and eggs, but avoid greasy, fishy foods, and not to eat sour foods, which will hinder phlegm. If you have a wind-heat cough, do not eat oranges.
3. Maintain indoor air humidity
It is necessary to ventilate frequently to ensure that the indoor air reaches a certain humidity, which can effectively prevent the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract from being too dry, which is conducive to the elimination of phlegm and expectoration.
4. Focus on resolving phlegm and use medicine carefully
Avoid medication at the beginning of your child's cough. Children's respiratory system is not perfect, and it is difficult to cough up sputum smoothly. After drug treatment, the cough will be suppressed and the sputum cannot be discharged smoothly, which makes it difficult to breathe, increases the severity of the cough, and even causes the lungs in severe cases. Infect. Therefore, after a child has a cough, it is recommended to resolve phlegm.
5. The correct way to pat the back of phlegm
Let the baby lie on his side, in the gap between coughing, make a fist with one hand, and gently pat on the baby's front chest, side chest and back. Let the baby lie down on the left side, and lie on the right side on the right side, and pat on both sides alternately. Parents should note that the order of patting is from top to bottom and from outside to inside; the time for patting is three to five minutes on each side, two to three times a day. Patting can loosen the sputum in the bronchi and lungs, accelerate the blood circulation in the lungs and heart, and play a certain relief effect.
6. When the baby coughs, when to go to the hospital
Parents must understand that there are three conditions for a baby's cough, and they should take the baby to the hospital in time:
One is that the baby has a cough with a fever of 38.5℃, and the fever lasts for more than 24 hours;
The second is that the baby keeps coughing, has loud breathing noises, his face is purplish red, and has breathing difficulties such as holding his breath. Parents should observe whether there is any foreign body stuck in the baby's trachea. If there is, take emergency treatment and immediately send it to the doctor.
Third, the baby had a cold and cough at first. After a period of time, the cold has disappeared, but the cough is still there. In this case, parents should take the baby to the hospital to check to see if there are other infections. Usually, if the baby coughs for more than six weeks, there will be more serious hidden causes, such as bronchitis and asthma. Through the examination, the doctor will prescribe the right medicine according to the baby's specific situation.
7. Common questions about nursing
(1) What should I do if my baby has a stuffy nose, not runny nose, and cough and sputum?
Cough and sputum are symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection. If your baby's cough symptoms are not serious, you can use appropriate medications to relieve symptoms, such as the expectorants Mucosultan and Ai Chang to relieve the symptoms of nasal congestion and runny nose; if your baby's cough worsens or has a fever, go to the hospital for treatment.
(2) Can antibiotics be used to relieve the cough of the baby?
Coughing is a common respiratory symptom in childhood. Many factors can cause coughing, such as infection, allergies, air pollution and so on. The application of antibiotics is very common in children with respiratory infections, but some parents currently lack a correct understanding of antibiotics. It is incorrect to use antibiotics as soon as the baby coughs. Common pathogenic sources of respiratory tract infections include bacteria, viruses, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Chlamydia, etc. Antibiotics are mainly aimed at corresponding pathogen infections, and are not effective for coughs caused by viral infections and allergies. How to use antibiotics correctly should be carried out by parents under the guidance of professional doctors.
(3) What should I do if my baby coughs repeatedly?
The relief of cough symptoms requires a process. If you cough and have phlegm, you can use some expectorant drugs. After taking the medicine, pay attention to observe whether the cough symptoms have improved. If it has improved, you can continue to take the medicine to consolidate the treatment for 3-5 days, and then observe.
If it has not improved, the persistent cough may be a chronic cough, and you need to go to a children’s respiratory specialist to find out the cause, and rule out sinusitis, cough variant asthma, allergic cough, gastroesophageal reflux, chronic tonsil hypertrophy or adenoid hypertrophy, etc. Treat the disease symptomatically.
What to do if the baby coughs and spits up milk
1. Master the correct breastfeeding posture
Whether it is breastfeeding or artificial breastfeeding, let the baby's body tilt about forty-five degrees so that the baby's milk can flow into the body by itself and reduce the chance of spitting up.
2. The correct way to do after the baby is breastfeeding
After the baby has eaten, do not lay it down immediately. First, pat the baby, take out the air inhaled while drinking, and then put the baby on the bed. After eating, do not let the baby lie down. It's better to lie on your side for a few minutes, and then let the child lie down; don't let the child eat too much at one time, and the interval between feedings should not be too short. All of the above practices can reduce the chance of your child vomiting up.
3. How to relieve your baby's cough
If the child does not stop coughing, parents can hold the child upright from the waist while gently touching the child’s back with the other hand; Wrap it in a towel (remember that the water temperature should not be too hot) and place it on the child's back close to the lungs, so that it can quench the cold and relieve cough in a short time. Do not apply heat when the child is naked, but should let the child wear a few underwear to prevent the child from being burned.
4. The practice of coughing violently or for too long
It may cause vomiting or other discomfort. Do not pat the child's back at this time. Instead, put the three fingers together, press the spine area on both sides of the child's back and the middle of the shoulder blades, and then massage in the order from left to right. Effectively alleviate the degree of coughing and prevent vomiting. Remember: Do not let your child bend over and tighten during the massage, it is best to use a hand rest to fix the child's chest.