why does my child cough?

Hey all

Most children cough a lot times a year making us feared about various illnesses.

Well its not so. Normal Children do get cough many times a year, as much as 8 to 10 times a year till age 5 years.

There are many reasons:

Cough can be mainly because of infection or allergy.

And sometimes due to airway narrowing / obstruction for various reasons.

The common causes for children being highly susceptible are:

• There airways are narrow,
• Their immunity is relatively low.
• They cant easily cough out or take voluntary deep / more effective breaths... so get easily complicated.

Both infective and allergic cough produces lots of irritation and inflammation along the airways, in addition body responds by producing secretions, all together result in airway narrowing and may produce noisy breathing or distressed breathing with or without cough. Cough is also produced when secretion irritate pharynx.

Cough can be because of:

• allergy
• infections of airways, nose, throat, ears and lungs.
• pollutants
• irritant fumes
• inhalation of foreign objects

Most coughs last for short duration of 3-7 days; unless

• infection persists or is treated / healed only partially or
• child has allergic or atopic tendencies including asthma.
• a foreign body is lodged in some part of airway or lungs
• its a habitual cough

How do i take care of a coughing baby at home?

Remember your kid needs an urgent attention of a doctor

• if the child is breathless / restless /irritable/ wheezes for more than 10 minutes; or any other abnormal / loud sounds from airways
• vomits with or following cough
• coughs in night more than 3 times.
• cough doesnt respond to medicines in 3 days
• child refuses to eat / vomits or passes less urine than usual.
• turns blue / unconscious during cough or coughs in bouts
• u see a white patch or slough in throat or mouth or doesnt open mouth to swallow solids

What you can do at home?

• comfort and comfortable position
• side or sitting position
• avoid irritants
• dont feed during a cough, but do feed after cough over
• give soothing nebulisation if possible
• avoid medicines unless advised by a pediatrician
• watch out for danger signs mentioned above.
• Take care of runny nose as mentioned elsewhere.