Cold or pneumonia? Ignore or antibiotics? There are a few tips for your child's cough doctor

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The weather is getting colder, and many children are suffering from colds, causing coughs. Why does my child cough after a cold? Do you have to take cough medicine when you cough? Do antibiotics need to be used? What symptoms may be pneumonia?

Wang Tiancheng, deputy chief physician of the Department of Pediatrics at Beijing Shijitan Hospital, said that cough is a protective reflex of sound accompanied by air flow and part of the mucus discharge, which can help people expel phlegm and play a role in expanding the airway. Coughs caused after a cold are mostly caused by inflammation. When the child has a lower respiratory tract infection, such as tracheitis, bronchitis, inflammation of the small airway, etc., these inflammatory mucus will be discharged upward with the breath, gathered to a certain extent, will automatically swing with the viscous hairs of the small airway, when they are thrown to the larynx, it will form an irritation and cause cough.

What are the main types of cough caused by a cold?

Wang Tiancheng: The cough caused by children's colds can be roughly divided into three categories, one is irritating dry cough, which is mainly manifested as dry itching of the pharynx; one is a cough with phlegm, which is generally caused by inflammation of the upper or lower respiratory tract, and the child usually has the performance of wet rales; the third type is cough variant asthma, which is usually not manifested as inflammation of the small airway, but is manifested as repeated irritating cough, but through cough and sputum treatment has no effect, at this time it should be considered as cough variant asthma.

How to use medicine scientifically for children's cough?

Wang Tiancheng: When the child has a irritating dry cough, antitussive drugs may be considered. When the child has more sputum, the use of sputum can be added to help the sputum discharge, common amino broxol, acetylcysteine and so on.

Can I stop the drug immediately after remission?

Wang Tiancheng: Parents need to take medication according to the guidance of the doctor. Whether to discontinue antibiotics should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis, if the child belongs to the cough of bronchitis, pneumonia and other coughs caused by bacterial infections, it is necessary to use antibiotics according to medical advice; for coughs caused by viral infections, antibiotics can be used for a short time, and long-term use is not advocated. The cough and sputum suppressant, whether to stop or not depends on whether the child has sputum, and then stop the drug when the child's pathological secretions are about to be discharged.

How can I tell if my child has pneumonia?

Wang Tiancheng: For children over three years old, it is relatively easy to judge whether pneumonia occurs. The child has symptoms such as fever and cough, a clear fine wet rales in the fixed area of the lungs, abnormal blood index, and spotted or patchy shadows found on the film. Children who develop pneumonia often require hospitalization.

How do parents do scientific care?

Wang Tiancheng: When the child has fever, it should help the child to defer in time, especially the child under 6 years old, when the body temperature exceeds 38 ° C, should be undressed in time to help him dissipate heat, when his body temperature exceeds 38.5 ° C, he should give the child oral antipyretic drugs in time, such as ibuprofen, acetaminophen, etc. After taking the drug, you should drink more warm boiled water to speed up circulation and help it excrete.

When a child coughs, the type of cough should be judged and treated symptomatically in a timely manner. When your child has more sputum, he can be treated with nebulization and the sputum is discharged through moist airways. Children have a poor appetite after a cold and cough, parents should not give their children too much to eat, especially children with gastrointestinal colds, if overeating is easy to lead to vomiting, diarrhea, etc., and then eat normally after its state is restored. For children who occasionally cough in daily life, it is possible to leave it untreated.

Beijing News reporter Zhang Zhaohui

Proofreading Wang Xin