Cough is a disease that often occurs in life, and both adults and children will suffer from coughing. Cough is one of the basic symptoms of some diseases, such as some respiratory infections, non-respiratory infections and other diseases. Usually, when we have a cold and fever or when our bronchi are inflamed, we will be accompanied by coughing symptoms, and coughing is also a protective reflex of the body's functional organs. In recent years, with the continuous advancement of China's urbanization process and the rapid development of industry and commerce, China's air quality has declined, which has also increased the probability of children's cough to a certain extent.
Children's body in all aspects of immunity and resistance are relatively poor, especially the respiratory tract is more sensitive and susceptible to infection, can not withstand the stimulation of various irritants, such as some irritating taste or gas, foreign bodies, etc., these irritants may cause children to cough. Children's cough can be roughly divided into two main types according to the actual situation of the disease, acute cough refers to the duration of illness less than two weeks, chronic cough refers to the duration of illness is more than one month of persistent cough. There are many causes of cough in children, among which are greatly limited by age, and usually the younger the age, the more likely the cause of coughing is congenital abnormal organ development. The characteristics of the initial illness can help doctors determine the cause of the child's cough, such as if the child has symptoms of spitting up or choking cough while feeding, then the child may have symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux or tracheal wilt. If you cough in the morning, it may be because of bronchiectasis problems. If the cough is only during the day and there is no sputum production, consideration should be given to whether the child has a psychogenic cough. If the child coughs with symptoms such as nasal congestion and runny nose, it is necessary to consider whether the child has chronic paranasal sinusitis.
Children with acute cough are generally caused by acute respiratory infections, usually, there is no severe cough, but it will be accompanied by symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, etc., and the throat will also appear red and swollen, and the follicles in the throat can also be seen. If the patient is a slightly older child, the body may be uncomfortable from head to toe, and symptoms such as dizziness and headaches may be reduced in about a week. If a child's cough is severe and itchy, hoarse, or even difficult to breathe, it may be a cough caused by acute laryngitis. If a child suddenly has a severe cough, followed by a persistent cough, and difficulty breathing during inhalation, it is necessary to consider whether there is a foreign body in the child's trachea. If a child coughs due to pneumonia, the child may experience symptoms such as persistent sputum cough, increased heart rate, fever, and poor mental status.
If it is suspected that the child's cough is caused by inflammation of the bronchi, lungs, etc., the child's chest x-ray examination is required, and the child's pneumonia mycoplasin antibodies are also required to be examined in detail. If a child is suspected of having asthma, a detailed examination of the child's lung function is required. If a child's chronic cough is suspected to be caused by congenital organ dysplasia or a foreign body in the airway, screening of the child's bronchi, etc. is required. In summary, the diagnosis of the cause of cough in children requires examination according to the symptoms and characteristics of the child's condition.
So how should children treat cough after they have it? In general, children's cough is treated with drugs if it is not very serious or is not caused by some serious disease.
Expectorant drugs:
If a child's cough is accompanied by sputum, it is necessary not only to treat the cough, but also to treat the sputum, so as not to cause airway obstruction and aggravate the deterioration of the condition because of the lack of sputum clearance in time. Sputum treatment is usually possible with drugs such as ambroxol hydrochloride, guaiacol glycerol ether, etc.
In addition to expectorant drugs, antihistamine drugs, such as chlorpheniramine, cetirizine and other drugs, should also be used to reduce the degree of cough in children and restore health as soon as possible.
Antibacterial drugs:
Cough in children is usually caused by infection, especially chronic cough caused by Mycoplasma pneumoniae, pathogenic infection, etc. requires antibacterial treatment in children, usually with some large intracyclic vinegar antibiotics such as erythromycin, clarithromycin and other antibiotics. If it is not Mycoplasma pneumoniae or chlamydia infection, but other pathogenic infections, it is necessary to carry out corresponding antibiotic treatment according to the specific source of infection after initial treatment, and do not use the wrong drug, so as not to cause the child's condition to worsen.
Anti-asthmatic anti-inflammatory drugs:
In general, if the child's cough is caused by chronic paranasal sinusitis, bronchial inflammation and other diseases, it is necessary to let the child take glucocorticoids and other anti-asthmatic drugs, because glucocorticoids have anti-inflammatory, anti-allergic effects, can effectively treat children's rhinitis, bronchial inflammation and other inflammation, and then alleviate the symptoms of children's cough.
Digestive system medications:
If the cough is caused by a disease such as gastroesophageal reflux, the child needs to be treated with drugs of the digestive system, such as cimetidine, domperidone and other drugs.
Antitussive drugs:
In general, in the absence of a clear cause, especially for patients with chronic cough, antitussive drugs are not recommended, and antitussive drugs can aggravate children's disease if used improperly.
If the child has symptoms of fever in addition to coughing, the symptoms of fever in children can be alleviated by physical cooling. If the physical method does not work, it is necessary to let the child take a special anti-fever drug for children.
Children need to keep the room ventilated during coughing, so that children can rest in the air circulation environment, in addition, if the weather is too cold, try not to let children stay outdoors, pay attention to cold and keep warm, and avoid children's cold and fever.
Finally, when children cough, they should also pay great attention to diet, and let children eat more foods that are easy to digest, and are high in calories and low in fat. It is also necessary to eat more fruits and vegetables to supplement vitamins to improve the body's immunity and resistance.
Children's cough can be light or heavy, but can not be taken lightly, the most fundamental thing is to go to the hospital in time to check when the child's cough occurs, determine the cause of the disease and then carry out appropriate treatment, so as to make the child's condition improve as soon as possible, the body recovers.