As soon as the baby coughs, the parents are immediately confronted with the enemy, for fear that the cough will cause problems. It is really “the cough is in the baby’s body, and the pain in the parents’ heart”. At this time, the parents will try their best to help the baby. Suppresses cough and relieves discomfort.
However, in many cases, cough relief may not be good for your baby, and may even delay treatment.
Cough and take cough medicine immediately
First of all, we need to clarify a concept: Coughing is a defensive and protective reflex of our body.
When encountering external stimuli, such as dust, smoke, viruses, bacteria, etc., entering the respiratory tract, the human body will expel foreign bodies and secretions from the respiratory tract through coughing. Coughing is a symptom rather than a disease.
Coughing is also one of the most common symptoms when a baby is sick.
It is normal to cough occasionally, such as choking on water, but it will stop quickly.
If the cough is frequent and persistent, it may be caused by the following reasons, and we have to judge according to the specific situation.
1. Common cold: More than two-thirds of babies with a cold will have a cough, which may persist for about a week even after the illness is cured.
When a viral infection causes a cold, it will infect the respiratory tract and cause increased secretions. At this time, it is necessary to clear the respiratory secretions by coughing, so cough relief is not required in this case.
2. Sinusitis: During an episode of sinusitis, secretions from the nose back up into the throat, and in order to get rid of the secretions, coughing occurs. If acute bacterial sinusitis is diagnosed, antibiotics are generally required.
3. The main symptom of acute bronchitis and pneumonia is cough. Acute bronchitis caused by a virus does not require antibiotics, while pneumonia requires a doctor’s face-to-face consultation and combined medical history to give comprehensive treatment advice.
4. Airway foreign body: This cause is most easily ignored by parents. If it is a cough caused by food or other objects being accidentally inhaled into the respiratory tract, doctors will use fiberoptic bronchoscopy to find and Remove foreign objects.
Suppressing a cough doesn’t do much for recovery, and the drug itself carries some risks. Therefore, don’t rush to give your baby medicine to relieve cough because of cough, and it is not recommended to use over-the-counter cough medicine for your baby, especially children under 6 years old.
Cough nebulization should be divided into situations
Atomization is actually a method of medication, which is of the same nature as oral administration, intramuscular injection, and infusion.
Whether nebulization is necessary and useful for children depends on what disease is causing the cough and what medicines are used for nebulization.
According to the “Chinese Children’s Cough Diagnosis and Treatment Clinical Practice Guidelines” (2021 edition), the current diseases that can use aerosol are asthma and chronic nonspecific cough, and the inhaled drugs are bronchodilators and bronchodilators, respectively. Inhaled glucocorticoids.
Note: Chronic nonspecific cough refers to chronic cough (cough duration > 4 weeks) with no clear etiology after proper examination and evaluation as the main or only manifestation.
Acute cough (cough duration < 2 weeks) caused by common colds, flu, and pneumonia is theoretically not recommended to use atomization, which is of little help to the condition , may also carry the risk of adverse drug reactions, and may even exacerbate cough due to the drug irritating the respiratory tract.
But in real life, acute coughs caused by common colds, flu, and pneumonia may also make children very uncomfortable. Taking medicine and other methods are useless. The principle of atomization, the specific choice of whether to atomize this method has to be a trade-off.
Baby cough should drink “more” water
Water is an essential substance for the human body. Drinking enough water is beneficial to the recovery of diseases.
When the baby coughs, drinking water will help dilute the sputum in the respiratory tract, promote the secretion of secretions, and play a certain role in relieving the cough.
In addition, drinking water can also relieve the dryness of the pharyngeal mucosa and stimulate the bronchi; it can flush the secretions produced by inflammation of the pharynx or bronchus and reduce mucosal congestion; it can dilute the toxins secreted by bacteria and viruses; it can maintain electrolytes Balance, relieve sore throat, dry lips and other symptoms.
Here, parents are reminded to note that “drinking more” water means drinking enough water, not unlimited drinking.
How much is enough? We can judge according to the frequency and color of the baby’s urination. If the number of urination is 6 to 8 times a day, and the urine is colorless or light yellow, it means that the water is sufficient.
Baby’s cough should be avoided
Generally, mothers will automatically block sweets, seafood, eggs, spicy and greasy food for their babies when their children are coughing. Is this the right way to do it?
1. Can I eat sweets with a cough? This statement is false.
Sweetener does not aggravate or cause coughing. Conversely, honey can also provide some relief for nighttime coughs. But babies under one year old should not eat honey.
2. Can’t eat seafood, meat and eggs with a cough? This statement is wrong.
Meat, eggs, and seafood are high-protein foods that can easily cause allergies. But if the baby has already eaten it and verified that it is not allergic, parents need not worry.
If it is considered that the child is sick and the gastrointestinal digestive function is relatively weak, the intake of high-protein foods can be moderately reduced, but there is no need to avoid it.
3. Can’t eat spicy, greasy cough? This statement is correct.
Spicy foods can irritate the throat and cause discomfort, and you may cough even without coughing. Therefore, from the point of view of relieving the disease, it is not suitable to eat spicy food during a cough, and it is recommended to avoid it.
As for greasy food, it is not recommended to eat it regularly, even if it is normal. If you are sick, eating greasy food will affect your recovery, so it is recommended to eat less.