A coughing fit in a child at night - what to do? Night cough in a child - treatment

From time to time, parents face such a problem, like an attack of a night cough in a child. What to do in this case? How to help the baby?

Causes of

Cough can be caused by the following reasons:

• Respiratory pathologies - rhinitis, sinusitis, adenoiditis or pharyngitis.
• Bronchial asthma.
• Whooping cough.
• ARVI.
• Congestion of mucus in the nasal passages, which causes a reflex cough.
• Sputum from the lungs in the prone position does not depart, shutting off access to oxygen.

If your baby has one of these conditions, you need to get recommendations for treatment from a pediatrician. A competent doctor will help to prescribe an adequate treatment situation so that your baby does not suffer such an unpleasant disease as a cough.

How to stop an attack of a child's cough? At night, one should be especially careful if the baby is sick. It is necessary to understand which of the types of illness affects crumbs, because treatment depends on this.

Types of cough

Dry cough

Attacks of dry cough in a child appear due to the development of certain diseases in the body, such as:

• Viral infections in the initial stage. In the normal course of the disease, after a few days, the cough becomes moist.
• Allergy and various irritants. The presence of tobacco smoke, dust, chemicals( for example, floor cleanser or air freshener), animal wool in the room where the crumb is located.
• Whooping cough. Frequent signs are redness on the face. There is vomiting. With pertussis, it is often difficult to inhale( reprise).
• Asthma. There begins a paroxysmal dry cough, wheezing, shortness of breath. A short inhalation is accompanied by a long exhalation.

Wet cough

Various bacteria and viruses are the causative agents of fits of a wet cough. At night, the child opens a cough accompanied by a sputum discharge. This can occur with some diseases:

• ARVI.Wet cough with acute respiratory diseases indicates a positive dynamics and accompanies the beginning of recovery of a small patient.
• Bronchitis.
• Pneumonia.

Seizure cough

Accompanied by the following symptoms:

• Dry and frequent.
• Vomiting, tears, blushing of the eyes.
• Jerky, between the attacks, the breathing is deep.
• If a child is not vaccinated against pertussis, a convulsive cough is an occasion to think about this disease.

Allergic

This form may be accompanied by the following symptoms:

• Eruptions on the skin.
• Itching.
• Isolation of clear mucus from the nose.
• Tears from the eyes.
• May result in laryngospasm( stenosis) or even bronchospasm( asthma).

Barking cough for stenosis of the larynx

You can also call this type of cough laryngospasm or false croup. This means that part of the respiratory system swells and interferes with access to oxygen. It is difficult to be confused with other species, since it is similar to barking a dog. There is an edema of the larynx, breathing wheezing, often suffocation. Usually, laryngospasm is accompanied by a very strong attack of a night cough in a child.

Causes of stenosis( false croup)

• Laryngitis.
• Tracheitis.
• Bronchitis.
• Adenoiditis.

False groats often begin in a dream, from about one in the morning until four in the morning. The boys are more likely to laryngospasm from six months to six years.

Treatment of a night cough in a child

How to help a child with a night cough? Pediatricians recommend parents not to be nervous. The Kid feels the emotions of the parents and begins to worry even more, which entails an increase in the problem. Immediately plant a coughing, lying at the same time is strictly prohibited! Turn on the light, open the window for fresh air. Try to understand the type of coughing that tortures a crumb. Proceeding from this, apply the following algorithm of actions.

If the child has attacks of dry cough

• The baby needs to be given a warm alkaline drink. For example, a table mineral water without gas or ordinary water with a soda dissolved in it( at the tip of the knife).Keep him to drink in small sips, otherwise you can provoke vomiting.
• Clean the nasal passages of a small patient with saline or hypertensive spray. If necessary, use a cotton turunda to remove clumps of mucus. You can also use an aspirator, for example, "Otryvin baby", if the child does not know how to blow his nose. Use a cotton swab to remove mucus from the nose is not recommended, since the hard end of the sticks can easily damage the tender nasal passages of the crumb, because he can not sit still.
• If access to the air through the nose is difficult due to the swelling of the mucosa, use infant suction-reducing drops. During an attack, it is important to have an unobstructed passage of oxygen through the nose.
• Moisten the air. It is best when taking a cough to take the baby to the bathroom, put him on his lap and turn on the hot water in the bathroom to steam. You do not need to wet the crumbs.
• You can also do inhalation with saline or alkaline mineral water. For this, you need to have an inhaler at home. Do inhalation with a pot of boiling water is strictly not recommended! A small patient may accidentally burn himself on a hot pan wall or even turn the boiling water over himself.
• If you are completely sure that your baby does not have allergies to honey and pharmacy herbs, you can give him a decoction of herbs with a spoon of honey. But it should be remembered that if an allergic component is present in the cause of the ailment, then honey and herbs can aggravate the situation.
• To give a baby without a doctor's prescription for a cough of unexplained etymology, antitussive medications, such as "Sinekod" or "Stoptussin", can not be given.

Allergy

How to stop a night attack of a cough in a child of an allergic nature? Give the baby antihistamines, based on his age and weight. For example, "Suprastin".It is effective especially with emergency care, unlike Zodak or Zirtek, which are good for long-term therapy.

How to help a child with a night attack of cough if he is wet

• Immediately plant the patient to improve the sputum discharge.
• Make massage tapping movements. Tapping should be strong enough so that the sputum, which has settled in the airways, begins to move away with a cough.

What to give a child from an attack of a night cough in case it is wet? You can give mucolytic drugs, such as "Ambrobene", "Lazolvan" or "ATSTS."It is necessary to carefully observe the dosage of drugs, based on the appointment of a doctor, as well as the weight and age of the child. You can also do inhalation with these medications if the form and instructions of these drugs allow. Inhalation is carried out by a nebulizer.

Convulsive cough

With this type of cough caused by whooping cough, the drug "Sinekod" or analogs of this medicine is usually prescribed. Treatment is outpatient.

Barking cough, or stenosis of the larynx

If coughing sounds like barking a dog and sounds very rude, you need to call an ambulance! Typically, doctors quickly come to night coughing attacks in a child 2 years and under. Older children also can count on timely and qualified medical care.

Because of the narrowing of the larynx, air can not penetrate the baby's lungs, it can suffocate. While the ambulance rides, parents should ease the condition of the crumbs.

Methods for alleviating the false cereal

They partially overlap with the methods of relief of dry cough, as described above:

• Open the windows for fresh air.
• Moisten the air in the room.
• Clear the nasal passages.
• Give a warm, alkaline drink.

The following techniques are also used for stenosis of the larynx:

• Burying the vasoconstrictive drops in the nose during a night attack of a child's cough, which is necessary, parents reduce edema of the respiratory system. Earlier, doctors of the ambulance even recommended to drop this remedy on the root of the tongue in the acute period of the disease in order to reduce swelling, but recently physicians are not advised to do so, because it can negatively affect the work of the heart.
• Give any antihistamine medication that is in the house, observing the dosage by age. To achieve the most rapid effect, you can use Suprastin.
• If the stenosis is not very strong, make a baby inhalation with saline or mineral water with a nebulizer.
• If the false croup is severe and the condition of a small patient worsens, inhalations with Pulmicort should be done. It is a hormonal drug that removes swelling. It has virtually no side effects, but after it is recommended to rinse the mouth with alkaline mineral water to avoid thrush in the oral cavity. If inhalation with this medication has helped poorly, do it again.

What should I do if I have a night attack of cough in a child, if these methods do not help? In this case, ambulance doctors will give the baby an injection of "Prednisolone", which quickly removes all the symptoms. Then parents are advised to take the baby to the hospital and continue treatment in the hospital."Prednisolone" is the most effective way to combat false croup, but with many side effects. Therefore, the parents' task before the injection of this drug is to try inhalation. Often they completely relieve the symptoms and "Prednisolone" is not required.

If the children have stenosis at least once, a "Pulmicort", a nebulizer for inhalations, antihistamines and saline should be present in the home medicine chest. And also "Prednisolone" in ampoules and a syringe. Of course, it is not recommended to inject this hormone, but if the bill goes for a minute, and the ambulance is in a traffic jam, parents may not have a choice.

Some medicines can not be given to a child from a night attack of cough, which is caused by the peculiarity of the laryngospasm:

• Antitussives, such as "Sinekod", "Stoptussin" and other analogues, cause a strong sputum congestion in the bronchi, why you can suffocate! Cough is intended to remove phlegm from the respiratory tract.
• Mucolytic agents during false croup are also prohibited. They cause liquefaction of phlegm, which because of the laryngeal edema can not exit.

Prevention of

If sometimes there are night coughing symptoms in a child, what should I do for prevention?

• Turn crumbs around at night.
• Ventilate the room where the baby will sleep.
• Buy a humidifier and turn it on in the bedroom. As a moisturizer, even wet towels hung on the heating devices will do. As you dry, change them several times a night. Also put a container of water at the head of your ward.
• Keep track of the temperature in the room - it should not be too high. It is enough to keep the temperature from +18 to +21 degrees.
• During the day and at night, wash the nose with saline solution or special hypertonic sprays to wash the sinuses with high salt content. It is better to use a solution for washing in the form of drops, since sprays can cause otitis or provoke a strong cough.
• It is necessary to drink a lot during illness. Ideally, it should be a home-made compote of raisins, which contains many useful micronutrients and salts that the baby needs during the period of illness. But if the child refuses it, give any drink to which he agrees. The liquid must be warm. Also, the table alkaline mineral water without gas helps prevent or even relieve a slight cough. Avoid honey or other ingredients that can cause an allergic reaction.
• Raise the head end of the bed with a roller or pillow under the mattress. This will allow mucus not to stagnate in the nasopharynx, and sputum from the lungs is better to expectorate during sleep.

As a conclusion

How to relieve a coughing fit in a child at night, you always tell the pediatrician. Even with mild discomfort, it is advisable to get a doctor's advice. This will help to avoid a variety of complications.