Causes of a night cough in a child and in an adult

Cough is a familiar symptom. And most often it appears or becomes especially strong precisely in the evening or at night. People habitually associate an unpleasant symptom with problems in the bronchi or lungs, but, as practice shows, the causes of a night cough in a child or in an adult may be hidden not only in pulmonary diseases, but also in abnormalities of the digestive tract or in cardiovascular pathologies.

Which diseases can cause attacks of a night cough, we will discuss in this article.

Why cough becomes strong at night

You probably noticed that if in the daytime a sick child or an adult only slightly coughs, at night this symptom turns into a painful process, depriving sleep and rest. Why does this happen? What happens to the body at night?

It turns out that nocturnal coughing attacks are provoked by the patient's horizontal position, and also often in the same posture. This leads to the fact that the mucus, which continues to accumulate, slowly flows down the back wall of the throat. That, in turn, causes irritation of the mucous membrane and causes a cough.

In the supine position, sputum, in addition, tends to stagnate, and this provokes a coughing push. Such impulses, by the way, have a reflex character and contribute to getting rid of pathogenic microorganisms accumulated in the respiratory tract.

But, in addition, a night cough can provoke dry air in the bedroom( especially during the heating season) - it also irritates the mucous, causing an acute desire to clear your throat.

The baby's teeth are prone to

And the night's coughing in a child, by the way, can sometimes be explained not by a disease, but by a physiological process. For example, the fact that the baby's teeth are chopped.

The fact is that in such cases the production of saliva is significantly increased in crumbs, and it is simply not always able to swallow it all up. Especially it is difficult in a dream, which leads to getting into the respiratory tract and causes coughing attacks at night, which so frighten moms. But as soon as the process of eruption of milk teeth is over, the anxiety symptom will stop.

Viral respiratory tract infection

But the accompanying nighttime attack of a cough in a child or an adult is perhaps the most common phenomenon. And it lasts, as a rule, up to three weeks. And in some( especially in weakened patients) a viral cough occurs several times a year, which makes it seem close to the patient that the patient coughs almost constantly.

And it should be noted that with a viral infection this symptom is usually not a single symptom. It is joined by weakness, perspiration or sore throat, runny nose, fever and other signs known to all.

In the initial stages of this disease with a cough it is fairly easy to cope. For this, only it is worth consulting with a doctor.

Cough with sinusitis, laryngitis and adenoids

Causes of night cough in adults and children can be covered in sinusitis( inflammation of the paranasal sinuses).Incidentally, in these cases, it sometimes acts as the only sign of the chronic form of the disease, so it is very important not to treat the symptom every night lightly.

Cough accompanies the inflammatory process on the mucous membrane of the larynx, called laryngitis. At the onset of the disease, he is usually strong, dry and barking, but with time, the patient develops sputum discharge. This cough is especially painful at night. It is usually accompanied by pain in the throat, hoarseness, weakness and headache. And, by the way, a dry night cough in a child, from which he wakes up all sweat and suffocates, can testify to a serious form of acute laryngitis - a false croup.

In adenoids, night cough is not a typical symptom, but still occurs quite often. And it occurs, as a rule, with the growth of lymphoid tissue to 2 and 3 degrees, which causes irritation of the nerve endings in the pharynx and nasopharynx. That is, in cases when the disease takes a serious enough form.

Timely appeal to LOR in all these cases will help to correctly establish the diagnosis, and along with the elimination of the cause will pass and cough.

Allergy is a common cause of cough

No less common cause of cough in children and adults is allergy. And in an overwhelming number of cases, this symptom is one of the first manifestations of this pathology, and then a coryza, lacrimation and sore throat can join the cough. By the way, with allergies, it often appears for the first time just at night.

One can not fail to mention that one of the characteristics of an allergic cough is its spontaneity and unproductiveness: the patient coughs suddenly, for no apparent reason, can not clear his throat for a long time, he does not get sputum, and cough does not bring relief.

Therefore, a repeated night dry cough, the reasons of which are difficult to explain, should alert and make an urgent call to a doctor, since an allergic reaction in a patient can trigger the development of bronchial asthma.

In bronchial asthma, there is also a cough form

Sign of the onset of development of bronchial asthma may also be a dry night cough in a child or an adult. Such a cough pursues the patient not only at night, but also at any physical effort.

By the way, besides the classical form of the named disease, there is also a cough-type asthma. And for it just do not have symptoms in the form of dyspnoea or wheezing. As a rule, it appears only chronic, lasting about 2 months, a cough that, in the absence of treatment, gradually acquires known signs of asthma: shortness of breath, whistles and wheezing in his process, a feeling of squeezing in the chest, profuse sweating and attacks of fear.

By the way, it is very important not to miss the initial stage of this disease and on time to see a doctor, which will greatly facilitate the course of the disease.

Cardiac cough

Causes of a night cough in a child or an adult can also be covered in heart problems. Most of these pathologies lead to the fact that the said organ ceases to cope with the function assigned to it to pump the required volume of blood. Because of this, it can stagnate in the lungs. The mucous membrane covering the respiratory tract swells, which leads to a cough reflex. As a rule, the described symptom is most strongly manifested in a horizontal position, at night, and is accompanied by a feeling of lack of air, suffocation and shortness of breath.

This cough only occurs after the removal of heart failure.

Causes of nocturnal cough in a child and adult: gastroesophageal reflux

With gastroesophageal reflux, relaxation of the lower sphincter of the esophagus is observed, which can be accompanied by penetration of the contents of the stomach back into the esophagus.

Most often, this is a normal physiological phenomenon, which helps to free the stomach from food swallowed while eating. But if the functioning of the sphincter is disrupted, a pathological form of reflux develops, in which the emissions become more frequent, and the contents of the stomach cause irritation or even ulceration of the esophageal mucosa. In some cases, reflux is so strong that it can cause damage to even lung tissue.

All these phenomena are accompanied by heartburn, sour taste in the mouth and dry cough, which is especially amplified at night.

Ascaridosis in the early( migratory) phase of

Night attacks of cough may also be a symptom of the initial form of ascariasis. When infecting these helminths, at the beginning of the disease, the most common symptom is a dry or sputum cough, as well as complaints of shortness of breath and chest pain. On examination, dry or wet wheezing is heard in such a patient, and on the roentgenogram there are sites of infiltration( inflammation), up to 4 cm in size, that change their location, due to the movement of the ascarid larvae. These foci usually disappear after only 5 days, but may last for about a month.

In addition to the above indication, the disease is also accompanied by an increase in the blood of eosinophils( cells that are part of the leukocyte group and perform protective functions).

Night cough in an adult: the reasons lie in smoking

People, often and many smokers, have a lot of reasons for coughing. Cells of the mucous surface of the respiratory tract can not cope with the withdrawal of accumulated mucus, smokers often have bronchitis and a high risk of lung cancer.

Because of everything mentioned above, lovers smoke a cigarette-another cough in the morning and at night. The accumulation of mucus causes a reflex desire to clear your throat when you change your posture during sleep or when you rise from bed in the morning. This cough is accompanied, as a rule, by the departure of thick sputum and can cause a lot of trouble.

If this habit does not lead to a chronic illness, then a simple quitting will result in getting rid of the exhausting symptom.

Night cough is serious

As you can see, the causes of a night cough in a child or an adult can be very diverse. Infections, inflammatory diseases, cardiovascular pathologies, gastrointestinal problems, allergic reaction and even bad habits are the incomplete list of phenomena that can cause a night cough in a person.

It is clear that only this symptom can not accurately indicate what exactly is happening in the body of the patient, so it is very important to track whether there are any concomitant manifestations, and to pass the examination with a doctor. Only in this case, treatment of a night cough will be successful, and you or your child will get rid of the painful symptom that does not give to sleep. Be healthy!