We treat wet cough quickly and effectively. Prevention of cough in children and adults. Is it contagious? Is it necessary to treat

Good day, dear parents, grandparents. Today we will talk about the occurrence of wet cough in children, we will understand what symptoms characterize this process, what treatment should be and preventive measures.

Variants of sputum

You need to know that there are several options for discharge during a wet cough. Their nature depends on a particular disease:

1. Transparent mucus is characteristic of the common cold (ARVI).
2. When there is very copious sputum production, this is a sign of tracheitis and acute forms of bronchitis.
3. Thick mucus, viscous to the touch - may be present in bronchial asthma.
4. Rust-colored sputum is evidence of an inflammatory process in the lung tissues.
5. If there is pus in the sputum, the baby has an infectious disease or a lung abscess.
6. Cases of sputum accompanied by blood indicate the presence of tuberculosis or heart failure.

Causes

What causes a wet cough:

1. Viral or bacterial infection.
2. Obstructive, chronic or acute form of bronchitis.
3. Bronchial asthma.
4. Tracheitis or laryngitis.
5. Pneumonia, but in remission.
6. Tuberculosis.
7. Purulent inflammation of the lung.
8. Allergies are usually accompanied without fever.
9. Cystic fibrosis or Kartagener's syndrome.
10. Productive runny nose.

As you can see the reasons causing wet cough, a lot. Most of them are not so harmless, so it is extremely important to start treatment on time.

Symptoms of a wet cough

1. A sudden onset of cough that persists for a long time.
2. Wet cough and fever in children (above 38 degrees) for more than two days.
3. Cough, which is accompanied by bloody discharge.
4. Increased breathing: in children 1 year and older - more than 40 breaths per minute, in infants after the second month of life - more than 50, in newborns and babies up to two months - more than 60.
5. Appetite disappears, sleep deteriorates.
6. Green sputum.
7. The appearance of severe wheezing.
8. Chest pain.

These symptoms may indicate the presence of serious illnesses. Therefore, it is necessary to urgently consult a doctor. If the baby wet cough and a runny nose - most often, this is a symptom of ARVI, or a cough occurs due to mucus flowing down the nasopharynx and entering the child’s larynx.

Wet cough in a child without fever

The presence of a wet cough normal indicators body temperature, most often a symptom of a cold. However, if it is prolonged enough, it can develop into chronic form. It is better not to wait for complications and consult a doctor in time. A cough of this nature without fever may also indicate the presence of an allergy, which most often occurs when an allergen is inhaled. A wet cough may also indicate the presence of more serious diseases, such as pneumonia, bronchial asthma or tuberculosis, so it is extremely important to determine the cause of such a cough.

Treatment

Treatment medicines may include the following areas:

1. Mucolytic and expectorant action, both synthetic and herbal preparations. They influence the thinning of sputum viscosity and promote rapid expectoration. These include: Mukaltin, Doctor Mom, Lazolvan and Alteika.
2. Expectorants that affect the dilution and increase in the amount of mucus discharge. May be represented by the following medications: Carbocysteine, dry cough syrup, Acetylcysteine. The dry mixture helped us well (the baby really liked its taste).
3. Drugs that relieve spasms and increase lumen bronchial tree. These are: Papaverine, Salbutamol.
4. If the cause is an allergy, antihistamine therapy is prescribed.
5. If the process is caused by a bacterial infection - antibiotics, accompanied by probiotics.

In addition, you need to know that treatment is also prescribed depending on age categories kids. In general, children under six months of age should be prescribed medications very carefully and not take anything without first consulting with their doctor.

1. If a child has a wet cough per month, he may be prescribed Fluditec. Also, infants are prescribed licorice root or marshmallow, Mucaltin, Gedelix, Flavamed, Bronchipret or Pectusin.
2. At 1 year old, the above medications will be suitable for the baby; Linkas, Prospan or Fluifort will also be allowed.
3. For a 2-year-old child, the medications remain the same, only the dosage increases. Also, at this age, expectorants can already be prescribed, but with increased caution, since not all babies will be able to cope with the expectoration of sputum on their own.
4. A 3-year-old child, in addition to the above medications, is prescribed expectorant medications, both resorptive and reflexive.Regimen
5. Monitor the optimal temperature and humidity in the room (about 20 degrees and 70%, respectively), take care of wet cleaning, at least every other day. Eliminate possible allergens and strong-smelling objects.
6. Make sure your baby drinks more than usual. Compotes and decoctions are good medicinal herbs, mineral water. Regidron may also be prescribed.
7. Walking on fresh air.
8. It is imperative to ventilate the room where the little one is located. During this time, take the child to another room.
9. Take care of moderate motor activity baby. This will facilitate the rapid removal of sputum.

Physiotherapy

1. Inhalations can be carried out simply mineral water, add essential oil or herbal decoctions.
2. Application of paraffin applications to the chest.
3. Ultrasonic heating and electrophoresis. My son was prescribed electrophoresis for acute bronchitis. It is important here that the body temperature is normal. The baby had special plates placed on his chest (but not on his heart) and on his back. So we had to undergo these procedures for five days.
4. Light massage and physiotherapy. If I have a wet cough, I have always done and do with my son physical exercise. Of course, if there is no temperature. This is a small burden, because the baby’s body is weakened by the disease, but it also helps to expel sputum as quickly as possible.

It is important to understand that these physiotherapy procedures are prescribed to children only due to the absence of elevated body temperature. Inhalations also have a number of contraindications, such as: “barking” cough with obvious difficulty in breathing, infections of bacterial origin with the presence of pus in the sputum, intoxication of the body.

Traditional methods of treatment

1. Drink plenty of fluids warm drinks.
2. Use mineral water(for example, Borjomi) or Regidron.
3. It is recommended to drink warm milk diluted 1 to 3 with alkaline mineral water.
4. Use a decoction of herbs, such as sage, coltsfoot, linden or chamomile.
5. Syrup from viburnum berries with sugar.
6. A mixture of one onion (white), two tablespoons of honey, a teaspoon lemon juice. It is necessary to stir thoroughly, let it brew overnight, and distribute the resulting mixture throughout the day.

Prevention

1. Maintaining optimal temperature and humidity in the room, frequent ventilation.
2. Isolation of possible allergens, both among products and in the air.
3. Maintaining hygiene.
4. Limit contact with sick people.
5. Hardening procedures, light massage, physical exercises.
6. Healthy sleep and proper nutrition.
7. Air and sunbathing(frequent walks).

If your child develops any type of cough, you should immediately consult a doctor. A wet cough at night can cause problems normal sleep. It is necessary to promptly diagnose the cause of this pathology and provide the baby with proper treatment; you should not let the disease run and hope that everything will go away on its own, even if you are sure that the cause was common cold. Take care of your baby’s health, follow preventive measures, this way you will minimize the risk of developing the disease and protect your baby from wet cough.

➡ Cough is an excellent defense for our body from everything that gets into the bronchi (viruses, bacteria, dust, food, etc.)

➡ Cough occurs reflexively, in response to irritation of the mucous membrane of the pharynx, larynx, trachea or bronchi, as a result of contraction respiratory muscles. Thus, phlegm is thrown out, and with it what the body considers unnecessary.

💡 Take drugs that suppress moist cough with phlegm is a crime. The body wants to kick out the uninvited guest, but we forcefully close the door.

➡ The cough reflex can persist for quite a long time after the illness (even up to 1 month, sometimes longer). Those. the child is no longer contagious, it has improved general health, but the cough reflex has not yet died down.

➡ Cough is almost always a consequence. This means that in order for the cough to go away, the cause must be eliminated.

➡ Treatment of an uncomplicated cough consists only of helping the body remove what has accumulated there:

IT IS FORBIDDEN:
1. Smoking at home, even outside the room where the child sleeps.
2. Use antitussives for productive (wet) coughs, which interfere with the removal of mucus and sputum from the respiratory tract.
3. Reduce the temperature when it rises to 38.5 degrees and below.
4. Give a child under 2 years of age (preferably under 6 years of age) cough medicines without a doctor’s prescription.

NEED TO:
1. Rinse the child’s nasal passages before meals and before bedtime with isotonic or hypertonic saline solutions.
2. Raise your head and chest while sleeping.
3. Give your child something to drink regularly.
4. Provide access to fresh air (temperature 19-20°C), ventilate the room.
5. If necessary, perform breathing exercises and drainage massage bronchi.

💡 Alarming symptoms.
Sometimes the disease that causes the cough seriously threatens the health and life of the child. If you experience any of the following symptoms, you should definitely consult a doctor as soon as possible.

– Cough immediately after feeding
– Cough arising from the background full health, for example, during the game
– Cough, recurring long time in the early hours
– Cough against a background of rapid and noisy breathing
– Cough accompanied by vomiting, respiratory arrest, loss of consciousness
– Cough, prolonged, with weight loss and fever in the evenings
– Barking cough, difficulty breathing
– Blood or pus in the sputum

What is rapid breathing?
Rapid breathing (tachypnea) is a change in breathing rhythm. Children always do more breathing movements in 1 minute than adults.
What is the normal breathing rate for children?

💡 You only need to measure in a calm state!

Shortness of breath is a change in the frequency and depth of breathing, which is accompanied by a feeling of lack of air.

The result of an irritant effect on the cough receptors of the larynx, bronchi, trachea, and nasal cavity is dry painful cough. The easiest way to cause a cough is after irritation of the “cough zones” of the posterior wall of the pharynx, trachea and pleura. The irritant often causes coughing. Relief from a dry cough depends on what kind of disease it accompanies.

Causes of dry cough

Almost certainly, the reason that caused such a cough in the baby is a reaction to hidden inflammation in the body or some kind of allergen. However, it is also possible that the surrounding air is simply oversaturated with dust particles or other contaminants. You and your children can swallow handfuls of antibiotics, but they will not relieve a dry cough if it is a reaction to:

• smoking tobacco,
• inhalation of various toxic substances that irritate the mucous membranes,
• dust or dust mites,
• helminthic invasion and migration of roundworms.

If all these reasons are excluded, then a barking, dry, painful cough is undoubted evidence of hidden inflammatory processes, under the influence of which irritation of cough receptors located in the respiratory tract occurs. The baby's cough has become dry because usually, when the disease is still in its initial stage, there is simply nothing to cough up, and sometimes sputum formation does not occur at all. That is why the relief effect often does not occur.

If dry barking cough caused by a cold, it is dry only at the beginning, since then the receptors of the upper respiratory tract are irritated, but after a few days the cough becomes wet and productive, bringing relief.

Types of dry cough in young children:

• By duration: constant, short-term, episodic and paroxysmal;
• According to the course: acute or chronic;
• By nature: unproductive and productive.

The presence of sputum when coughing is very important indicator. If dryness is observed when coughing, this may mean that the sputum has high viscosity, the cough reflex is not sufficiently expressed, bronchial patency is impaired, insufficient deep breathing and other reasons. In such cases, a cough syrup may be prescribed. If your son or daughter has a wet cough, then the color of the sputum is important, as well as its nature; they may be characteristic of a certain disease.

Important! If you or your children suffer from coughing attacks, then under no circumstances should you take medications that suppress the cough center. The airways will clear much faster if you treat such a cough with folk remedies that help mucus clear from the body faster.

Treatments

Basically, the course of treatment for dry cough comes down to calming the cough center. To help your child during this period it is necessary:

• Take medications for dry cough as prescribed by your pediatrician.
• They use drugs from the category of mucolytics that help make sputum more liquid and transform the cough into a productive wet one, followed by the separation of sputum and its removal from the body. These drugs include Bromhexine Berlin Hemi or Bromhexine Nycomed. IN last years appeared no less effective medicines, for example, "Halixol" or "Ambrobene".
• Give your child plenty of fluids to treat a dry cough.
• Frequently ventilate the room in which the child is located.

If a dry cough with fever is a symptom of a developing acute respiratory infection, acute respiratory viral infection or cold, then the first and main task is to quickly transform it into a productive wet cough. To do this, you need to use mucolytics - drugs that thin the sputum to ensure its removal. Steam inhalation also significantly relieves dry cough. Helps well light massage chest and reflex zones.

Is it possible to use Lazolvan for a dry cough?

The medicine Lazolvan quickly eliminates cough and is suitable even for one-year-old children. The main thing to consider is that drugs with the same name are available in different form factors and adult tablets, even in crushed form, are not always suitable for children with a dry cough.

And, importantly, Lazolvan does not always soothe a dry cough, because the cause of an attack can also be the entry of a foreign object or piece of food into the respiratory tract. Therefore, be careful not to give small children toys with small parts that they can inhale.

To make the treatment of dry cough in children as effective as possible, you should take medications in parallel with Lazolvan that thin the mucus in the respiratory tract and massage the chest. Babies under 6 months should not have chest rubs, steam inhalations and give them antihistamines.

Mucolytic agents

The main type of drugs used to transform a dry cough into a productive one are mucolytics, the most effective of which is considered to be Fluditec. If a dry cough does not occur against the background colds, and for other reasons, treatment should begin with finding and eliminating the cause of the cough. Often, a dry cough appears when there is insufficient air humidity in the room, and the use of moisturizing techniques will help cope with the problem without resorting to treatment.

Antitussives

These are exactly the drugs that suppress dry cough. They make a central impact on the cough center in the child’s brain, or gently act on the receptors.

Expectorants

Medicines that speed up the removal of sputum.

Important! To cure a dry cough in a child, do not use narcotic drugs(dimemorphan, ethylmorphine, codeine). They can only be used as prescribed by a doctor, and for very serious diseases, such as whooping cough.

For acute respiratory infections, it is best to give to a child combined agents Doctor Mom and Codelac phyto. Be sure to monitor the dosage carefully.

Traditional treatment

Inhalations for dry cough

IN medical institutions inhalations are carried out using devices called nebulizers. The principle of operation of the nebulizer is to convert medicinal product into a kind of aerosol cloud, which the patient inhales through a special tube.

“Home” antitussive inhalations for dry coughs are carried out as follows: in a low container, a concentrated solution baking soda you need to bring to a boil, then cool to 50 0 -60 0 C, place the container on a flat surface (table, cabinet) and, throwing a towel over your head, inhale the warm steam for 10-15 minutes.

Baking soda will not only disinfect the respiratory tract, but can also thin phlegm. Baking soda is used for inhalation and gargling. Useful rinse throat will be when the cause of coughing is small child is inflammation in the larynx. If the inflammation is in the trachea or upper section bronchi, then rinsing will have no effect, it will not be able to relieve an attack of dry cough. In such cases, inhalations with soda solution. You can add a decoction of oregano or chamomile to the inhalation mixture for dry cough.

Therapeutic compresses:

1. If your child has a dry cough without fever, you can make a foot bath at home. Water should be heated gradually from 37 o to 40 o -42 o. After 10-15 minutes of such a bath, the child’s feet should be thoroughly dried with a terry towel and put on socks with dry mustard poured into them. This will keep you warm and help enhance the effect of steaming your feet.
2. You can cure a child's dry cough with compresses made from cabbage leaves or cottage cheese. Cabbage leaf applied to the chest and back and tied with a warm scarf; this compress can be left until the morning. Cottage cheese cake too excellent medicine for dry cough, thinning mucus in the respiratory tract.

If, despite the measures taken, the cough continues for more than 10 days, it is accompanied by elevated temperature And chest pain– you need to see a doctor.

Prolonged dry cough

This cough can be acute (up to three weeks) or chronic (a period of about 8 weeks or more). A cough in a child that appears more than 3-4 times over the course of a year without acute symptoms infections (fever, general weakness, runny nose, painful syndromes in the throat, etc.)

A cough can be divided into a productive (wet) cough (with sputum production) and a non-productive cough without sputum (dry). Sputum production is a sign that the bronchi are irritated pathogenic microbes that provoke high excretion secret. A dry cough may indicate allergic reaction, and foreign microparticles entering the nasopharynx. But do not forget that if a child has a prolonged dry cough without fever, this does not always mean that viral infection No. In children of the first years of life nonproductive cough often associated with increased sputum viscosity and poor development muscular system bronchi. However, sputum still forms. Modern medicine believes that she needs to be removed. IN similar cases Pediatricians prescribe expectorants in the form of syrups or tablets that thin mucus and stimulate the formation of a productive cough.

Prolonged dry cough is a disease in which there is no formation of sputum in the nasopharynx or lungs for a long time.

Causes of prolonged cough

• Viral diseases – very common after past infections The child continues to cough for several weeks with a dry cough, which worsens at night.
• Bronchial spasms - a dry cough at night may indicate spasm of the bronchial tubes, which are caused by inflammation.
• Allergic processes - frequent sneezing- main feature allergic rhinitis.
• Irritation from smoke, dust, chemicals, which are very often present in the work environment.
• Asthma - a chronic dry cough can be a sign of mild asthma.
• Airway blockage foreign objects: food or medicine.

Treatment of long-term dry cough

A dry cough with fever over a long period of time often brings many problems; for treatment you need to follow a few simple recommendations:

• Complete the treatment of viral and bacterial diseases;
• Spend more time outdoors;
• Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day;
• Avoid contact with allergens and ingredients.

Barking dry cough

In most cases, it is a sign of laryngitis. The disease progresses rapidly and in a matter of days, along with a dry cough, noticeable hoarseness appears, the cause of which is noticeable swelling vocal cords. The temperature rises on the second day and if treatment is not started on time, laryngitis develops into severe form (false croup).

The disease manifests itself suddenly, mainly in the evening or at night. The patient wakes up from a suffocating attack of barking cough, and within a matter of hours, suffocation develops from these attacks. The latter appears due to swelling of the laryngeal mucosa and accumulation of huge amount sputum in the lumen.

Sometimes it happens that all the symptoms of the disease resemble diphtheria croup, but unlike it, false croup involves respite in the form of a fading and re-flashing attack of a dry barking cough. In general, the term “croup” means nothing more than a fairly acute infectious condition, during which a “croupy” barking cough appears, wheezing when inhaling, hoarseness of the vocal cords and other signs of breathing problems due to severe narrowing of the lumen of the larynx.

Treatment of dry barking cough

Laryngitis – serious illness, therefore, when the first symptoms appear, you should definitely call a doctor at home.

1. You can take inhalations for a dry cough. To do this, boil a pan with a solution of baking soda, the steam of which must be inhaled by the sick person for 10-12 minutes.
2. It also doesn’t hurt to humidify the air in the room, for example, open hot water in the bathroom and stay there while waiting for the doctor.
3. From healthy drink You should add milk heated in a water bath with a pinch of baking soda.
4. To cure a baby's dry cough, you can use squeezed radish juice, which can be mixed with a small amount honey.
5. Also, it would not hurt to cover the patient’s neck with a cloth soaked in warm water, good remedy A warm foot bath is considered parallel to this.

It is quite possible that the visiting doctor will insist on hospitalization, although if the patient’s condition is not severe, then perhaps he will be offered bed rest and a number of drugs that suppress cough and have anti-infective properties.

Doctor Komarovsky on how to treat a dry cough in a child

When children get sick it is always unpleasant. Especially when the child is suffering from a strong cough against the background high temperature. The baby is capricious, refuses to eat and sleeps poorly. It is very important not to panic at such a moment, but to do everything correctly in order to alleviate the child’s condition as much as possible and speed up his recovery.

Features of a wet cough

After the first commandment of the physician “do no harm” has been observed, it is time to take active actions for improvement general condition child. When there is such an opportunity, it is better to show it to the doctor as soon as possible. If the temperature rises at night, you will have to cope on your own.

How to treat a baby

First of all, measures must be taken to stabilize body temperature. If it is too high - 38.5 or higher, you will have to give antipyretics "Ibuprofen", "Metamizole", "Amidopyrine". Although these drugs can only be given to children when extreme cases, when no other drugs work and strictly in accordance with the recommended dosage instructions.

Tried and tested ones help bring down the temperature folk remedies. For example, baths with water at room temperature for hands. It is useful to wipe the baby with a cotton napkin soaked in vinegar diluted in half with water. After this, you need to wipe it dry and cover it with a not too warm blanket. You can place a napkin soaked in this solution on the baby’s forehead (you must squeeze it very well so that the vinegar does not get into the eyes!).

Expectorants will help you get rid of sputum faster: Lazolvan, Gerbion, Ambroxol, Doctor Mom, Plantain Syrup and others. Many of them also have anti-inflammatory properties, quickly relieve sore throats and make breathing easier. It is better not to give such medications at night - the sputum that comes out will interfere with the child’s ability to sleep normally.

If necessary, you will have to use antibacterial or antiviral drugs. Antibiotics are most often prescribed to children wide range actions. But if you have been tested, and the doctor knows exactly the causative agent of the disease, then narrowly targeted drugs can be used that have less side effects and do not kill microflora beneficial to the body.

Antihistamines, which are useful not only for coughs, help relieve swelling of the mucous membranes, which usually accompanies a wet cough. allergic origin. They reduce the secretion of mucus, so it becomes easier for the child to breathe, and he can quickly cough up excess mucus that has already accumulated.

Antihistamines “Diazolin”, “Claritin”, “Suprastin”, etc. are often produced for children in the form of syrups. But they also do not last long. As soon as the condition improves, they are canceled.

Home care

An important part of treatment is correct home care for a sick child. Mucus accumulated in the throat must be removed as often as possible so that it does not enter the bronchi. Therefore, you should give it to your baby at least 5-6 times a day. warm drink: decoctions of chamomile, linden, sage; tea from raspberry or currant leaves; warm water with honey and a little lemon juice.

Good against cough warm milk, to which you can add a little honey, ghee, cocoa butter, goat butter or badger fat. But it is important to remember that it weakens the effect of antibiotics. Therefore, you can give milk no earlier than 1.5-2 hours before or after taking the tablets. Drinking it at night will help your baby fall asleep faster.

You need to clean your nose regularly. Usually a wet cough with fever is accompanied by profuse thick discharge. Snot runs down back wall larynx, irritate it, intensifying the cough, and accumulate in the bronchi.

You can use nasal drops on plant based, for example, "Pinosol". They have anti-inflammatory and antibacterial effect and can even heal your throat a little.

It is necessary to comply with additional conditions, significantly accelerating the healing process:

Under no circumstances should you adjust the prescribed treatment yourself, change the dosage of medications, or add new medications. All infectious diseases require the right complex treatment. This is the only way to avoid possible complications and reduce sick time.