How to cure children's dry cough. What to give a child with a dry cough: drug therapy and alternative methods. Physicians identify other provoking factors

Dry cough is a rather painful condition for children. Attacks torment the baby constantly, but relief does not come. You can help him with quite traditional medicines from a pharmacy, but many parents prefer folk remedies that will quickly and effectively save the child from suffocating attacks. We will talk about such recipes from the arsenal of alternative medicine in this article.

Peculiarities

Cough is not an independent disease, it is just a symptom that indicates that something has gone wrong in the child's body. And, before deciding the issue of treating this symptom, you need to understand that a reasonable approach is when the cause is treated, not the effect. To find it, see a doctor.

Cough in children is most often associated with acute respiratory diseases, influenza. However, foreign objects can also enter the respiratory tract. In addition, children often suffer from allergic cough. There is even a nervous cough reflex, mainly in hyperexcitable and restless children, subject to severe stress.

The duration of the cough is acute, protracted, subacute and chronic. An illness that torments a baby for no longer than 2 weeks is called acute. If the child has been coughing for about a month, doctors talk about a protracted nature, and if about 2 months - about subacute. If you have not been able to cope with the problem for 8 weeks, then the child has a chronic illness that will require long-term and serious treatment.

According to the timbre, the cough is divided into dry and wet. Dry is quite easy to recognize, since it is unproductive or unproductive, in other words, it is not accompanied by sputum. Sometimes it has the character of a barking, as the sound strongly resembles a dog's bark.

The cough reflex with a dry cough occurs in response to irritation of the respiratory mucosa, which is caused by viruses. That is why a dry cough is considered one of the clearest signs of the onset of the flu or SARS. The allergic reflex is also usually dry. But in this case, irritation of the receptors is caused by allergens that the child inhales along with the air (pollen, particles of household chemicals, polluted air, tobacco smoke, toxic fumes).

With a nervous cough, the cause of excitation of the receptors should be sought in neuropsychic disorders, in psychosomatics. Neither medication nor folk remedies will be effective with it, since it is necessary to treat the nervous system, and not the respiratory organs.

Dry cough is characterized by an increased frequency of attacks, especially strongly he overcomes the child at night. Many children complain of pain in the sternum.

Parents should be aware that different types of cough are treated in completely different ways. Wet requires the use of mucolytic and expectorant drugs, and with dry it is important to reduce the intensity of the cough reflex. With regard to the choice of folk remedies for treatment, the same rule applies. If a mother finds it difficult to determine the nature of her child's cough, you should not treat at random, it is better to consult a doctor.

Dr. Komarovsky will tell about the types, features and dangers of dry cough in children in the next video.

Causes of dry cough

As already mentioned, the most “harmless” and easily eliminated cause of dry cough is the initial stage of the flu or an acute respiratory viral infection. This happens most often, but do not forget that it is dry cough that is accompanied by other diseases, it is better not to even think about treating many of which at home:

• Bronchial asthma. Dry exhausting reflex in this disease has a paroxysmal character. Often attacks are accompanied by suffocation, they need the immediate use of the drug.
• Pneumonia (inflammation of the lungs). An unproductive cough in this disease is deaf, monophonic with frequent attacks, which intensify if the child actively moves, runs, breathes more often.
• Various inflammations of the trachea, bronchi and larynx. The cough may be barking, rough, accompanied by a hoarse voice.
• Pleurisy with dry flow. With it, a dry cough is very painful, the child is limited in movement, since any change in body position causes severe pain in the chest.
• Malignant neoplasms (tumors) in the tissues of the respiratory system. The reflex with such a problem can manifest itself in different ways, so this condition is the most difficult to diagnose.
• Whooping cough. An unproductive cough in this disease quite often ends in vomiting. Such a reflex is practically not amenable to treatment with medications, but passes on its own over time.
• Allergy. The cough reflex is permanent, cough does not change the timbre and depth of sound. The mucous membranes of the nasopharynx have a grayish pale tint.
• Pulmonary tuberculosis. An unproductive cough in this disease is of a long, protracted nature. Sometimes parents confuse it with chronic. This condition requires an early visit to the hospital, as tuberculosis is dangerous and contagious.

When you can not do only folk remedies

Any fact of a dry cough should alert sane parents and force them to make an appointment for a child with a doctor. If the doctor confirms that the symptom is caused by a viral infection, you can treat it with a clear conscience at home, including folk remedies.

However, statistics are a stubborn thing, and it says that every fifth child whose mother brought her to the doctor with complaints of a dry cough actually inhaled a foreign body, for example, a small piece from a toy. In this situation, folk remedies will not help, it is required to remove the object as soon as possible, until severe inflammation begins.

Dry cough may be a symptom of coronary heart disease, as well as testify to problems with hematopoiesis. These conditions require highly specialized treatment, naturally, not with antitussive drugs and non-folk cough recipes.

That is why it is important to visit a doctor and undergo the necessary additional diagnostics.

Effective folk remedies and methods

When treating dry cough at home, parents should be very careful and respond to the slightest changes in the child's condition. Dry cough is a very insidious symptom. So, laryngitis, which is accompanied by this type of symptom, can turn into a complication in the form of false croup. Without a quick response from the parents and timely medical assistance, the child may suffocate. It is better if, before choosing a prescription for alternative medicine, mom still consults with a doctor.

There are a lot of recipes for dry cough. Let's look at the most famous, popular and generation-tested children.

pine buds

You can buy them at any pharmacy or prepare them yourself. In boiling milk (half a liter), you need to add a tablespoon of fragrant pine buds. Infuse such a coniferous drink for at least 3 hours, then strain and give the child a quarter cup several times a day.

Onion with milk

A couple of medium-sized onions should be cut into rings or half rings and boiled in milk until cooked (the rings should become soft). The drink is cooled, filtered and a teaspoon of linden honey is added. A single dosage is a tablespoon; the child should be given water frequently - every two hours for three days. This is usually enough to soften the cough and reduce its intensity. If the child is under 3 years old, you should not put honey in the drink, it can cause allergies. Replace the bee product with sugar or fructose.

Mustard

A useful product that will help to quickly cure a dry cough. A tablespoon of mustard seeds should be mixed with a spoonful of vegetable oil, a spoonful of honey and two tablespoons of 9% vinegar. Heat it all up, but don't boil it. Knead two tablespoons of flour into the resulting mass and form cakes. Put wet gauze, a layer of cling film on the chest and back of the child, lay out warm mustard cakes and cover with cotton wool on top. This compress can be left for 4 hours.

In no case should the procedure be carried out for infants, since all the ingredients are strong allergens, and warming up can disrupt the baby's heat transfer.

Barley

100 g of barley grains are ground into powder, poured into 250 ml of water and brewed in a water bath for 30 minutes. Then the resulting liquid is infused, filtered and given to the child in a warm form several times a day. Such a recipe has practically no age restrictions, it can be given to children up to a year and older children.

Pine nuts

In milk (1 liter), 50 g of unpeeled pine nuts or a whole pine cone should be boiled. Strain, chill. Give the child 1-2 tablespoons 5-6 times a day.

Garlic ointment

A few large cloves of garlic should be chopped or rubbed on a fine grater, mixed with badger fat or liquid paraffin, insisted in the refrigerator and rubbed into the heels of a child with a dry cough at night.

Ginger

Ginger root should be washed, peeled, grated or finely chopped. Such a mass per serving of the drink will be required at the tip of a teaspoon. Pour boiled, but not boiling water over ginger, let it brew. If necessary, add currant juice, raspberries, honey or sugar and let the child drink at night.

Inhalations with essential oils

For such procedures with an unproductive cough, it is best to use eucalyptus and fir oils. They should not drip too much, 1 drop is enough. Together with oils, use medicinal plants and preparations for inhalation that have antitussive properties - sage, coltsfoot.

Compresses

Compresses for an unproductive cough can be made from cottage cheese, from calcined salt. The main rule is no compresses and inhalations if the child has a fever. First you need to reduce the heat, and only then move on to warming procedures.

• In the home where a child with a non-productive cough lives, it is necessary create optimal environmental conditions. They will help you recover faster, and in the future will be an excellent prevention of respiratory diseases. The air in the apartment should not be too dry. To do this, use special humidifiers, bringing the humidity level to 50-70%. If there is no such device, you can hang wet towels over the batteries and make sure that they do not dry out.
• The air temperature, which contributes to recovery, is not higher than 19 degrees. The room must be ventilated several times a day and at least once a day to do wet cleaning.
• For inhalation, which is very effective for dry cough, use a special device - an inhaler. If, like half a century ago, you cover a baby with a blanket over his head and force him to breathe over boiled potatoes, you can complicate his already significant health problems with burns on the mucous membranes of the nasopharynx, trachea and bronchi.
• The best procedure that should accompany the treatment of an unproductive cough is a plentiful warm drink. It will promote the formation of sputum, which will turn the cough into a productive one and the child will recover much faster.
• If folk remedies, despite all your efforts, could not cope with a dry cough, you need to see a doctor. The "critical" period is considered to be 2 weeks from the start of therapy. If there is no relief, sputum does not form, the intensity of the cough does not decrease, additional symptoms (temperature) appear, this is a reason to stop home treatment and go to the medicines prescribed by the doctor.

Some interesting tips on the treatment of dry cough in children can be seen in the following video.

• Komarovsky about cough
• Treatment
• At night
• potions
• Folk remedies

Dry painful cough occurs in both newborns and older children. You can cope with the disease by contacting a doctor, and drinking a bunch of drugs, with side effects, or use proven folk remedies.

Features of dry cough in children, causes, forms

Before starting treatment, it is necessary to identify the cause. Very often, a cough occurs due to dry air in the room, due to dust and lack of water in the body. The room in which the child is located should be frequently ventilated and daily wet cleaning should be carried out in it. During the heating season, air humidification is necessary with special devices or a spray gun.

Children under one year old cannot cough up, so they are tormented by a dry cough. Phlegm accumulates on the nasal mucosa and causes a gag reflex - a protective reaction of the body to cleanse the respiratory tract. To help babies get rid of mucus, they should be given frequent water and vibration massage (the child is placed on the knees of an adult with a breast, the back is rubbed with oil and there is a slight tapping on it).

Advice: Vibration massage does not cause any harm to the newborn, it can be done to cleanse the lungs of the child.

An allergic cough to dust or pollen is possible. In the spring, you will have to protect the child from contact with flowering plants and consult a doctor for the selection of antihistamines. Traditional medicine for allergies is powerless.

Treatment with folk remedies is most relevant in the very early stages of a cold, you should not start the disease. A huge variety of expectorant herbs will quickly relieve the child of dry cough.

With an increase in temperature or prolonged unsuccessful treatment, it is imperative to contact a pediatrician.

Dry cough can be caused by:

• Complicated viral infection.
• Whooping cough.
• Flu.
• Laryngitis.
• Measles.
• Bronchitis.
• Asthma.
• False croup.
• Sinusitis.
• Stress (nervous cough that torments the child during the day).

Herbal remedies: breast collection, licorice, ginger and others

For coughing, rinsing with infusions of anti-inflammatory herbs and ingesting them well help. These are chamomile, sage, mother and stepmother, oregano, thyme, etc. Pharmacists have created a chest collection from such herbs, which acts as an expectorant and tonic.

In this case, the child does not have to be awake. Coniferous oils dripped into an aroma lamp or just a container of hot water are especially good for facilitating breathing. Such inhalations strengthen the immune system and can become a daily evening ritual.

1. Licorice is the most popular expectorant. The syrup is often prescribed for children, but do not forget that it contains alcohol and a huge amount of sugar. Therefore, it is better to use the dried roots of the plant and prepare a decoction or infusion on your own. The use of this drug is permissible for a week, long-term use disrupts the water-electrolyte balance and adversely affects the state of health.
2. Ginger is also brewed with boiling water, infused and consumed warm with honey by a child. It has not only an expectorant, but also an immunomodulatory effect. Daily addition of a small amount of grated ginger will help resist viral infections during an exacerbation.
3. Radish with honey is an antimicrobial agent: a hole is cut out in the fruit, a spoonful of honey is placed in it, after 3 hours you can scoop out the juice and take it 1 tbsp. l. before meals 4 times a day. Radish is used to treat chronic lung diseases.
4. Boiled onions with milk, butter and honey is a popular and affordable recipe for grandmothers. It has an enveloping and mucolytic effect.

Before going to bed, it is worth using not expectorants, but soothing mucous agents:

• Honey with milk.
• Bananas crushed with milk.
• Herbal tea (any anti-inflammatory and loved by the child) with milk.

It is believed that milk also tends to secrete a lot of mucus. Therefore, if the child does not sleep well and chokes on mucus, it is worth abandoning the evening portion.

When using expectorant infusions before going to bed, mucus will accumulate at night. The child will have difficulty breathing and will cough and not sleep.

Vegetable oil, cottage cheese, apple cider vinegar

The most common compress recipe is from vegetable oil, honey and alcohol, in a ratio of 1:1:1. The solution is applied to gauze, applied to the chest, wrapped with cling film. Such a compress has a warming effect, impregnates the skin and helps to thin and soften sputum. Even an hourly compress is sufficient for use; it is not necessary to leave it at night. Yes, and it is dangerous if the temperature rises.

A compress with apple cider vinegar has also proven to be a good helper in the fight against dry cough. Before applying it, it is worth smearing the child with oil so that there is no skin irritation. Then apply the soaked gauze to the area of ​​the lungs, from the side of the chest and from the back. Keep no more than 20 minutes.

Very important: With severe weakness, temperature, warming compresses are contraindicated.

Another old recipe from cottage cheese with honey, it is believed that such a mass draws out old mucus and helps with advanced forms of bronchitis. This compress lowers the temperature. Recipe: for 100 g of cottage cheese 1 tbsp. l. honey, the mass is heated in a water bath and placed on the patient, wrapped with cling film. Such a compress should be done all night.

Salt compress is also able to draw out the disease, but for delicate children's skin, it can be an irritant. After it, you need to smear the skin with a nourishing cream.

Fats: badger, bear

Badger fat is able to cope even with tuberculosis, and with a protracted dry cough, it will cope in one application. It will take 3 days for a full recovery. It is used in melted form, 1 tsp each. before meals. Since children do not really like it in its pure form, it can be mixed with honey and milk. Badger fat envelops the irritated throat, soothes it and has a strong expectorant effect.

The analogue is bear fat, which is just as common and effective. Its regular use improves immunity. In folk medicine, other animal fats are also used in the fight against dry cough: goose, pork. All of them have a softening effect.

Fat is also used in the form of compresses, for warming up and removing sputum. Apply melted, overnight, in the absence of temperature.

Badger and bear fat have special trace elements that are not found in regular fat, and therefore are more valued.

Note: When buying healing fat from your hands, you need to check for a veterinary certificate.

Contraindications for treatment

Contraindications for treatment with folk remedies are:

• The presence of a serious disease in which it is necessary to consult a doctor.
• Individual intolerance, which is expressed in the deterioration of health, nausea, vomiting.
• Allergic reaction.

When treating with folk remedies, it is worth combining them, and the addition of drug treatment is also acceptable. It has been proven that these recipes are effective, do not be lazy and do them regularly, then you can do without drugs. Of course, it is easier to take a pill and become healthy, and less hassle. But everyone knows that medicines treat one thing, and cripple another. This does not mean at all that you should not consult a doctor, it is simply necessary to defeat the disease at the initial stage.

Advice: If a child refuses to take a useful decoction, you do not need to force him, do not focus on the fact that this is medicine. It is acceptable to mix decoctions (infusions) with sweet tea or milk.

Treatment of dry cough with folk remedies is not only effective and inexpensive, but also has a positive outlook. There is no need to clog the children's body with medicines that have side effects and cause an allergic reaction. Treatment of cough at the initial stage is important for health, do not neglect the first signs of the disease. Herbal anti-inflammatory teas should always be on hand. The child should use them in everyday life, then the disease will be easier.

If the baby coughs up sputum, you just need to understand where this sputum comes from, and the rest, as they say, is a matter of technology. With an unproductive dry cough, everything is more complicated - it has more possible causes, and therefore, more treatment algorithms.

So that the child does not cough for a long time, and would not take useless pills, let's try to go from the other end. In fact, why is it dry?

Everything is very simple: if the child does not cough up sputum, then this sputum is either too thick, or it simply does not exist. If you and I decide whether there is sputum, half the work is already done. It remains only to distribute tasks between doctors and understand how much time you and I have to help the baby. It doesn't take much from us - to listen to the cough.

barking cough

This cough has a very rough and very loud sound. If a child can complain, with this cough, he will certainly tell you that he has or has a chest pain (yes, yes!). If the cough is loud, then the voice apparatus, namely the larynx, takes part in it. A barking cough is a sign of inflammation and swelling in the larynx.

What to do. If the child has recently fallen ill and has a barking cough, you do not need to wait for the pediatrician - you need to call an ambulance (required if the child is not yet three years old). Swelling of the larynx can lead to its spasm, which means it is physically impossible to breathe. In the meantime, the ambulance has not arrived, just open the windows - let there be more oxygen in the room. All other actions are best left for later - ambulances arrive quickly for such calls. And do not refuse the offer to take the child to the hospital - if, again, the baby is less than three years old, laryngitis is simply dangerous for him. If doctors offer to go to the hospital, then they simply do not want to take risks. You don't want that either, do you?

Dry prolonged cough

If the cough is not barking, there is time to sort out its causes and part with them - if not forever, then for a long time. Dry prolonged cough is of two types - deep, when the child coughs at the expense of the lungs, and shallow. When the problem leading to coughing is either in the throat, or in the larynx, or in the trachea.

It is very easy to distinguish these types of cough from one another.

Dry lung cough not only heard, but also seen. The chest is involved in coughing movements, so sometimes a child can literally bend in half during a coughing fit. By the way, these attacks last quite a long time - from a minute or more. But no matter how much the attack continues, it will seem to you and the child that much more time has passed than it really is. The lung cough is really exhausting.

Superficial dry cough is only audible, and it worries not so much the child as his parents. That, however, does not negate the need to look for its cause and fight it. The attacks of superficial cough last less, the cough itself is quieter, but it is very often accompanied by hoarseness. This is not surprising - a superficial dry cough very often occurs with inflammation somewhere near the larynx.

What to do with a superficial dry cough. The main doctor who treats a superficial dry cough is an ENT. Inflammation in the throat or larynx can simply be seen, but it is almost impossible to listen. So, a trip to the doctors should begin with an otolaryngologist.

It is very important that the ENT, after examination and diagnosis (most often the diagnosis is pharyngitis or laryngitis), would prescribe not only local antiseptics - bioparox (it is actually an antibiotic, but in this case it is not so important) or hexoral, but also local anti-inflammatory agents. And the doctor should also recommend treatment aimed at reducing swelling of the mucous membranes and stagnation of blood in them (we see this as redness of the mucous membranes).

It turns out that in the appointments there must be such means as OKI (solution for rinsing), tantumverde (spray or solution for rinsing), or at least cameton. If there are problems with the larynx (hoarseness), the doctor is simply obliged to prescribe also mustard plasters - or at least hot steam inhalations. Well, if he doesn’t, you yourself ask him about it.

What to do with a dry pulmonary cough. When a dry cough is caused by damage to the lungs or bronchi, then antibiotics can be dispensed with very rarely. Bronchitis and pneumonia are no joke. It is important that these cough antibiotics are properly selected so that doctors do not have to persuade you later on a second or even third course of treatment. And this means that you will not only have to invite a pediatrician to examine the child, but also insist on an examination - before treatment is prescribed.

How to start this survey?

When the pediatrician listens to the child, be sure to ask him what he heard. Wheezing and hard breathing (just such a term that doctors often use) means that there is sputum in the lungs, which means the diagnosis is either, or pneumonia. And treatment must begin immediately. Accept that the pediatrician will prescribe antibiotics - you can’t do without them now. But so that the child does not cough (or coughs up easier), anti-inflammatory drugs (for example, erespal) and sputum thinners will be needed. By the way, against the background of antibiotics, even pneumonia does not last very long - up to 10 days. So, the cough will also stop pretty soon.

But if the doctor says that the lungs are clear, this means that the examination needs to be continued - some lung problems are simply impossible to listen to. To understand if they are, an x-ray is needed. And if the picture shows an enhanced vascular pattern (as if the lungs are covered with a mesh or cobweb), then the cause of the cough is either chlamydial or mycoplasma infection in the lungs.

These, of course, are not the chlamydia and mycoplasmas that gynecologists treat so recklessly. These are spread through the air, and no one is safe from meeting with them. Do I need to take tests to understand if it is a chlamydial infection, or mycoplasma? Not necessary. They are treated with the same antibiotics - sumamed or, for example, klacid. But for coughing, drugs that relieve bronchospasm will help - just remind the doctor about this when he prescribes the medicine. By the way, a cough goes away after chlamydia or mycoplasmas for a long time - up to two, and sometimes up to three weeks - even against the background of antibiotics.

Any malaise causes fear in parents. If a child develops a dry cough, but without a fever, not all adults understand what factor influenced the occurrence of the problem. Is it a cold, a severe viral infection or allergy symptoms? It's hard to understand.

Medical advice will help parents determine why the baby is coughing. Be attentive to the problem: coughing is often a sign of dangerous diseases.

Possible causes

Unpleasant symptoms occur under the influence of various factors. Among them: colds, allergic reactions, inhalation of a foreign object.

Common reasons:

• penetration of the infection into the upper respiratory tract. Dangerous diseases - whooping cough, laryngitis, pharyngitis. The kid tries to clear his throat, turns red, the body tenses. With frequent attacks, muscles hurt due to overexertion;
• physiological cough. Sometimes children up to a year after waking up try to clear their throat. If the baby is calm, whims, anxiety, no fever, then you should not worry. The airways are simply cleared of natural mucus accumulated during the night;
• problems with the work of the digestive tract. Gastroesophageal reflux is the name of an unpleasant condition. Food mixed with acidic gastric juice is again thrown into the esophagus, “burns” the walls, provokes a long-lasting coughing fit.

Doctors identify other provoking factors:

Note! With ARVI, influenza, attacks of dry cough are observed in a certain period, but in most young patients, the temperature rises at the same time. If the temperature indicators are almost normal, and the test results show the presence of a virus, then the body is so weak that it does not fight the infection well.

Types of dry cough

Symptoms vary in nature, duration, severity of the process. During the visit to the otolaryngologist, give the doctor as much information as possible about the child's severe dry cough.

Severity:

• coughing;
• light;
• medium heavy.

Character:

• throat;
• barking;
• whistling;
• suffocating.

Process duration:

• spicy. The baby has been coughing badly for three weeks;
• subacute. Symptoms of varying degrees manifest up to two months;
• chronic. The problem does not disappear for 8 weeks or more.

Duration:

• constant. Symptoms appear intermittently;
• episodic. Cough is short-term, occurs infrequently.

The child tries to clear his throat at a certain time of the day:

• only after waking up;
• in the evening;
• during the day.

Sign of dangerous diseases

The child tries to cough up, but instead of sputum, only wheezing comes out of the throat, is a strange whistle heard? Contact your ENT doctor or pulmonologist without delay: dry cough often signals the development of pathological processes in the lungs, bronchi, and larynx.

Barking cough accompanies several types of diseases:

• laryngitis, pharyngitis are characterized by severe inflammation of the throat, larynx;
• false croup is dangerous due to swelling of the vocal cords and larynx;
• whooping cough is rare, but the course is severe, when trying to cough up the child is very tense, the voice becomes hoarse;
• diphtheria. A dangerous pathology is rarely diagnosed due to mandatory vaccination. A contagious disease requires immediate treatment: with diphtheria, dangerous complications are possible.

false croup

Among the above pathologies of the ENT organs, edema of the larynx and throat is of particular danger.

What's happening:

• with a false croup, the tissues swell, the lumen narrows for air to enter;
• the result - the baby suffocates.

How to proceed:

• immediate medical consultation is required: parents should call an ambulance;
• the doctor will assess the condition of a small patient, relieve dangerous symptoms with the help of potent drugs;
• most often, for successful therapy, control of seizures, accompanied by swelling, hospital treatment is required, the introduction of a special serum.

Don't start a problem visit a pediatric otolaryngologist (ENT doctor) if your son or daughter has the following symptoms:

• loss of voice/hissing when talking;
• barking cough, deep, paroxysmal;
• inhalation is accompanied by a whistle;
• the patient is pale, feels unwell;
• at night, the baby tries to cough up, often attacks are accompanied by suffocation;
• many children have a fever.

Note! Most often, false croup is diagnosed in children under the age of five. The reason is the structural features of the larynx. Viruses easily penetrate tissues, provoke swelling. In older children, pathology is diagnosed less often.

At the address, read about how scarlet fever manifests itself in children and how to treat it.

Medications and home remedies

Therapy depends on the result of the tests, finding out the reason why the son or daughter is coughing. In addition to antiviral, antibacterial drugs (if necessary), physiotherapy, therapeutic syrups / lozenges, folk remedies will help.

Home remedies relieve unpleasant symptoms well:

• warm tea with milk is a good cure for dry cough;
• herbal decoctions (lime blossom, chamomile + coltsfoot, clover, marshmallow leaves);
• milk + carrot juice (5:1). Drink the remedy in the morning and evening;
• tincture of eucalyptus. Half a glass of warm water + ½ tsp. rinses);
• milk + butter + honey. Drink the remedy in a warm form twice a day;
• olive oil + honey (1:1). Dissolve the mass as much as possible, then remove from the mouth. You can drink a warm mixture of 1 tsp. twice a day;
• banana + warm water Prepare mashed potatoes, warm slightly, give the child three times a day;
• rinsing with saline solution (take a teaspoon of sea / table salt in a glass of boiled water). Frequency - twice a day.

Other treatments:

• inhalation. Herbal decoctions, medicines are added to the water. The procedure is recommended in the absence of high temperature. Frequency - 3-4 times a day, in severe cases - up to 8 times;
• Gerbion syrup for dry cough is effective. Read the instructions for use carefully, consult your doctor;
• dry heat for throat, rubbing. Effective ointments Dr. Mom, Travesil, melted pork fat;
• lozenges and dry cough syrup. The tools are suitable for older children. The pharmacy has a lot of proven drugs: Angisept, Strepsils, Travesil, Dr. Mom;
• in severe cases, the otolaryngologist will prescribe antitussive drugs. Strong formulations are recommended for deep, paroxysmal coughing, exhausting a small patient. Dry cough tablets are effective: Sinekod, Glaunvent, Tusuprex;
• if it is difficult to cough up, after a week of use, home formulations do not help, the doctor will prescribe synthetic drugs that thin the sputum. Do not buy medicines on your own initiative: for some diseases, it is better to refuse these formulations. Popular drugs: ACC, Ambrobene, Bromhexine, Mucodin;
• if children often cough due to acid entering the esophagus, visit a gastroenterologist, if allergic reactions are suspected, an allergist. With helminthic invasions, the help of a pediatrician or gastroenterologist is required.

Important! The well-known doctor Komarovsky believes that it is undesirable to use mucolytics (expectorants) for problems with the upper respiratory tract during SARS. Taking drugs will only increase the secretion of a large amount of sputum, a small patient will be stronger, cough longer.

If the child has inhaled a foreign body and coughs

• act clearly, without panic;
• put the baby on your knee: body, head should hang down;
• open your mouth, gently but surely tap between the shoulder blades, trying to push out the foreign body;
• sliding movements, direction - from top to bottom;
• stuck crumbs, dust clods usually fall out, the asthma attack goes away, the baby no longer coughs;
• be sure to show the injured ENT doctor: even in the absence of visible symptoms, damage to the respiratory tract is possible;
• do not delay the visit to the doctor, postpone all matters: this is how you save children's health.

"Uncaused" cough in children against the background of normal temperature never occurs without good reason. The exception is the physiological morning cough. Seek help from your pediatrician. A pediatrician will examine a small patient, refer him for a consultation to a specialist. At the end of competent treatment, unpleasant symptoms will disappear.

Medical video - reference. Folk remedies for dry cough:

Cough is a fairly common symptom that accompanies a cold in a child. When the virus enters the child's body, the respiratory organs are affected. Because of this, the baby’s throat begins to tickle, a feeling of mild irritation develops, and a natural desire to cough up appears. The symptom should not be ignored, so as not to aggravate the problem.

When a child develops a cold, the body produces phlegm, which softens the throat. However, after some time, when the manifestations of the disease disappear, there will be a slowdown in the excretion of sputum, the larynx dries up, resulting in a dry cough.

What is the danger of dry cough in a child?

Dry cough is a reaction of the child's body to an infection that has settled in it. You should know that, oddly enough, but a cough is considered useful, because it helps the patient so that he can get rid of harmful substances - microbes, viruses, mucus. However, when breathing is hard, the airways cannot clear and the baby cannot cough up. In the body of a child with weakened immunity against the background of the disease, all metabolic processes, in particular protection against infectious diseases, are difficult to proceed.

Dry cough leads to the fact that the child recovers much more slowly, since the mucus is not removed from the lungs, but drying and absorption into the child's body. This is the danger of dry cough. Therefore, it must be treated as soon as possible.

What diseases can cause dry cough?

• acute rotavirus infections;
• pleurisy;
• tracheitis;
• laryngitis;
• whooping cough;
• bronchitis;
• bronchial asthma;
• swelling in the respiratory system;
• the presence of a foreign object in the lungs or airways.

Parents should definitely pay attention and immediately show the baby to the doctor if he has a hacking barking cough after eating. This is a sign of food particles entering the respiratory tract. If nothing is done, it will reach the paths in the respiratory organs or the branches of the bronchi and block them. In addition, if stuck in any area, such a piece will not go through the process of chemical splitting, as a result of which it will rot.

Dry cough that occurs in children during sleep can be a manifestation of sinusitis, bronchial asthma, whooping cough, heart failure, while attacks in the morning usually indicate a chronic form of bronchitis, a violation in the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract. The doctor must deal with the diagnosis.

Signs of a dry cough

It is usually quite easy to detect a dry cough in a baby. Attacks occur several times a day, can be obsessive, then they can not be held. Moreover, it is similar to a dog barking, therefore it is called barking in a different way.

Most attacks begin abruptly, unexpectedly, accompanied by spasms. Sometimes they don't go away for a long time.

Such a cough disrupts the child's nighttime sleep, may be accompanied by fever, but this is not always the case. In some cases, vomiting occurs due to a strong attack.

How to treat dry cough?

When a dry cough appears in a child, it is necessary to take him to the pediatrician as soon as possible so that he prescribes the appropriate treatment. In this case, it is impossible to select medicines on your own, otherwise dangerous consequences can be provoked. The method of treatment should be selected only by a doctor. Below are the most effective and most commonly used treatments.

Medicines
Pharmacies sell a variety of dry cough remedies.

1. One of the most effective of them is Broncholitin syrup. It contains plant components, so it does not pose a danger to the crumbs. The drug begins to act on the third day. For this reason, experts advise starting the application immediately after the first manifestations of a dry cough are detected.
2. Another effective remedy is Paxeladin syrup. It eliminates spasms in a short time, helps to soften the throat. Suitable for treatment and wet cough.
3. Biocalyptol. The release form of this antitussive is a syrup that is intended for children, therefore it has a pleasant sweet aftertaste.
4. If a coughing baby does not have an elevated body temperature, when choosing a cough medicine, preference should be given to such a medicine, the action of which will be aimed at reducing spasm, removing sputum from the lungs, and softening the throat. Such drugs of combined action include Codelac, Codterpin. They can be used to treat cough in children older than two years.

Inhalations
The method of treating dry cough, which has been tested by more than one generation, is the use of inhalation. They are considered a very effective procedure, during which attacks are reduced, the throat is softened. You can use a nebulizer for these purposes, or simply breathe over the steam.

In order to carry out the procedure, you need to make a healing decoction with the help of medicinal plants. For these purposes, sage, chamomile, eucalyptus are well suited. You need to take the dried grass, pour boiling water and cover with a lid. After insisting (after about half an hour), pour 500 ml of broth into a saucepan, add a small amount of boiling water and carry out a procedure during which the child should breathe over the steam. At the same time, he needs to cover his head. You need to explain to the baby so that he breathes as deeply as possible.

Compresses
This method of treating a dry cough that does not go away for a long time is suitable if the child does not have a fever. But we must remember that the procedure is allowed only after agreeing this issue with the doctor, who, after listening to the baby, will say whether he can warm up or not.

A dry cough compress is made on the basis of potatoes, which must first be crushed, honey and vegetable oil. The ingredients are thoroughly mixed, after which the composition is applied to the chest. Top should be wrapped with cling film and a warm scarf. The compress should be left for at least four hours. It is allowed not to take it off all night. Mustard plasters have a similar warming effect.

Phytotherapy
Medications can help get rid of a cough in the shortest possible time. However, some children are not suitable. This usually happens when a child has an individual intolerance to the components of certain drugs. In this case, medicinal herbs will come to the rescue, which are sometimes no less effective.

Plants that have an expectorant and mucolytic effect are thyme, coltsfoot, licorice. They help clear mucus from the lungs. From the listed herbs, infusions and decoctions are made. For effective treatment, it is enough to pour boiling water and wait until it is infused, a couple of tablespoons of one of the indicated plants. In a similar way, it will be possible to cure a dry cough in a child. During therapy at home, not only herbal remedies, but also other traditional medicine can be used.

Folk remedies for cough

It is necessary that the means by which the child will be treated be absolutely natural, then they will not harm the sensitive child's body. This requirement is met by time-tested folk methods of dry cough therapy.

But still, before embarking on such treatment, it is necessary to consult a doctor. In addition, you must first make sure that the baby is not allergic to the product that you plan to use.

Milk
This tool - of course, occupies a leading position among all that help get rid of a debilitating cough. Important - only warm milk can be used. The following treatment options are available:

1. Milk with butter. For 250 ml, a tablespoon of oil is taken. For these purposes, you can use butter or cocoa butter. Honey is added if desired.
2. Milk with honey. For babies, a small amount of honey is added to a warm drink, and for older children, nutmeg, cinnamon and other spices are allowed. Added baking soda (¼ tsp) will also benefit, but not all children will like this drink.
3. Milk with mineral water. Drinks are mixed in equal proportions. It should be noted that mineral water should be taken alkaline, or soda should be added, but this will significantly spoil the taste of the finished product.
4. Milk with figs. This recipe allows the use of both fresh and dried fruits. In the first case, 250 ml of milk will require about three pieces, adding which to the product, boil for one minute and, after cooling, you can drink. In the second - the fruits should be put in cool milk for 30 minutes so that they soften and only then put on fire for two minutes.
5. Propolis. With non-passing attacks, you can use this remedy, but only if the baby is older than one year. A couple of drops of propolis water tincture are taken and added to a third of a glass of milk.
6. Ginger root. The product is crushed with a grater and poured with one and a half liters of fresh milk, a couple of tablespoons of green tea are added. Put the composition on the stove and wait until it boils. Insist half an hour. Infants cannot be treated with this remedy.
7. Milk and banana. Fresh fruit is crushed to a puree state, milk is added. Delicious and effective cough medicine is ready.
8. Coniferous milk. To prepare such a remedy, you will need pine buds. 50 grams of raw materials must be boiled in 500 ml of milk for 15 minutes. Take in small doses - a couple of sips at regular intervals throughout the day. The daily dosage is one glass of the drug.
9. Milk with garlic. Although such a drink cannot boast of taste, in terms of its effectiveness it is one of the best. Several cloves of garlic must be peeled and boiled in a liter of milk until they soften. Add oil if desired. For the treatment of cough in very young children is not recommended.

Eggnog
Mogul-mogul is an effective and harmless remedy that helps to quickly get rid of bouts of dry cough. For cooking, you need an egg yolk, a small amount of honey and granulated sugar. Before you start cooking, you need to make sure the freshness of the product. The yolk is beaten with granulated sugar until a homogeneous consistency is obtained. The baby should drink tasty medicine up to four times a day for a dessert spoon. The tool helps to soften the throat, relieve irritation. The recommended dose is diluted in 100 ml of warm milk for the child to drink. If he does not have allergic reactions to bee products, you can add honey. Children over three years old are allowed to add a spoonful of cocoa powder to the medicine. This remedy improves sleep and speeds up the healing process.

Dry cough massage

With the help of cocoa butter, a coughing baby is massaged, gently rubbing it in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe chest and back. If the child is more than two years old, you can melt lard, add a few drops of camphor oil and honey, and massage with this composition. Usually, after using such a remedy, the condition improves quickly. The chest and back are massaged, cloth napkins are placed on top and left for three hours. After this time, with the help of cotton swabs, the remnants of the composition are removed, the skin is thoroughly wiped off.

Compresses with potatoes, low-fat cottage cheese, as well as massage of the chest, feet, and hands have a calming effect on the respiratory system.

Cough lozenges

Crumbs who do not know how to suck candies can dissolve such sugar in boiling water in a ratio of 1:20. The resulting syrup is offered to the baby in the amount of one tablespoon after meals. If desired, you can add berry juice or honey to the lollipops.

The temperature rises with a dry cough

Not in all cases, if a child coughs dryly, his temperature rises. It is allowed to treat such a cough at home only until it increases. If a similar symptom occurs, you should immediately call a doctor. A high temperature indicates that the process of absorption of mucus into the child's blood has begun, because of which it can affect the internal organs. In such a situation, without fail, the doctor will prescribe antibacterial drugs to the baby. When choosing an antibiotic, factors such as possible individual intolerance, age, body weight of a small patient, the reason that provoked the deterioration of the condition are taken into account.

If the baby has a dry cough for a week, if there are no signs of recovery, it is necessary to visit a doctor. Children's health is the most precious thing that parents have, so it must be protected and treated with all responsibility and care.

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