How to stop a strong dry cough in a child at home - how to relieve an attack at night? Ways to relieve false croup. Varieties and causes

Coughing at night does not allow the child or his parents to rest calmly, and parents try to stop the attack in every possible way, forgetting that it is necessary to treat the cause of the cough, and not its consequences. But, nevertheless, as an emergency measure, you can use the drug Sinekod.

Coughing is considered a normal reaction of the body, it is caused by a sharp contraction of the lungs and the release of air from the respiratory tract, and not a consequence of heart failure - nothing to do.


Cough can be caused by various irritants and diseases, thanks to this reaction, the air leaving the lungs carries sputum and various microorganisms out of them.

So, it can be argued that a cough is a clearing of the respiratory tract, but, nevertheless, it is necessary to treat the causes of its occurrence, especially if it is prolonged. At the beginning of the development of a cough, you can try to stop it with folk remedies.

If a coughing fit in a child began at night, it is necessary:

  • Wake him up if he hasn't woken up himself;
  • plant;
  • You can give warm milk to drink with honey, or just warm water;
  • You can also give 1 tsp. butter with honey.

In order for the child to sleep peacefully at night, you can put warm (not hot) paraffin on the child's chest before going to bed, and warm the chest for 20-30 minutes. Due to this, the bronchi will warm up, and there may not be an attack of coughing at night. If the attack nevertheless began at night, despite the measures taken earlier, then it is necessary to inhale with a nebulizer, for example, you can use cedar essential oil.

Also, to prevent a child from coughing at night, you need to ventilate the room before going to bed, it is also advisable to use a humidifier, since dry air contributes to a dry cough. If during an attack there is an increase in temperature, an attack of vomiting is observed, the child also becomes lethargic, and breathing becomes wheezing and intermittent, you should immediately call an ambulance or a doctor.

When a child begins to cough at night, the first thing to do is to calm the child, then you should alleviate his condition. Well, after that, depending on the type of cough, stop his attack. If the cough is dry, barking, then inhalations with mineral water, soda solution should be used. If there is no inhaler or nebulizer, you can simply let the child breathe over moderately warm water with the addition of soda.


If the cough is expectorant, then you should:

  • seat the child;
  • Slightly tilt it forward;
  • And lightly start tapping your palm on your upper back and chest.

This will allow better sputum and mucus to move away and improve breathing and, as a result, stop the nocturnal cough. Any allergy can provoke a nocturnal cough, while it can begin suddenly and last for quite a long time. At the same time, the cough is quite long in time, and there are no accompanying symptoms other than a runny nose. In this case, you should immediately see an allergist.

This will prevent a painful nighttime cough and at least give the child a chance to sleep. If the cough is not caused by an allergic reaction, then at night a strong cough can be prevented with tablets containing Mukaltin, or with special herbal anti-cough preparations. But such tablets are not recommended for children under 3 years of age.

What is fraught with a prolonged cough in a child without fever

Cough in children is almost always a sign of concern, especially if it is prolonged and has not gone away for two weeks or more, then immediate action should be taken, the child should be shown to the doctor immediately so that the specialist diagnoses and prescribes the necessary treatment.

For a more accurate diagnosis, you should:

  • Pass tests;
  • Make an x-ray or fluorography;
  • And then treat the child's persistent cough.

If the cough is prolonged, then this may indicate any abnormalities in the body, for example, with acute respiratory infections or with any inflammation of the throat or nasopharynx. If any bacterial infection is detected, then it should be treated with antibiotics, and if the cough is dry, the doctor prescribes expectorant and antitussive drugs, which allows the disease to be cured after some time.

A persistent cough can be caused by a foreign body entering the respiratory system, and chest pain can also be observed.

Also, frequent coughing can be associated with a disease of the gastrointestinal tract, with certain diseases, the contents of the stomach are thrown into the esophagus and further into the respiratory tract. If the cough lasts for a long time, then this may indicate an allergy or any contact of the child with irritating substances, for example, with any household chemicals. In any case, in order to get rid of the causes of coughing and, as a result, the cough itself, you should consult a doctor who will prescribe the necessary treatment, and after a while, a well-chosen treatment will cure the disease and stop coughing.

Instructions: how to stop a strong cough in a child

Coughing may occur due to an asthma attack. To stop it, you need to remove the spasm in the bronchi, for this you should take a certain position, and if possible, you should relax the muscles as much as possible.


If this does not help, you should use a special inhaler.

If there is no inhaler, you should call an ambulance so that the doctor gives an injection of aminophylline. A strong cough can be caused by various reasons, such as a sore throat. One of the diseases that causes a choking cough is laryngitis, in order to stop it, you should turn on the hot water in the bathroom and take the child there so that he breathes warm and humid air. If this remedy does not help, and the cough worsens, you should immediately call an ambulance.

A disease such as whooping cough can cause a paroxysmal, hysterical cough, if the child coughs, so you should see a doctor as soon as possible, cool fresh air can also stop whooping cough. To prevent coughing during sleep, it is recommended to drink a mixture of black radish juice with honey before going to bed. You can also do warm foot baths before going to bed, but on condition that there is no temperature.

A sudden cough after eating can occur in a child due to:

  • Problems in the digestive tract;
  • This can be facilitated by a large amount of food;
  • The child's intake of fatty foods;
  • Lots of sweets.

Such a cough may also develop due to an allergy to certain foods. It is not uncommon for the cough to get worse in the morning after sleep; asthma and certain medications may contribute to it. It is enough to stop taking medications, get rid of bad habits to get rid of coughing.

If a child has a constant cough, what should parents do

A persistent cough can be caused by false croup, which is accompanied by a hoarse voice and difficulty breathing. For treatment, you need to drink plenty of water, fresh air and minimal tension on the vocal cords. Do not use expectorants and steam inhalations.

A persistent cough in a child can be triggered by any respiratory disease if symptoms such as:

  • Temperature;
  • Runny nose;
  • Redness of the throat.

To treat it, you must first eliminate the disease, if this is not done, the disease will progress. Non-stop coughing can also be caused by bronchial asthma, bronchitis, bronchoscopic syndrome. Also, inflammation of the larynx due to any infection can provoke an endless cough.

It is enough to eliminate these diseases and the incessant cough will subside.

An endless cough can be caused by inflammation of the tonsils and also by the presence of adenoids, their treatment will help get rid of the cough. A tearing endless cough can also occur due to irritation of the mucous membrane of the upper respiratory tract. It is enough to drink plenty of fluids to thin the sputum, do inhalations to get rid of such a cough.

Pediatrician's advice: how to stop a child's cough at night (video)

In any case, if cough is a serious problem and both a child and an adult suffer from it, it requires treatment in the first place of the disease due to which it began. And after the treatment of the underlying disease, you can begin to treat cough.

Coughing fits in a child often occur at a younger age. Their appearance may be due to the peculiarities of the structure of the larynx in the area of ​​the vocal cords. An acute cough, reminiscent of barking, occurs due to mucosal edema and leads to the development of laryngitis. Attacks occur in the first 2 - 3 days from the onset of the disease and bother the baby at night. They also occur against the background of an allergic reaction and are the result of a sore throat with a cold.

As a reflex response to viruses, a paroxysmal cough can last 2 to 3 weeks. If the problem is supplemented by vomiting, fever and redness / cyanosis of the skin, this affects the state of health and indicates a serious infectious disease. But when a child coughs without additional symptoms, over time, the attacks go away on their own.

Ways to stop night cough in children

If there was an attack of nocturnal coughing, experts recommend waking up the child, seating him and giving him a drink.

Warm milk, chamomile tea with honey and alkaline mineral water will come to the rescue.

Drinking will soften the mucous membrane and eliminate the sore throat. Accordingly, the cough will also subside. But if the discomfort in the throat continues to bother, the baby needs to walk around the room for a while.

Pharmacy syrups containing essential oils and inhalations help to get rid of a persistent cough. The procedures are carried out using a nebulizer filled with cedar ether or decoctions of thyme, chamomile, oak bark. Of the drugs for inhalation, Mucolvan, Ventolin or special solutions of Ambrobene or Lazolvan are used. In the absence of allergies, the child is given 1 tsp. honey for slow absorption. If the bee product is contraindicated, it is replaced with butter.

In emergency cases, when suffocation occurs with laryngitis, it is urgent to take the baby to the bathroom and let him breathe in the steam coming from hot water. Droplets of liquid increase the level of humidity in the room and at the same time moisten the airways. The attack of dry cough recedes and the child becomes better.

Help with wet cough

A good help with a wet cough are drugs that remove mucus from the bronchi. The rapid discharge of sputum is facilitated by taking drugs with ambroxol:

  • Ambrobene;
  • Halixol;
  • Lazolvan;
  • Ambrohexal and others.

Children under 6 years of age are given in the form of syrup.

Provoked by swelling of the mucosa, and the means of the antihistamine group - Ketotifen, Suprastin, Tavegil - will help to improve breathing. Doctors usually prescribe antiallergic drugs along with antitussive medicines. When the cause of the cough is really an allergy, taking an antihistamine eliminates unpleasant symptoms in 30 to 60 minutes.

Antitussives of traditional medicine

Strong child's cough always treated and will be treated with burnt sugar. A dark brown mass is obtained by melting 1 large spoonful of granulated sugar in an iron mug. After setting the dishes on fire, its contents are continuously stirred until a thick substance is obtained. Then 50 ml of boiled water is added to the mug and a few drops of aloe juice are added. The child should drink the prepared drug at a time.

And here is another recipe for making sweet zhzhenka. Let's consider it step by step:

  1. half a glass of sugar is poured into a clean, dry frying pan;
  2. the product is heated until it turns brown;
  3. the transformed sugar is poured into a glass of boiling water and mixed thoroughly.

Homemade syrup give the baby 1 tsp. during each attack, but not more than 5 tablespoons per day.

Now let's figure it out how to relieve a coughing fit in a child with lemon and honey. Fresh juice squeezed from one fruit is mixed with 2 tbsp. l. glycerin (cooking takes place in a glass). The rest of the dishes are filled with honey, all the ingredients are stirred and the syrup is poured into a convenient bottle. Shake it before giving it to a child. The kid should take the remedy 6 r. per day for 1 tsp.

If within a few days none of the methods gave a result, the child should be shown to the pediatrician. Timely consultation will help to avoid the development of complications.

Cough is a protective reaction of the body to foreign objects entering the respiratory tract. With the help of coughing, the body tries to get rid of the allergen. But most often, coughing occurs when sputum is discharged - this reflex jerk helps to remove mucus. Often the cough gets worse at night. This is due to the fact that the mucus flowing from the nose irritates the diaphragm, causing a cough reflex. Sometimes a cough can be so debilitating that it does not allow you to fall asleep normally, and when you fall asleep it immediately wakes you up. At these moments, I really want to help my child and relieve a coughing fit. But first, let's look at the reasons for its appearance.

Why is the child coughing

A severe coughing fit can be caused by several factors.

  1. Foreign object. If a fish bone, a piece of a bag, or a plant stem gets into the throat, a foreign object can get stuck on the wall of the trachea, constantly irritating it and causing a cough. In this case, you need to let the child eat a crust of bread so that a solid object pushes the stuck body. If it doesn't work, go to the doctor immediately.
  2. Allergy. If completely healthy people react only to strong dust and the pungent smell of pepper, then allergy sufferers may begin to cough after sleeping on a feather pillow, after contact with an animal or eating citrus fruits. Very often, children begin to cough after sweets - such products increase the production of mucus, therefore it is strictly prohibited for diseases of the throat. Sometimes a prolonged cough after an illness can turn into an allergic form.
  3. SARS. Almost all respiratory diseases are accompanied by cough and runny nose. In this case, coughing is needed to remove mucus from the lungs.
  4. Adenoiditis. If the baby's nose is constantly blocked, mucus flows from the nose, which irritates the receptors of the diaphragm. A characteristic feature of coughing with adenoiditis is that it appears only in a dream when the child is in a horizontal position. There is practically no cough during the day.
  5. Diseases of the respiratory tract. Bronchitis, tracheitis, asthma, tuberculosis, tonsillitis, sinusitis are often accompanied by a cough - dry or wet. Laryngitis is characterized by a "barking" cough.
  6. Gastroesophageal reflux. This condition of the esophagus occurs due to the weakening of the food sphincter. The muscular valve opens when the child is lying down and the contents of the stomach again enter the esophagus. This irritates the trachea and causes coughing.
  7. Whooping cough. It is a bacterial infectious disease that is characterized by a debilitating cough. In this case, the child blushes, tears appear, coughing can provoke vomiting.
  8. Stress. Sometimes a cough can be the result of serious feelings, fear, stress. Nerve endings are located on the trachea, with irritation of which a cough appears. This cough usually occurs only during the day. You can check the psychogenicity of coughing by talking with the baby on an unpleasant topic for him. If during experiences the child began to cough, this is exactly your case.

Whatever the cause of the cough, it is not the symptom that needs to be treated, but the disease itself. However, the treatment process is long, and I want to alleviate the child’s condition and save him from a coughing fit right now.

warm drink

Sometimes, in order to get rid of a coughing fit, you can just give the baby a drink of water. Often this is enough - warm water soothes the receptors, rinses the throat from irritating mucus and phlegm. But to achieve a longer effect, you can give the child not only water. A great solution would be to give the baby warm milk. And if you add a piece of butter to it, you can sleep peacefully for the next few hours.

It is very good to drink a decoction of medicinal herbs - a string, sage, coltsfoot. Linden tea is known for its excellent anti-cold properties. It will not only relieve cough, but also relieve nasal congestion. You can soothe your throat and get rid of a cough with a decoction of chamomile - it has soothing and anti-inflammatory properties. Alkaline mineral water will help soften the mucous membrane of the throat. It will soothe the excited mucosa, relieve swelling and inflammation. It can be replaced with plain water with a pinch of baking soda.

Plentiful warm drink will not only relieve coughing attacks, but also speed up recovery. After all, as you know, the best remedy for a viral disease is a large amount of liquid. Drinking plenty of water flushes the virus out of the body, and the baby will feel much better. Drinking plenty of fluids means at least one liter of fluid for a two-year-old baby per day. Older children, respectively, more. Let the baby drink what he likes - compote, fruit drink, tea with lemon, the main thing is that there is a lot of liquid.

If the baby coughs non-stop and even a warm drink does not help, use the following methods to stop an attack.

  1. Massage. You can calm the bronchi and lungs with a regular massage. Lay the child on his back, make stroking circular movements. Then with both hands run along the lungs - up and down. Such smooth movements will improve blood circulation in the lungs and help stop the attack. The rest of the time you need to do percussion massage to the baby. It consists of patting, rubbing and pinching the chest and back in the area of ​​the lungs. Competent and professional percussion massage contributes to the rapid discharge of sputum.
  2. Air temperature. Very often, runny nose and cough are aggravated in a hot room. The high air temperature in the room contributes to the drying of the mucous membrane, which is another powerful provocateur for the resumption of coughing. The optimum air temperature in the room should not exceed 25 degrees. The lower limit is 18 degrees. If the child is cold, dress him warmly, but do not turn on the heater. In addition to temperature, humidity is also very important. It should not be less than 60%.
  3. Inhalations. If the cough does not go away, you need to make the child inhalation. The ideal option is a nebulizer. It can be filled with plain sea water, chamomile decoction or furacilin solution. If there is no nebulizer, you can do inhalations the old fashioned way. To do this, prepare boiling water or a decoction of any medicinal herbs. Water should be moderately hot. Add a piece of Asterisk balm to the water. Essential oils not only relieve a cough, but also relieve nasal congestion. Cover your child's head with a towel and ask him to take a few deep breaths. Hot vapors will disinfect the respiratory tract, it will become much easier to breathe, the cough will stop. If the baby coughs very hard and there is no time for all the manipulations, just close yourself in the bathroom and let hot water in - the effect will be about the same. Ask the child to inhale hot steam.
  4. vertical position. If the child cannot clear his throat, lift him up and hold him upright for a while. The cough must stop.
  5. Antihistamines. If the cough is allergic, it is enough to give the baby an antihistamine - Zirtek, Zodak, Desal, Suprastin, Ketatifen, etc. The dosage is determined depending on age. With asthma, the baby should have special drops or sprays on hand that stop the attack. If necessary, call an ambulance to consult about the dosage of a particular medication.
  6. Antitussive drugs. Despite the fact that they are taken according to the scheme, regardless of the attacks, these syrups contain essential oils that can instantly stop a cough. Among cough syrups, Dr. Mom, Lazolvan, Prospan, ACC can be noted.
  7. Rubbing. Sometimes, in order to stop a cough, you need to warm the chest and back of the child. For this, warming rubbing is used. You can rub the baby's chest with lamb, badger or goose fat - animal fats warm well and keep warm for a long time. The chest and back of the child can be smeared with iodine - make an iodine grid. Very well warms honey and camphor oil. Mix the two ingredients and rub well on the chest and back, avoiding the spine and around the heart. Then wrap the baby in a scarf and put on a tight-fitting blouse. The cough will quickly stop, and the child will be able to sleep until morning.
  8. Folk remedies. A honey cake will help stop a coughing fit. It is made from honey, mustard, flour and vegetable oil. The skin of the child is pre-lubricated with oil and a cake is applied. It warms the bronchi well, not only relieves an attack, but also treats the cough itself. Onion with sugar helps a lot. You need to prepare the onion tincture in advance - cut the vegetable into small pieces and cover with sugar. Keep the composition ready - give the baby a teaspoon of sweet onion juice when attacking. This medicine is not only useful for coughing, it is excellent for flu and runny nose. One of the best home remedies for cough is black radish. Cut the fruit, make a recess in it, pour some honey. When the radish begins to secrete juice, it can be given to the child one teaspoon three times a day and when an attack occurs.

Try all these remedies one by one until you can stop the compulsive coughing fit.

Croup

This is a disease of the upper respiratory tract, which is accompanied by stenosis of the larynx. Croup is characterized by a high fever, a strong barking cough, leading to nausea and vomiting. Croup is very dangerous - inflammation of the larynx can lead to a narrowing of its lumen. Croup is especially dangerous for young children - up to the first year of life. The physiological structure of their larynx is designed in such a way that even a slight inflammation and slight swelling leads to suffocation. That is why when coughing in a small child, you can not self-medicate. Call an ambulance immediately to avoid suffocation. Among the symptoms that indicate suffocation are cyanosis of the skin, shortness of breath, inability to breathe deeply, increased salivation. If you observe such symptoms in a child, urgently call an ambulance, and before it arrives, let the child breathe in the steam.

Cough is an advantage and a disadvantage of the body at the same time. On the one hand, coughing is tormenting and exhausting, it does not allow you to fall asleep, it tears up your throat. On the other hand, with the help of a cough, the body can get rid of excess sputum and other irritating factors. If your cough doesn't go away within a week and home treatments don't work, talk to your pediatrician. A pulmonologist deals with the treatment of a long and serious cough. Be careful, do not neglect this symptom, take care of your baby's health!

Video: how to relieve an attack of dry cough in a child

From time to time, parents are faced with such a problem as a night cough attack in a child. What to do in this case? How to help the baby?

Causes

Cough can be caused by the following reasons:

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

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

How to stop an attack At night, you need to be especially careful if the baby is sick. It is necessary to understand which type of disease torments the baby, because treatment depends on it.

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 wet.
  • Allergies and various irritants. The presence in the room where the baby is located, tobacco smoke, dust, chemicals (for example, floor cleaner or air freshener), animal hair.
  • Whooping cough. Redness on the face is common. There is vomiting. With whooping cough, breathing is often difficult (reprises).
  • Asthma. Paroxysmal dry cough, wheezing, shortness of breath begins. A short inhale is followed by a long exhale.

Moist cough

Various bacteria and viruses are the causative agents of wet cough attacks. At night, the child develops a cough, accompanied by sputum. This can happen with some diseases:

  • SARS. A wet cough in acute cases indicates a positive trend and accompanies the beginning of the recovery of a small patient.
  • Bronchitis.
  • Pneumonia.

Whooping cough

Accompanied by the following symptoms:

  • Dry and frequent.
  • Vomiting, tears appear, the whites of the eyes turn red.
  • Jerky, deep breathing between attacks.
  • If a child is not vaccinated against whooping cough, convulsive cough is a reason to think about this disease.

Allergic

This type may be accompanied by the following symptoms:

  • Eruptions on the skin.
  • Discharge of clear mucus from the nose.
  • Tears from eyes.
  • It can lead to laryngospasm (stenosis) or even bronchospasm (asthma).

Barking cough with 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 the access of oxygen. It is difficult to confuse it with other species, as it is similar to the barking of a dog. There is swelling of the larynx, wheezing, often develops suffocation. Usually, laryngospasm is accompanied by a very strong attack of nocturnal cough in a child.

Causes of stenosis (false croup)

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

False croup often begins in sleep, from about one in the morning until four in the morning. Boys from six months to six years are most susceptible to laryngospasm.

Treating a nocturnal cough in a child

How to help a child with a nighttime coughing fit? Pediatricians advise parents not to be nervous. The baby feels the emotions of the parents and begins to worry even more, which entails an increase in the problem. Immediately plant a coughing person, while lying down is strictly prohibited! Turn on the lights, open a window for fresh air. Try to understand the type of cough that torments the baby. Based on 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, without gas or ordinary water with soda diluted in it (on the tip of a knife). Make sure that he drinks in small sips, otherwise you can provoke vomiting.
  • Clear the small patient's nasal passages with saline or hypertonic spray. If necessary, use a cotton swab to remove mucus buildup. You can also use an aspirator, for example, "Otrivin baby", if the child does not yet know how to blow his nose himself. It is not recommended to use cotton buds to remove mucus from the nose, since the hard end of the stick can easily damage the delicate nasal passages of the baby, because he cannot sit still.
  • If air access through the nose is difficult due to mucosal edema, use children's vasoconstrictor drops. During an attack, the unhindered passage of oxygen through the nose is important.
  • Humidify the air. It is best to take the baby to the bathroom when the cough starts, put it on your lap and turn on hot water in the bathroom to create steam. It is not necessary to wet the crumbs.
  • You can also make or alkaline mineral water. To do this, you must have an inhaler at home. Doing inhalation with a pot of boiling water is strongly not recommended! A small patient may inadvertently burn himself on the hot wall of the pan or even turn the boiling water over himself.
  • If you are completely sure that your baby is not allergic to honey and pharmaceutical herbs, you can give him a decoction of herbs with a spoonful of honey. But it should be remembered that if an allergic component is present in the cause of the disease, then honey and herbs can aggravate the situation.
  • It is impossible to give a baby without a doctor's prescription when coughing with an unclear etymology, antitussive drugs, such as Sinekod or Stoptussin.

Allergy

How to stop a nocturnal cough in a child of an allergic nature? Give your baby antihistamines based on their age and weight. For example, "Suprastin". It is effective in emergency care, unlike Zodak or Zirtek, which help well with long-term therapy.

How to help a child with a nighttime coughing fit if he is wet

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

What to give a child from an attack of night cough if he is wet? You can give mucolytic drugs such as Ambrobene, Lazolvan or ACC. It is necessary to carefully observe the dosage of drugs, based on the doctor's prescription, as well as the weight and age of the child. You can also do inhalation with these drugs, if the form and instructions of these drugs allow. Inhalation is carried out with a nebulizer.

Whooping cough

With this type of cough caused by whooping cough, the drug "Sinekod" or analogues of this medicine are usually prescribed. Treatment takes place on an outpatient basis.

Barking cough, or stenosis of the larynx

If the cough sounds like a barking dog and sounds very rude, you need to call an ambulance! Doctors usually come quickly for nighttime coughing fits in a child 2 years of age and younger. Older children can also count on timely and qualified medical care.

Due to the narrowing of the larynx, air cannot enter the lungs of the baby, he can suffocate. While the ambulance is on the way, parents should alleviate the condition of the crumbs.

Ways to relieve false croup

They partially coincide with the dry cough relief techniques described above:

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

Also, with stenosis of the larynx, the following techniques are used:

  • By instilling vasoconstrictor drops into the nose during a nighttime coughing fit in a child, what needs to be done, parents reduce the swelling of the respiratory system. Previously, emergency doctors even recommended dropping this remedy on the root of the tongue during the acute period of the disease in order to reduce swelling, but recently doctors have not advised doing this, because it can adversely affect the functioning of the heart.
  • Give any antihistamine that is in the house, respecting the dosage according to age. To achieve the fastest effect, you can use "Suprastin".
  • If the stenosis is not very strong, inhale the baby with saline or mineral water using a nebulizer.
  • If the false croup is strong and the condition of the small patient worsens, it is necessary to inhale with the drug "Pulmicort". This is a hormonal drug that relieves swelling. It has almost no side effects, but after it it is recommended to rinse your mouth with alkaline mineral water to avoid thrush in the mouth. If inhalation with this drug helped little, do it again.

What to do with a nighttime cough in a child if the above methods do not help? In this case, the ambulance doctors will give the baby an injection of "Prednisolone", which will quickly relieve all 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 deal with false croup, but with many side effects. Therefore, the task of parents before the injection of this drug is to try inhalations. Often they completely relieve symptoms and "Prednisolone" is not required.

If children have had stenosis at least once, Pulmicort, an inhalation nebulizer, antihistamines and saline must be present in the home medicine cabinet. As well as "Prednisolone" in ampoules and a syringe. Of course, it is not recommended to inject this hormone on your own, but if the count goes by for minutes, and the ambulance is in a traffic jam, the parents may not have a choice.

Some drugs should not be given to a child from a nocturnal coughing fit, which is due to the peculiarity of the course of laryngospasm:

  • Antitussive drugs, such as "Sinekod", "Stoptussin" and other analogues, cause severe stagnation of sputum in the bronchi, which can make you suffocate! After all, coughing is designed to remove phlegm from the respiratory tract.
  • Mucolytic agents during false croup are also prohibited. They cause liquefaction of sputum, which, due to swelling of the larynx, cannot come out.

Prevention

If sometimes there are night coughing attacks in a child, what to do for prevention?

  • Turn your baby over at night.
  • Ventilate the room where the baby will sleep.
  • Get a humidifier and run it in the bedroom. Even wet towels hung on heaters are suitable as a humidifier. As they dry out, change them several times a night. Also place a container of water at the head of your ward.
  • Watch the temperature in the room - it should not be too high. It is enough to maintain the temperature from +18 to +21 degrees.
  • During the day and at night, flush your nose with saline or special hypertonic nasal sprays with a high salt content. It is better to use a solution for washing in the form of drops, as sprays can cause otitis media or provoke a severe cough.
  • When you are sick, you need to drink a lot. Ideally, this should be homemade raisin compote, which contains many useful trace elements and salts that a baby needs during an illness. But if the child refuses it, give any drink to which he agrees. The liquid should be warm. Also, table alkaline mineral water without gas helps prevent or even relieve a slight cough. Avoid honey or other ingredients that may cause an allergic reaction.
  • Raise the head of the bed with a roll or pillow placed under the mattress. This will allow mucus not to stagnate in the nasopharynx, and it is better to expectorate sputum from the lungs during sleep.

As a conclusion

How to relieve a coughing fit in a child at night, the pediatrician will always tell you. Even with a slight indisposition of the baby, it is advisable to consult a doctor. This will help avoid many complications.

The cough of a small child is always a concern for parents, especially if it occurs at night. Such regular attacks deprive the patient of the baby, his mother and father of a full-fledged deep sleep. To help their child, parents use cough syrups, unconventional methods, and even worse, antibiotics. However, to provide full assistance, it is important to know the cause of this condition.

Cough in children and its types

With the help of a cough reaction, the respiratory organs are reflexively released from microorganisms, dust and foreign substances. The causative agents of this condition can be viruses, bacteria and allergens.

The most common seizures are:

  1. Dry cough - response to irritation of the respiratory tract.
  2. Wet - with the accumulation of mucus (sputum) in the bronchi.

There are several forms of cough reaction:

  • physiological that occurs when it becomes necessary to clear the respiratory organs of foreign particles or mucus. In young children, this condition is considered the norm and may appear when crying, changing position during sleep, after feeding.
  • "Coughing" - a response to prolonged irritation of the respiratory tract, may be a signal for the development of laryngitis or laringo - tracheitis.
  • Sharp - occurs with acute inflammation of the trachea, bronchi and lungs.
  • Bi-tone - a change in cough tone due to a violation of air circulation during inflammation of the adenoids and bronchi.
  • Convulsive - after frequent coughing shocks, a loud breath occurs, the vomiting center is irritated, as a result, vomiting occurs after an attack. Most often occurs in the evening and at night.
  • Barking - with inflammation of the vocal cords and larynx. Characteristic of whooping cough, croup, laryngitis, tumors of the trachea, hysterical attack. There is hoarseness of voice and aphonia.
  • periodic - characteristic of respiratory diseases, bronchial asthma, pneumonia.
  • Permanent - observed in a chronic inflammatory process in the respiratory organs and circulatory disorders.

Coughing fits are divided into parts of the day:
  1. morning - with chronic inflammation of the upper respiratory tract.
  2. Evening , not disturbing throughout the day - with pneumonia and.
  3. Night - occurs due to the physiological characteristics of the tone of the vagus nerve (bronchospasm).

Causes of regular dry cough in a small child at night

Cough attacks in crumbs can be a symptom of many processes, such as:

  1. - hypersensitivity can cause new bed linen, pillow or even furniture. If, in addition to coughing, the baby has skin rashes, swelling of the nose and eye, it is urgent to find and remove the allergen.
  2. Infection with harmful bacteria - with many viral infections, sputum accumulates in the bronchi of the child, which leaves with difficulty in the supine position. At night, the blood circulation in the body is passive, the mucus almost does not liquefy, which is why the cough reflex becomes more intense than in the daytime.
  3. - with rhinitis, pharyngitis, adenoiditis or sinusitis, the baby breathes through the mouth, which leads to dryness of the oral cavity and larynx. As a result, an attack of dry cough is provoked.
  4. heartburn attack (gastrointestinal reflux) - very difficult to determine, not all children can explain their feelings.
  5. Teething - during this process, there is an active release of saliva, which, in a supine position, can flow into the larynx and irritate the receptors. Avoiding the problem is very simple - raise the head of the baby.
  6. Whooping cough - a very dangerous disease that affects the upper respiratory tract and knocks down the usual breathing. For frequent cough attacks (every 30-40 minutes), whistling and protrusion of the tongue are characteristic, they can end with intense vomiting. To stop the suffering of the child - urgently seek the advice of a qualified specialist!
  7. Bronchial asthma - a serious pathology and another reason to start the examination and treatment of the child. The disease is rapidly gaining momentum, cough can appear at any time of the day.

A nighttime cough can also trigger too dry or cold air in a child's room.

How to get rid of a dry cough in a baby at night?

It is important for worried parents to remember that all medications should be prescribed by a qualified specialist after examining and examining the baby!

To alleviate the suffering of the child and provide him with a good sleep, you need to calm the cough center.

This can be done using traditional methods:

  1. Wet cleaning and ventilation children's room before bed.
  2. Additional air humidification in the apartment - you can use special factory appliances, or you can simply pour water into a container or put wet towels near the heaters.
  3. Give your child extra fluids throughout the day - decoctions of herbs (breast collections No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3), fruit drinks, fortified teas, soda mineral water without gas.
  4. Before going to bed, rinse the nose with a warm weak saline solution. (1 teaspoon per 300 grams of water).
  5. When the first coughs appear the baby can be given a coffee spoon of natural honey and drink it with warm milk, in which soda is added at the tip of the knife.
  6. Compress - mix boiled mashed potatoes, dry mustard powder, honey, 70% alcohol and vegetable fat. Put all the ingredients on a gauze cloth, lay on the back, cover with waxed film and insulate. The procedure lasts about 60 minutes.
  7. Inhalations - you can breathe in vapors of potato or herbal (from sage, pine cones, birch buds) decoction, chlorphyllipt, propolis, star balm, soda solution (2 tablespoons per 500 ml of water) or alkaline mineral water.
  8. Rubbing - put a soft mitten on your hand and gently rub the baby's breast and back with a warming ointment.
  9. Hot foot baths - Everyone knows that with hypothermia of the lower extremities, a spasm of the upper respiratory tract occurs. By steaming the baby's legs, you can prevent or remove this process; you can add a pinch of dry mustard to the bath. At the end of the procedure, be sure to wipe the legs dry and put on warm socks.
  10. diet therapy - inclusion in the diet: grated black radish salad with sour cream; herculean porridge with vegetable oil; mashed potatoes with milk; cranberries, persimmons, citrus fruits, rosehip broth, cranberry juice with honey, grape juice.
  11. Breathing exercises – Experienced specialists will help you choose individual exercises. You can independently inflate air and soap bubbles with your child - this helps to improve pulmonary ventilation.

In the home first aid kit, you can store a set of medicines that can be used before contacting the children's consultation:

  • Combined antitussive drugs - Tussin plus, Bronholitin, Altai syrup, Stoptussin.
  • Agents that suppress irritation of respiratory tract cough receptors - Libeksin, Levopront.
  • Non-narcotic antitussive drugs - Glauvent, Sinekod, Tusuprex.

Whatever method parents choose to deal with a dry cough, the most important thing is to achieve its transition to a wet one, so that it becomes easier for the baby to cough up sputum.

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