On the one hand, coughing is bad. It appears when the respiratory system is affected. It occurs with inflammation in the throat, trachea, bronchi, lungs, irritation of the pleura. On the other hand, coughing is good. It plays the role of a protective mechanism that cleans the lungs of sputum or foreign particles. Accordingly, it can and should be talked about as an assistant. How to distinguish one from another, says a pediatrician, a popular medical blogger Tatyana Butskaya.Photo: GettyImages

What is a cough?

• Dry cough (also referred to as useless orunproductive) is observed in two cases: cough receptors irritate not sputum, but various pathological processes (inflammation, foreign body, scars, swelling), or sputum is so viscous that it does not separate. Usually, dry cough appears in the early days of acute respiratory infections, acute pneumonia, chronic laryngitis, pleurisy. • A wet cough is always accompanied by sputum discharge. It is typical for many diseases: ARD, bronchitis, pneumonia, bronchial asthma • Periodic cough occurs with exacerbation of chronic lung and bronchial diseases • Persistent coughing persists in chronic diseases of larynx, trachea, bronchi, and tuberculosis • Attack cough quickly follow each other and seem to layer) may be a sign of pertussis, cystic fibrosis, bronchial asthma, and chlamydial infection • Barking cough develops with allergic edema of the larynx, laryngitis. Their cough (coughing) occurs with chronic bronchitis, pleurisy, pneumonia, tuberculosis. The cough can be a symptom of a variety of diseases, so the child must necessarily be shown to the pediatrician.

How to treat dry cough?

The main goal of the treatment is excretion of phlegm, andalong with her pathogenic microorganisms. But how can this be done if the child has a dry cough? In this case, it's a cough, not a baby, you need to moisten it. • Take care of a plentiful drink. • Create comfortable conditions for recovery. The optimal humidity in the apartment should be about 50-60 percent. However, during the heating season, it often falls to a catastrophic 20 percent. To maintain the required humidity, use a humidifier. If it is not, put a wet towel on the battery every 2 hours. The optimum air temperature is 18-20 degrees. Do not forget to ventilate the apartment. • You can resort to the help of inhalers and drugs that dilute sputum. However, before using them, consult your doctor. Many experts believe that natural hydration can be managed: • Remember that taking both sputum-stimulating drugs and drugs blocking its excretion (for example, drugs for cough suppressant) is by no means possible. This can lead to a lot of sputum accumulating in the respiratory tract • After the cough has become moist, discharge the phlegm.Photo: GettyImages

How to treat a wet cough?

It is difficult for young children to cope with a coughphlegm, because of this, and complications develop. To avoid them, use these simple tips: • Take respiratory gymnastics in a game form. Soap bubbles, playing on wind instruments - all this stimulates the excretion of phlegm. • Massage. From time to time, put your baby on your lap and gently tap on his back. • If the baby does not have temperature, go out for walks. • Consult a pediatrician about treatment. As expectorants, children are usually given vegetable syrups. However, expectorant drugs sometimes reduce the viscosity of phlegm and significantly increase its number. This is fraught with a sharp deterioration in the child's well-being. In this case, the drug either is canceled or the dosage is reduced. If the child has an obstruction (airway obstruction syndrome), the doctor advises expectorants plus drugs that relieve bronchospasm, plus mandatory moisturizing. Reception of antihistamines of the first generation (suprastin, tavegil) in such cases is not recommended. They thicken the phlegm and make it difficult to remove.

What if I do not have a cough for a long time?

Residual phenomena can remind of themselveslong enough. However, if the cough progresses or lasts more than 2 months, you need to contact a specialist again. Cough can be caused by pertussis (paracottus), adenoiditis (swelling of mucus along the wall of the nasopharynx), foreign body in the lungs, bronchial asthma, nervous tic and even heart disease. To identify the cause, usually enough x-rays and blood tests.

Comments

comments