Cough does not go away: when to go to the doctor?
Do you have to go to the doctor with a cough? Coughing is unpleasant, but mostly harmless. However, sometimes it can still happen that your child should see a doctor if he coughs. Find out here when a doctor’s visit is urgently needed and how you can relieve your child’s cough with simple home remedies.
Coughing is a natural protective reflex of the body, which is useful because it cleanses the airways of mucus or foreign bodies. No matter whether foreign bodies have entered your child’s respiratory tract or whether any pathogen has taken root in him: coughing basically serves to protect the respiratory tract.
Index
ToggleWhy do we cough?
Coughing often occurs as part of an illness, such as thefluor a cold, and is often accompanied by many other symptoms. With such a disease, pathogens penetrate the human organism, attack the mucous membranes and settle there. If the immune system is unable to successfully defend itself against these pathogens, this immediately results in swelling and reddening of the mucous membrane. This creates a tough and stubborn mucus that settles in the airways and from which the body tries to free itself with the help of coughing. In the process, the diaphragm contracts and the remaining air, which is in the respiratory tract, is expelled jerkily, whereby foreign bodies or pathogens are coughed up at the same time.
These conditions cause cough
Often, coughing arises as a result of a respiratory illness such as a cold or flu. These are caused by certain pathogens. These include, for example, the influenza virus of type A, B, and C as well as the rhino virus, corona virus, adenovirus orrespiratory syncytial virus. Other causes of cough may include:
- Allergies
- Bronchitis
- Asthma
- Laryngitis
- Pneumonia
- Foreign bodies in the respiratory tract
- Pulmonary embolism
- Tuberculosis
- Heart failure
Ways of transmission of cough
Viruses or bacteria that cause coughing can be transmitted in two different ways:
- By droplet infection:Â By talking, coughing or sneezing, it can happen that virus-containing droplets get into the air. From there, they can easily penetrate the human organism through the respiratory tract and settle on the mucous membranes, which directly leads to redness and swelling of the very skin.
- Due to contact infection:Â In a contact infection, also known as smear infection, pathogens are transmitted by mere touch. Basically, a distinction is made between primary and secondary contact infection. A primary infection occurs through direct contact with an infected human, while a secondary infection results from touching contaminated objects, such as a doorknob or keyboard.
When you should see a doctor if you cough
As a rule, coughing is rather harmless. In some cases, however, a visit to the doctor is indispensable to avoid, for example, the development of bronchitis or pneumonia. In the following circumstances, you should consult a doctor with your child if you cough.
- Your child is younger than four months.
- Your child has a coughing fit at night. This may be a sign of the respiratory diseasepseudocroup.
- Your child has a high fever (>38.5°C) orfever that has lasted two days.
- Your child is not drinking enough fluids. Then there is a risk that his mucous membranes will dry out. However, these should be kept moist when coughing. If fever is added to the cough, it is important to compensate for the loss of fluid caused by the many sweating. If this does not happen because your child refuses to drink, dehydration may threaten.
- Your child has shortness of breath. As a result of a respiratory disease, your child’s airways may narrow. Your child’s lips may turn bluish. Another sign of shortness of breath can be rapid, about 40 to 50 breaths per minute, and increasingly strained breathing. Moaning noises when inhaling and exhaling can also indicate shortness of breath. Learn more about shortness of breath in the child here.
- Coughing up blood occurs. Coughing up blood can have different triggers. The source of bleeding can basically be the respiratory tract such as the lungs, but also the nasopharynx, the mouth, the esophagus or the stomach. If you have a cough up blood, consult a doctor immediately to get to the bottom of the cause of the cough up blood.
Treatment of cough
When visiting the doctor, it is primarily important to clarify the exact cause of the cough. Therefore, the family doctor or pediatrician is the first point of contact for you and your child. He will then consider which treatment is appropriate on the basis of his examination results. He decides whether the cough is mild and can be treated at home using home remedies, whether a medication for your child’s cough should be administered or whether treatment by a specialist, such as an ear, nose and throat doctor or a pulmonologist, might be more appropriate. These specialize in lung diseases and can, for example, determine the pathogen from samples of coughed up mucus and use a so-called bronchioscopy to examine the exact structure of the lungs.
How to help your child with coughing
The following tips will help to relieve your child’s cough gently and gently:
- Bed rest:Â Your sick child belongs in bed and needs rest to recover. The rule of thumb here is: the more sleep, the stronger your child’s immune system. Because only if your child rests, he can recover quickly from his cough. Stress and lack of sleep, on the other hand, only prevent successful recovery. If your child refuses because he does not want to sleep under any circumstances, at least make sure that his day is as quiet as possible.
- Drink a lot:Â If your child coughs, the top priority is that they drink plenty of fluids. Abundant drinking moisturizes the mucous membranes, stubborn, viscous mucus can more easily detach and simply be coughed up. The body can rid itself of pathogens in this way. Offer your child something to drink at regular intervals. Especially suitable for children are, for example, water, and warm drinks such as tea, warm lemon water or heated juices. However, adequate hydration is crucial, especially if fever is added to the cough as a side effect. Because of the associated sweating, a lot of fluid is lost. Since the fluid balance of children is not as stable as that of adults, it is important to compensate for this loss.
- Humidity:Â An overheated and poorly ventilated nursery can cause your child’s mucous membranes to dry out quickly. In this way, pathogens have the best conditions to penetrate his organism, settle on the mucous membranes and multiply there. Therefore, make sure that the humidity is high. You can help with this, for example, by setting up humidifiers or placing damp cloths on the radiator. Your child should avoid heating air as much as possible. In this way, your child’s mucous membranes remain moist and can fulfill their function as a natural barrier for pathogens.
- Home remedies for cough: Since coughing is a natural protective reflex, it is usually rather harmless. That’s why you don’t have to go to the doctor with every cough with your child. First of all, try to treat your offspring’s cough with gentle methods. There are numerous home remedies that have proven themselves for generations and can help you successfully relieve your child’s cough. These includechicken soup, quark and potato wraps or inhalation. Here you will find an overview of all home remedies for cough. In addition, you can quickly and easilymake a cough syrup yourself.
- Blood circulation:Â Make sure both your child’s hands and feet are warm. Because warm extremities are a sign of good blood circulation. If, on the other hand, this is not the case, viruses and bacteria have an easy time penetrating the organism and multiplying.
- Heat:Â Pathogens that cause your child to cough love the cold, not the heat. Therefore, the high season for respiratory diseases such as a cold or flu is also in winter. The mucous membrane is then less supplied with blood and viruses can penetrate the organism more easily. The ears are particularly susceptible to cold. Therefore, protect your child from coughing by providing him with scarf, hat and gloves in the cold season.