What kind of cough does a 4 month old baby have?
To start treating your baby, you need to understand the reason that causes cough in a 4-month-old child. Here are the following types of cough:
- Physiological - such a completely normal cough is not accompanied by fever, the child eats well and sleeps normally.
- Allergic - attacks occur in a certain room and under certain conditions, once you remove the source of the allergy, for example, woolen carpets, animals, indoor flowers, how does it go.
- If a foreign body enters the respiratory tract, the cough is strained, paroxysmal, and emergency assistance cannot be avoided.
- Dry - this type can accompany a cold or inflammatory disease, it is characterized by viscous sputum, which is difficult to separate, a strained cough, prolonged, and can occur at night during sleep.
- Wet - sputum comes out well, characteristic of the end of the disease.
Both general recommendations and special procedures and medications will help cure a cough.
Inhalations for coughing in children aged 4 months
Regardless of body temperature, steam inhalations should not be given to children aged 4 months. A good result in the treatment of cough in children of this age is achieved by inhalation of saline solution, which is done using a nebulizer.
These devices effectively help in the treatment of inflammatory processes in both the upper and lower respiratory tracts. Breaking medicinal substances into microscopic particles, the device delivers them to the mucous membranes in the very accumulation of sputum.
The procedure can be performed twice a day, for 3-5 minutes, for five days. Inhalations are carried out in normal breathing mode. To increase the therapeutic effect, saline solution for inhalation can be mixed in a 1 to 1 ratio with medications:
- Lazolvan;
- ambrobene;
- fluimucil.
Another advantage of inhalations is that, due to his age, the child is only able to take liquid products, so treating him at this age with tablets or powders is very inconvenient. This is where liquid syrups come to the rescue.
Cough syrups for a 4 month old baby
For cough, infants can be given the following medications:
- Ambroxol , syrup, is prescribed by a doctor for medical reasons, the medicine is given twice a day, 1/2 measuring spoon, treatment for more than 5 days is carried out only in agreement with the doctor.
- Ambrobene , syrup, is given twice a day, 1 ml per dose.
- Stoptussin , syrup for children, is given to children weighing over 7 kg, 8 drops 3-4 times a day.
It is important to note that the listed medications will work more effectively if the child is given some liquid after them. Of course, all drinks must be age appropriate. At this age, the child can be given water; its amount per day during illness can be 100 ml. You can give your baby water in small portions between feedings. The drinking water temperature should be + 26 + 30 degrees. If tea or carrot juice was introduced into the diet before the illness, then they can also be given to the baby.
When a child has a cough for 4 months, you can ask your doctor how to treat it without fever using traditional medicine methods. He will recommend safe and effective folk remedies.
Treatment of cough in a six-month-old child. Features of the treatment of cough in a child at 10 months
Breastfeeding protects a child for 6 months from infection by pathogenic microorganisms. Mother's milk contains interferon, which supports antiviral immunity. Make sure your baby lies comfortably while feeding. Otherwise, he may cough from irritation of the nasopharynx with liquid.
Hot, dry air in the room is a common cause of coughing in a 6-month-old child. The mucous membrane of the baby's nasopharynx dries out, which causes cough receptors to be irritated. To improve the microclimate in the apartment, ventilate the room daily, place containers of water near the bed or hang wet towels on the radiator.
Normally, the air temperature in the child’s room should be 19-20°, and the humidity should be 50-70%.
At 6 months, the baby begins to cut teeth. This process is accompanied by increased salivation. When lying down, saliva hits the wall of the nasopharynx and irritates the cough receptors. At this time, the baby feels discomfort and slight pain in the gums. He becomes capricious and whiny. Tears and mucus from the sinuses also flow down the throat, causing a cough.
Foreign body in the child's respiratory tract
At 6 months, the child receives complementary foods, including the first solid food (cottage cheese, wheat bread, egg yolk, cookies). Swallowing quickly or laughing or crying while eating can cause crumbs to enter the respiratory tract. The body tries to push them out by coughing.
You can perform a drainage massage. If crumbs are stuck firmly in the throat, place your baby face down on your lap. In this case, the head should be lower than the buttocks. Tap the area between your shoulder blades with your palm.
If a child swallows or puts small objects (a button, a mosaic, a construction piece) up his nose, call a doctor. Particularly dangerous symptoms include continuous coughing attacks, shortness of breath, loss of consciousness, paleness and blue discoloration of the skin.
Diagnosis of respiratory diseases
If the cough gets worse in the evening and at night, and is accompanied by fever and other unpleasant symptoms, you should take your child to the doctor. During the examination, the doctor asks about the characteristics of the attacks, examines the throat and ears, listens to the bronchi and lungs.
At 6 months you can do the following procedures to clarify the diagnosis:
- general analysis of urine and blood;
- throat swab examination;
- Ultrasound of internal organs.
The doctor rarely prescribes x-rays, bronchoscopy, or computed tomography due to the inability to keep the child motionless for 6 months.
Cough due to colds
The cause of infection with an acute respiratory viral infection is the weakening of the immune system of a six-month-old child. The body's defenses are reduced due to hypothermia, poor-quality artificial nutrition, and lack of vitamins and microelements. In this state, the body cannot resist pathogens that enter the mucous membrane of the nasopharynx.
In addition to coughing, a cold manifests itself with the following symptoms:
- temperature increase;
- blurred eyes;
- the appearance of mucus in the nose;
- refusal of food;
- moodiness, lethargy.
The cough worsens when lying down and is accompanied by sneezing. It is difficult for the baby to breathe due to snot in the nose.
To make breathing easier, the doctor prescribes “Aquamaris” and “Aqualor Baby” nasal drops. Between instillations, it is necessary to remove snot using an aspirator. Instead of medicine, it is allowed to use saline solution. It thins mucus, moisturizes and disinfects the nasopharynx.
A 6 month old child has difficulty swallowing a pill. Small children often spit out cough syrup. At this age, the best form of the drug is rectal suppositories. After their administration, the components are absorbed into the blood and fight infection without harming the digestive organs.
Inflammation of the middle ear
At 6 months, the Eustachian tube is not yet fully formed. Therefore, microbes easily pass into the middle ear along with mucus from the sinuses, milk, and water. Otitis media develops as a complication of a cold due to injury when cleaning the auricle, or pressure on the eardrum during flights.
A six-month-old child cannot tell where he feels pain. Therefore, otitis media can be recognized by a dry cough, shaking of the head, and refusal to eat. Symptoms also include:
- high body temperature;
- thick and sticky nasal discharge;
- worsening of the condition when lying down.
If you lightly press on the cartilage of the auricle, the baby will scream or cry in pain.
To prevent a child’s hearing loss, it is necessary to administer an antibiotic intramuscularly (Cefuroxime, Amocyclav). To ease the pain and alleviate the condition, give him antipyretics (Nurofen, Panadol), antihistamines (Suprastin, Zodak), vasoconstrictors (Nazivin Children's) drugs.
After the middle ear heals, the dry cough disappears on its own. To prevent relapses, it is necessary to promptly treat colds and correctly perform hygienic ear care procedures.
Drug treatment
How to treat? All prescribed treatments for infants can be divided into three groups:
- sedatives that can reduce cough activity;
- mucolytics, eliminating its manifestation and diluting accumulated viscous sputum;
- expectorants that help remove mucus from the body.
Some products combine several properties. For example, mucolytic and expectorant. They help transform a cough from a dry form to a productive one.
We recommend that you read about the treatment of dry cough in children with folk remedies in this material.
Sedatives
The following medications are classified as sedatives.
Glycine
Glycine improves brain metabolism.
Pharmacological action: it regulates metabolism, reduces the child’s psycho-emotional stress, normalizes sleep, and calms the baby’s central nervous system. Has antioxidant and antitoxic effects.
Dosage for children under 3 years of age: the drug is prescribed half a tablet, which must first be dissolved in water. It should be given to the child 2 or 3 times a day. This dose must be taken for a week. Then drink 100 mg for the same period of time. The total dosage of the course is a maximum of 2600 mg.
Source: https://alkomir.net/lechenie-kashlya-u-rebenka-shesti-mesyatsev-osobennosti-lecheniya-kashlya-u-rebyonka-v-10-mesyatsev/
How to treat a cough in a 4-month-old child using folk remedies
When treating an infant with folk remedies, it is important not to harm the baby. Sometimes even the thought of treating a baby with chemicals causes panic in parents. They believe that it is too early for their baby to take medicine. In this case, wraps and rubbing will help cope with the cough.
The simplest and safest remedy is camphor oil . It acts as a mild warming and distracting agent. A small amount, about 1 tbsp. l., camphor oil is heated to + 37 degrees and lightly rubbed into the chest and back. After which the child is wrapped in a dry diaper and covered with a blanket. After 30 - 40 minutes, the baby needs to be changed into dry clothes and kept under the blanket for some more time.
A proven remedy for coughs that are difficult to treat is curd compress . For it you will need to take about 100 g of cottage cheese and 20 g of honey. The cottage cheese needs to be heated to +50 g in a water bath and honey added to it. Stir everything well and place on film. Apply from the back and chest, cover with a diaper on top. Keep the mixture for 40 - 50 minutes. The procedure can be performed 2 times a day for 5-6 days. The curd compress is completely safe for the baby. Honey cake also has a mild effect on coughs. It is not difficult to prepare it at home. It is enough to mix a few tablespoons of warm water with one spoon of honey and flour. From the resulting dough, form a cake to the size of the child’s back, cover it with a diaper and hold it for 40 - 50 minutes. If the child falls asleep during the procedure, the cake can be removed after waking up.
Cough in a child without fever - how to treat it. Features of the treatment of cough in a child at 10 months
A common cause of its appearance is acute respiratory infections, accompanied by a runny nose, headache, and weakness. Cough can be a companion to dangerous diseases and respiratory tract infections: bronchitis, pharyngitis, tracheitis. In this case, the child coughs with copious sputum production.
Other causes of cough in babies include:
- Acute ENT infections. The cause of cough is when mucus from the nose gets into the back of the throat. Attacks occur in the evening and at night.
- Tuberculosis. At the beginning of the disease, there may be no cough at all. In later stages, it becomes productive with copious sputum production and lasts a month or more.
- Allergic reaction combined with infection. The most dangerous manifestation is bronchial asthma.
- Consequences of whooping cough. The baby has a paroxysmal cough at night. During an attack, he may begin to vomit.
- Worms. Coughing occurs when helminths are active. The child's body temperature does not increase.
- Contact with chemicals. Volatile substances enter the nasopharynx, have an irritating effect, and cause frequent coughing attacks.
- The presence of a foreign body in the nasopharynx or respiratory tract. Cough is a reaction to irritation.
- Low humidity. The room where the child is located should be ventilated as often as possible. Dry air causes the baby's mucous membranes to dry out. The cough in this case is a reflex.
- Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. The child coughs due to food debris getting into the respiratory tract.
- Smoke, gas pollution in the room.
A rare cause of cough is pathology of the middle ear (the presence of an inflammatory process) and cerumen plugs. In this situation, the cough is psychogenic in nature.
Consultation with a pediatrician is required
Cough without fever: is there a health risk?
A severe hacking dry cough in a child without fever can be a harbinger of serious diseases: atrophic pharyngitis, tuberculous bronchoadenitis, early stages of tuberculosis, pulmonary echinococcosis.
?Atrophic pharyngitis, if not cured on time, spreads to the larynx.?
The child’s voice disappears or becomes hoarse. A severe inflammatory process leads to swelling of the ligaments, difficulty breathing, and stenosis of the larynx. A cough may be a manifestation of a tuberculosis infection. To exclude it, fluorography should be done.
Treatment methods for children's cough
You can overcome a child’s cough with the help of medications, physiotherapy, compresses, and inhalations. An important link in the recovery process is adherence to the regimen and following the doctor’s recommendations.
Young parents are concerned about the question: if a child’s cough (without fever) does not go away for a long time, how to treat it and how to help the baby. Treatment for cough should be accompanied by frequent, heavy drinking.
It is recommended to give your baby tea, compote, fruit juice with a high content of vitamins. Dr. Komarovsky recommends: you can overcome a child’s cough with the help of decoctions of nettle leaves, plantain, and thyme.
It is important that plants do not cause allergies.
Medicines only as prescribed by a doctor
- The drink can be alkaline: milk with soda or mineral water. You can add butter or honey to the milk.
- Frequent gargling with a soda solution helps eliminate germs and reduce inflammation. You can add a few drops of iodine to the solution.
- Wool products create a warming effect, reducing the number of attacks. The folk method of inhaling steam over potatoes is an excellent remedy for helping to remove sputum.
Rules for choosing cough medicines
Treatment with medications is important when a child has problems sleeping, vomiting, shortness of breath, and severe weakness. Antitussives are prescribed if the cough is dry, obsessive, painful, painful, disrupting sleep and appetite.
Expectorants are recommended for unproductive, unobtrusive coughs in which the child feels well. Sleep and appetite are not disturbed.
Mucolytic agents are effective if the cough is accompanied by thick, viscous sputum or there are problems with its discharge.
?Children under 2 years of age are not recommended to be treated with medications. Syrups and plant-based mixtures, for example, “Gerbion,” are suitable for them.?
Natural based syrups for children
How to treat a wet cough in a child?
The main difference between a wet cough and a dry cough is that in the first case, during the process of coughing, the child produces phlegm. There is especially a lot of it at night, when the child is sleeping.
Hoarseness of voice is noted in the morning hours. The goal of treatment is to stimulate the release of mucus from the lungs. A wet cough is not always an indicator of serious health problems.
A child may cough 10-15 times a day, especially if he inhales debris.
You should consult a doctor if your child’s condition worsens:
- the coughing attack is prolonged or does not stop;
- body temperature increased;
- for more than three days the temperature does not fall below 38 degrees;
- cough lasts longer than 3 weeks;
- there is mucus or blood in the sputum;
- decreased appetite;
- the baby complains of chest pain;
- wheezing is heard when inhaling or exhaling;
- shortness of breath appears, breathing becomes difficult;
- the child is vomiting.
If a baby under the age of one year has a cough, you should not panic. The muscles of the stomach and esophagus are underdeveloped during this period, which is why the cough appears reflexively. Another cause of coughing is teething. The cough in this case is temporary.
Selection of drugs - algorithm
You can overcome a wet cough in a child if parents follow several rules:
- provide constant care and necessary conditions for a sick child;
- follow a treatment regimen that includes taking medicines, syrups, and inhalations;
- folk remedies are used in the form of steaming the feet, compresses, herbal mixtures).
Drug treatment of a wet cough in a child involves taking mucolytic and expectorant drugs. Medicines of the first group reduce the viscosity of sputum. Drugs of the second group promote the movement of mucus through the respiratory tract.
Effective and popular cough medicines:
- elixir “Codelac Broncho with thyme”;
- syrups "Ambroxol", "Fluditek";
- ACC drug in tablets or granules;
- Joset syrup (suitable for newborns);
- Doctor Mom syrup (indicated for children over 3 years old).
☝Parents should remember that antitussive drugs are not used to treat wet cough. Their purpose is to suppress the signs and symptoms of dry cough.
Cough inhalation solutions
Inhalations are used to treat colds in children and adults. The method of treating dry and wet cough using inhalation is different, its effectiveness and efficiency has been tested for years. During the procedure, the mucous membranes of the upper respiratory tract are irrigated. The inhaler is filled with special medicinal solutions.
Cough inhalation
Compliance with the rules of the procedure increases its effectiveness several times:
- Inhalation should not be done immediately after meals or on an empty stomach. It is carried out an hour after eating.
- The procedure takes 10 minutes. Inhalation is recommended to be done three times a day.
- To maximize the benefits of inhalation, you should take a deep breath several times, hold your breath, then exhale.
An alternative medicine is mineral water.
The solution for inhalation is sold ready-made. It must be prepared following the instructions. Effective drugs recommended for the treatment of cough in children:
- "Lazolvan";
- "ACC Inject";
- "Pertusin";
- "Mukaltin."
At home, you can resort to steam inhalation. Add a couple of drops of essential oil or a special medicine to boiling water.
Inhalations can cause harm to the child’s body if the baby has an individual intolerance to the medicinal components of the solution, with a tendency to bleeding, cardiovascular pathologies, respiratory failure, and a temperature above 37.5 ° C.
Inhalation is indicated for children over 2 years of age, when they are able to understand and follow parental instructions.
For inhalations used in the treatment of dry cough, the following drugs are used:
- "Berodual";
- "Berotek";
- "Salgim";
- "Troventa";
- "Ambrobene".
For wet cough, expectorant medications are used for inhalation:
- "Fluimucil";
- "Lazolvan";
- "Ambrobene";
- "Sinupret";
- "Mukaltin";
- "Pertussin."
Non-carbonated mineral water is added to the solution. To relieve inflammation in the lungs and bronchi, it is recommended to use Rotokan, Propolis, Eucalyptus, Malavit, Tonzilgon N.
☝After each procedure, the inhaler is thoroughly washed. Solutions are warmed to room temperature before use.
Cough medicines
Folk remedies in the treatment of children's cough
It is possible to overcome a child’s cough at home by turning to traditional medicine methods.
- Effective remedies are compotes and teas made from the herbs of chamomile, elderberry, coltsfoot, and cranberry. A chest mixture of licorice and marshmallow roots quickly and effectively helps get rid of a barking cough.
- Children who do not have problems with the gastrointestinal tract should be given a product based on milk, honey and black radish. The core of the fruit is cut out and honey is added to the cavity. The resulting nectar is poured into a clean container, and heated milk is added there. The product is taken in a course of up to 10 days, 1 tsp. 3-4 times a day.
- Honey cake is suitable for treating dry cough in children. The product is a compress of honey with the addition of other ingredients: flour, mustard, salt or potatoes. 5 procedures are enough for the cough to go away. The simplest recipe is flatbread with flour and honey. To prepare it, you need to mix 2 tsp. warm honey with flour. You should get a viscous mass. It is wrapped in cloth and placed on the baby's chest in the subclavian area. It is necessary to ensure that the compress does not touch the cardiac zone.
- A cabbage compress with honey for coughs is quick and easy to prepare. Fresh cabbage leaves are immersed entirely in hot water for a couple of minutes. During this time they become soft. A layer of melted honey is placed on the sheet. The leaves should be placed on the baby's chest. If the cough is severe, it is recommended to apply one sheet on the back and chest, then place a plastic bag on top and wrap a warm scarf around your back. The compress should remain on all night. In the morning, the cabbage leaves are removed, and the skin at the compress site is wiped with warm water. If your child coughs a lot, you can apply a compress during the day. The course of treatment lasts from 3 to 7 days. Honey can cause allergies, so this type of treatment should be treated with caution.
- Banana is very useful and effective in treating cough in babies. The active components contained in the fruit have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and expectorant effects. Treatment with banana is effective for dry and wet coughs, allergies, asthma, and bronchitis. The therapeutic effect is noticeable 10-15 minutes after taking the medicine. To prepare a healthy and tasty cough remedy, you need 1 banana and 1 dessert spoon of honey. The fruit is ground or softened in a blender, honey is added to the mixture, and the whole mixture is heated in a water bath for 10-15 minutes. The prepared mixture should darken. The prepared medicine must be eaten during the day, 1 teaspoon.
- Onions with honey are an effective recipe for treating children's cough. Chop a large onion, add honey and a spoonful of sugar on top. Let the mixture brew for 2-3 hours, then strain. The juice should be given to the baby three times a day, 1 teaspoon.
- Plantain decoction is good for long-term coughs. Pour boiling water over the crushed leaves, leave for an hour, strain. Give the baby 1 tsp of tea. during the day.
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