A coughing attack in a child is a protective reflex reaction of the child’s body.

In 9 out of 10 cases it is a symptom of a group of diseases. It is needed to restore patency respiratory tract by cleaning the bronchi.

Establishing the factor that provokes it will help determine treatment tactics. In this article we have collected comprehensive information about the types and causes of sudden cough attacks in a child, as well as treatment methods.

Causes of cough attacks

The etiology is infectious and non-infectious in nature. Cough in childhood is more often associated with the first group of reasons. In the vast majority of cases, it occurs with a cold.

With laryngitis, the mucous membrane of the larynx becomes inflamed. This feature localization pathological process affect the symptoms: the child is bothered by an attack of barking, loud cough.

As the infectious pathogen “moves” through the respiratory tract, laryngitis bronchitis passes. A cough attack occurs due to irritation of the respiratory tract receptors by accumulated mucus.


With whooping cough, the mechanism is slightly different. The main cause of the symptom is the pathological activation of a certain center in the brain by the Bordetella pertussis toxin.

This explains why severe attacks dry cough in a child can occur in response to atypical irritants (sharp loud noise, bright lighting).

TO non-infectious cause applies bronchial asthma. The cough often occurs with suffocation, requiring immediate use of bronchodilators.

Prolonged coughing attacks, which are difficult to completely stop in young children, may indicate the presence of a congenital pathology.

For example, we're talking about about cystic fibrosis (a disease leading to the formation of thick, viscous mucus in the respiratory tract).

Chronic cough is caused by primary dyskinesia of the ciliary epithelium. Coordinated movement of his cilia towards the upper respiratory sections ensures evacuation of mucous secretions.

In case of pathology, the cilia fluctuate disorderly, causing congestion in the bronchi.

Attention

Rare, but dangerous reason cough in newborns, which cannot be gotten rid of with expectorants - heart defects with stagnation in the pulmonary circulation.

The mechanism lies in blood retention in pulmonary vessels. Defects of the interatrial and interventricular septum are more common.

Is a cough always caused by a disease?

Often a child coughs when inhaling too dry air, being in a dusty room, or teething (due to increased salivation).

It is important to remember about possible exposure to the respiratory tract foreign objects(small parts from toys, pieces of food).

Types of cough

By nature, it can be productive, or with sputum, and non-productive (without coughing up bronchial mucus). Sputum in children 5-6 years old is more viscous, so it is more difficult to excrete.

In such situations, the cough is mistaken for dry, although in fact it is accompanied by copious production of mucous secretion.
Source: website The frequency of occurrence of a symptom may have a direct relationship with the time of day. Types of cough:

Morning. Occurs in chronic inflammatory diseases upper respiratory tract. One of the variants of the name is “cough when washing.”

Evening. Usually occurs in patients with damage to the lower respiratory tract (bronchitis, pneumonia).

Night. The pathological substrate may lie in increased tone vagus nerve, the irritation of which causes reflex bronchospasm. Sharp attacks of night cough in children are often a concern for bronchial asthma (against the background of wheezing), whooping cough, and laryngitis.

The symptom may be accompanied by hyperthermia or, conversely, occur without fever. In the second case, we are often talking about a cough of allergic origin.

If accompanied by vomiting: what to do?

Similar clinical picture can develop with whooping cough, objects entering the respiratory tract, diseases with irritation of the soft meningeal membrane (for example, with large tumors of the brain), reflux of gastric contents into the nasopharynx.

Coughing to the point of vomiting is sometimes psychogenic in nature - it occurs against a background of stress.

Specific treatment can be used with the permission of a specialist, since irrational therapy can cause harm. This is especially true for drugs that suppress the cough reflex.

It is necessary to calm the child, as coughing with vomiting can cause him to panic, triggering a new attack.

If possible, rinse your mouth with warm boiled water, wipe your face, eliminate any sources of pungent odor, give alkaline drink(to prevent acidosis and dehydration).

Attention

You also need to pay attention to the character vomit. The appearance of blood streaks of a strange shade (for example, the discharge has the color “color coffee grounds") serves as the basis for immediate appeal behind medical care. The same applies to the stubborn, incessant cough with vomiting.

Attacks of allergic cough in a child

The symptom occurs abruptly and is unproductive. A relationship should be established with irritating factor and stop its exposure (take the child out of the room, do wet cleaning).

Often allergens include: plant pollen, animal hair, fluff inside feather pillows, perfumes.

And the mouth with warm boiled water to get rid of any remaining antigen on their mucous membranes.

If these steps do not help, then you need to give the child antihistamine(with doctor's permission).

One of the most effective means is Suprastin. Its peculiarity is its sedative (calming) effect. The drug is approved for children from 1 month, but prohibited for infants, premature babies, contraindicated for acute attack bronchial asthma.

Children over 1 year old can be given Tavegil in the form of syrup. The selection of the dosage regimen is carried out strictly in accordance with the instructions. The medicine in tablet form can be used by children over 6 years of age.

Loratadine is allowed for children over 3 years of age. The duration of action of the drug is much longer than that of Suprastin (24 hours).

To relieve bronchial spasm, you can inhale Berodual through a nebulizer (if the doctor has already prescribed it before). The use of mucolytics (sputum thinners) is irrational.

How to help a child with attacks of dry cough?

1. Increase indoor humidity
2. Ensure adequate ventilation of the room
3. Give the child a warm drink.

The first one is not difficult to arrange by hanging wet sheets and towels. IN emergency situation(if you are suffocating due to swelling of the larynx), you can sit with your child in the bathroom and turn on the hot water.

The little patient must drink as much fluid as possible, as this promotes better sputum removal. Compotes, juices, mineral water without gases, fruit drinks.

How should children be treated? The use of mucolytic agents (for example, Amboroxol) is indicated only after consulting a pediatrician and clarifying the real reason cough.

Taking this group of drugs can temporarily intensify attacks by increasing the volume of mucus discharge, which does not serve as a basis for refusing treatment.

Tablets for coughing attacks (Sinekod), aimed at reflex suppression of the symptom, have a limited range of indications.

For example, their use is rational for whooping cough, when the cough is central in nature, is unproductive and exhausts the child.

Moist cough

It is not the problem that should be treated, but the underlying cause. If the etiological factor is bacterial infection, therapy is based on the prescription of antibiotics.

In this situation, expectorants will not be able to cope with the pathogen alone.

According to Dr. Komarovsky, the attack wet cough should not be suppressed. If it is productive, this will indicate that the bronchi are being cleaned. Cough blocking tablets will cause mucus to stagnate in the airways.

How to relieve a coughing attack in a child: first aid

You need to immediately find out whether the complaint is related to getting foreign body into the respiratory tract. Parents often overlook this option. If this is not the reason, you can proceed to other actions.

It is necessary to alleviate the baby’s condition using the procedure discussed above (air humidification, drinking, ventilation). Other measures are in accordance with the type and cause of cough (indicated in the previous sections).

You must not allow your child to panic. He should be calmed down. If the nasal passages are clogged due to coughing up mucus, you should clear them of “snot” using cotton swabs.

When is urgent medical attention needed?

An alarming symptom is the occurrence of an attack of suffocation. The situation requires an immediate call medical workers. In order not to miss time, the call must be made before providing first aid.

The reason for contacting a doctor is a change in the nature of sputum. For example, if it acquired a greenish tint, became foul-smelling, and streaks of blood appeared in it.

A symptom that should not be overlooked is chest pain. It may appear during inhalation or exhalation and indicate the development of pleurisy.

In addition, the following should not be left without attention: loss of consciousness, increase in body temperature to critical levels, unsuccessful attempts to remove prolonged painful cough on one's own.

Which doctor should I contact for diagnosis?

The first specialist to start searching for the cause of cough is the local pediatrician. You can make an appointment with him, or, if you are unable to visit the hospital due to serious condition, call at home.

He will tell you how to reduce the cough and, if necessary, refer you to additional consultation To narrow specialists. The diagnostic search can be continued by: a pulmonologist, an allergist, a surgeon, a gastroenterologist.

A child has a coughing attack at night: what to do? How to remove?

It causes particular fear in children, as it usually occurs during sleep. It will be possible to stop the attack faster if you avoid panic. You need to try to distract the little patient.

It is necessary to determine what caused it. It is important to immediately pay attention to whether alarming symptoms have appeared in order to call an ambulance in time.

If the baby is not in danger, it is advisable to give him warm water and medications previously prescribed by a doctor (in situations where they are prescribed at night). It is recommended to open the window for a short time in a stuffy room.

In uncomplicated cases it can help light massage chest. Acceptable implementation If complaints bother you regularly at night, you should definitely consult a doctor.

Folk remedies

What can you do to relieve a coughing attack? It often occurs to people folk recipes. In a situation with small children, you need to weigh the pros and cons several times. Their body may react unexpectedly to the “drugs.”

As aids, but not monotherapy, it is permissible to use chamomile decoction. Improves condition warm milk(if there is no allergy, you can add honey). Thyme decoction has expectorant properties.

Drug therapy

How to stop night cough, if you have a first aid kit? No matter how many times this is said, it all depends on the doctor’s recommendations and the causes of the symptom. There are thousands of cough diagnoses; no universal therapeutic regimen has been developed for them.

What should you not do if you experience night coughing attacks?

Some parents, without knowing it, make mistakes. Forbidden:

• Ignore the instructions for the medicine;
• Simultaneously prescribe mucolytics and cough suppressants;
• Give small children inhalations with essential oils(laryngospasm may occur);
• Apply alcohol compresses on the breasts of the same age category of patients, as well as without a doctor’s permission.

When trying to help a child, you must be guided by one of the main principles of medicine: “Do no harm.” Therefore, at the first attacks of coughing, it is better to consult a doctor.

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You are a fairly active person who cares and thinks about your respiratory system and health in general, continue to exercise, lead healthy image life and your body will delight you throughout your life. But do not forget to undergo examinations on time, maintain your immunity, this is very important, do not overcool, avoid heavy physical and strong emotional overload. Try to minimize contact with sick people; if forced contact, do not forget about protective equipment (mask, washing your hands and face, clearing your respiratory tract).

It's time to think about what you are doing wrong...

You are at risk, you should think about your lifestyle and start taking care of yourself. Physical education is required, or even better, start playing sports, choose the sport that you like most and turn it into a hobby (dancing, cycling, Gym or just try to walk more). Do not forget to treat colds and flu promptly, they can lead to complications in the lungs. Be sure to work on your immunity, strengthen yourself, be in nature as often as possible and fresh air. Do not forget to undergo scheduled annual examinations, treat lung diseases initial stages much simpler than in a neglected state. Avoid emotional and physical overload; if possible, eliminate or minimize smoking or contact with smokers.

It's time to sound the alarm!

You are completely irresponsible about your health, thereby destroying the functioning of your lungs and bronchi, have pity on them! If you want to live a long time, you need to radically change your entire attitude towards your body. First of all, get examined by specialists such as a therapist and a pulmonologist; you need to take radical measures, otherwise everything may end badly for you. Follow all the doctors’ recommendations, radically change your life, perhaps you should change your job or even your place of residence, completely eliminate smoking and alcohol from your life, and make contact with people who have such bad habits to a minimum, toughen up, strengthen your immune system, spend time in the fresh air as often as possible. Avoid emotional and physical overload. Completely eliminate all aggressive products from everyday use and replace them with natural ones. natural remedies. Do not forget to do wet cleaning and ventilation of the room at home.

06 09.2016

The child coughs heavily at night. What to do?

06. 09.2016

Catherine's blog
Bogdanova

Greetings, dear and permanent readers of my blog! This time I would like to talk about what worries all parents. Namely, about children's health. Now it’s autumn outside, and that means it’s time for acute respiratory viral infections. So, at this time my child coughs a lot at night. The coughing attack comes to the point of vomiting - and I don’t know how to help him and what to do to ease his suffering.

What causes night cough?

Undoubtedly, the most common causes lie in respiratory problems. However, you should not think that cough occurs only due to acute respiratory infections, there are many others, no less serious problems which can cause coughing at night.

The most important reasons can be listed as follows:

Complications of a cold - inflammatory processes in paranasal sinuses;
adenoids;
bronchial asthma;
whooping cough;
leakage of contents from the esophagus;
helminthiasis

The reasons are very diverse, in each case there are clinical features of the cough.

What are the features of night cough in various diseases?

Most often, coughing attacks occur due to colds. The secretion accumulates in the accessory cavities and flows into the lumen of the bronchial tree at night. Adenoids, especially with inflammation, do not allow the child to breathe through the nose, which leads to breathing through the mouth with drying of the secretion in the pharynx and larynx.

Pathological discharge, especially dried and crusty discharge, irritates the mucous membrane of the trachea and bronchi at night. This causes attacks of wet cough when large cluster secret. But it can also exist if there are only dried crusts in the lumen.

Clinical features for colds are as follows:

Clear connection with infection;
does not last long;
usually accompanied by a runny nose and manifestations of intoxication;
goes away quickly after expectoration.

The cold process is favorable, and with appropriate therapy it goes away quickly.

The prognosis is worse if the child develops asthma. In this version there is a cord that is difficult to move away during an attack. Typical are single or multiple nocturnal attacks of suffocation, in which sharply difficulty breathing The child has.

After the sputum is discharged, the attack passes and the baby falls asleep. Such manifestations often occur in the morning, and the force of the cough leads to vomiting. The disease lasts a long time, coughing tremors with suffocation repeated at night, urgent bronchodilator specific treatment is necessary.

Severe attacks at night are typical of whooping cough. Although the disease is acute, inadequate treatment the process may take several months.

The most characteristic features of the disease are as follows:

Sudden nocturnal attack suffocation;
the child coughs and turns blue;
exhalation is severely difficult;
the child is wet and sweats a lot;
wheezing is typical;
wet cough, after sputum is discharged, the blueness stops;
perhaps several episodes in one night.

Extremely dangerous condition! For small children this can result in death! Independent thinking about how to help a child is unacceptable. You need to call a specialist immediately.

Not only pulmonary diseases may cause coughing. This problem occurs with stomach pathology. Why is this happening? The fact is that due to insufficient work of the esophagogastric opening, the contents flow back into the esophagus.

And at night during sleep it can enter the respiratory tract. This causes sharp coughing, and a burning sensation may be felt in the throat due to the acidic gastric contents. The situation repeats itself regularly over a long period.

One more common problem represent helminths, especially roundworms. Their life cycle associated with exposure to blood bronchopulmonary system. This causes local allergic processes, which is accompanied by a severe dry cough. In this case, attacks occur against the background full health, unexpectedly, without any cold symptoms.

How to treat night cough

It should be noted right away that it is not enough to just treat the symptom; it is necessary to eliminate the disease together with a specialist. This may require antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs, and sometimes specific medications.

The symptom itself can be affected by three groups of drugs:

Expectorants;
mucolytics;
antitussives.

Of course, you shouldn’t take medications just before bed. They need to be used several times a day. However, for a severe dry cough that is accompanied by pain and does not allow the child to sleep, you can use antitussives at night or before going to bed.

These drugs act on the cough centers of the brain and block reflex impulses. The symptom will be completely suppressed. Unacceptable long-term use such drugs, since accumulating mucus can clog the bronchial passages. Examples of these drugs are glaucine, codeine, butamirate.

Expectorants are usually herbal and safe. They can be used in children from the very beginning. early age. They help mucus come out of the bronchi. There is no point in using them when wet cough, since the secret goes away well anyway.

Expectorant drugs include: syrup from licorice roots, marshmallow herb in the form of decoctions or syrup, breast elixir and many others.

Mucolytics are often used in combination with expectorants. They help thin mucus so that it moves more easily through the respiratory tract. It is too safe medicines, they are used from infancy. Examples are ambroxol, lazolvan, bromhexine. It's better to apply liquid forms, since many children do not like pills.

To successfully combat cough in asthma, these medications are not enough. It is necessary to constantly use bronchodilators, as well as special inhalers to relieve inflammation.

If helminths are present, they must be radically removed using modern antihelminthics. To treat stomach pathology, various prokinetics are used, for example, motilium, which prevent contents from entering the esophagus and flowing into the respiratory tract at night.

For parents the most a big joy- watch your baby eat with gusto, laugh fervently, and play enthusiastically with his plush friends. All this demonstrates that the child is healthy and feeling well. Only at night, some mothers and fathers suddenly hear their children coughing. This prevents babies from sleeping, causes them discomfort, and also causes serious concern adults. Why does a child who looks cheerful, cheerful and healthy during the day suddenly cough in his sleep? What should adults do to help a child get rid of this symptom? You will learn about this by reading our new article.

The main reason why a child develops a cough during sleep is the position in which we find ourselves at night. Lying down slows down the basic processes of the body, even the blood supply to the lungs. Mucus and phlegm accumulate in the pharynx and bronchial area, which take longer to dissolve at night, which is why the child coughs in his sleep. Try using large pillows during illness and try to change the position of the child’s body more often, so phlegm will accumulate less.

By the way, it is worth considering that the appearance of mucus and phlegm is promoted by some disease that needs to be cured, and after that the cough will go away. Why a child coughs in his sleep should be determined by a doctor. Sometimes a strong persistent cough in a child in a dream indicates the presence of a serious illness.

Possible causes of night cough in a child

If outwardly healthy baby coughs in his sleep, perhaps this is completely harmless symptom. However, in some cases, the child’s body signals illness in this way. Here are the most likely causes of night coughing attacks in babies:

1. Allergy. This is a common disease that is often accompanied by a night cough. Babies often have allergic reactions to feathers and down in pillows, woolen material, blankets, baby washing powders, even on new cribs with a pungent odor. In such a situation, it will be enough to remove the allergen - and the little one will again sleep peacefully.
2. Dry air at home. This phenomenon is typical during the cold season, when the heating is turned on. Working batteries dry out the air. It is difficult for them to breathe, and at night it dries out the mucous membranes. This may well cause attacks of dry cough during sleep. The solution is simple - wet the towels and leave them on the radiators all night. Another option is to buy a humidifier.
3. Runny nose. Even if the baby has very minor snot, which does not interfere with his breathing during the day, at night it will flow down his throat, which will cause a cough. Just . Then the coughing attacks will go away on their own.
4. Teething. During this period, the baby's saliva production increases. Like snot, it flows down the throat at night, causing irritation. This is another one probable cause development of cough at night. In this case, the only thing you can do is wait. When a child has teeth, he will stop coughing in his sleep.
5. Beginning of the disease. If the baby coughs at night, this may indicate the development of pharyngitis, rhinitis, or sinusitis. In this case, the disease must be treated. The cough will go away when the baby recovers.

What absolutely should not be done before consulting a doctor

• Give your baby pills and syrups that are recommended by your friends, pharmacists in pharmacies, and other mothers on forums;
• Select antibiotics for your baby yourself;
• Treat dry cough with expectorant herbs and medications.

1. Give your baby a drink of hot milk and butter before bed.
2. Place a larger pillow under your child's head to elevate his head and create a semi-lying position.
3. Go see your pediatrician.

Reading on the topic of cough:

Note to moms!

Hello girls) I didn’t think that the problem of stretch marks would affect me too, and I’ll also write about it))) But there’s nowhere to go, so I’m writing here: How did I get rid of stretch marks after childbirth? I will be very glad if my method helps you too...

This article was checked and edited by Vladimir Alekseevich Anokhin, professor, doctor medical sciences, Head of the Department of Pediatric Infections, Kazan State Medical University.

A sudden night cough in a child causes justifiable anxiety in every parent. And, most often, a night cough is a cause for concern in cases where during the day the baby was cheerful, cheerful and looked absolutely healthy. Therefore, the first step is to determine the cause by contacting your local pediatrician.

If yours is in a dream, this indicates that his body is fighting some kind of infection or inflammatory process. Therefore, before starting treatment, it is necessary to undergo a thorough examination.

Possible causes of night cough in a child

1. Whooping cough

The most common cause of cough at night is whooping cough - a bacterial infection, the main manifestation of which is an unusual, paroxysmal cough. Most often, this situation occurs in children who various reasons were not vaccinated against this infection (parental refusal to vaccinate, medical refusal to vaccinate, first 3 months of life).

The younger the child, the more dangerous this disease is. This cough may be accompanied by respiratory arrest!

Often a coughing attack, during which the child’s face turns red or even blue, ends in vomiting. This type of cough is very characteristic, typical only for whooping cough. As a rule, coughing attacks appear in a warm (hot), dry room (bedroom). It is significant that on the street or when the room is ventilated, the cough stops or becomes much less frequent. The disease is usually not accompanied by a temperature reaction in the child. And if the temperature rises to high numbers, this indicates possible development pneumonia. In such cases, it is necessary to urgently seek medical help.

2. Viruses, allergies

It is also possible to develop a cough with respiratory viral infection. In this case:

• Children most often have a fever,
• cough accompanies a runny nose (the child breathes with an open mouth),
• the child is lethargic
• and other manifestations of viral intoxication (refusal to eat, drowsiness or anxiety, crying, etc.).

Persistent cough and elevated temperature- a reason for mandatory consultation with a doctor.

Less commonly, a cough may be of allergic origin, the cause of which should also be investigated by a qualified specialist.

3. Gastroesophageal reflux

If a child's cough occurs only at night, this may indicate the occurrence of gastroesophageal reflux. Typically, this disease is characterized not only by night coughing, but also by prolonged bouts of heartburn.

For some diseases gastrointestinal tract there is a reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus. In a position on the back or side, this process is significantly enhanced, as a result of which part of the gastric contents can enter the oropharynx, and from there into the respiratory tract. The consequence of this is defensive reaction organism in the form of a night cough in a child. Therefore, if a child develops a cough at night, you should consult not only a pediatrician and an allergist, but also a gastroenterologist.

The disease was even called “milk and cookie disease.” It is quite clear that in order for a child to stop coughing at night, it is enough to stop feeding the child immediately before bed.

Considering the variety of causes of night cough, it makes sense to find out the cause of this phenomenon and treat the child under the supervision of a doctor.

Doctor Komarovsky: the child has a cough