What Actually is Coughing?
If we talk about coughing , then coughing is a normal physiologic reflex where your body clears your airways of mucus , smoke or any sort of irritant that may clog your airways and cause difficulty in breathing.
But constant coughing can be a problem , as it may interrupt your daily routine and day to day activities like sleeping , running etc. So , it’s better to stop your cough by eliminating the underlying cause which can be cold , allergies ,smoke and many others .
Though medicines cure coughing, several remedies have come our way to quiet and soothe coughs.
What May Cause Your Child to Cough?
Cough is generally a sign which indicates that your child’s body is trying to get rid if an irritant and various factors which can lead to formation of cough are as follows:
- Infections:Several viral infections like cold , flu can cause lingering coughs in your kids. Also , croup is ‘ barking’ cough where chlid suffers from noisy breathing .
- Allergies or sinusitis :In such condition your child is sensitive to certain allergens preseng in the environment and along with coughing child suffers from runny nose, watery eyes ,itching etc.
- Acid reflux:Symptoms include coughing , frequent vomiting ,and bad taste in mouth.To prevent this try these tips Remove the triggering food items from their diet like fried and spicy food , chocolates.Try giving smaller meals at a time and make sure to eat atleast 2hrs before sleep.
- Other reasons :A child may also cough after inhaling foreign objects like food or soft toys , after being exposed to pollutants like cigarettes or smoke .
Home Remedies To Help Soothe a Child’s Cough
Generally a child’s cough is nothing to worry about .But , if your child seems to be constantly coughing then it can be concerning .It has been seen that cough in children most commonly occurs due to cold , flu and allergies.
Over the counter medicines are not recommended for the children under 6 years of age as they have not been proven much effective .Also , if one can naturally cure cough with the help of home remedies then why should one expose their children to such medications unnecessarily.
So here are some of the ways by which u can treat your child’ cough at home :
- Drink warm fluids: For this you have to ensure that your child consume copious amount of fluids to stay hydrated . Try giving your child warm fluids like caffeine free tea like lemon tea, hot water along with lemon can also aid in loosening up of mucus and soothe a sore throat.
- Gargles: Ask your child to do gargles with salt mixed in hot water as it also helps in soothing sore throat.
- Use a humidifier: Dry air can worsen a child’s cough so consider using a cool mist humidifier in your room where your baby sleeps.
- Saline and suction: If your child is suffering from stuffy nose then try using saline solutions such as nasal sprays.These sprays will loosen mucus in the nose and allows the mucosal discharge to be flushed out of the nose . Using such sprays basically prevents the mucosal discharge to reach the throat hence prevents the accumulation of cough . Ask your child to blow nose frequently, or if they are young then you can use a suction bulb to prevent drainage .
- Breathe in warm water vapours: Let your child breathe in water vapours during a warm bath .
- Spoonful of honey: Honey solely or in combination with ginger juice can be given to the child . It usually provides relief to the child to quite an extent as it has antibacterial, antiviral, and anti-inflammatory properties. All of these may alleviate cough symptoms.Avoid giving honey to children who are under 1 year of age .
- Topical rubs:Inhaled vapors of certain medicated essential oils like menthol,camphor and eucalyptus can soothe airways to relieve cough.
Caregivers must understand the fact that it can take a couple of weeks for the cough to resolve.However, if your child’s cough continue to linger or it is accompanied by high fever and other symptoms like breathing difficulty for a long duration of time then you must consult the paediatrician as soon as possible.
When To Consult a Doctor?
Caregivers should speak with a doctor if the child displays any of the following symptoms:
- non stop coughing episodes
- chest pain that persists when not coughing
- earache or ear drainage
- recurrent fever, or fever that persists for more than 3 days.
