Medical expert of the article
New publications
Treatment of dry cough in a child
Last reviewed: 18.10.2021
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
In order to properly treat coughing, you need to know exactly what it provoked. If there is a dry cough in a child, treatment should be done using various means and procedures that will help him to take a productive form, under the supervision of a doctor.
For this, first of all, it is necessary to regularly consume warm liquid. This improves the water balance in the body and speeds up the process of liquefying sputum.
Who to contact?
Treatment of dry cough in a child by inhalation
Inhalation is a very common and well-proven remedy. The most elementary of them are steam with the addition of baking soda or alkaline mineral water. This method is recommended for a persistent dry cough, if there is no increase in temperature.
For the preparation of the solution, you can take the real broths of cones of pine, leaves of mother-and-stepmother, queues, peppermint, diluted with water. This recipe is most effective in pharyngitis.
If there is tracheitis and there is a dry cough in the child, it is advisable to carry out the treatment by performing steam inhalations. In preparation, if there is a "barking" dry cough, intensifying in the morning and accompanied by pain in the sternum, it is advisable to use iodine (5-10 drops), eucalyptus leaves, menthol or eucalyptus oil (essential oils are diluted in approximately the following proportion: half teaspoonful spoons per 1000 ml), eucalyptus oil vapor has a bactericidal effect.
If the baby has bronchitis, use mother-and-stepmother, elderberry flowers, sage, chamomile, thyme, plantain. The water temperature for this procedure should not exceed 40 degrees, it is forbidden to breathe in pairs of boiling water to babies! Steam inhalations are strictly contraindicated to babies up to four years. With bronchial asthma or pollen allergies, the herbs are not used!
Other ways to relieve cough
In the treatment it is necessary to exclude all sharp and irritating smells (smoke, deodorant, other substances.). A warming compress on the chest (excluding the heart area) can relieve a fit of coughing. After the procedure the baby must be tightly wrapped.
In the case when coughing attacks occur at night and there is a dry cough in the child, treatment in these situations should be performed using warm milk with honey, alkaline mineral water (for example, Borjomi), which for a time will bring the child relief and help to fall asleep . You should also regulate the diet, do not feed the baby with food irritating the mucous surface of the respiratory tract. It is useful to eat a thin oatmeal with milk or milk mashed potatoes.
It should be taken into account that very dry air in the room with a dry cough has a negative effect. In such cases, the air must be moistened, you can hang a wet diaper, a towel on the battery or use a specially designed humidifier for these purposes.
Treatment of dry cough in a child should include a gentle massage of the chest, which has a positive effect. To make such a massage, fix your fingers in the area of the child's intercostals and perform lightly tapping movements on the chest, except for the heart area. The duration of the massage should be about five minutes, the procedure is carried out two to three times per day. As a distraction means use mustard plasters, you can also stab legs if the body temperature is normal.
Dry coughing in a child can result from an allergic reaction. Depending on the allergen, the method of treatment is selected in each case individually by the attending physician.
If there were cases of irritating effect on cough receptors, resulting from inflammation or the influence of thermal, physical or chemical factors, and a dry cough appeared in the child, treatment in such a situation reduces to cessation of the cough reflex, as there is essentially nothing to cough up. In these cases, coughing does not bring relief to the body, but, on the contrary, can provoke the appearance of undesirable consequences.
If there is a dry cough in the child, treatment without consulting a doctor can only aggravate the course of the disease. Independently to use various antitussives is strictly forbidden, so they can cause many side effects and in case of inappropriate use can have a negative effect.