Treatment of dry cough in a child

In order to properly treat a cough, it is necessary to know exactly what provoked it. If a child develops a dry cough, treatment should be carried out using various means and procedures that will help it take a productive form, under the supervision of a doctor.

To do this, first of all, you need to regularly consume warm liquid. This improves the water balance in the body and speeds up the process of liquefying phlegm.

Treatment of dry cough in children with inhalations

Inhalations are considered a very common and well-proven remedy. The most basic of them are steam with the addition of baking soda or alkaline mineral water. This method is recommended for persistent dry cough, if there is no increase in temperature.

To prepare the solution, you can take infused decoctions of pine cones, coltsfoot leaves, string, peppermint, diluted with water. This recipe is most effective for pharyngitis.

If tracheitis is present and a dry cough appears in a child, it is advisable to carry out treatment by performing steam inhalations. In preparation, if there is a "barking" dry cough, which intensifies in the morning and is accompanied by painful sensations in the chest area, 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 a teaspoon per 1000 ml), eucalyptus oil vapors have a bactericidal effect.

If the baby has bronchitis, use coltsfoot, elder flowers, sage, chamomile, savory, plantain. The water temperature for this procedure should not exceed 40 degrees, children are prohibited from breathing in boiling water vapor! Steam inhalation is strictly contraindicated for children under four years old. Do not use herbs for bronchial asthma or pollen allergies!

Other Ways to Relieve a Cough

During treatment, it is necessary to exclude all sharp and irritating odors (smoke, deodorant, etc.). A warming compress on the chest (excluding the heart area) can relieve a coughing fit. After the procedure, the child must be tightly wrapped up.

In cases where coughing fits occur at night and the child has a dry cough, treatment in these situations should be carried out using warm milk with honey, alkaline mineral water (for example, Borjomi), which will bring relief to the child for some time and help him fall asleep. It is also necessary to regulate the diet, do not feed the child food that irritates the mucous surface of the respiratory tract. It is useful to eat thin oatmeal with milk or milk mashed potatoes.

It should be taken into account that very dry air in the room has a negative effect on a dry cough. In such cases, the air should be humidified; you can hang a wet diaper or towel on the radiator or use a humidifier specially designed for this purpose.

Treatment of a child's dry cough should include a gentle chest massage, which has a positive effect. To do this massage, fix your fingers in the area between the child's ribs and perform light 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 a day. Mustard plasters are used as a distraction, you can also steam the legs if the body temperature is normal.

A dry cough in a child may be the result of an allergic reaction. Depending on the allergen, the treatment method is selected in each case individually by the attending physician.

If there have been cases of irritating effects on cough receptors, occurring as a result of inflammation or the influence of thermal, physical or chemical factors and a dry cough has appeared in a child, treatment in such a situation comes down to stopping the cough reflex, since 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 a child develops a dry cough, treatment without consulting a doctor can only worsen the course of the disease. It is strictly forbidden to use various antitussive drugs on your own, as they can cause many side effects and, if used inappropriately, can have a negative effect.