Toddlers in their first year of life are especially susceptible to various diseases. Their immunity is still very weak, so it’s so easy to catch a virus. A cough in a one-year-old child is a fairly common occurrence. And there are a lot of reasons for this.
Causes of Cough
Parents should be aware that coughing can be a symptom of more than a common cold. Of course, most often this happens, however, it is worth paying attention to the following:
Coughing may also be caused by inflammation of the nose, ears or larynx. It is enough for the child to cool down, and there is no escape from the infectious cough.
· Coughing may be a signal for the development of bronchial asthma. In such cases, it usually resembles an asthma attack, so you should immediately seek help from a doctor.
· A cough in a child up to a year old can be triggered by a runny nose. As a rule, he does not need treatment. There will be a runny nose, and with it a cough.
· A temporary cough may develop while the baby is feeding. As people say, the liquid got into the respiratory tract, and the person choked. It is the same with the baby: an incorrectly swallowed mixture or breast milk leads to the fact that the baby begins to cough.
Cough in a child up to a year: how to treat it
Most often, parents have to deal with a cold cough. It lends itself to treatment, but it will take several days. The cough, as a rule, is first dry, irritable, and then gradually becomes soft, sputum begins to stand out. The latter is a sign that a few more days - and the child will be completely healthy.
But, as all parents know, coughing in a child up to a year is almost always painful. The baby's breathing is disturbed, he does not sleep well at night, cries and is capricious. In a word, something needs to be done to alleviate his condition. The mistake of many parents is that they start treating cough in newborns without telling the pediatrician about this condition. That is, it can happen that one type of cough is treated, but it actually manifests itself completely different. In general, all this to the fact that a child’s cough up to a year should not be regarded as a catarrhal phenomenon, despite the fact that most often this is what happens.
So, to put aside all doubts to the side, it is best to call the local pediatrician at home. Let him listen to the child’s breathing, appreciate how serious the cough is, because he can often develop into more serious diseases: bronchitis, tracheitis and even pneumonia. In general, this is definitely not worth joking.
After the doctor examines the child, he will prescribe the necessary and effective medicines. On sale you can find many cough medications for children up to a year. But buying them yourself is extremely unsafe. The doctor should prescribe something specific.
If the cough in a child up to a year is simply unbearable, you can try to do inhalation. But their conduct should also be agreed with the attending physician. In order to carry out inhalation, you need to buy a nebulizer (inhaler). The drug and water are poured into it, after which the production of steam begins, which, in fact, needs to be breathed. A small mask is applied to the child's face, into which the medicinal fumes are fed.
Thus, the treatment of cough in a child up to a year should be carried out only under the supervision of a doctor. The faster the measures are taken, the less the baby will suffer from unpleasant symptoms, and the faster he will be able to return to normal existence. You know, as they say, the best cough remedy, as well as any other disease, is its prevention. Carefully monitor the health of your child (do not forget to wear depending on the weather on the street), so that later you do not have to worry about sleepless nights.