What if the child coughs at night?

If a child has coughing at night, then this situation causes some concern. Parents' concerns about this are justified, because a similar symptom may indicate the presence of serious problems in the child's body. In the afternoon, the baby looked absolutely healthy, and at night he developed a cough. It is necessary to act in this case immediately and the first reasonable step will be to seek the advice of a local pediatrician. In order to prescribe the correct treatment, it is necessary to establish a causal relationship between the occurrence of such a condition.

A cough during sleep is on that the body is struggling with some kind of painful condition. It can be an infection or any other inflammatory process. Nocturnal cough is not a cause, but a consequence of the disease. To establish the cause requires a serious thorough examination.

What can cause a cough?

Coughing may be a manifestation of a serious illness or have a purely domestic property. At the very beginning of the development of any infectious process, manifestations can take place only at night, which is observed in this case. Immediate appeal to a specialist is required. This should not be delayed, because in most cases the acute stage of the process can easily go into a chronic form. In this case, getting rid of such a state will be much more difficult, and in some cases, it is simply impossible. The reasons may include the following conditions:

Allergic reason
Night cough can be one of the manifestations of an allergic reaction. If the cough manifests itself only at night, then it can be assumed that the source of the allergy (allergen) is located directly in the crib. In this role, poor quality bedding, pajamas or pillow stuffing may well play. For some reason, these materials are not naturally perceived by the childish body, and in response to contact with them, it responds with just such a reaction. The allergen can also be the laundry detergent that was used to wash the laundry.

After all, toys in a crib can cause allergies. Any kind of objects can become such things, but one thing is clear that the child begins to contact them only when they go to bed.

Sometimes in the bedroom of the child may be surrounded by such items, the chemical composition of which is simply not tolerated by a child's weakened body. Therefore, the room in which the child will sleep, must first be carefully ventilated. If suspicion falls on a specific item, it should be removed from the premises. It happens that along with this, the signs of an allergic reaction, including a cough, also disappear. In addition to coughing, the face can swell, watery eyes, other manifestations occur.

The viral nature of cough
If the child is sick with SARS, then the appearance of a cough is understandable. The activity of viruses leads to increased production and accumulation of mucus. It, accumulating in the bronchi of the lungs, causes irritation of the nerve endings, which causes coughing attacks. Moreover, with a cold, a child often has a clogged nose. He breathes more with his mouth. Inhalation is accompanied by a spasm of the respiratory muscles, which leads to suffocation and coughing attacks. When coughing, sputum may be released. If this situation occurs, then you need to think about the fact that a viral infection has become the cause of the cough.

Note! Adenoids, pharyngitis, sinusitis or banal rhinitis can provoke coughing attacks.

Bronchial asthma is one of the causes of coughing at night.
The appearance of nocturnal cough may indicate that the child begins to develop such an unpleasant and dangerous disease as bronchial asthma. At first, it manifests itself as a night cough. At the beginning of development, bronchial asthma is characterized by a phenomenon in which a characteristic whistle is heard during the child's inspiration phase. This manifests itself mainly at night, because during this period the baby's body is in a relaxed state. Therefore, his reaction to any external stimulus is more pronounced.

Whooping cough
The disease is infectious and is caused by pertussis of Borde-Zhangu. The disease manifests itself as a severe cough with characteristic seizures and a period of recurrence. Prevention consists in performing a specific vaccination.

It is important! Pertussis vaccinations are included in the national vaccination calendar.

Bronchitis
In the initial stages, the disease is accompanied by coughing at night. Coughing may be worse in the morning. It was at this time that the probability of a pulmonary attack was much higher. The disease can occur in acute and chronic form, in which periods of exacerbation are replaced by remission. If the cough in the morning is very strong and is not accompanied by sputum production, then you should think that the child has developed bronchitis.

False croup
It is a diphtheria-like disease with the formation of a film on the larynx.

Reflux esophagitis
With it, acidic gastric contents are thrown into the respiratory tract, which can also cause coughing.

Coughing as a residual after illness
Often, many diseases can be resolved with a successful outcome, but for a long time still remind themselves of residual phenomena in the form of a cough. You can get rid of this condition if you give a child a warm drink in sufficient quantities. You can use warm tea. Medications can be prescribed that have a calming effect on the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract.

Ingestion of a foreign body in the respiratory tract
In this case, along with asthma attacks, a cough also occurs.

Cutting milk teeth
This condition can also cause coughing at night. The resulting severe pain can complicate the process in which saliva is swallowed. It can accumulate and cause a strong cough. For prevention, it is necessary to lay the child on its side. An extra pillow can be placed so that the child’s head is high.

Prevention and treatment

For successful effective treatment, it is necessary to establish for certain the reason why such conditions occur. If you manage to do this, then you must take all measures to eliminate it. If the cough is caused by a viral cause, then it should be treated until it completely disappears. But in this case, obviously, you can’t do without the help of a specialist.

Important! You should not treat a viral infection yourself. This can only aggravate the situation.

For prevention, resort to the use of vitamin-mineral complexes with a sufficient content of ascorbic acid. It is a fundamental component in this regard. Of course, pharmacy vitamins are good, but they will be better absorbed by the body if they come with food. If the parents do not want the child to cough, they should be given more foods high in vitamin C.

Not only fruits, but also vegetables, other products that contain a lot of ascorbic acid will be useful. But they should not be abused either. Excess vitamins are no less harmful than their deficiency. Such actions will not have the desired effect, but they can do harm.It will not be superfluous to look at the table, where the daily requirement for vitamins is given, depending on the age of the child.

If the cause of the cough is not in the viral nature, it is enough just to moisten the air in the room where the child is sleeping. It is no secret that too dry air can cause irritation of the mucous membranes of the respiratory tract, and this can cause a cough. It is also necessary to regularly conduct wet cleaning in the bedroom. This fully applies to all other rooms.

If the cause is an allergy, then antihistamines are prescribed. An example is claritin.

Antidepressants for the cough reflex are prescribed to small patients. Their purpose is carried out depending on the type of cough. With dry cough, Libexin, Tusuprex can be prescribed. If the cough is wet, such drugs as Dr. IOM, Lazolvan, Bromhexine, and other medications are indicated.

In addition, therapy should be aimed at correcting the underlying disease, which is the cause of night cough in a child. Only in this case the treatment will be successful.

Video: how to remove a dry cough attack in a child