Studies have shown that more than 3/4 of children go to the hospital for treatment more than 5 times a year due to coughing, and 14% of children even exceed 15 times. The child coughed so badly, and the parents were worried about it!
1 Cough is a reflex defense action of the human body
Cough is a symptom rather than a disease. Cough can remove respiratory secretions and foreign matter in the airway. Its mechanism of occurrence is that stimulation from the ears, nose, throat, bronchus, pleura and other sensory areas are transmitted to the medulla oblong cough center, which then transmits impulses to the motor nerves, namely the sublaxis nerve, phrenic nerve and spinal cord nerve , which causes movement of the pharyngeal muscle, diaphragm and other respiratory muscles to complete the coughing movement. It is manifested as the glottis closed after deep inhalation, followed by a sudden and violent exhalation, rushing out of the narrow glottis cleft to produce coughing movements and making sounds.
2. Continuous cough indicates that children may be infected
. There are many classification methods for coughing. According to the course of the disease, that is, the duration of the cough, children's cough can be divided into acute cough (2 weeks), protracted cough (2-4 weeks) and chronic cough (4 weeks). According to the nature of the cough, that is, no phlegm or phlegm, cough can be divided into dry cough and wet cough.
Acute respiratory infection is the most common cause of cough in children. Research reports that children under 6 years old have upper respiratory tract infections per year as much as 76-8 times per year, and more than 50% of children have coughs caused by acute respiratory infections naturally last more than 10 days. In addition, allergies, pleural diseases, cardiovascular diseases, gastroesophageal reflux, , etc. can also cause coughing symptoms in children.
3 Can children take antibacterial or antipnea drugs for coughing?
is not recommended for children with acute cough to use antibacterial drugs in the early stages of treatment.
Acute cough in children is usually caused by viral infection and is self-limiting. Early use of antibacterial drugs cannot relieve cough and other symptoms, nor can it shorten the course of the disease. Instead, it will lead to adverse drug reactions and even induce bacterial resistance. Therefore, it is not recommended to use antibacterial drugs directly as soon as you cough.
However, when the course of acute cough is prolonged (repeated and unstable) or the symptoms are aggravated, especially for children with underlying diseases, the possibility of bacterial infection needs to be considered. At this time, antibacterial drugs can be used as prescribed by the doctor or empirically for treatment.
antitussive drugs are also not recommended.
According to the guidance of the "Clinical Practice Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Cough in Chinese Children" released in 2021, it is not recommended that children with acute cough use antitussive drugs routinely. Commonly used antitussive drugs in adults, such as dextromethorphan , codeine, etc., have very limited effects on children and may even lead to many serious side effects.
In addition, there is no reliable evidence to support the use of cough medicine in children under two years old. For children over two years old, many randomized controlled trials of cough medicine in showed that the effect of cough medicine in the treatment of acute cough is similar to placebo (such as honey and pear water, etc.).
Children must follow the doctor's advice when taking medicine for cough! ! !
4 Under what circumstances do you need to take your child to see a doctor?
Children's cough usually lasts for a certain period of time and will not improve immediately. During the course of the natural disease, parents should observe closely at home. If their children have the following symptoms, parents should not take care of and observe at home by themselves. Take their children to the hospital as soon as possible!
has a bad mental state.
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dyspnea, and symptoms of hypoxia such as bruised lips and purple nails.
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breathing frequency becomes significantly faster, especially with fever.
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cough symptoms last longer and the symptoms are getting worse.
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html Children under 13 months of age are advised to seek medical treatment as soon as possible.References:
[1] Wan Xuehong, Lu Xuefeng. Diagnosis (Eighth Edition). People's Health Press, 2013.
[2] Clinical Pharmacology Group of the Pediatric Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, National Clinical Medical Research Center for Children's Health and Diseases, Respiratory Group of the Pediatric Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, etc. Clinical Practice Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Child Cough in China (2021 Edition)[J]. Chinese Journal of Pediatrics, 2021, 59(9):720-729.
Provided by: Sun Lijing
Edited by: Chen Xiangxiang
Reviewed by: Luo Chunyan Feng Xiaogang
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