The child began to cough at night what to do. Night cough in children. Nocturnal paroxysmal cough in a child. How to help a child with a nighttime coughing fit if he is wet

Cough is a symptom of most childhood diseases, including infectious ones. Coughing can clear bacteria from the airways. Without it, viruses could easily get inside and lead to serious illnesses. It is good if the cough is moist and productive, which allows you to remove mucus with bacteria. It is much worse if it is dry, which causes considerable discomfort to the child. For many, the situation is exacerbated during sleep. If a child coughs at night, then it is worth showing him to the doctor, because it is not always possible to defeat a cough with self-medication.

Many are interested in why the child coughs at night. Night cough the child is protected or pathological process. With pathology, other signs appear, and parents can easily notice that the child is unwell. It must be remembered that cough is divided into two types:

• Wet (he coughs up, mucus is easily removed from the respiratory tract);
• Dry (intrusive, cough does not bring relief, does not remove mucus).

Allergic reaction

If the cough appears exclusively at night, and was not noticed during the day, then this indicates the occurrence of an allergy. The absence of catarrhal manifestations is a sign of allergy. Parents should be alerted by the fact that the baby coughs when the pillow touches the head or after putting on pajamas. To do this, you need to check what the bedding is filled with, since an allergy to fillers is possible. It is worth paying attention to the composition of the washing powder or fabric softener. With the exclusion of allergens, the cough disappears.

Viral infection

With a viral infection, catarrhal manifestations are also present. Therefore, at the moment of taking a horizontal position, sputum enters the larynx, which causes coughing. If the amount of sputum is large, then it is sometimes difficult for the baby to cough. In this case the symptom will pass after recovery.

Bacterial pathologies of the respiratory system

Bronchitis, pneumonia, whooping cough and other ailments cause coughing fits at night. Often it is characterized by vomiting, as sometimes it cannot be stopped. If a dry cough does not appear at night for the first time, then the child should be shown to the doctor. Combination therapy is needed.

Cough clinic at night

A nocturnal cough in a child causes parents to suspect an illness. But it is not always a symptom of the disease. Parents notice that the child coughs in his sleep. To determine the cause, you need to pay attention to the features of the manifestation and other symptoms. There are several types of cough, each of which corresponds to a specific disease:

• Barking. Occurs when inflammatory processes in upper divisions respiratory tract.
• Moving from dry to wet. It is a symptom of bronchitis. Doctors make this diagnosis for almost all children with similar manifestations. The disease is especially dangerous in children under the age of 5 years.
• Spastic. Indicates the presence of bronchial asthma.
• Arising after past illness usually after bronchitis. In this case, the child does not need to take drugs, and the symptom disappears after a certain time on its own.
• If the child coughs only at night, and the sputum contains solid inclusions, then this indicates the presence of tracheitis or whooping cough. Such diseases are suspected if it lasts more than a month.

But the main question remains how to alleviate a nighttime cough in a child.

How to relieve a coughing fit in a child

If a cough occurs during sleep, you must first calm the baby. At this moment appears intense fear especially if he is less than 5 years old. If a child coughs heavily at night, and this prevents him from sleeping, it is worth resorting to some working methods that can remove the symptom for a while. Even if such methods can eliminate the attack, you should not delay going to the doctor.

There are several proven tricks that allow you to find the answer to the question of how to stop a cough in a child at night. They will allow you to quickly suspend the growing cough:

• Herbal decoctions, fruit drinks, milk with honey, and even water can soothe a cough. Drinking liquid will soothe the throat and alleviate the symptom. Giving a child a drink is the first thing that comes to a parent's mind when a cough appears. It's important to know that herbal decoctions It is not recommended to give to children under 6 months, as they can cause allergies.
• Status needs to be assessed environment. Coughing can be caused by the room being too cold or stuffy. In this case, it is necessary to create comfortable conditions. It is necessary to ventilate the room where the child sleeps.
• If, in addition to coughing, other catarrhal manifestations are present, and the child’s nose is blocked, then it is worth using the washing of the mucous membranes with saline solutions. This will help relieve nasal congestion and give the child restful sleep until morning.
• Sometimes, to eliminate coughing, you just need to change the position of the baby in bed. For example, turn it from back to side or put a pillow under your head.

How to treat

If a child coughs at night, it is necessary to identify the cause of the problem. If the cough is present as a symptom of an allergy, then you need to eliminate the allergen, and then give antihistamines prescribed by a doctor. If it is caused by viral diseases, then it is also necessary to contact a pediatrician who will prescribe antibiotics, as well as symptomatic drugs. In addition to the main treatment, parents should know how to relieve a child's coughing attack at night.

Medical treatment

Medicines must be prescribed by a physician independent application drugs can aggravate the condition of the baby. Some medicines may not be compatible with each other.

Medicines prescribed in such cases affect:

• suppression of the cough center in the brain, they eliminate the reflex itself;
• relaxation of the muscles of the bronchi;
• moisturizing the bronchial mucosa, as a result of which sputum is better excreted;
• liquefaction of sputum in the bronchi.

Antivirals. They help speed up the healing of coughs. If the baby has strong immunity, then he can do without such drugs. Despite this, doctors prescribe them for viral disease. Common drugs: Ergoferon, Anaferon, Cycloferon.

Anti-inflammatory drugs. Basically, anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed for children in the form of syrup. They normalize the functioning of the respiratory system and relieve spasm. Ascoril, Erespal, Siresp - such syrups are prescribed for children younger age. They will not give a quick effect. The result of therapy will be visible at least 5 days after the start of the drug.

Antitussive syrups. The most important assistants in the elimination of night cough. Young children should be given them only with the permission of a doctor, otherwise it may adversely affect the child's condition. Bronholitin, Codelac NEO and other drugs in this group are able to instantly relieve a cough. However, before using drugs, the parents of a small patient consult a doctor.

expectorant medicines. Often used to treat dry cough that occurs at night. They have a feature - you need to take only during the day. If you give your child such a drug before going to bed, then at night the cough will only intensify. The most common drugs: Ambrobene, Lasolvan, ACC.

Folk remedies

On a par with drug treatment traditional medicine recipes are also used. Here you need to consult a doctor if the child has not reached the age of six months.

Popular folk remedies for dry are:

• hot milk with soda or honey;
• tea with raspberry jam;
• burnt sugar. Sugar is heated over a fire until it becomes a brown syrup. Dilute in a glass of water and give the child three times a day, 1 teaspoon. Helps the use of infusion during coughing fits.

For both types of cough, mashed potato compresses help. The cooked puree is cooled so that it is warm, but not hot. Spread on the back of the child, and on top cover with a plastic bag and a warm cloth. Contraindicated in children under 6 months and at elevated body temperature.

Inhalations

Doctors recommend inhalation for any kind of cough. Parents spend steam inhalation, but you should know that they can not be used for laryngitis, allergies and fever. It is better to use cold inhalations using a device - a nebulizer. This will moisturize and soothe his mucous membranes.

mustard plasters

In the treatment of acute respiratory infections with a cough, mustard plasters help. Therapeutic effect depends on how correctly the diagnosis was made. With a certain diagnosis, a place for mustard plasters is chosen:

• with acute respiratory infections, rhinitis, colds - mustard plasters are applied to the legs and the region of the 7th cervical vertebra;
• at acute tracheitis, initial bronchitis - superimposed on upper region sternum;
• at acute bronchitis mustard plasters are placed on the chest area;
• with inflammation of the lungs and chronic bronchitis placed on the entire chest in front and behind, as well as on the sides.

When setting mustard plasters, it is worth remembering that they cannot be used in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe heart, mammary glands and nipples, especially when it comes to a child. At correct execution procedures, it brings a good therapeutic effect.

Prevention

Important on time and before full recovery treat colds in a child so that there are no residual effects. In the apartment you need to monitor the temperature and humidity. Regular ventilation is required, otherwise this causes a night cough in children. If it is allergic in nature, then contact with allergens is eliminated.

It is worth remembering that when a cough appears, you can not delay going to the doctor and self-medicating. The doctor will advise in detail how to treat a nocturnal cough in a child, which will serve as a speedy recovery for the baby.

Cough is a fairly common phenomenon for both adults and children. Moreover, it can occur not due to illness, but even simply from the fact that a person chokes on something. But what if child coughing a lot at night how to help? This will be discussed in the article.

Of course, any cough in a baby of young parents causes almost panic. But it is especially alarming if the child runs healthy and cheerful all day long, and at night he starts coughing actively. Its cause must be found and eliminated as soon as possible.

First of all, it should be noted that if a child has a cough, then this indicates the body's struggle with bacteria or irritants. The list of reasons that can cause a dry cough at night is as follows:

• the presence of foreign particles in the respiratory tract;
• dry air, cigarette smoke, the presence of chemical irritants;
• allergy;
• asthma;
• respiratory disease;
• bacteria;
• diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

In addition to these causes, infants during the period of tooth growth may also experience a nocturnal dry cough.

As for diseases, doctors distinguish such diseases that are accompanied by a dry, unproductive cough:

• release of respiratory confusion from sputum;
• SARS;
• whooping cough;
• tuberculosis;
• heart failure;
• compression of the nerves by an aortic aneurysm;
• measles, pleurisy;
• swelling of the respiratory tract;
• worms.

As you can see, there are many reasons for a nocturnal dry cough and they are quite dangerous. Therefore, do not delay diagnosis and treatment.

As for the consequences of dry cough, they are as follows:

• vomiting reflex;
• fainting;
• sleep disturbance;
• mucosal damage;
• convulsions;
• hemoptysis.

The consequences of dry cough are unpleasant. But much more dangerous are the consequences of neglected and ignored diseases that cause this type of cough.

In addition to dry coughing at night, the baby may also have a strong cough before vomiting. In this case, you should not panic right away. Often its cause is a feature of the structure of the gastrointestinal tract - food is thrown back into the throat, causing a cough.

Dry air, as in the previous case, can cause a strong cough. This is due to the fact that the mucous young body very sensitive and does not cope well with irritants.

As for diseases that cause a strong cough, then, as in the first case, they include SARS, whooping cough and a runny nose. In addition, the cause of coughing may be a banal sputum output. Therefore, immediately when it occurs, you should not rush into a panic. But if it lasts long time then you need to see a doctor.

As mentioned earlier, coughing is not a disease. The mechanism of cough formation is very simple: it is formed in the lungs a large number of mucus that is expelled by coughing. The reasons for this are usually allergies and bacteria.

When treating, it should be borne in mind that it is not the symptoms that need to be treated, but the cause. The fact is that if you remove coughing with cough medicines, through which the body gets rid of mucus in the lungs, then it will immediately begin to accumulate. Which will eventually lead to complications. Doctors often use expectorants for coughs. But, it turns out that they increase the amount of mucus and the child begins to cough even more intensely.

So anyway, the child coughs heavily at night, how to help? As a rule, if the sputum is thin, the child can cough up very easily. But if it is thick, it will not work. Therefore, when relieving a cough, the main task is to make the sputum liquid.

The first rule is not to let the sputum dry out. Therefore, if there is warm and dry air in the room, it will not work to cough up. You need to breathe clean, moist and cool air.

The second rule is to drink more liquid. The fact is that there is a direct relationship between the viscosity of the blood and the viscosity of the mucus produced. Drinking fluids will thin your blood.

But there are cases when cough medicines are useful, and not only worsen the condition. But if the source of the cough is dust and dry air, then there will be no sense from them. The same applies to whooping cough.

By the way, parents brought up in the spirit of medicine of the last century often make mistakes when eliminating cough. Instead of giving the child fresh moist air and giving him plenty of fluids to drink, they instead put him to bed. They give a bunch of medicines and restrict access to fresh air. As a result, they only make things worse for their child.

IN traditional medicine Herbs for coughing are:

• anise;
• mother and stepmother;
• Linden;
• pine buds;
• sage.

In addition to tinctures and teas, compresses and inhalations are actively used in folk medicine. But, as mentioned earlier, they can only make things worse. Better not to self-medicate.

Does your child cough a lot at night? How can you help understand? Leave your opinion or feedback for everyone on the forum.

Coughing at night causes a lot of trouble for both the child and the parents. Having decided on the cause of the cough, you need to deal with effective treatment.

Reasons on the surface

The process of coughing allows a person to get rid of a certain kind irritant: mucus accumulated in the oropharynx, a foreign object that was inadvertently swallowed Small child during games. But coughing during the night brings a lot of trouble to both parents and the baby.

To answer the question of how to stop a cough in a child at night, you need to find out the main cause of the cough.

There can be several reasons, both internal and external. The child may simply not get fresh air.

Also one of external causes night cough may be too dry indoor air where the baby's bed is located. The air can be especially dry in winter when the heating is turned on in the house. Then the child loses moisture more intensively.

It is enough to invest in a humidifier, so that later you do not spend money on cough medicine for a child.

During sleep, in a horizontal position, mucus in the nasopharynx accumulates, does not disperse, which leads to coughing.

It is important to explain another internal process, when a person sleeps, his breathing slows down, as well as the work of all internal organs, as a result, sputum in the lungs resolves more slowly.

For the most part, small coughs do not have serious grounds for panic.

Much it is more important to understand the causes of that cough that repeats from night to night so as not to guess how to relieve a cough in a child at night. There are factors that, in their importance, are higher than the rest, affecting attacks of nocturnal coughing.

Sources of cough

• Colds.
• Allergy to dust, animal hair, detergents, linen that is washed with washing powder.
• Not enough humid air where there is a small child.
• Bronchial asthma.
• Croup.
• Bronchitis.
• Sinusitis.

What not to do

Depending on these factors, parents often decide how to help a child cough at night.

But, there are times when the hasty actions of parents do not make the child feel better, and they can only do harm. In this regard, try not to perform unacceptable manipulations in order to allegedly calm a child’s cough at night, which, as a rule, only bring harm.

1. Do not give your child antibiotics without a doctor's prescription.
2. Do not rub a child who is under 6 months old; inhalations are also unacceptable at this age.

It should be borne in mind that steam inhalation should not be used for young children under one year old, preschoolers without a doctor's prescription.

The reason is that by acting on dried mucus, steam leads to its swelling. And just like in small child narrow Airways, this will cause them to overlap.

Follow the enhanced drinking regimen. Let your child drink any kind of liquid

More information about inhalations for dry cough can be found. You will understand the selection of a device - a nebulizer, as well as drugs that can and cannot be used.

1. It is not necessary to give antitussive drugs for a wet cough.
2. If you have a dry cough, do not give your child expectorants. Since expectorant drugs act irritatingly and increase coughing.
3. Do not use antihistamines unless advised by your doctor.

It should be noted that Cough is a consequence and a symptom, not a cause. Therefore, it is better if the doctor examines the child and gives his professional advice to eliminate the cause of night cough.

How will we treat

So all the same, how to calm a dry cough in a child at night, if it lasts for a long time. Dry, barking cough goes away if:

1. The room will be humidified with a humidifier. If there is none in the house, then it is necessary to move the child to a humid room. In an apartment, this may turn out to be a bathroom, which is pre-filled with steam from a jet hot water. The steam will moisten the child's mucous membranes and reduce the urge to dry cough.
2. Give the child a drink to replenish the body with fluid.
3. Use cough syrup that will not cause allergies.
4. Carry out inhalation with saline or other drugs that are allowed by the attending physician.
5. Ventilate the room where the baby sleeps.

Small children need to be periodically shifted, changing the position of the child's body during sleep so that mucus does not accumulate in the lungs and larynx.

The root cause of a cough can be an allergic reaction of a child to feathers and fluff stuffed in pillows, wool, dust, house flowers.

The symptoms include persistent cough, itching in the throat, runny nose, lacrimation, rash on the body.

The child must breathe fresh air

What other symptoms say that the child has allergic cough? help you find the right treatment.

If at night the parents find that the child is coughing precisely from allergens, then the first thing to do is to eliminate the source of the allergy, ventilate the room, and in the morning you need to see a doctor to write it out.

After the doctor listens, he decides whether it is possible to do a cough massage, what type of massage. If the child does not have a productive cough, no expectoration, sputum, then massive, active massage From cough chest- contraindicated.

What doctors can prescribe

How to stop a coughing fit in a child at night, with the help of medicines? Selection approach medicines should take into account, in addition to the cause of the cough, also the age of the child.

After all, what is possible one year old baby, then you can not baby up to 6 months. How to stop a dry cough in a child at night using medication? Consider the appropriate drugs.

Name	Operating principle	Age	Side effects/ Contraindications	Dosage/ Mode of application	Price, rub
TUSUPREX	Expectorant Antitussive	Can be up to a year	PE: bronchospasm, vomiting, drowsiness PP: Productive cough, asthma	5 mg to a child up to a year 3-4 times. 5-10 mg over 1 year 3-4 times	250
SEDOTUSSIN	Antitussive	Rectally (supp.) from 2 years	PE: GI upset, dry mouth PP: hypersensitivity, infancy(up to 1 year)	Rectally 1-2 suppositories	Candles 275
SYNECODE	Antitussive	Can be up to a year drops	PE: Drowsiness, nausea, allergies PP: up to 2 months (in drops)	10 drops up to 1 year - 4 times. 15 drops 1-3 years - 4 times. 25 drops from 3 years - 4 times.	345

How to relieve a wet cough attack in a child at night with medication is shown in the table.

Name	Operating principle	Age	Side effects/ Contraindications	Dosage/ Mode of application	Price, rub
ABROL	Mucolytic	Does not matter	PE: itching, skin rash, nausea PP: up to 12 years (for tablet form)	In syrup: 1/2 tsp. 3 times - up to 2 years 1 tsp 6-12 years: 2-3 times	Syrup 180
ALTEYKA	Expectorants	From 2 years in syrup	PP: dry cough, diabetes mellitus	Syrup: 5 ml from 2-6 years, 10 ml 6-14 years in 3.5 hours	120
AMBROBEN	Expectorant	Syrup from birth	PE: allergy PP: hypersensitivity	Syrup: 2.5 ml up to 2 years 2 times 2.5 ml 2-5 years - 3 times. 5 ml 5-12 years - 2-3 times	145
ACC	Mucolytic expectorant	From the 10th day of life	PE: stomatitis, diarrhea, rash, itchy skin PP: hypersensitivity	0.05 g up to 2 years - 2-3 times 2-5 years - 0.2 -0.3 g per day divided into 2 times From 6 years old - 0.3-0.4 g / day for 2 doses	356
DOCTOR THEISS	Expectorants	From 2 years old	PP: tablets up to 5 years	Syrup after 2-3 hours 5-7 times a day Children from 2-6 years old - 0.5 tsp.	250
GLYCODIN	Expectorant Antitussive	from year	PE: nausea, allergic reactions PP: children under 1 year old, bronchial asthma	Up to 3 years individually 4-6 years 1/4 tsp	130
EUCABAL	Expectorant	From 6 months	PE: urticaria, itching PP: return up to 6 months.	From 6 months - 1 teaspoon. 3-5 times From 6 years old - 1 dec. (10 ml) every 4 hours	255

Prevention makes a difference

1. As a preventive measure, make it a rule carry out wet cleaning before going to bed.
2. Carry out ventilation.
3. Use a humidifier.
4. Wash daily, blow your nose, rinse saline solution child's nose.
5. Let the child drink plain water, warm tea, compote, milk, that is, more liquid.
6. Do not forget to walk with the baby, especially if he is prone to bronchitis. Much cleaner air from the street more important to the child than stuffy and dry indoor air. You can go with a stroller to the park. When the baby coughs Fresh air is a vital need.

Grandma's method

How to relieve a dry cough in a child at night, with the help of improvised folk remedies?

If not serious reasons, causing cough, then a warm compress or, in other words, a flatbread made from ordinary boiled potatoes, laid on the back of the child, will help.

It is the cough cake for children at night that is the safest and most gentle compress for warming the back or chest area. Suitable for children from birth.

The fact that it is proposed to make a potato cake does not mean that other means that can be heated and laid on the child's body cannot be used. For example - paraffin, which must first be melted or honey with mustard. But, be careful not to apply very hot compresses on the body.

How scary it becomes for a mother when her child gets sick, especially if it infant. sometimes it may not carry serious reasons for concern, but there are reasons that should not be underestimated.

Your child is choking on barking cough? Then read about immediate action in the treatment of laryngitis.

Overview 12 effective syrups cough for children from a year: read in and compare prices.

Recipe for tortillas for the night

A cough cake can be with honey and mustard, honey, flour and salt, from cottage cheese

Boil potatoes in uniforms, crush. When the potatoes have cooled down a bit, put them in a bag.

Cover the baby's back with a diaper, put a potato heating pad and fix it, then wrap the baby up.

With the help of such a compress, the back and airways will gently warm up..

You can remove the mass as soon as the cake has cooled.

Sessions can be done before you put your baby to bed, but make sure that the child does not have elevated temperature, then this procedure should not be carried out.

Another recipe for honey cough cakes, see the video on how to cook it:

Be sure to accompany the treatment plentiful drink. Tea with raspberry jam, rosehip broth, honey dissolved in milk or tea is perfect for this. Only the liquid should not be high temperature.

conclusions

Causes of coughing at night can be various factors from acute respiratory infections and SARS, to allergies to dust. We examined some points in this material, in particular, about what affects the cough and how to get rid of it at night.

It is important not to self-medicate, but to find a way to come to a consultation with qualified doctor who will make the correct diagnosis. We hope now that a strong cough in a child at night will not take you by surprise, because now you know what to do.

Among the causes of a night cough in a child are dangerous diseases, but there are many such reasons that do not threaten the health of the baby, which are easy to fix. How to recognize the causes of coughing, what to do if a child has severe attacks at night?

Separate coughs are noted in all people without exception. Parents should be alerted by paroxysmal coughing shocks observed several times during the day and night.

Attacks at night often intensify due to the fact that the walls of the respiratory tract lose their tone and relax. The mucus secreted for their lubrication, which in daytime it is easily evacuated from the respiratory tract, stagnates at night, irritating the throat, causing an attempt to cough up.

Coughing attacks at night in a child can cause:

• bacterial viral infection respiratory organs, ENT organs;
• asthma;
• whooping cough;
• reflux esophagitis.

Whooping cough

Increased attacks at night with whooping cough. An attack of dry night cough causes redness of the face in a child, tension, which is resolved by the discharge of viscous sputum and vomiting.

The child adopts, during bouts of severe coughing at night, caused by whooping cough, a characteristic posture with an inclination forward, a tensely protruding tongue with a curved tip. It is difficult for him to breathe, whistling, wheezing are heard during exhalation.

With whooping cough, it is difficult for children to drink any medicine. If the attacks are repeated, they begin with a whistling breath, almost a scream, you must definitely show the baby to the doctor.

Whooping cough is an extremely contagious disease, the patient is dangerous to others for 30 days from the onset of infection.

Sinusitis

One of characteristic features sinusitis - nocturnal cough. It is caused by the flow of purulent discharge from maxillary sinuses on back wall larynx.

During the day, mucus is swallowed into the stomach, and at night, due to the horizontal position, it falls into the respiratory tract, causing cough reflex.

The baby wakes up to cough up phlegm that has accumulated in the throat. Such moist cough with sputum wakes the child at night several times, and you can get rid of coughing only by treating sinusitis.

With an allergic predisposition in the event of an attack at night, you can give the child Zyrtec once, this will help relieve swelling and enable the baby to sleep. But in the morning you definitely need to visit a doctor to find out the cause of the attack.

Can provoke a nocturnal cough:

• feather in the pillow;
• tobacco smoke - including fumes from absorbed tobacco smoke in clothes, for an allergic baby this may be quite enough;
• deodorant, perfume, household chemicals;
• clothes, linen washed with new washing powder;
• children's personal hygiene products.

The inscription "hypoallergenic" on anything, can not always save you from a night attack. Be sure to visit an allergist-pulmonologist, undergo an examination and get a doctor's prescription.

Adenoids

The frequency of coughing shocks increases at night with adenoids. To save children from seizures at night, you can not postpone treatment or waste time self-medicating.

Temporary relief, if an attack of nocturnal cough caught suddenly, will bring the use of Zirtek, short action(Nazivin), but a doctor should make an appointment, recommend how to treat a child from adenoids.

heart cough

In rare cases, heart disease in children occurs heart cough. It is provoked by congestion in the pulmonary circulation caused by heart failure.

Heart cough in children occurs mostly at night, and if a child coughs at night, it can be a sign of heart disease.

How to treat such a nocturnal cough in a child should be recommended by a cardiologist, since it is impossible to use the usual methods that usually treat dry cough in children. It is even more dangerous to carry out warm-up procedures.

Details about the causes of heart cough and treatment methods are described in the article.

Reflux esophagitis

Coughing at night in children can be caused by reflux - esophagitis - a disease of the esophagus, in which, due to the relaxation of the sphincter of the esophagus, the contents of the stomach are thrown into the throat.

Acidic content irritates the mucous membrane of the throat, causing a cough reflex. Typical symptoms of the disease are night sweats, night cough, heartburn, moreover, the symptom of heartburn may be absent.

Night sweats with reflux esophagitis are usually mild, and then the child has only a cough and only at night.

Physiological conditions that cause coughing

The cause of night attacks in very young children under 2 years of age may be a reaction to teething. This process increases salivation, causing involuntary swallowing of saliva during sleep.

A small amount of saliva entering the respiratory tract causes irritation and reflex coughing. Help in this case is easy. It is enough to slightly raise the pillow under the head and lay it on the side.

Dry air can also cause a child to cough at night. Respiratory system in children differs from the respiratory system of adults in its incompleteness. The respiratory organs have not yet formed and are much more sensitive to external changes in particular to air humidity.

It causes attacks not only dry, but also too cold air in the room. What to do with a child at night?

If they are not caused by a disease, then it is enough to create comfortable conditions during sleep - to provide a temperature of 20-22 0 C and an air humidity of 55-60%.

Possible errors in treatment

It is impossible to treat a child without a doctor's prescription, such as Sinekod syrup, Bronholitin. Moreover, you can not take them together with those aimed at enhancing sputum discharge.

An antitussive suppresses the cough reflex, and excess sputum will accumulate, causing severe attacks.

If the cough is caused by a runny nose, you can. But you should not give the child decoctions to drink medicinal herbs unless recommended by a doctor.

With allergies, there is a risk of manifestation cross allergy. If a child is allergic to strawberries, then there is a risk of cross allergic reaction for tea with raspberries, with which he is carefully treated for colds.

Without knowing the cause of a coughing fit at night, you can harm the child with your actions - increase the allergic reaction.

Medical banks, mustard plasters, warming compresses are allowed for children from 5 years old on the recommendation of a doctor. Precautions are caused by the peculiarities of the subcutaneous fat in children - it is thinner in them than in adults.

The heat is not distributed evenly, as in adults, due to subcutaneous fat, but overheats the place where the jar or mustard plaster is applied, which can cause burns in underweight children.

It is especially dangerous to warm a child from a night cough if it is caused by heart disease.

What to do

How to help with attacks of dry cough in a child at night, if the attack occurred suddenly, and its cause is unknown?

First of all, don't panic. Parents need to calm down and not scare the baby with their fear. The child should be offered warm water try to distract.

A glass of warm milk with buckwheat honey, drunk at night, relieves an attack of nighttime dry cough in a child, unless, of course, the child is allergic to these products.

You can do inhalations through a nebulizer with saline 1.5-2 hours before bedtime, this is a great way to moisturize the mucous membrane with laryngitis,.

Useful in the evening to give the child mashed potatoes with milk, with a piece of butter. But it is most correct to follow the doctor's prescription and treat the underlying disease, treat not the cough itself, but the cause of its appearance. Otherwise, the attacks will be repeated.

Article content

Night cough in a child is a fairly common problem. Especially if the cough torments the baby during the day, accompanied by a sore throat, fever, nasal discharge. All this in a complex - clear sign any disease of the respiratory system. But there are situations in which coughing fits begin at night. Or during daytime sleep.

Dr. Komarovsky and other specialists have repeatedly encountered such a problem. And the cause of the disease in each case was different. Therefore, doctors have identified a list of the most likely factors that can trigger the appearance of night attacks. They also made recommendations on how to alleviate or eliminate a nighttime cough in a child.

Komarovsky's opinion

If the child coughs heavily when he goes to bed, Komarovsky recommends taking him to the ENT. Since, in his opinion, a child’s nocturnal cough is a sign of a disease called posterior rhinitis. In this case, inflammation occurs in the back of the nose. During the daytime, mucus flows imperceptibly down the back of the throat, and the child unconsciously swallows it. But, says Komarovsky, this pathology, which does not bring discomfort to the baby during the day, causes coughing at night.