Is a child's cough serious? What should you pay attention to when a child has a cough?

The most feared thing about children's cough is that it will turn into pneumonia. Colds are the most common cause of children's coughs. However, in addition to colds, bronchitis, pneumonia, foreign body choking, irritating smoke, etc. can all cause babies to cough. The severity of a child's cough depends on the cause of the cough. If the cough is caused by a cold, taking symptomatic drugs can relieve it and it will not be very serious. If the cough is caused by foreign body invasion, it is generally more serious. If the cough is caused by allergies, taking anti-allergic drugs will be enough and it will not be very serious.

Coughing is most common with colds, and more than 90% of colds are caused by viral infections. Coughing is a protective reflex. If you suppress coughing strongly when the cough is not so severe, it will leave some secretions and foreign bodies that should be discharged in the airway, which is not a good thing. So mothers should not be too nervous about the symptom of coughing, and they should not use cough suppressants as soon as they have a cough. Is a child's cough serious?

1. Caused by cold

When a child has a cough caused by a cold, there is no medicine that can prevent the condition from changing. The main thing is to treat the symptoms in time when the condition progresses. In addition to oseltamivir, which has a specific effect on influenza viruses, there are no specific drugs for other viruses. Antibiotics are only effective against infections such as bacteria and mycoplasma, and are ineffective against viral infections, so most coughs do not require antibiotics. There are also many coughs caused by non-infectious factors, such as cough variant asthma, upper airway cough, etc., which generally do not require drug treatment.

2. Caused by foreign matter

If a child has a severe cough, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, listlessness or irritability, or a particularly long cough, or a persistent cough for more than 4 weeks, he or she must seek medical attention immediately. These may be caused by foreign bodies. This cough itself is just a reminder, and the cause is the most serious. Long-term foreign body invasion can cause inflammation of the organs, and severe cases may require surgery.

3. Allergic cough

Generally speaking, in addition to coughs caused by colds and foreign bodies, there is another type of cough, which is an allergic cough. This cough often manifests as runny nose and coughing. The symptoms of this cough are usually not serious. As long as the allergens are found and removed, and then anti-allergic drugs are taken, they can be relieved immediately. However, if you do not want a recurrence, the child must stay away from allergens.