Cough in infants without fever

Causes of dry and wet, barking and severe cough

It is not clear what is wrong with the baby if the cough proceeds, as they say, without fever and snot. A runny nose and cough in a newborn are no less frightening. At the same time, it is very important to evaluate the nature of coughing - it can be dry, without sputum, and productive, with its abundant secretion. It is important whether the baby starts having seizures during the day or at night.

Common causes of dry cough can be colds and acute respiratory viral infections with inflammatory processes that cause the appearance of sputum. The most painful and unpleasant cough is a dry, barking cough; it is unproductive and exhausting. When the sputum begins to disappear (this happens several days after the onset of the disease), the cough becomes wet, and mucus comes out with it.

If a child coughs for a short time, it is generally accepted that he is experiencing an acute period of the disease. With a prolonged cough lasting more than three weeks, doctors talk about a chronic course.

Important! A long-lasting cough that is asymptomatic, that is, without visible signs of a cold, is very dangerous; it may not be associated with ARVI or other colds at all. Therefore, it is necessary to determine a treatment regimen from a pediatrician.

If other diseases such as asthma, allergies, etc. are excluded, if artificial provoking conditions are eliminated (excessively dry air in the baby’s room, allergens, including dust, mold), then we can talk about home treatment. This can be done in two stages:

• Try to make a dry cough in a baby moist and productive;
• provoke a more active discharge of mucus; for this, use expectorant drugs.

In principle, a cough is not a harm, but a benefit for the body. With its help, a person removes phlegm, and therefore it is important as a natural form of self-cleaning of the respiratory tract and respiratory organs. But if the baby coughs heavily, annoyingly, and the attack is difficult to stop, then it is necessary to use antitussive drugs.

Types of cough in infants

There are several main types of cough, each of which is characterized by a set of specific symptoms.
In medical practice, it is customary to distinguish three main types of cough, each of which is characterized by a specific clinical picture and etiology. Symptoms characteristic of the diseases listed below exclude an increase in body temperature.

Advice! Even if parents think that the cause of the cough is teething and, as a result, excessive drooling, they should still consult a doctor. Even a common cold can be fatal for a young child if treatment measures are not taken in a timely manner.

Barking

The term “barking cough” is usually understood as a dry and hacking cough, the sound of which is somewhat reminiscent of a dog barking. Most often, this type of cough is diagnosed in children under three years of age.

Advice! Usually, a barking cough is the first sign of a dangerous disease called false croup. If an attack occurs suddenly, at night, you should immediately seek medical help.

Dry

A dry chest cough without fever, not accompanied by sputum production, usually appears in the early and final stages of colds and viral diseases.

Advice! In order to make breathing somewhat easier and the cough less debilitating, it is necessary to constantly humidify the air in the room where the child is. You should also regularly ventilate the room and do wet cleaning.

Wet

If some amount of sputum is released during the coughing process, the cough is productive. A wet cough in a baby without fever appears due to the accumulation of a large amount of pathogenic mucus in the bronchi.

Advice! Recovery from the accumulation of mucus in the bronchi occurs when the respiratory tract is completely cleared of pathogenic microflora. There are many different means to speed up this process, however, they can only be used after the child has been examined by a doctor and prescribed appropriate treatment.

What diseases does it indicate?

So, a wet cough is different from a dry cough, and it is less dangerous and unpleasant. But dry throat can be uncontrollable, often accompanied by soreness and itching in the throat. Most often, such a cough indicates infectious or cold diseases:

• infectious - whooping cough, ARVI, influenza;
• laryngitis and pharyngitis;
• allergies;
• bronchial asthma (this cough can be identified by a characteristic whistling sound);
• parasites - a paroxysmal nature may indicate that the body has worms that have entered the lungs.

A wet cough without fever in children occurs with ARVI, bronchitis, pneumonia and acute respiratory infections. At the same time, asthma can also manifest itself as a wet cough after an attack.

This type of cough is useful, since the attacks are short-lived, after which relief comes, and in general, the person himself can cause this cough in order to expel phlegm from the lungs and bronchi. This type of acute cough may last for three weeks. Then it subsides and resumes again, in this case we are talking about the recurrent type. Finally, chronic can last for several months and be permanent.

A barking cough, in addition to whooping cough and bacterial diseases, ARVI, can be a warning of even more dangerous conditions. For example, such a cough accompanies diphtheria; it can indicate false croup, cancer, or that a foreign body is stuck in the child’s respiratory tract.

Among the unnamed reasons that cause this phenomenon are psychosomatic problems, that is, diseases or conditions caused by stress. Another cough occurs when there are disorders of the digestive system, when acid flows from the stomach into the esophagus.

How to cure a cough

It is not advisable to treat children under two years of age with medications. Their bodies are still fragile, so it’s very easy to make a mistake and overdo the dosage, which will lead to trouble. For older children, drug treatment is selected very carefully so as not to cause harm. Mostly herbal remedies are prescribed. Doctors prescribe expectorants for infants in the form of decoctions from the following plants:

• wild rosemary;
• coltsfoot;
• elecampane;
• plantain;
• ivy leaves;
• caraway fruits.

The mixture is also an effective cough suppressant, but it is not recommended for infants. However, the famous children's pediatrician Evgeny Komarovsky recommends giving the mixture carefully, since children are often allergic to it.

As for mucolytic drugs, they should be given to children when there is difficulty coughing. These medications include: Ambrobene, Lazolvan, Ambrohexal and others. They can be given to children from the first months of life, as they do no harm at all, but only strengthen the immune system. It is also a good idea to do inhalations from a solution of baking soda and alkaline mineral waters. You can also make inhalations from potato decoction. However, they can only be done if the child does not have a fever. If you have a fever, you can give syrup, which helps fight the virus.

Infants often cough in the morning to clear the upper respiratory tract, where phlegm accumulates at night. If a child coughs several times a day, then there is no need to worry about it. If the cough is prolonged and painful, then in this case you cannot do without medication.

How to treat a cough in a baby without fever

Before treating a child’s cough without fever, it is recommended to exclude external irritants to the throat and pharynx. The simplest tips for a cough in children are:

1. Ventilate the room, providing fresh air.
2. Try to humidify the air by hanging wet towels on the radiator or using a special device.
3. Sit the child down and give him something to drink - still mineral water or warm milk.
4. Give a chest massage.

Important! If you have a severe cough, accompanied by pale skin, shortness of breath, you should urgently call a doctor or an ambulance, and in severe cases, take the child to the hospital!

Medications

For treatment, children are given medications in the form of syrups, tablets or mixtures. Moreover, it is better not to offer tablets to children under 5 years of age, but mixtures are good from birth.

Medicines include bronchodilators, anti-inflammatory drugs, and antibacterial agents. They are prescribed by a doctor, who also adds drugs such as antihistamines and enterosorbents to therapy, if necessary for treatment.

Among these remedies are antibiotics; they must be given in a strictly designated dosage and for certain diseases. There are both hormonal drugs and those prescribed in combination with other medications. Therefore, no self-medication, especially when it comes to babies!

Important! Sometimes, out of ignorance, mothers begin to give their child everything they see in the pharmacy or in advertisements for medications. This is dangerous because some substances cannot be combined with each other at all. For example, it is not allowed to use cough suppressants to treat a wet cough, and even more so it is forbidden to take them in parallel with drugs aimed at thinning sputum.

Folk remedies

Folk remedies are relatively harmless. They are most often used for coughs in children, but it should be noted that even these remedies are best checked and agreed with a doctor. In general, ointments, decoctions, teas and infusions that have been used in folk medicine for centuries are applicable to treat a baby.

Among the effective ones is milk with sage herb: a small spoon of herb is added to 150 ml of milk, the mixture is boiled, cooled and given warm, strained, to the child.

Warm compresses are good for treating any type of cough. The composition can be made from a few drops of eucalyptus oil and a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil. Rub the warm mixture into the skin on the baby’s back and chest using massage movements and, wrapping it up, leave for an hour or an hour and a half.

Steam inhalations work great for liquefying phlegm; they can be done with soda, mineral water, and herbs. However, it is difficult to carry out such a procedure with very young children.

When the baby coughs, you need to turn it over more often, ensuring blood filling of the bronchi and increasing the movement of blood through other organs. Try to shift your baby as often as possible.

If you have a runny nose and cough

Cough and snot in a baby can appear for various reasons, especially before bedtime. A runny nose and cough in an infant should be treated immediately at the first manifestation of symptoms so that the disease does not become chronic. We treat cough, snot without high fever in a child:

1. To clean your nose, you need to use Aquamaris with sea salt in the composition. Wait a couple of minutes after instillation and clean your nose with an aspirator.
2. When the baby has trouble breathing through his nose, you can instill vasoconstrictor drops (Nazol baby).
3. When a newborn has a cold or cough, you can use the method of warming and massaging the points along the edges of the wings of the nose. Your pediatrician will always tell you what helps with a cold cough and runny nose.

Treating cough

1. The air in the apartment must be constantly humidified (at least 60%).
2. You can give your baby chamomile tea (a teaspoon up to 5 rubles a day).
3. The throat can be lubricated with propolis tincture (up to 3 times a day).
4. For dry coughs, inhalations with eucalyptus or soda are effective.

When a baby has a cough and runny nose, rhinitis and fever may appear, so you should immediately go to the doctor.

Possible consequences

If a cough is left untreated and left to go away on its own, it can lead to a chronic condition such as chronic bronchitis. Under the guise of a simple cough, serious illnesses that are not at all related to the common cold can “hide.” Sometimes a delay in diagnosis and treatment can be fatal, especially if the child has choked on some object and may suffocate.

So it is necessary to fight a cough, but only after identifying its root cause and prescribing competent and adequate treatment.

Prevention

Preventive measures should be known to every mother who has given birth to a baby. They must be used from the first days of his life. This is the prevention of colds and infectious diseases, diseases of bacterial origin, that is, everything that leads to the occurrence of cough.

Therefore, any mother should remember the simple rules of general hygiene, especially important if there is a baby in the house:

• carry out frequent wet cleaning of the premises;
• wash your hands, your baby’s, and everyone who comes into contact with the child;
• remove plants from the children's room that can cause allergies in the baby;
• completely eliminate contact with people who are sick with infectious diseases;
• proper nutrition of the mother during pregnancy and feeding the baby, taking vitamins is, if not a guarantee of health, then help in the fight against colds and, as a result, cough.

By following these recommendations, you will be able to navigate if your child has a cough and behave correctly in this situation.

Daily routine of a sick child

If a child has a cold or viral cough, then he should have a special daily routine so that his condition does not worsen. We are talking about the following:

1. Decreased motor activity, but movement cannot be completely limited. Active games and sports should be avoided.
2. Regular light chest massage, which mothers should do 1-2 times a day, 40-50 minutes after meals.
3. Special diet. As for nutrition, it is of particular importance. The fact is that when a child is sick, he needs foods that boost immunity. Don't force him to eat if he doesn't want to. It is advisable to focus on chicken broth, fruit puree, jelly, mashed potatoes, jelly, and cottage cheese. Drinking plenty of fluids is also important. This can be not only water, but also tea, juice, compote, etc.

In order for a child to be healthy, parents must monitor him. Regular walks in the fresh air are of great importance. You should not put all sorts of things on your child, even if it is frosty outside. You need to dress him so that he is warm, but not hot. Otherwise, he will sweat, and therefore the risk of getting sick will increase. During seasonal epidemics, it is advisable to take children less to public places, especially such as hospitals, markets, etc. Where there are large crowds of people, the risk of catching the virus is very high. It is better to walk with your child in parks, where there are few people, but nice and cozy.