How to treat a dry barking cough in a child: causes, drugs

A "barking" cough is debilitating, so most often children become sleepy, practically do not play, and try to lie down whenever possible.

In addition, another may appear, which will only aggravate the situation. Many otolaryngologists in this case try to take emergency measures, because if the baby’s nose does not breathe, and the larynx swells at the same time, this can lead to collapse, and the airways will simply close.

In addition, the child's breathing becomes heavy. If you ask him to breathe with his mouth open, then you can easily hear wheezing and whistling, which indicate the closure of the lumen of the larynx, which is very dangerous. And if you do not pay attention to this, then a false croup may develop, which is dangerous for asphyxiation.

When to call an ambulance

Sometimes you do not need to start treatment on your own, but it is better to call an ambulance, since you can only harm the child.

There are a number of situations and states of the baby when this should be done immediately:

• If the cough has become painful, and the child cannot stop, and he simply has no strength
• If the high temperature lasts for a long time and it cannot be brought down by any antipyretic drugs
• Loss of voice, hoarseness, and such that the baby is not even heard
• Whistling
• Pale complexion
• Severe coughing spells at night, causing the child to wake up

It is impossible to start such a cough in any case, and hope that "tomorrow will be easier" too. Because the disease progresses rapidly, and the immediate intervention of doctors is required, since only they can prescribe special medications that can relieve swelling, restore breathing and relieve coughing.

Barking cough treatment

It is very important to start treating such a cough as soon as possible, because the sooner measures were taken, the faster the result will be, and the sooner the baby will feel better.

In most cases, the doctor will prescribe the following treatment:

• Taking antibiotics to help fight the viruses and bacteria that caused the cough
• to help relieve swelling
• Antihistamines, which will also help relieve swelling
• Expectorants
• warming up

In the event that such a cough in a child is accompanied by an increase in temperature, then the treatment will be one thing - taking antibiotics, because only such actions can get rid of the disease.

Soothing treatments

At the moment when a child has an attack of such a cough, he begins to get very worried, because he does not know what to do.

It is very important for parents to calm the baby, as nervous stress provokes coughing even more. To calm your baby, you can do the following:

• Read a book to a child. Of course, he may simply not pay attention to it, but if you read persistently, then in a minute the child will be distracted, begin to listen, and it is quite possible that he will calm down, and at the same time the cough will pass.
• Give the child a drink. It is best, of course, to give milk. But not all children love it and not all children can have it. That is why you can make tea that should not be very hot, it should be warm (comfortable)
• Place a heating pad on your baby's chest to keep warm. If the child does not allow this to be done, then you can take a bath of hot water and sit next to it, put toys next to it. Humidified air and steam will help eliminate the "barking cough"

And after that, you can already start treatment.

Inhalation with dry "barking" cough

One of the most effective ways to cope with such a cough is inhalation. There are many ways of inhalation, each of which will help improve the condition of the child and reduce seizures:

• Method 1. Inhalation with medicinal herbs. In this case, it is better to consult a doctor, as he can tell you exactly which herb will help and which will be completely useless.
• Method 2. Inhalation with mineral water. This is the most affordable and easiest way to carry out inhalation. True, in this case you will need a nebulizer. You need to take Essentuki 17 mineral water, release gases from it, and then pour it into the device. Breathing is best for 10 to 15 minutes, depending on how long the child sits
• Method 3. Inhalations with Pulmicort. Pulmicort is a drug that will help relieve swelling. Only a doctor can prescribe inhalations with him, and only if all signs of stenosis appear. And you need to do it twice a day. The duration of treatment is two to three days. The need for further use of the drug can only be said by a doctor after a personal examination of the child.

If the treatment method was chosen correctly, then after a few days improvements will be noticeable. Yes, and the cough will gradually turn into a productive (that is, wet).

Preparations

Separately, it must be said about the drugs that are most often prescribed by specialists in the treatment of "barking" cough. But it is worth mentioning that they can be used only with the permission of the attending physician, because there are a number of contraindications.

The main drugs that are prescribed for such a cough include:

• Antihistamines, which are prescribed to remove swelling and reduce inflammation. Most often, Suprastin, Loratadin, Zodak are prescribed. All these drugs have a fairly low price and good effect.
• , which are prescribed if it is not possible to cope with a cough for a long time, since it is of bacterial origin. And also antibiotics will be prescribed if it is not possible to bring down the temperature of the child for three days. The most famous antibiotics that doctors prescribe for treatment include Augmentin, Klacid, Ceftriaxone. They are considered broad spectrum antibiotics.
• Bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, which are prescribed in order to restore the intestinal microflora when the child is given antibiotics to drink
• Cough syrups, among which Dr. Mom, Ambrobene is the most popular. Some people think that by giving a child antibiotics, you can forget about other medicines. But the greater the impact on the focus of inflammation, the sooner recovery will come.
• Antipyretic drugs, including Nurofen (it not only reduces the temperature, but also reduces pain), Paracetamol, Ibuprofen (analogue of Nurofen)

Hormones, especially when the swelling is strong and needs to be removed quickly. Most often prescribed Prednisolone, Pulmicort.

Sometimes doctors give parents the opportunity to choose from similar drugs themselves, but only when there is actually an alternative.

Danger of dry cough

Not all parents know what the main danger of dry cough is, especially if it is not treated.

Well, most importantly, it must be said that with such a cough, sputum is not excreted and stagnates in the lungs. Such stagnation can lead to a greater spread of infection, which may cause.

During the next bout of coughing, especially at night, the child may simply suffocate, because the larynx is swollen, and the respiratory passages may close at once. That is why it is very important to pay attention to the disease in time. Almost everyone knows that if a cough is not treated, then you can earn either severe bronchitis or dangerous pneumonia, which is treated in hospitals.

When a dry "barking" cough appears, it is necessary to urgently consult a doctor, because it is unlikely that it will be possible to cure it on your own. The doctor should assess the general condition, see how much the larynx is swollen. In the event that the edema is strong and the child is small, the doctor may put him in the hospital, because there is a possibility of asphyxia. In hospitals, swelling is quickly removed, which allows the child to breathe normally.

When watching the video, you know about the cough.

In no case should you try to treat yourself, especially this one, because it can do more harm than good.