Cough remedies for a 4 month old baby

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Green Elena Stanislavovna

Otolaryngologist of the second category

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Cough in infants can be a symptom of various diseases. Often, this illness is accompanied by a runny nose, fever and general weakness in the body. A cough in a 5-month-old child makes parents worry; it is difficult to understand the cause of its occurrence. It is necessary to know what causes coughing in order to carry out effective treatment.

Causes of cough

Factors that lead to the appearance of a cough symptom can be different, from a cold to a foreign body entering the respiratory organs. How to treat a cough, wet and non-productive (dry) will depend on the cause. The second type of cough symptom is more dangerous for the body. Typically, dry coughs disappear after the development stage of the disease, developing into a wet type. For cough for children 5 months old, complex therapy is used as treatment.

Causes of cough symptoms in children.

1. Allergic reaction of the body. Dust, the presence of pets in the house, or pollen from plants can be an irritating factor. The cough of an allergic breed intensifies when the child comes into contact with an allergen, especially at night. In such a situation, the baby does not suffer from a runny nose or body temperature. There are no standard cold symptoms. The only way out is to prevent the baby from contact with allergens.
2. Some children suffer from cough symptoms for up to 1 year. This phenomenon is considered normal. Physiological coughing helps the lungs clear mucus. No treatment will be required.
3. Dry oxygen in the room. In some cases, this is the cause of the cough symptom. Exacerbation of coughing occurs at the beginning of the heating season. To get rid of this deviation, you should purchase an air humidifier and thoroughly clean the apartment.
4. Presence of a foreign body in the respiratory tract. The baby may choke and swallow part of a toy, hair, or a feather from a pillow. Any of these microscopic things can be inhaled. If the baby coughs sharply and begins to choke, action must be taken. The airways should be cleared, you can put the baby on your knees, tilt his body down, tap on the back with your palm, open the baby’s mouth and try to pull out the object. After you remove the irritant, show the baby to the doctor. A respiratory examination will be necessary.
5. During teething. In rare cases, babies develop a cough at such a moment; it can be dry or wet. The symptoms of such coughing are not dangerous and do not require medical therapy.

Recommended reading: What to do if a 9-month-old child has a cough?

Cough causes a lot of trouble for the child and parents. Children have a hard time suffering from illnesses due to underdeveloped immunity. Usually a cough in a five-month-old baby is caused by a cold. Why a newborn is coughing must be addressed immediately. It is best to conduct respiratory examinations and treat the baby with folk and pharmacy medicines. Thus, it is possible to “defeat” a cough in a 5-month-old child within a week. For example, if the cause of an allergic cough is not identified in time, and the baby is constantly in contact with the allergen, a chronic cough symptom may occur. A pediatrician can determine how to treat a cough in a 5-month-old child.

If the cause of the cough is not an illness

The first thing parents should do when they hear a cough in a five-month-old child is to calm down. From this moment you need to start monitoring the baby and recording changes in his condition in order to clarify the cause of the child’s cough. It is necessary to collect as much information as possible about the situations in which the child coughs; this information will help the doctor draw the necessary conclusions at the next examination.

The baby's coughing after sleep, after a walk in the cold air, in a new room, indicates a good system for clearing the lungs of phlegm, which at such an early age helps the baby maintain his health.

During the period when the first teeth appear, children may cough due to excess salivation. Saliva flowing down the throat irritates the mucous membrane, causing coughing. Coughing can be caused by particles of food or milk entering the respiratory tract. Small dust particles are also eliminated from the body by coughing.

A cough may appear after the baby has cried. Some experts indicate that a healthy child has the right to cough 20 times throughout the day. If a child’s cough causes concern among parents, it is worth consulting a doctor without waiting for the next preventive examination.

Associated symptoms

If a 5-month-old child is coughing, the first step is to determine the cause and only then take treatment measures. In addition to determining the etiological factor, special attention should be paid to the accompanying symptoms:

• increased body temperature;
• shortness of breath;
• runny nose;
• increased fatigue;
• chest pain;
• wheezing.

When the cause is an allergic reaction, the patient may experience excessive lacrimation, itchy nose, sneezing, and breathing problems. Unlike the bacterial or viral nature of a cough, there is no elevated body temperature with allergies.

How to treat a cough

In situations where a baby has coughing attacks, you should resort to drug therapy. Fever and severe cough that does not go away within 5 days may indicate a serious illness that requires immediate treatment. You can take syrups and drops for cough for 5 months, but they must be prescribed by a doctor.

1. Expectorant medications (prescribed for wet cough). These include “Prospan”, “Gedelix”.
2. Dry coughs are treated with homeopathic medicines - Stodal, Oscillococcinum.
3. At high temperatures, you need to take antipyretic medications, such as Paracetamol, Ibuprofen.

When an infant coughs, note the frequency and nature of the attacks. Each type of cough symptom is cured by certain medications that are effective for a specific type of cough. The pediatrician will be able to find out why the newborn is coughing and whether it is dangerous for the baby’s health.

The use of traditional medicine for cough symptoms should be done with due care. It is necessary to take into account all the nuances and advice of doctors on the Internet. Parents often treat a baby's cough with chamomile infusion. Tea from this plant does not entail any side effects and effectively treats cough.

How to treat a cough in a five-month-old child, how to stop her attacks - the doctor will tell you. Good results can be obtained from the use of chamomile, which helps to have the following effects on the body:

• Provokes coughing;
• Helps restore the body's protective functions.

Sometimes people use chamomile tea as a daily drink. Coltsfoot teas with the addition of chamomile are also effective in eliminating cough symptoms.

Many parents relieve their children from coughing using inhalations. Infants are not advised to do steam activities, as they should not be overheated. For children 5 months of age, it is best to inhale using a nebulizer. The solution for this procedure is usually based on saline solution. A few drops of Lazolvan are added to it, which helps to cough up phlegm.

How to treat a cough in a 4-month-old child using folk remedies

When treating an infant with folk remedies, it is important not to harm the baby. Sometimes even the thought of treating a baby with chemicals causes panic in parents. They believe that it is too early for their baby to take medicine. In this case, wraps and rubbing will help cope with the cough.

The simplest and safest remedy is camphor oil . It acts as a mild warming and distracting agent. A small amount, about 1 tbsp. l., camphor oil is heated to + 37 degrees and lightly rubbed into the chest and back. After which the child is wrapped in a dry diaper and covered with a blanket. After 30 - 40 minutes, the baby needs to be changed into dry clothes and kept under the blanket for some more time.

A proven remedy for coughs that are difficult to treat is curd compress . For it you will need to take about 100 g of cottage cheese and 20 g of honey. The cottage cheese needs to be heated to +50 g in a water bath and honey added to it. Stir everything well and place on film. Apply from the back and chest, cover with a diaper on top. Keep the mixture for 40 - 50 minutes. The procedure can be performed 2 times a day for 5-6 days. The curd compress is completely safe for the baby. Honey cake also has a mild effect on coughs. It is not difficult to prepare it at home. It is enough to mix a few tablespoons of warm water with one spoon of honey and flour. From the resulting dough, form a cake to the size of the child’s back, cover it with a diaper and hold it for 40 - 50 minutes. If the child falls asleep during the procedure, the cake can be removed after waking up.

What to do if a 5 month old baby is coughing

Young children often cough for a variety of reasons. The cough symptom is a protective function of the body aimed at cleansing the respiratory tract.

What to do if your baby suffers from cough symptoms:

Don't overdo it with medications. When a baby takes medications that relieve a cough, but do not affect the cause of its appearance, they can harm the baby. If you deprive your child of the ability to cough, every cold can develop into pneumonia. In addition, most cough medicines are not intended for newborn babies. Antitussive drugs are prescribed for debilitating cough.

Identify the cause of the cough symptom. If a 5-month-old baby begins to cough, this may be due to teething. In this case, you cannot take medical therapy. Check when a newborn baby starts coughing and under what circumstances.

A wet cough in a baby without fever usually occurs after a cold. This disease can be treated with expectorants, which will help remove mucus from the respiratory tract.

If you are sure that the above factors are not the case, you need to call a pediatrician. The doctor will need to provide the following information:

• How often does the baby cough?
• how long do cough attacks last?
• what type of cough does the baby have?
• Do cough attacks occur while eating?

Parents usually believe that the treatment prescribed by the pediatrician is not effective enough. They begin to look for additional treatment methods on the Internet, in various forums about what can be given to a 5-month-old child to eliminate cough. There people receive a lot of advice from the same young parents, sometimes without positive effects. Don’t give in to panic and listen to recommendations on the Internet; consult only with specialists. The doctor will best determine how to treat a cough in a 5-month-old child after a detailed examination of the baby.

What kind of cough does a 4 month old baby have?

To start treating your baby, you need to understand the reason that causes cough in a 4-month-old child. Here are the following types of cough:

1. Physiological - such a completely normal cough is not accompanied by fever, the child eats well and sleeps normally.
2. Allergic - attacks occur in a certain room and under certain conditions, once you remove the source of the allergy, for example, woolen carpets, animals, indoor flowers, how does it go.
3. If a foreign body enters the respiratory tract, the cough is strained, paroxysmal, and emergency assistance cannot be avoided.
4. Dry - this type can accompany a cold or inflammatory disease, it is characterized by viscous sputum, which is difficult to separate, a strained cough, prolonged, and can occur at night during sleep.
5. Wet - sputum comes out well, characteristic of the end of the disease.

Both general recommendations and special procedures and medications will help cure a cough.

Komarovsky's opinion

Dr. Evgeniy Komarovsky notes that the principle of action of drugs for cough symptoms affects the cough center, bronchial mucosa and sputum. The simplest way to eliminate cough symptoms in a child is to “disable” the cough center. For such purposes, medications that reduce the density of sputum and provoke an improvement in the mucous membranes of the respiratory system are suitable.

Komarovsky often advises parents not to resort to medications at the first symptoms of cough, but to try to create favorable conditions for the baby that will help his body cope with the disease faster.