What Are Common Causes of a Cough in Children?

Cough is one of the symptoms of some diseases. It is most common in respiratory infections, but also in non-respiratory infections and systemic diseases. However, cough is also a protective reflex of the body. Children's respiratory tract is very sensitive to various stimuli. Various irritants such as respiratory secretions, foreign bodies, irritating gases and odors can easily cause cough. Coughing helps people clean their airways and keep them open. Pediatric cough can be divided into acute cough and chronic cough according to the course of the disease. The course of acute cough is less than 2 weeks, and the symptoms of cough lasting> 4 weeks are called chronic cough. The etiology of the two is also different.

Basic Information

Visiting department

Pediatrics

Multiple groups

child

Common causes

Fever caused by tracheal fistula or gastroesophageal reflux; night cough or morning cough due to bronchiectasis; dry cough during the day caused by cardiopulmonary cough; no cough caused by chronic paranasal sinusitis

Common symptoms

Acute respiratory infection with mild cough, runny nose, sneezing, red throat, headache, etc .; acute laryngitis with hoarseness or barking cough, difficulty breathing and severe nighttime

Causes of cough in children

The etiology of chronic cough in children is more complex and closely related to age. The younger the child, the greater the possibility of congenital organ abnormalities. The characteristics of the onset are helpful for the diagnosis of the cause, such as coughing or vomiting when the child is feeding, often indicating tracheal fistula or gastroesophageal reflux. Night cough or morning cough with a large amount of sputum, bronchiectasis should be considered. Dry cough during the day and no cough at night are the hallmark characteristics of psychogenic cough. Cough with runny nose, nasal obstruction, snoring at night, open mouth breathing, etc., suggest chronic parasinusitis. Cough variant asthma mostly occurs at night or in the morning, and is often an irritating cough, often caused by upper respiratory infections, inhalation of irritating odors or cold air, exposure to allergens, exercise or crying.

Clinical manifestations of cough in children

The most common acute cough is acute respiratory infection. Generally, the cough is mild, accompanied by runny nose, sneezing, redness of the throat, and seeing follicles. Older children have symptoms such as general discomfort and headache, which can be around a week. Get better. If hoarseness or barking cough, or even breathing difficulties, and worsening at night, it may be caused by acute laryngitis, you should go to the hospital in time. When the child suddenly develops a recurrent paroxysmal cough after severe coughing, accompanied by inspiratory dyspnea, the possibility of foreign bodies in the trachea should be watched. If the child coughs or coughs slightly, accompanied by sticky sputum, wheezing, nasal flaps, cyanosis around the mouth, faster breathing, fever, loss of energy or crying, and loss of appetite, attention should be paid to the possibility of pneumonia. There is sticky sputum when coughing, accompanied by heavier wheezing, throat throat or whistle when breathing, and expiratory dyspnea are more common in bronchiolitis or childhood asthma.

Cough check for children

Children considering respiratory infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis need to complete sputum culture, Mycoplasma pneumoniae antibodies, respiratory virus antigens and other pathogenic examinations and chest radiographs. For suspected asthma, relevant tests such as allergen screening, lung function, and exhaled nitric oxide determination are required. Fiber bronchoscopy is available for chronic cough due to suspected airway malformations, foreign bodies (including foreign bodies in the airways, sputum plugs), and pathogenic microorganisms that require anti-contamination. In short, relevant examinations need to be performed according to the characteristics of the condition.

Cough treatment for children

The cause must be clarified, and the cause must be treated. If the cause is unknown, empirical symptomatic treatment can be performed to achieve effective control. If the cough symptoms do not ease after treatment, they should be re-evaluated. The commonly used drugs are as follows:

Expectorant drug

If cough is accompanied by sputum in children, the principle of expectoration should be used. Cough cannot be simply stopped to avoid aggravation or airway obstruction. N-ethylphenol cysteine, ambroxol hydrochloride, guaiacol glyceryl ether, and traditional Chinese medicine Expectorants.

2. Antihistamines

Such as chlorpheniramine, loratadine, cetirizine and so on.

3. Antibacterial drugs

People with chronic cough who are clearly infected with bacteria or mycoplasma pneumoniae and chlamydia can consider using antibacterial drugs. People infected with Mycoplasma pneumoniae or Chlamydia can choose macrolide antibiotics, including erythromycin, azithromycin, and clarithromycin. After the initial experience of other pathogenic infections, if antibiotics need to be adjusted, they should be selected according to the results of drug sensitivity tests.

4. Antiasthmatic drugs

Including glucocorticoids, 2 receptor agonists, M receptor blockers, leukotriene receptor antagonists, theophylline and other drugs. Mainly used for targeted treatment of bronchial asthma, eosinophilic bronchitis, allergic rhinitis and so on. Re-evaluation is required after 2 to 4 weeks of glucocorticoid treatment. Cough usually resolves itself after infection. For severe symptoms, short-term use of inhaled or oral glucocorticoids, leukotriene receptor antagonists, or M receptor blockers may be considered.

5. Digestive System Drugs

Considering gastroesophageal reflux, the use of H receptor antagonists (such as cimetidine) and gastrokinetic drugs (such as domperidone) are advocated.

6. Antitussive drugs

Chronic cough does not advocate the use of stronger antitussives, especially before the cause is known, and the use of such drugs is related to the morbidity and mortality of some diseases.