Children’s coughs. How to help & what to look out for.

Sometimes it seems like your child always has a cough. By and large, it’s just a part of growing up that you’re going to get sick sometimes. Certain types of colds and flus also stick around for longer. 

So, when should you be worried and what can you do about it?

First understand, coughing is normal

Coughing is actually a normal and natural thing to do! Its purpose is to keep the airways clear of things that should not be there. Everybody coughs at least once a day. But when a cough becomes bothersome, we need to consider the causes of it.

What’s the main cause of children’s coughs?

By far, the most common cause of a cough in young children is respiratory viral infections.

Don’t stress, this sounds much worse than it is.

We can safely estimate that kids can get up to 6-12 of these a year. It is also common that with each of these infections the kids can have the cough for a few weeks.

So what can I do to help my child?

We can empathise with the parents who feel the need to do something, anything, to help their little ones, especially when it is affecting the child’s sleep, school performance and ability to play as well as the parents’ sanity.

Over the counter cough medicines are widely available but there is not much evidence behind their usefulness.

In fact, some of them can adversely affect the child so in general best to avoid them and save your money in the process.

Here are some key steps you can take to help your child:

• Keep them hydrated with plenty of water.
• Offer your child warm fluids to drink like tea, chicken soup. This can aid in loosening respiratory secretions and sooth the inflamed airways.
• Honey can be offered to children over a year old, this has been shown to have some benefit for the night time cough.
• Lozenges for bigger kids (older than  6 years) can provide some soothing to the throat.
• Avoid exposure to irritants like smoke/vapes/open wood fires
• Lots of hugs ;)

In general, antibiotics are not the answer when your child has a respiratory viral infection.

Antibiotics treat bacteria and have no effect on viruses- the actual cause of the cough.

Unless your doctor suspects your child’s cough is the result of something more serious, there is no need to expose your child to unnecessary radiation from an x-ray in these cases either.

How do I know if it’s more serious?

While most coughs aren’t too much to worry about, please keep an eye on your child for indications it might be something a little more serious.

We recommend seeing a Doctor if you notice any of the following:

• A wet cough that has been ongoing for more than 4 weeks, regardless of whether your child appears unwell or not.
• A cough that sounds like a seal’s bark. This could be croup. While still mainly caused by viral infection, croup is a serious condition requiring immediate treatment.
• Coughs in babies and toddlers. Children under 2 may have bronchiolitis which is a common viral infection. Bronchiolitis affects the smaller airways, filling them with mucous making it hard to breathe.
• A wheeze and a cough. This could be related to underlying conditions like asthma.

Other symptoms to watch out for:

We also recommend seeing a doctor if your child’s cough is associated with other symptoms such as:

• Ongoing fevers
• Trouble breathing or laboured breathing
• Your child very tired, even without doing any activity

Even if there aren’t other symptoms. If you are worried about your child’s cough it is always best to see a doctor.

Stay healthy and look after your family.