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Cough is a protective reflex that serves to clear the airways of secretions or involuntarily inhaled material. It is therefore a normal function of our body which has a defensive purpose and which is not normally controlled by our will. However, as underlined by the doctors of the Bambino Gesù children’s hospital, in newborns the cough is an almost absent reflex, not yet fully matured. Therefore, when the cough is present in the little ones, it is a sign that should not be underestimated and it is advisable to have the newborn examined by the pediatrician.
Different types of coughs
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Whooping cough: what it is, how it is prevented and how it is treated
There are different types of cough, with different characteristics depending on the cause that causes it. The doctors of the Roman children’s hospital have drawn up a guide to recognize the different types of cough, with any pathologies connected to it, the drugs and the most useful practices for treating them. Cough, as reported in a note from the Child Jesus, can be acute or chronic. The first usually resolves within three weeks, is linked to the onset of diseases such as laryngitis and whooping cough, and is caused by continuous exposure to microbes, particularly in children between 2 and 4 years. Chronic cough, on the other hand, lasts more than eight weeks and its main causes can be bronchial asthma or somatic cough.
Diseases that have cough as a symptom
Among the diseases that affect the little ones and which have cough as a symptom we find whooping cough: a contagious bacterial disease, which manifests itself with a series of close coughs until it leaves you breathless. “There are no specific therapies other than antibiotics which, if started early, will be more likely to shorten the symptoms of the disease”, explained the doctors of the Child Jesus, underlining that with the vaccination contained in the hexavalent, the clinical manifestations are milder. Even laryngitis, a respiratory disease caused by viral infections, has among the typical symptoms the cough, which resembles the sound of a seal or that of a barking dog. In this case, as explained by the doctors, “the first thing to do is to reassure the child and prefer a sitting position to improve ventilation. In the event of a partial response to the therapy or if the laryngitis is associated with difficulty breathing, a visit should be performed The first drug to choose is the steroid, prescribed by the doctor, administered orally or inhaled”. Cough is also among the symptoms of bronchial asthma, which has variable clinical expressions ranging from coughing or wheezing to shortness of breath, up to the most serious manifestation: bronchospasm. When the chronic cough is caused by bronchial asthma, the experts of the Bambino Gesù recommend an aerosol-based therapy, if necessary together with other oral medicines. After bronchial asthma, somatic, or psychogenic, cough is the second cause of chronic cough among children over 6 years of age. “Among its characteristics we find a long duration, the ‘snippy’ character, almost as if it were a tic, or ‘barking’, with a characteristic sound that often resembles that of a horn. In most cases the symptom subsides reassuring the child. In particularly resistant cases, it may be necessary to consult a psychologist or child psychiatrist”, reported the doctors of the Bambino Gesù children’s hospital.
In any case, doctors recommend contacting your pediatrician in case of persistent cough for many days, so much so that it hinders normal daily activities, or in case of high fever. Instead, the emergency health system should be notified immediately in the event of a vigorous cough due to inhalation of a foreign body.
Cough remedies
As pointed out in the note, the treatment to be used depends on the disease to which the cough is linked. “There are a great variety of tools and remedies on the market to treat or prevent coughs, but very few interventions are useful and effective. Antibiotics, for example, are only useful if the doctor suspects a bacterial infection,” said the researchers. experts of the Child Jesus. “The cough reflex is actually generated by a discharge of mucus from the nose into the throat, caused by a cold. Removing the mucus through nasal washings is therefore the most effective method”, they concluded.