Summer arrives and with it the kids begin to drink cold drinks and ice cream. The consequences are often the respiratory tract infections and the so feared cough. When the children begin to cough in a persistent and continuous way, the anguish comes to the parents. This is one of the most frequent reasons for visiting the specialist's office.
The pediatricians of the Spanish Society of Outpatient Pediatrics and Primary Care (SEPEAP), distinguish two types of coughs: the sharp and the one that is chronic or persistent.
The first thing to make clear is that the cough is a defense and cleaning mechanism which uses the respiratory system to remove secretions or foreign bodies.
The acute cough It is one that accompanies an acute respiratory process and is decreasing at the same time as the respiratory infections with which it occurs, while the chronic cough It is one that persists more than four weeks or has a higher frequency than expected for the child's age.
We must differentiate if the cough is dry, metallic or with stridor, which indicates a location in the highways of the dry night or early morning cough which is usually due to asthma or bronchial hyperreactivity and may increase with exercise, when climbing stairs or even laughing.
For him cough treatment, experts advise, an abundant oral hydration with mild liquids, frequent nasal washes with physiological serum, also avoid hot and dry air, do not smoke in the presence of the child and at bedtime raise the head and chest area slightly .
However, when we notice that the cough persists, the most sensible thing is go to the pediatrician to diagnose the child and treat him properly because, and as always, we remember that self-medicating is not recommended to the kids.
