When the weather is a little warm but mostly cool, children tend to have cough problems.
The causes for this type of cough are not easy to identify. Among which, the primary cause is a viral cold as it leads to the nostrils and the throat being blocked and a coughing reflex that prevents mucus from entering the lungs.
Otitis, sinus infections, lung infections and substance irritation of the trachea may also cause coughing.
If a child's coughing is accompanied by other symptoms, parents should be extra careful.
Once there is any strange breathing sound (such as asthma), roaring cough, wheezing, fever, difficulty breathing or an inability to eat, immediate medical attention should be sought.
Overall, coughing caused by the common cold should generally improve within one to two weeks.
Coughing that lasts longer than four weeks is referred to as a chronic cough.
This is because receptors in the nervous system remain in a sensitive state after a virus infection and this may also be caused by a continuously irritating substance (such as cigarettes) or repeated respiratory (viral) infections.
Unfortunately, if a child is infected with Bordetella pertussis bacteria, in the beginning there may not be any special symptoms, but the cough will be increasingly serious and acute and there will also be difficulty eating and breathing.
Those with the most serious condition may experience convulsions and coma and may even die.
Since there are many causes of upper respiratory symptoms in young children - such as influenza or respiratory syncytial virus infection - parents should take their children for vaccinations to protect them against the common forms as well as Streptococcus pneumoniae.
For details, inquire with a doctor: the current children's vaccination program in Hong Kong uses four vaccines with a mix of diphtheria and acellular pertussis, among others, to provide effective protection for children.
Those who have received the whooping cough vaccine will experience a less serious condition.
Dr Oliver Tang Sau-shek is a specialist in pediatrics
Sources: thestandard.com.hk
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The above information is not medical advice, for reference only / from : Michelle
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