What no one ever told you about your child’s cough?

Source for banner image: livestrong.com

Here are 6 Important facts which must be kept in mind if a child has Cough

1. Call the doctor immediately if a child with a cough is breathing over 50 times a minute.

2. A child with a cough and cold should be encouraged to eat and drink plenty of liquids. You can reduce the risk of respiratory infection by making sure that a baby is exclusively breastfed for about 6 months and continues breastfeeding after that.

3. A child with a cough and cold should be kept warm (not hot), in an environment free from cigarette smoke.

4. A good doctor helps you to find the cause of the cough and treats the same and does not prescribe cough syrups and expectorants.

5. Cough per se is a helpful phenomenon. Do not try unduly suppressing it. If the child is breathing normally, coughs and colds can be treated at home without drugs.

6. Most medicines sold for cough and colds are useless and possibly harmful.

Less Serious Causes: Cold, Smoking, Adenoids, Habit of clearing the throat, Sinus infection, Tropical eosinophilia, Measles, Hay fever

Serious Causes: Pneumonia,  Bronchiolitis, Asthma, Tuberculosis, Whooping cough, congenital heart disease, foreign body in the bronchi, Tracheoesophageal fistula, Croup

Symptomatic Relief of Cough

As mentioned earlier, cough is a helpful mechanism, do not try to unduly suppress it without the advice of your doctor. Let your child drink plenty of liquids, including water. For symptomatic relief of cough, extract the juice from a dozen or more leaves of the tulsi plant. Give a teaspoon of this juice mixed a mixture of equal quantities of honey, lime juice and brandy or gin and give 1/2 teaspoon to 1 teaspoon of this mixture 4 times a day. Avoid giving honey to infants and alcohol if the child has rapid breathing or if your religion forbids it.

_{Source: Book – Guide to Child Care by Dr R K Anand}

_{To consult Dr R K Anand in person, click here}

_{Also read more about: 15 natural remedies to treat your little one’s cold and cough, Immunity of children against cold and cough}

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