Your child’s cough is painful for you both. As a mom, I want to do everything I can to ease my child’s suffering and make the coughing end right away.
As a doctor, I know this isn’t exactly possible, but there are things we can do to help.
Not all coughs are created equal
Coughs are a protective mechanism of the body. The main issue with a cough is to find out and treat the cause of the cough. Many things can cause long periods of coughing. For example, is your child coughing because they have pneumonia or a cold, or because of post-nasal drip? Do they have an ear infection, or do they have asthma?
How long your child’s cough lasts depends on what’s causing it and what can be done to treat it. Unfortunately, when your child gets over the initial condition, it doesn’t always mean the cough goes away with it.
If your child is coughing for more than two weeks, they need to be seen.
When your child is safe to be around others
Even if they’re feeling better, check with your daycare or school for their policies on when returning to school is allowed.
For unvaccinated children, there’s the risk that they have pertussis or whooping cough. In that case, it is very contagious.
How to manage in the meantime
Cough medicine can be dangerous for young children. The American Academy of Pediatrics does not recommend using over-the-counter medicines to treat coughs for children younger than 4 years old due to the relative ineffectiveness and possible side effects.
I actually do not recommend any over-the-counter medication for my patients. We need to treat why the child is coughing and not just sedate the cough.
You can soothe your child’s coughing symptoms without medicine. Studies have shown that a teaspoon of honey really helps with a cough, as long as the child is older than 1 year old; honey could be dangerous for children below 12 months of age. You can also try:
- Adding moisture to the air in your home with a cool-mist humidifier.
- Having your child sit on the floor of the bathroom while you run a steamy shower.
- Using a nasal saline solution and suctioning their nasal drainage with a bulb syringe
When to see a doctor
If it causes difficulty breathing, your child’s cough is a medical emergency and you should go to the emergency room.
In other cases, it’s hard to generalize when you should make an appointment. But, if a cough is associated with a fever, poor appetite, wheezing, or a barky, croupy cough, your child should definitely be seen by a doctor.
I always advise parents to follow their instincts. Do not wait to see a doctor if you think your child needs to be seen.
To find a pediatrician or family doctor,
check out the Fairview website or call 855-FAIRVIEW.
Fairview offers walk-in care for sick kids at many sites,
as well as same-day appointments, online care, and urgent care.
Paula Brito, MD, a pediatrician at the Fairview clinic in Brooklyn Park and a mother of three.
