Why does a child cough after sleep

Children's cough always causes anxiety, and if not the child, then the parents for sure. Moms and dads are in a hurry to take steps to eliminate it: take them to a doctor, give them hot milk, feed them with medicines.

In terms of these actions, it makes sense: it’s definitely not a problem to show the child to the doctor, and drinking milk is always helpful. But to prescribe medication is certainly not worth it without much need. Especially since not every cough needs treatment. Although all individually and each case must be considered separately from the others.

How to determine the type of cough

When examining a child, the pediatrician is always interested in how he coughs. You need to answer this question as fully and fully as possible:

1. When coughing: only in the morning or after a day's sleep, does it not cough at night and during the day;
2. How exactly: dry or wet, barking, strong or light coughing, whether there is sputum and whether it goes away;
3. Be sure to determine exactly when and after which the child began to cough: name the day, remember the events of the previous day;
4. Tell your doctor more information about the temperature, the presence or absence of a cold, activity, appetite, quality of sleep.

The collection of this information will help the doctor more accurately and quickly diagnose and, if necessary, prescribe treatment.

Causes of cough in a child after sleep

Cough after sleep does not always indicate the presence of any disease. This phenomenon can be quite physiological, that is, normal and not requiring treatment. Physiological cough may occur in the following cases:

1. In infants who sleep mostly on the back, mucus accumulates in the nasopharynx.
2. When children wake up and dramatically change their body position, a certain portion of mucus falls sharply into the trachea and causes a productive, moist cough that quickly passes and does not increase.
3. In infants who eat liquid food (milk or mixture), food often gets into the respiratory tract during feeding and does not always come out immediately. The expulsion of milk drops from the trachea often occurs after prolonged sleep andcrying with cough. To save the baby from such inconveniences, feed him in a reclining position on his side.
4. During teething, salivation increases, so during sleep a lot of saliva accumulates in the throat. After awakening, the baby coughs - his airways are cleared.
5. There is such a thing as an artificial cough - children cough to draw attention to themselves. Often this happens just after waking up.

In any of these cases, cough is not a pathology and does not require treatment. However, if the condition worsens, the child begins to cough stronger, more often, constantly, it is better to show it to the doctor to rule out pathologies. A pathological morning cough requiring treatment may be a symptom of one of many diseases and conditions:

1. Dry and superficial often indicates an allergy to dust, powder, which washed bedding, down pillows, pet hair;
2. In combination with fever, weakness, runny nose, a cough may be a symptom of ARVI;
3. If sputum with an unpleasant smell is coughing in the morning, and during the day the child often spits up, complains of a burning sensation in the chest or throat - this may be a manifestation of reflux esophagitis (ingestion of the stomach contents into the esophagus and pharynx);
4. Dry coughing, whistling and difficulty breathing may be signs of developing asthma or obstructive bronchitis; morning thoracic productive with yellow-green or brownish sputum most often indicates a serious inflammation in the respiratory system;
5. Sometimes a morning cough without additional symptoms is a sign of a latent course of pneumonia;
6. Obsessive dry and barking can indicate that a child has whooping cough.

Morning cough in children may be a symptom of not only these diseases, but also many others. Independently determine the cause is almost impossible, as well as prescribe the correct treatment. Therefore, during the first morning manifestations, carefully monitor the condition of the child, in order to, if necessary, describe it as accurately as possible to your doctor.

Treatment of cough in a child after sleep

Coughing is a symptom. Unlike a disease, there is no need to treat it. In most cases, the elimination of the cause of his appearance leads to the full recovery of the child. If the cough is physiological, correction of the condition is not required, that is, the child does not need to take medicine - everything will go away on its own.

If coughing occurs on the background of a “leak from the nose”, then it is necessary to treat a cold - as soon as it passes, the cough will also end. If, on the eve of the first morning cough, the child communicated with sick children or someone from the family brought the infection home, it is likely that the cough will soon be supplemented with a runny nose, possibly, with fever and other manifestations of ARVI.

Treatment in this case should be complex and symptomatic. If the baby coughs for no apparent reason, think about what has changed recently in his room: maybe a new toy has appeared or have you washed your laundry with a new powder? If so, this is an allergy. To alleviate the condition of the child, if possible, eliminate the allergen, often ventilate the room and do a wet cleaning a couple of times a day.