Cough Battles With Your Children

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Submitted by Angela Zito

temperturefaceThere it goes again…and again…and again. It is the sound that grates on your nerves at the same time it rips out your heart: your child’s cough. But, it may be trying to tell you something—if only you’ll listen.

Daniel McGee, MD, pediatric hospitalist at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, shares five telltale cough sounds that offer clues on what may be ailing your child:

Barking: It may be croup. Croup is a viral illness that causes swelling and inflammation of the vocal cords. The cough sounds like a bark, and may also be accompanied by stridor—a harsh, high-pitched wheeze—when breathing in.

Hear it: http://www.parents.com/videos/v/61652000/child-with-croup.htm

Whooping: It may be pertussis. Commonly known as whooping cough, pertussis is a contagious respiratory illness. It can cause coughing fits in which children are forced to inhale with a loud “whooping” sound as they gasp for breath.

Hear it: http://www.cdc.gov/pertussis/pubs-tools/audio-video.html

Staccato: A repetitive cough with short, staccato sounds is a characteristic sign of the lung infection chlamydial pneumonia, especially in infants.

Dry: A persistent, dry cough may be a symptom of asthma, a disease affecting the lungs.

Wet: The common cold often produces a wet, productive-sounding cough with mucus or phlegm behind it.

Dr. McGee advises caregivers to resist the temptation to medicate children with a cough suppressant. Doing so, he warns, may do more harm than good in most cases. However, if your child has had a persistent cough for a week or more, don’t write it off as the common cold. Dr. McGee suggest to make an appointment with a pediatrician to determine if something else is going on, especially if your child appears ill and is working hard to breathe.