In early winter, the most common symptom for babies is coughing. What's most annoying is that some babies can cough for about a month or even longer. If they get cold or the air pollution is severe during this period, the coughing is more likely to recur. There are often situations where after going to the hospital for about a month and taking a lot of medicine, the cough just gets better, but after going out to play, the baby starts coughing again, and sometimes it even gets worse each time.
Learn to Identify Symptoms
It is very important to identify the symptoms of coughing. Although it can be difficult to determine what type of cough it is sometimes, learning to identify the symptoms and then using the appropriate treatment methods can make it easier to overcome the baby's cough.
The most basic thing about coughing is to distinguish between cold cough, hot cough, bronchitis, food retention cough, and allergic cough. Generally, babies mainly have these types of coughs:
1. Cold cough
Cold cough is often caused by the body being chilled. The most typical symptoms are: a white tongue coating, symptoms of a cold such as feeling cold, being afraid of cold, and being afraid of wind, clear runny nose, or a dry nasal cavity without mucus. Sometimes there is no phlegm when coughing or there is white foamy phlegm.
2. Hot cough
Hot cough is mainly caused by hot pathogens or internal heat. The main symptoms are a red tip of the tongue, red lips, bad breath, excessive eye mucus, yellow pus-like nasal discharge, and yellow pus-like sputum.
3. Bronchitis
Bronchitis is a cough caused by bacteria or viruses invading the trachea. The cough caused by bronchitis is often particularly severe, and some serious babies may cough continuously, which is very uncomfortable.
4. Food retention cough
Food retention cough is caused by food retention. Sometimes, if the baby eats too much chocolate, sugar, meat, fish, shrimp, and other high-protein foods, symptoms such as coughing, fever, vomiting, and loss of appetite may occur. The typical symptom of food retention cough is that the baby does not cough during the day but coughs continuously when lying down to sleep. If the baby suddenly coughs in the middle of the night after falling asleep, parents should first be alert to whether the baby has food retention. Recall the baby's recent diet and observe whether there are symptoms such as a thick white or yellowish tongue coating in the baby's spleen-stomach reflex area. If there are, and even if there is bad breath, it is very likely to be food retention.
5. Allergic cough
Allergic cough generally occurs at night or after waking up in the morning. Generally, there is no or little phlegm, and the cough worsens after exercise. Using heat-clearing granules will not help with allergic cough. Instead, basic massage techniques for coughing and eating some spleen and kidney-nourishing foods should be used.
If you want your baby to recover quickly and have a better constitution, it is recommended that parents seek advice and treatment from a pediatrician of traditional Chinese medicine as early as possible.
Three Parts Treatment, Seven Parts Nourishment
As the saying goes, "Three parts treatment, seven parts nourishment." If you want to cure a child's cough, you must not neglect "nourishment".
Adjust clothing in a timely manner. Some children have a hot constitution, so many babies cough not because of cold cough but because they wear too much and eat too hot, causing lung heat cough. When the weather gets cold, pay attention to the child's clothing. The baby's clothes should be the same as the parents', or even one less piece. Let the baby appropriately endure the cold, which can enhance their immune system.
Maintain appropriate humidity. If the environment is too dry and the air humidity decreases, the mucous membranes may dry out and become brittle, small blood vessels may rupture and bleed, cilia movement may be restricted, and phlegm may not be easily expectorated. Therefore, it is important to maintain appropriate indoor humidity and let the baby drink plenty of water.
Strictly control the diet. This is the most important aspect. There is a saying in Chinese medicine, "Fish generates fire, meat generates phlegm, and green vegetables and tofu maintain good health." Chinese medicine believes that seafood such as fish, crabs, and shrimp, as well as fatty meat and other greasy foods, may induce dampness and phlegm and even cause allergic reactions, worsening the condition. Spicy foods such as chili, pepper, and ginger have a stimulating effect on the respiratory tract, aggravating coughing, so it is important to avoid them. Fresh vegetables such as greens, carrots, tomatoes, etc., can provide various vitamins and inorganic salts, which is beneficial for the recovery of metabolic function in the body.
