In autumn and winter, sudden changes in temperature can easily cause children with weakened immune systems to catch colds, and coughs follow one after another.

Once the child starts to cough, he will cough and cough non-stop... Every time he coughs, the old mother's heart is also suspended. Why did the child cough for so long? I've tried all kinds of cough medicines, but it still doesn't work? If this continues, will he cough into pneumonia? Xiao Jiu came to chat today.

The child keeps coughing and coughing non-stop, will it cause pneumonia?

First of all, let’s make a conclusion: coughing does not cause pneumonia, but pneumonia can cause repeated coughing.

Cough itself is only a symptom, not a causative factor. On the contrary, moderate coughing is a self-defense behavior of the human body. Coughing can expel sputum and foreign objects in the respiratory tract, so as to keep the respiratory tract clean and unobstructed, which is conducive to the recovery of the disease.

Pneumonia is a lung infection caused by pathogens such as bacteria and viruses. Most of it is caused by the downward development of upper respiratory tract infection (including colds, pharyngitis, etc.), and upper respiratory tract infection is often accompanied by cough. When upper respiratory tract infection 1 - If it has not improved after 2 weeks, and the cough has become significantly worse, it may develop into pneumonia at this time.

Don't worry too much about the cough caused by a cold, just stop the cough properly. However, if your child coughs frequently, which seriously affects sleep and eating, or if the cough lasts for more than 4 weeks, you should be alert to pneumonia and go to the hospital in time.

Is the child's cough a cold or pneumonia? 3 ways to teach you to distinguish

The early symptoms of pneumonia are usually similar to those of a cold. Parents should observe closely, and they can be distinguished according to the following three symptoms.

Watch for cough and fever

The cough symptoms of the common cold are mild, with less sputum and easy to cough up, mostly in the morning and evening. The fever lasts for a short time, generally around 38.5°C, rarely exceeding 39°C, and generally improves within a week.

If it is pneumonia, there will be a persistent high fever, the temperature is generally above 39°C, and the fever will last for more than 5 to 7 days, or even longer. At the same time, it may also manifest as fear of cold and shivering. Cough manifests as frequent irritating dry cough, which is severe, with flushed face and even vomiting when coughing.

Check your breathing

Due to lung infection, gas exchange in the alveoli is difficult, so the typical symptoms of pneumonia are actually shortness of breath and difficulty breathing.

According to the World Health Organization's prevention and control program, the criteria for shortness of breath in children are:

<2 months old: respiration ≥60 breaths/minute

2 to 12 months of age: ≥50 breaths/minute

1 to 5 years old: Breathing ≥ 40 breaths/minute

Over 5 years: Respiratory rate >20 breaths/minute

Parents can calculate the child's breathing rate by looking at the number of times the chest and abdomen rise and fall while the child is sleeping. If the respiratory rate standard for age is exceeded, it is shortness of breath. If the nose flutters, shoulders shrug, and the chest wall is sunken when breathing, it means dyspnea, and the child should be taken to the hospital in time.

Check the sternum

If it is a cold and cough, the child's sternum will not appear abnormal, but if it is pneumonia, the child will have a depression in the lower front of the neck and above the sternum when the child inhales. In addition to the sternum, the supraclavicular fossa and intercostal space are also sunken inward during breathing, which may be severe pneumonia.

In addition to respiratory symptoms, pneumonia can also be accompanied by systemic symptoms such as listlessness, irritability, loss of appetite, shivering, and diarrhea.

Distinguish 4 cough syndrome types, stop coughing and avoid detours

If the baby's cough is not caused by pneumonia, then parents don't have to worry too much, just stop the cough correctly, but you must learn to use syndrome differentiation and medicine to avoid repeated coughing.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that coughing is a lung system disease syndrome caused by the failure of the lungs to ventilate and descend, and the lung qi rises upwards, making a coughing sound, or coughing up sputum. There are mainly 4 types of certificates:

1. Cold cough

Caused by wind-cold evil attacking the body, manifested as cough with thin phlegm, nasal congestion, runny nose, headache, aversion to cold without sweating, and thin white tongue coating.

Therapeutic principles: To disperse the lungs, disperse wind and cold, and cough and spit thin phlegm should be added with dampness-resolving and phlegm-resolving medicines.

Prescription: Xingsu Powder, Sanao Decoction; Chinese patent medicines can be taken Ganmao Qingre Granules, Wushicha Granules, etc.

2. Wind-heat cough

The body feels the evil of wind-heat, and the lungs are not cleared. It is manifested as coughing up yellow and thick phlegm, thirsty and sore throat, body heat, headache, aversion to wind, sweating, and thin yellow tongue coating.

Therapeutic principles: disperse wind-heat, disperse lung.

Prescription: Sangju Drink, Yinqiao Powder.

3. Phlegm heat cough

It is mainly caused by phlegm-heat invading the lungs and loss of lung qi, manifested as thick and yellow phlegm, uncomfortable cough, stuffy nose and runny nose, sore throat, hoarseness, red tongue, thin yellow or greasy fur.

Therapeutic principles: dry dampness and resolve phlegm, ventilate and descend lung qi.

Prescription: Forsythia Loulu Decoction, Lingyang Qingfei Powder, etc.

Whether it is wind-heat or phlegm-heat cough, the phlegm is yellow and thick, and if you want to stop the cough, you must first eliminate the phlegm. When choosing Chinese patent medicines, you can take Jinzhen Oral Liquid specially developed for children. It is mainly composed of Lingyang Qingfei Powder and Lushi Guntan Pills. The generation of sputum is conducive to the discharge of sputum from the digestive tract of infants and young children; goat horn, baicalin, raw gypsum and other traditional Chinese medicine ingredients for clearing away heat, purging fire and detoxifying can reduce the frequency of coughing and shorten the duration of attacks; at the same time, rhubarb has a purging effect, which can make Sputum is expelled with the child's bowel movements.

It can better relieve the symptoms of lung heat cough and high fever in children. And it does not contain ephedra, does not contain preservatives, and has a sweet taste. Mothers can rest assured that children love to drink it. Parents are advised to consult a doctor before taking medication.

4. Hot cough

Dry-heat cough is generally caused by exogenous wind-cold or wind-dryness, manifested as dry cough without phlegm, or phlegm like thread powder, difficult to cough up, dry nose and throat, chest pain when cough is severe, red tip of tongue, thin yellow fur.

Therapeutic principles: relieve the exterior, clear the lungs, moisten dryness.

Prescriptions: Sangxing Decoction, Yinqiao Powder, etc.; Chinese patent medicines can choose Qiuli Runfei Ointment, etc.

As the saying goes: "Three parts rule, seven parts support". In addition to medication for cough relief, dietary care can also be strengthened. Children can be given more yin-nourishing products, such as lilies, honey, pears, lotus seeds, white fungus and various fresh vegetables, and less spicy and hot products.

> > References: >

> > 1. Will children develop pneumonia after a long cough[J]. Family Health: Popular Science, 2018: 53-53. >

> > 2. Zhang Yuanyuan. Is it a cold or pneumonia if the baby keeps coughing? [J]. Fashion Parenting, 2011:92-93. >

> > 3. Li Jian. TCM treatment of cough[J]. Health Vision: Medical Edition, 2013: 295-295. >