The child coughs heavily at night what to do. Why does a child suffer from a dry cough at night and what to do

The child coughs at night, but not during the day, Komarovsky in this case recalls that coughing is only a sign of an existing disease. What can be the causes of pathology? This will be discussed.

Causes of night cough

The child coughs at night, but not during the day, Komarovsky considers various causes of night cough.

Coughing is a defense mechanism. In this way, the child's body tries to get rid of pathogens on its own. Most often, the bronchi and respiratory tract are involved in the inflammatory process.

Most common causes of nighttime cough:

The child coughs at night, but not during the day, Komarovsky believes that a dry cough at night in a child can develop for the following reasons:

  • Whooping cough. Attacks of dry cough develop in a child at night. Its result is the discharge of viscous sputum and even vomiting. During an attack caused by whooping cough, the child takes a forced posture: leans forward and puts out of his mouth a tense tongue with a tip bent upwards. Breathing is heavy. At the exit, wheezing and whistling are clearly audible. This disease is very dangerous in terms of infection: the child remains dangerous to other people within a calendar month from the onset of the disease.
  • Laryngitis. Pathology is an inflammation of the mucous membranes of the larynx and is a symptom of a cold / infectious disease. It develops in a child at the onset of the disease and looks like coughing shocks caused by the accumulation of thickened mucus.
  • heart disease. In some cases, bouts of dry night cough can be a symptom of cardiac pathologies. The provoking cause is stagnation of blood in the pulmonary circulation, which is one of the signs of heart failure. If no other pathological symptoms are observed in the child, then it must be shown to a cardiologist.
  • Reflux esophagitis. The condition is provoked by the reflux of the contents of the stomach into the esophagus. It causes severe irritation of the mucous membranes of the throat, to which the body responds with the development of a cough reflex.

Wet cough at night - causes

A wet cough differs from a dry cough by the possibility of viscous sputum discharge. Very often it is accompanied by a runny nose. Such attacks are characteristic of the acute form of bronchitis and respiratory infections. Additionally, the child has a pathological symptoms:

  • inflammation of the mucous membrane of the larynx and pharynx;
  • redness and swelling of the throat.

Causes of a wet cough can also be:

  • pharyngitis - inflammation of the lymphoid tissue of the throat;
  • tracheitis - damage to the tracheal mucosa of an infectious origin;
  • teething (in children of the first year of life);
  • inflammation of the adenoids.

Wet night cough - one of the symptoms of inflammation of the maxillary sinuses. Attacks are caused by the flow of purulent contents along the back wall of the larynx.

If during the day the child swallows the mucous discharge, then at night, due to being in a horizontal position, the mucus penetrates the respiratory tract. Hence the strong bouts of wet coughing. They can appear several times a night. You can get rid of a cough only by curing the underlying disease - sinusitis.

The child coughs without stopping - possible causes

If the child coughs without stopping, then the reasons may be as follows:

  • Respiratory infection. In this case, attacks of a debilitating cough are accompanied by redness of the throat, runny nose and fever.
  • Pleurisy/pneumonia. For these diseases, a strong cough reflex is typical, accompanied by the development of shortness of breath, coughing and vomiting.
  • Inflammation of the bronchioles. If the child has already been diagnosed with bronchitis, then attacks of painful coughing indicate the development of a bronchoscopic syndrome / inflammation of the bronchioles.
  • Bronchial asthma. The disease is characterized by a severe cough that occurs in the morning.
  • . The condition is characterized by a non-stop cough that develops at night. Additional signs are hoarseness and heavy breathing.
  • Whooping cough. Severe attacks occur at night. They end up vomiting.
  • Inflammation of the pharynx and larynx (laryngitis).

Cause of persistent nocturnal cough there may be conditions that are in no way associated with respiratory diseases:

  • Allergic reaction. In addition to coughing, the child may develop edema.
  • Foreign object in the airways. It can also cause non-stop coughing as the body tries to get rid of it.
  • Dry air in the child's bedroom. In this case, the baby also develops uncontrolled coughing attacks.
  • Cough of nervous origin. The unhealthy psychological situation in the child's family is to blame for it.

Komarovsky: the opinion of a pediatrician about a night cough

Dr. Komarovsky refers night cough to the symptoms of the disease and urges parents to treat not the cough reflex, but the disease that provoked it.

The pediatrician warns that it is strictly forbidden to use any medication that suppresses coughing. Before starting treatment, the child must be shown to the doctor and the specialist, focusing on the current condition of the patient, will prescribe the necessary drugs.

How to treat a child: how to help him

How to treat a child, how to relieve an attack of night cough? First of all, the room before going to bed must be thoroughly ventilated and control the level of humidity.

A warm drink gives a good result. Can you give your child these drinks?, how:

  • warm tea with a slice of lemon;
  • tea with honey and milk;
  • milk with honey;
  • herbal teas - on chamomile, sage, thyme, St. John's wort;
  • fruit drinks and compotes from berries;
  • green tea with a small piece of ginger.

A warm drink has a warming and soothing effect on the upper respiratory tract. Drinking facilitates the discharge of sputum, contributing to its thinning. Mucus begins to empty the bronchi, and the child experiences temporary relief.

Second way- setting mustard plasters before going to bed. Their warming effect will allow the child to sleep peacefully throughout the night. It is necessary to carry out the procedure 2 hours before bedtime, otherwise the desired result will not be obtained.

Help to alleviate the condition inhalation. You can use preparations selected by the pediatrician or use home remedies - decoctions of herbs, soda solution, essential oils (but only if there is no allergy).

The child coughs at night, but not during the day, Komarovsky warns that before starting treatment, the child must be shown to the pediatrician. Self-diagnosis and selection of the drug are unacceptable!

Save the information.

There is a saying that came from the people: "Children grow not in years, but in days." And this is true, the day has passed, nothing has happened and it’s already good.

Parents need to be constantly on the alert, problems can arise at any time of the day. If a child coughs and sweats at night, this may be a sign of certain diseases that do not manifest themselves very much during the day.

Sputum in the respiratory tract does not have time to accumulate in large quantities during wakefulness. During sleep, it also continues to be produced, but cannot leave in the same amount as during the day. The accumulated mucus begins to irritate the nerve endings, causing.

Because of this, the child has to constantly wake up and painfully knock out sputum from the respiratory tract for a long time. Large volumes of mucus depart badly and painfully. Such a manifestation, of course, is a kind of signal for parents that not everything is in order.

Cough at night in children is a protective reaction of the body to all kinds of irritants of the respiratory tract. It can be wet, dry, hysterical, with a large amount of sputum (see). As for profuse sweating, it is usually associated with the struggle of the body with pathogenic microbes.

Most often occurs against the background of elevated body temperature. It usually rises at night. In addition, during coughing, the child strains a large number of muscles very strongly. A prolonged attack does not allow you to catch your breath and restore strength. In this case, the child sweats a lot just from fatigue and tension during coughing.

All this negatively affects the general well-being of the baby. He does not sleep well, during the day he manifests general weakness, conjunctivitis, refusal to eat, complaints of headaches and aches. As a result, at preschool age, the rejection of games, in later years, a decrease in school performance.

The main causes of the problem

At the onset of many respiratory diseases, the cough is usually dry (see). It develops not only at night, but also in the daytime.

The attack appears due to dust, animal hair, tobacco smoke (the baby is often a passive smoker). The manifestation is characterized by the fact that the irritant, namely the mucus, is not yet able to separate from the mucous membrane.

Wet appearance indicates the beginning of airway clearance and high sputum reproduction. A wet cough at night in a child occurs due to a weak cleansing of the bronchi during the day. Rejected mucus removes all irritants with it.

Table. The main causes of a cough in a child at night:

Primary etiological factor Descriptions of the main symptoms
Diseases of the ENT organs.Dry manifestation of an attack due to perspiration, tingling in the throat. With sinusitis, sinusitis, frontal sinusitis, mucus can flow down the back of the throat and cause irritation of the respiratory mucosa in the supine position.
Bronchial asthma.Characterized by the appearance of wheezing wheezing, especially on inspiration.
Gastroesophageal reflux.Severe heartburn precedes the cough reflex.
Viral infection (ARVI, influenza, adenovirus).At the very beginning, a dry and muffled attack is characteristic. After 4-5 days, sputum begins to separate.
Whooping cough.The disease affects only young children. The attacks are debilitating, painful, with profuse lachrymation.

There is a sharp hyperemia of the skin of the face. Often everything ends with a gag reflex, but even with this manifestation, one should not judge the development of whooping cough. Such a diagnosis can only be made by a doctor. Vomiting can also occur for other reasons.

Severe paroxysmal coughing to vomiting in children at night

This manifestation is very typical for childhood. Of course, there is nothing good in this, but there is nothing terrible either. The nerve centers responsible for the gag and cough reflex are very close. But it is worth understanding that such a manifestation is characteristic of a serious illness.

It is worth, first of all, to establish the cause of the problem. Whooping cough is a serious disease. Just because of this pathology.

During an attack, the baby tries with all his might to clear his throat. The face turns red and there are signs of suffocation. Antitussive drugs are often powerless, at the end of the attack a specific sound is heard. Sputum culture and blood tests are required to confirm the diagnosis.


With bronchial asthma, the cough is dry and painful, it can also lead to vomiting. During the reflex, whistling and noise in the bronchi are clearly audible. The problem is characterized by protrusion of the tongue forward.

The aggravation of the problem is observed closer to the morning. In this case, you must definitely consult a doctor. Proper and timely therapy will help to avoid serious complications.

Gastroesophageal reflux can also cause vomiting of the cough reflex. The phenomenon is typical for preschoolers, due to the unformed sphincters of the gastrointestinal tract or as a manifestation of pathology. Moreover, at this age there are no complaints of heartburn yet.

Allergies are often the cause of coughing attacks. Irritation to house dust found in pillows, blankets, mattresses and carpets in the children's room is especially common. To exclude this, the doctor must conduct allergy tests. This phenomenon often occurs with underdevelopment of the lungs of a child.

Treatment of nocturnal coughs

If the problem does not stop for several days, then you should immediately contact the doctor. When the cause that provokes constant coughing and night sweats in children is identified, treatment will be prescribed. And practically to eliminate each etiological factor, it will be its own.

  • Glaucine.
  • Sedotussin.
  • Synekod.

Drugs that affect cough receptors:

  • Stoptussin.
  • Broncholetin.
  • Levopront.

If wet attacks predominate, the following are prescribed:

  • Elixir Bronchicum.
  • Doctor Mom.
  • Syrup Altea.
  • Mukaltin tablets.
  • Lazolvan or Ambrobene.
  • Licorice root extract.
  • Bromhexine.

When the problem is not related to allergies, alternative medicine can be used:

  • sucking buckwheat honey;
  • hot milk with butter and honey;
  • tea with raspberries and berry fruit drinks;

The video in this article will help you better navigate the choice of drug. In the pharmacy chain, you can purchase ready-made herbal preparations for children, the price of which is affordable for everyone. This is breast collection number 1. Its pronounced therapeutic effect is provided by oregano, licorice, coltsfoot. Collection number 3 in its composition has sage, licorice, anise, pine buds.

It is not necessary to set a goal, to stop the cough. First of all, it is necessary to identify the cause and eliminate it. If at night the child's cough intensified, became more hacking, you should immediately consult a doctor. A successful diagnosis allows you to stop the problem and prevent it in the future.

An important point in therapy is a plentiful fortified drink. It can be compotes and fruit drinks, natural juices, preferably from sweet and sour fruits and vegetables. You can give to drink plain water with honey, tea with lemon and currants.

Antitussives are prescribed with caution. They are mainly indicated to eliminate the dry and painful manifestation of an attack.

Such drugs are presented in the photo by 2 main groups:

  1. Non-narcotic drugs that depress the cough center:
  • Tusuprex.
  • Sedotussin.
  • Butamirat.
  1. Drugs that act on respiratory tract receptors:
  • Levopront.
  • Lebiksin.

The method of administration and dosage will help you choose the attached instructions and, of course, the doctor. It is strictly forbidden to independently determine the course of treatment.


Folk remedies

Although official medicine does not recognize them, they are very effective and safe. The doctor usually prescribes them as adjuvants. If a child has a cough at night, what should parents do to help with folk remedies?

The following is used as an active ingredient:

  • Essential oils (lavender, pine, eucalyptus).
  • Creative mix.
  • Boiled potatoes with the addition of propolis, honey, menthol.
  • Gauze napkins soaked in a semi-alcoholic solution, infusion of elecampane, sage, chamomile.

When a child has a cough only at night, his attack perfectly relieves ginger. It is used in the form of an infusion with lemon.

Preventive actions

With a prolonged manifestation of the cough reflex, it is imperative to visit a pediatrician. If necessary, he prescribes an additional examination to clarify the diagnosis and exclude more serious diseases.

If, nevertheless, the cause of the problem was a common cold, viruses and even allergies, parents should carry out not complicated, but daily and necessary activities, namely:

  • Airing the children's room, several times a day.
  • Wet cleaning before bed.
  • Creating conditions for constant air humidification.
  • Washing the nasal passages before going to bed with a saline solution, carefully blowing your nose, using drops with sea water.
  • Plentiful drink during the day. It is desirable to consume mineral water, rosehip broth, blackcurrant and mountain ash, fortified fruit drinks.
  • Carrying out inhalations immediately before going to sleep. Recommended for children after a year of life.

When a child coughs at night, what should parents do, how to help with simple and at the same time effective methods:

  • Do not start treating a cough with antibiotics. They are appointed only in extreme cases.
  • With dry phenomena, expectorants are not prescribed.
  • If sputum began to move away, mucolytic drugs should be taken.
  • With a wet manifestation of an attack, it is forbidden to give antitussive tablets and syrups.
  • Do not forget about physiotherapeutic methods of exposure: massage, compresses, irradiation with UV lamps and infrared light.

Any disease, both in childhood and in adulthood, should not go unnoticed. Even if the body coped with the problem on its own. He needs support to prevent relapses.

Respiratory tract diseases in young people, unfortunately, are progressing. To preserve the health of the child, it is necessary to be more attentive to various symptoms, including night cough.

To understand why a child coughs at night in a dream, to find out the causes of attacks of dry cough, you should know what causes such a reaction of the body. Coughing is not considered inherently negative. It helps to clear the airways of accumulated mucus, leading to an inflammatory process. The most common cause of a nocturnal attack is a disease of the organs of the upper or lower respiratory tract.

In 80% of cases, the cause of a nocturnal attack is a viral infection and its complications. The remaining 20% ​​includes other factors, which are diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, an allergic reaction of the body. Despite the low probability of the latter processes occurring, their impact should also be taken into account when determining the cause of coughing at night. Pediatricians often forget about their existence, tests do not give results, therapy is delayed for a long time.

Allergen exposure

It is worth talking about this type of ailment when seizures began to appear suddenly in a child. They may be accompanied by a runny nose, a rash. Become the cause of the development of allergic cough can:

  • poor-quality bedding material;
  • new pajamas, bedding that has not been laundered;
  • purchase of previously unused washing powder;
  • plants next to the baby bed;
  • filling pillows and blankets;
  • synthetic, plastic items in the nursery;
  • soft toy with which the baby sleeps.

It is easy to distinguish this type of cough from pathological. It is characterized by the following accompanying symptoms:

  • slight swelling of the face, nose, mucous membranes;
  • runny nose;
  • increased drowsiness;
  • insomnia;
  • excessive sweating of the child in a dream;
  • redness of the eyes, tearing.

Allergic cough is never accompanied by fever, chills, intoxication of the body.

An antihistamine will help to accurately determine the disease. After taking it and moving the child to another room, the attack should stop.

Exposure to viruses

A viral infection can be recognized by the presence of sputum during sleep. The cause of wet coughing is colds, flu, SARS. The attacks are worse at night due to the accumulation of sputum in the nasopharynx. It enters there either from the upper respiratory tract, or from the lower ones, when a person is in a horizontal position.

It is possible to distinguish ARVI, colds, flu according to the list of the following most frequently present signs presented in the table below.

PathologyMain distinguishing features
ColdThe most important difference is considered to be a slight weakness, when the child has the opportunity to play, go to school, as before. Body temperature is absent, or does not rise more than 37.5 degrees. There is a runny nose, cough appears at the very beginning of the disease.
SARSSymptoms appear over time and progressively. Initially, a dry cough, weakness, runny nose begins. After a few days, the body temperature rises to 39 degrees. Often stuffy nose, there is an increase in lymph nodes.
FluThe symptoms are growing rapidly. Aches all over the body, severe weakness and headache. Body temperature up to 40 degrees. Runny nose may be absent. Pressing condition in the eyeballs, dry, violent cough.

Coughing during sleep often occurs due to diseases of the upper respiratory tract. These include diagnoses of pharyngitis, tonsillitis, laryngitis, sinusitis, etc. As a result, inflammatory mucus, a runny nose descends down the nasopharynx, provokes an attack of coughing. A distinctive feature of pharyngitis, laryngitis, tonsillitis is the reddening of the mucous membrane of the larynx, its swelling, runny nose. During sinusitis, there is swelling of the sinuses, severe runny nose, nasal congestion, dry cough, pressure in the area near the bridge of the nose and eyes.

Whooping cough is an infection. It often becomes a motivational factor for the occurrence of nocturnal coughing. You can distinguish whooping cough by elevated body temperature, or its absence, if the baby is vaccinated, with a strong paroxysmal, dry cough, and a hoarse voice. During a night attack, the baby seems to be suffocating, his face turns red, and his eyes become bulging. There is a phenomenon due to a strong spasm of the respiratory tract and coughing, it becomes difficult to breathe.

A wet cough can manifest itself at night as a result of an inflammatory process in the bronchi and lungs. Distinctive signs will be a strong cough with green sputum, pain in the chest, chills, fever.

How can I help relieve and soothe a bad dry cough in a child at night?

It’s worth saying right away that you should not take any medications at night during a strong dry cough in a baby. As a result, by negligence, you can harm the child. If parents have identified the cause of the disease on their own or with the help of a doctor, and it consists in an allergic reaction, children are recommended to take antihistamine drugs. The most popular drops today are Zirtek, Fenistil.

Antihistamine drugs are prohibited for use in children under six months of age. You should try to remove a night attack in an infant with warm milk, water or chamomile decoction.

To dull a coughing fit with colds or other pathologies of the lower respiratory tract, you should give the child more water during the night, as well as use well-known methods of folk therapy:


The proposed methods make it possible to alleviate the condition of the baby at night during an attack. It is not necessary to give the child medicines, folk wisdom and experience allows you to eliminate the disease without complications and harm to the body of a little man.

What to do in the evening so that there is no cough during sleep?

“What to do in the evening so that there is no attack at night?” - the question is easy and today many parents already know how to alleviate the condition of a sick child using easy-to-use methods. They are as follows:

  1. Not only during the day, but especially before going to bed, it is necessary to provide humidification of the air in the children's room. Attacks occur due to dry air in the room, irritation of the respiratory mucosa occurs.
  2. A simple method, known to many from generation to generation, is to raise the patient during sleep. The child should be provided with an elevated position of the body during a night's rest, it is enough to put a more voluminous pillow or increase their number to two. The principle is based on the fact that at night in a horizontal position, sputum cannot liquefy as easily as during the day. In the reclining position, the symptom becomes less frequent or does not occur at all.
  3. Be sure to ventilate the room before going to bed.
  4. Before going to bed, be sure to rinse the baby's nose with saline, a special agent, for example Aqualor, Aquamaris.
  5. If the child is older than a year, it is recommended to inhale with a nebulizer one hour before bedtime. Without the recommendation of a specialist, you can use soda, chamomile decoction, eucalyptus oil, Borjomi for the procedure.
  6. From the age of 7 years, special ointments can be used, for example, badger fat, for rubbing, so that sputum comes out more easily. It is recommended to apply the product not only on the chest or back, but also on the feet.
  7. Carry out daily wet cleaning in the apartment.

Scientists have noticed that stressful situations play a significant role in the occurrence of coughing. You should not expose the child to emotional stress before going to bed, then the sleep will be much calmer and stronger, respectively, the baby will wake up less and cough reflexively.

Why does a child cough at night and not during the day?

When asked why a child coughs only at night, the etiology of seizures will help answer. It is associated with the accumulation of inflammatory mucus in the nasopharynx, which interferes with optimal breathing. In diseases of the bronchial system, lungs, sputum is retained, it cannot liquefy well, which leads to a dry cough. During sleep, the child assumes a horizontal position and mucus enters the upper sections of the bronchi, trachea, which leads to spasm and difficulty breathing, respectively, a severe coughing fit.

During the day, parents try to eliminate the cough with medication, inhalation, and other methods, so it is not as obvious and strong as at night.

There are other reasons why the baby coughs only at night. They are as follows:

Coughing at night should not be ignored. Even if the illness lasted several days and suddenly stopped, it is worth taking the child to the doctor. Perhaps the pathology subsided for some time, for example, during a helminthic invasion, this is possible. The baby should be examined to prevent recurrence of the disease.

Cough accompanies many childhood illnesses. With this symptom, the child can get rid of the respiratory irritant.

If coughing did not occur, then any infection would lead to serious damage to the lower or upper respiratory tract. It is good when the cough is productive and wet, and the child can easily get rid of the accumulated mucus.

It is worse if it becomes intrusive and dry, causing considerable discomfort to the baby and his parents, not only during the day, but also during sleep. When a child has a strong nocturnal cough, it is worth considering and at least contacting a pediatrician for help. After all, it is not always possible for parents to establish the cause of this symptom on their own.

A strong cough in a child at night can be a natural defensive reaction or a manifestation of pathology.

In the latter case, there are usually additional signs by which an attentive parent can determine that the child is unwell. Depending on what caused this symptom, the doctor will select a comprehensive and effective treatment for the child.

Do not forget that any cough is divided into two types:

  1. damp or wet (with it a distinct gurgling is heard in the bronchi, and mucus is coughed up easily);
  2. dry (spasmodic, importunate, painful, in which coughing does not bring any effect).

Allergic reaction

If you notice that a child has a strong cough at night, but at the same time the baby does not cough during the day, then this may indicate an allergy.

Each parent should be alerted that the attack begins at the moment when the baby's head touches the pillow. The absence of catarrhal manifestations (sputum) adds confidence that it is allergy that provokes the cough.

Check what your child's bedding is made of. Often an allergic reaction occurs on sheepskin, feathers. Have you recently changed your baby's pajamas? Check out its composition.

Allergy can manifest itself not only to fillers, but also be a reaction to powder or fabric softener. Eliminate any allergens for a while.

Perhaps the cough will disappear with them.

You will also be interested in:

Viral infection

A child may cough at night due to a common cold. Often, a viral infection is accompanied by the release of mucus in the nose and throat. Sputum flows into the larynx as soon as the child assumes a horizontal position.

As a result of such irritation, a cough begins. In most cases, this symptom is productive, but with large volumes of sputum, it is difficult for the baby to cough it up. As soon as the baby recovers, the nocturnal cough will pass on its own.

Bacterial pathologies of the lower parts of the respiratory system

Diseases such as laryngitis, bronchitis, whooping cough, pneumonia (caused by bacteria) provoke bouts of nocturnal coughing in children.

Often they are accompanied by vomiting, as the child enters and simply cannot stop.

If a dry cough repeatedly occurs in a child at night, then the baby should be shown to the doctor as soon as possible.

Only a doctor can prescribe effective drugs to eliminate this symptom.

But do not forget that with bacterial lesions of the respiratory tract, the baby will need complex therapy, and not just symptomatic remedies.

Other reasons

Bronchial asthma, cystic fibrosis can cause nocturnal coughing fits in children. The accumulation of dry air and poor ventilation also provokes this symptom.

Gastrointestinal reflux is accompanied by a nocturnal cough, while during the day the child looks completely healthy. It is almost impossible to determine the cause of this anxiety on your own.

First aid: how to relieve a coughing fit?

Home methods, including inhalations and herbal decoctions, will help relieve a child’s cough at night, and drug therapy will help to completely cure its cause.

If your child has a disturbing symptom that does not allow sleep, then you should resort to effective methods that will help you survive these few hours.

Even if these rules help you, do not be too lazy to go to the pediatrician in the morning.

  • Plentiful warm drink.

Any herbal decoctions, fruit drinks based on vitamin C, juice, baby milk as well as plain water will help calm a child's cough at night. Place a bottle or glass next to the crib, and if coughing, let the baby drink a little.

The liquid will soothe the irritated throat, wash away the remnants of sputum from the larynx, and moisturize the overdried mucous membrane. Giving your child more to drink is the first thing that should come to your mind.

Do not forget that herbal decoctions should not be given to children under 6 months old, as they can cause allergies.

  • Setting the Right Conditions.

If the baby coughs, then pay attention to the environment. Is it very warm at home? Lower the temperature! Dry air predominates? Moisturize it! You will almost immediately be able to stop a cough in a child at night.

  • Washing of mucous membranes.

If you see that the baby's nose is not breathing, then the use of saline solutions and vasoconstrictor nasal agents will help normalize the condition of the little patient. To survive until the morning, or rather sleep peacefully, rinse the nasal passages with special products for children:

  • Aqualor,
  • aquamaris,
  • Rinostop,
  • Dolphin.

And drip drops:

  • Nazivin,
  • snoop,
  • Otrivin.

You can use those products that have already been tested by the baby and are in your home first aid kit. Do not forget that the use of nasal vasoconstrictor drugs should not last more than three days in a row.

Inhalation procedures

Doctors unanimously argue that inhalations, both with dry and wet coughs, are extremely effective.

Their action is almost instantaneous, and contraindications are either absent or minimal.

But many parents make the main mistake: spend steam inhalation. You can not do this with allergies, laryngitis and in the presence of temperature.

It is worth refraining from such self-treatment and resorting to a cold method. The procedure is carried out using a special device: a nebulizer.

Let your child breathe in saline or regular mineral water. The mucous membranes of the irritated respiratory tract will be moistened, and this will calm the violent cough at night, and the little patient will be able to sleep peacefully until morning.

Rubbing

Warming ointments such as Doctor Mom, Badger, Vicks and others.

They will have an irritating and distracting effect, make breathing easier, and also warm the inflamed organs.

Please note that many of these drugs are prohibited for use in children under 2-3 years of age.

Rubbing can be carried out only if the child's cough proceeds without fever.

Effective treatments

What to do if a strong cough in a child at night is regular?

First of all, you need to consult a doctor and, taking into account the individual characteristics of the small patient and the nature of the disease, he will prescribe effective medications.

  • Antibiotics.

It is necessary to take such funds only after the examination. Never give antibacterial medicine to a child on your own.

  • With pharyngitis, tonsillitis, sinusitis, bronchitis, penicillins are usually prescribed: Amoxiclav, Augmentin, Flemoxin.
  • If the bacterial disease proceeds in a sluggish form and is not accompanied by a high temperature, then macrolides can be used: Sumamed, Azitrus.
  • Cephalosporins are prescribed for acute bronchitis and other serious pathologies of the lower respiratory system.
  • Antiviral drugs and immunomodulators.

Such drugs will help speed up the treatment of a cough caused by a viral infection. A strong child with good immunity can do without them, but doctors like to prescribe at least something.

You can find a complete list of antiviral drugs by age at.

syrups

Any cough treatment comes down to the use of anti-inflammatory drugs that normalize the work of the lower respiratory system.

Ascoril, Erespal, Siresp- syrups for young children. The listed means and the like also have an antispasmodic effect. Don't expect immediate results from them.

Therapy usually lasts at least 5 days.

The situation when a child coughs at night, but not during the day, causes concern for parents. This may be a symptom of a specific disease of the lungs or throat, or a reflex bronchospasm with a cold. This condition is harmful and signals health problems when coughing attacks become more frequent.

Cough is an unconditioned reflex, the rapid expulsion of air from the lungs. Even healthy children need such cleansing of the respiratory tract from dust and microbes during the day and night. If the child coughs at night much more often than usual, and during the day the symptoms are mild? Diagnosing the disease in this case is problematic. Most often, the main causes of night cough lie in the problems of the respiratory system.. Seasonal flu, tonsillitis, bronchitis are accompanied by irritation of the respiratory tract with foreign particles, thick mucus that forms plugs.

An acute cough starts suddenly and is most often caused by a cold, flu, or sinus infection (it resolves in about 3 to 4 weeks). Subacute or "post-infectious" - lasts from 3 to 8 weeks, chronic - lasts more than 8 weeks. Dry cough without mucus is considered unproductive, wet - with sputum - productive.

If there is chest pain, a temperature above 38.3 ° C, or serious breathing problems in a child, you should immediately seek medical help.

Diseases in which the child coughs during sleep:

  • acute respiratory viral infection (ARVI);
  • pleurisy - inflammation of the mucous membrane of the lungs;
  • upper respiratory infections;
  • acute or chronic bronchitis;
  • bacterial sinusitis,
  • pneumonia;
  • tracheitis.

Seasonal colds are often accompanied by sore throat and muscles, fever. After these symptoms disappear, coughing at night and in the morning after sleep persists for several weeks. Sinusitis is inflammation of the paranasal sinuses as a result of a bacterial or viral infection. When the sinuses are blocked for various reasons, mucus runs down the back of the throat at night, causing itching and coughing.

Coughing only at night with respiratory diseases often manifests itself along with other symptoms:

  • runny or stuffy nose, mucus secretion;
  • difficult, wheezing breathing;
  • headaches, muscle pain, fever;
  • burning sensation, sore throat, chest;
  • clear or gray-green sputum;
  • hoarseness.

Some diseases, for example, chronic tonsillitis, tonsillitis can occur without fever, the child looks almost healthy. Why does cough occur? During the day, the baby swallows the mucus that accumulates in the throat, and when he sleeps, the sputum flows down the back of the throat. Irritation of the mucous membrane causes a reflex cough.

In acute bronchitis, the child also coughs very strongly at night due to the accumulation of mucus in the airways. In chronic bronchitis, coughing with sputum occurs for at least 3 months. Night cough after whooping cough lasts up to six months, all this time it is necessary to use means that alleviate the child's condition.

Methods for the treatment of night cough in a child

Nasal breathing is difficult from snot, especially during sleep, so the child breathes through his mouth. In this case, poorly purified and insufficiently warmed air enters, which increases the load on the lungs. The swelling of the mucous membrane that occurs during a runny nose will help remove drops "Nazivin", "Vibrocil", "Otrivin", "Tizin Xylo". It is necessary to use vasoconstrictor drugs and nasal sprays for no longer than 7 days, so as not to cause the mucous membrane to dry out.

Colds, allergies, or other illnesses can affect the normal functioning of the body. In search of how to help, if the child coughs heavily at night, parents go around pharmacies. In some cases, to get rid of a cough for a sick child, it will be enough to take an over-the-counter syrup recommended by a pediatrician. During the examination, the doctor listens to the bronchi and lungs. If a cough appeared at night due to an acute respiratory infection, then the specialist prescribes treatment.

It is necessary to contact an ambulance if you have difficulty breathing, swelling of the face or neck.

The structure of the respiratory system of children under 1 year old is distinguished by the weak development of the bronchi, so it is more difficult for them to get rid of sputum. How to help the baby? To thin sputum, remove mucus from the respiratory tract, cough syrups "Flavomed" based on ambroxol, "Prospan" with ivy extract are given.

What to do if a child coughs at night:

  • Syrups with expectorant action "Gedelix", "Doctor Mom", "Breast Elixir" help with bronchitis, tracheitis.
  • Antitussive lozenges, lozenges that soften the throat, appoint children older than four years with angina.
  • When you go to bed give drops for dry cough "Sinekod", "Gerbion. Plantain syrup».

Parents need to pay attention that some cough syrups are prescribed to a child who is already 2 years old, take such funds for no more than two weeks. Antitussives "Codelac neo" and "Bronholitin" are given to a child if his age is 3 years or more. When the treatment prescribed by the pediatrician does not improve the condition of the baby, the doctor sends for a medical examination to identify the true cause of the ailment.

Cough in children occurs with various diseases. Medical attention is required if the child has a fever, when a cough occurs at night in an infant less than 3 months old. Parents should monitor the condition of the kids so as not to miss the deterioration in well-being.

Asthma and Allergies Cause Nighttime Coughs

A child with a latent allergy to dairy products constantly coughs at night due to a glass of milk drunk before bedtime. Exposure to the allergen at night causes the accumulation of mucus in the airways. With asthma, breathing is difficult, a dry cough appears. This condition is also characteristic of inflammation of the airways in children predisposed to asthma. Even if the disease is mild, whistles can be heard when coughing.

Dry air in the room where the baby sleeps also significantly affects the irritation of the larynx.

Cough at night occurs with allergic rhinitis caused by dust, pollen, down, animal hair (hay fever). Reflex spasm of the bronchi accompanies an allergy to washing powder, pillow fillers, mattress. Parents using humidifiers need to be careful not to recirculate pathogenic microbes and/or allergens.

Only a doctor prescribes tests and anthelmintic therapy.

Cause of night cough - disorders of the digestive tract

Reflux esophagitis is accompanied by irritation of the esophagus as a result of the upward movement of acid from the stomach. There is a burning sensation in the chest and throat, dry or wet cough. Diet, sleeping on a high pillow, and antacid medications relieve reflux symptoms. The child should be put to bed 2-3 hours after eating to avoid coughing at night.

Cough may appear after feeding, when teeth erupt in children and the secretion of saliva increases, irritating the throat. Parents should pay attention to the diet of the baby. A lack of iron in the diet can cause irritation or inflammation of the throat, then the child begins to cough at night. In this case, micronutrient supplements will help.

7 home remedies to relieve a nighttime cough

  1. Warm tea with a teaspoon of honey and a slice of lemon(contraindications: age up to one year, individual intolerance to bee products and citrus fruits).
  2. Warm compress before going to bed (boil and mash potatoes, attach to the baby’s chest on a cloth napkin).
  3. Salt water for gargling and rinsing the nose before bedtime (1/2 tsp. salt per 150-200 ml of water).
  4. Buckwheat honey for resorption in the mouth at bedtime (1 tsp).
  5. Vitamin teas, fruit drinks facilitating the expulsion of mucus.
  6. Compresses from liquid honey, apple cider vinegar for the night.
  7. Steam inhalation with soda solution in evening time.