It’s upsetting to see your little one coughing and not sleeping well. All you need to listen to how a cough sounds and keep reading to find out what could possibly be the reason and how to treat it.

First things first. A cough has two types and each one of them has it’s causes and treatments. Check which one your baby has.

A Dry Cough:

The baby’s cough is not accompanied by any phlegm or mucus. This kind of a cough usually comes with colds and allergies. It helps clear the cause of the irritation from a sore throat.

Wet Cough:

Its accompanied with phlegm or mucus. It usually comes with respiratory illness caused by bacteria. The phlegm or mucus contains white blood cells the fights the infection to clear the baby’s airways.

How To Soothe Your Baby’s Coughing

If your child is above 1 year they can drink a warm drink of half a lemon squeezed into a cup of boiled water and 1-2 teaspoons of honey.

What Are The Causes Of A Cough?

A cough is a sign of the body trying to clear away the irritants on its own. Some of the most common causes are:

Infection

Colds cause mild to moderate hacking cough.

Flu causes severe dry cough

Croup causes a barking cough at night with noisy breathing.

These are all viral infections that don’t recover by antibiotics. Antibiotics treat bacterial infections.

Whooping Cough

Characterized by a cough that has whooping sound. May be accompanied by a runny nose, sneezing, and low fever.

It’s caused by bacteria so antibiotics can treat them. You can also prevent it by taking the vaccine.

Asthma

Its known by a wheezing cough, increase with physical activities and may get worse at night. Treatment depends on the case. The doctor might recommend avoiding some triggers like smokes and perfumes or can prescribe medications.

Allergies

A lingering cough comes along with watery eyes, itchy throat, runny nose, and rash.

Your doctor might recommend allergy medication and to keep away from certain triggers.

Acid Reflux

Its characterized by a cough, frequent vomiting, bad taste in mouth and heartburn. To treat it first we should exclude trigger foods, eat smaller meals and more frequently (5-6 meals a day). See your pediatrician if you're concerned about your kids’ acid reflux.

When to call a doctor

Babies under 4 months rarely have a cough. If they do, it’s serious.

If it’s accompanied by a fever.

When it continues for a long time or worsens at night.

If it's triggered when your child runs around.

If he finds it hard to breathe, he’ll need urgent treatment in a hospital.

References:

Parents. "How to Decode Your Baby's Cough"

NHS.uk. "Colds, coughs and ear infections in children"

WebMD. "Children's Cough: Causes and Treatments"