Cough-Causes

What Is Cough ?

Cough are the very common problem in childhood and are usually a symptom of infections such as a cold, measles or whooping cough. The cough itself is a reflex action, designed to prevent anything other than air from entering the lungs. A cough clears the upper part of the breathing tube of phlegm, mucus or any inhaled foreign body. It is worth remembering that, if a child suddenly starts to cough with no other obvious signs of infection, a breathed-in foreign body, such a piece of food, may be the cause. But normally, cough clear up on their own and should not be dosed with strong medicines, unless prescribed by a doctor.

Causes

Most childhood cough starts as part of an obvious respiratory infection the commonest being a cold. A cold can be caught at any age from birth onwards and coughing is nearly always one of the symptoms. The infection of the cold can spread through the tubes which make up the lower respiratory tract. In the larynx, or voice-box, this can cause laryngitis. Infection of the trachea, or windpipe, will cause tracheitis, and infection in the lungs will cause bronchitis or pneumonia. Small children who are prone to bronchitis whenever they get a cold, may also develop wheezing. This can be diagnosed as wheezy bronchitis or, sometimes, as asthma. A cough may last for several weeks after a cold. In this case usually a noisy bark without any rattling noise and no sputum will be present. It will be worse at night when the child is lying down. This happen because, after a cold, the nose and sometimes which, during the day, can be cleared by blowing the nose, sniffing or swallowing (where the stomach can neutralized it harmlessly). At night time, however the discharge trickles down the back of the throat, irritates the entrance to the lungs, and sets off a reflex cough. The reflex prevents the discharge from entering the lungs and so prevents more serious problem arising. Sometimes, other factors, such as enlarged adenoids, a chronic infection of the sinuses or an allergy, can cause a similarly persistent discharge down the throat and so result in a long-lasting cough which is worse at night than in the day. Another cause is whooping cough which has once again become widespread as fewer children are being immunized against it. When it starts, the infection is often very like an ordinary cold but, gradually, the cough gets worse especially at night. Bouts of coughing, during which the child’s face goes red, followed by being sick or a characteristic whooping, make the diagnosis more obvious. Measles is another common cause of coughing. When a child first gets measles, he will suffer from a runny nose and a cough, and the eyes become pink. Small white spots inside the mouth appear followed by a rash on the body. A cough which starts suddenly, without any other signs of infection may be caused by a foreign body which has been breathed in and become lodged in one of the tubes leading to the lungs. Young children often put small toys in their mouths and can quite easily swallow sometimes or breathe it in through the nostrils. A child of any age can breathe in a small piece of food or a titbit such as a peanut. If such an accident happens, it is important to see a doctor any foreign body that remains in the lungs can cause serious infection. Another cough that has no signs of infection is the habit tic. A child who, for example, may have some emotional problem can develop a persistent, nervous cough. Whether or not the child has a habit tic will become apparent if the child stops coughing whenever happily occupied or asleep.READ MORE

Cough-Symptoms,Complication & Treatment

Symptoms

Noisy, dry, barking cough are common and not usually serious. They often stat during a cold and are more persistent at night when children lie down. Sometimes, often start during a cold and are at night, a spell of dry coughing may be the  start of an attack of asthma. Later, the child may get wheezy, although in many children coughing rather than wheezing is the symptom of asthma. A less noisy, rattling cough which leads to sputum being coughed up or swallowed, occur with bronchitis or pneumonia if part of the lung has collapsed. Such a cough also occurs when a foreign body gets into the lung and is also a symptom of cystic fibrosis.

Complications

Where the coughing is caused by an inhaled foreign body, this can lead to severe bouts of coughing and, if the problem is acute, the child may go blue and start choking. Even if this does not happen, however, the incident may be followed by a high temperature a few days later. If this happen it means that part of the lung has become infected. A young baby who catches whooping cough can become very ill indeed. Nearly all deaths from whooping cough occur during the first year of life. The baby may develop lung complication, inhale vomit after a bout of coughing or suffer from insufficient food if frequent bouts of coughing are followed by vomiting. Any child who develops a croupy cough should get medical treatment at once.

Treatment

As far as possible, the cause of the cough should be treated, not the cough itself. Antibiotics are used for treating infections such as sinusitis, bronchitis, tonsillitis and pneumonia. Nose drops, decongestants and antihistamines can be used to treat allergies that cause runny noses. Special drugs are necessary for asthma. A foreign body in the lungs needs urgent medical attention and a habit cough needs understanding of the child’s problem, not medicine to stop the cough. The majority of cough will clear up as soon as the cause disappears or is successfully treated. Coughs caused by colds are quite normal and will keep on happening all through childhood.

Diphtheria

What Is Diphtheria ?

Diphtheria is now uncommon that is has unfortunately become all too easy to forget that the germ is still around. But small outbreaks of diphtheria do still occur and children who have been immunization are at risk. Diphtheria is caused by a virulent germ called the Corynebacterium diphtheria or Klebs-Loeffler bacillus. It can be spread in various was: by direct contact with an infected person; by using their clothing or towels’ by contact with a carrier of the disease’ or by drinking contaminated milk.

Symptoms

Children between the ages of two and five years old are usually affected. At first the illness resembles severe tonsillitis with a high temperature and swollen red throat. Small white spots appears on the tonsils, spreading and joining together to from a grayish-white membrane. This spreads up towards the nose and down towards the throat become enlarged. Breathing becomes difficult and eventually the airway can get completely blocked, causing suffocation. The toxin produced by the bacteria may spread throughout the body to affect the heart muscles – possibly causing heart failure – and the kidneys. Paralysis of the muscles of the palate, eyes, eyes, back, abdomen, arms or legs also occur.

Treatment

Early diagnosis is essential for effective treatment. Any delay makes the disease more likely to be fatal. Swabs from the nose and throat are taken and analyzed, and once the diagnosis has been made the child must be kept in bed and will usually be given antibiotics. In addition, the child must have diphtheria anti-toxin’ the sooner this is given, the greater the chance that the child will survive.

Recovery

Skilled nursing is essential as recovery and convalescence are slow. There is also the danger that the patient, already weakened by diphtheria, may contact other infections, such as severe broncho-pneumonia, which could be fatal. Although diphtheria is extremely serious, with prompt treatment the chance of survival are fairly good.

Prevention

Parents should be aware that the rarity of diphtheria is due to the widespread immunization of children and that all children must continue to be immunized in the first year of lfe to protect them and to ensure that the disease does not regain the foothold it once had.