Wheezing and coughing in children

There are a lot of children and babies who experience coughing and wheezing because they are very common as symptoms for various diseases. However, parents need not worry too much because it I not always the case that they point to a serious condition. It is important that they are not left untreated because coughing and wheezing are known to cause a lot of distress, especially in babies. Parents need to know that coughing is in most cases a normal and healthy reflex and it usually clears the airways in the throat and chest. When a child starts coughing and wheezing, there is usually no need to go to the hospital every time and there are a lot home remedies that parents can use in order to provide relief for their children. It is not the same with babies and babies usually require urgent medical attention, especially if the symptoms become more severe. It is not uncommon that in case of severe symptoms the child stops breathing. In case a child become distressed or the symptoms do not ease, it is important that parents take the child to the hospital immediately. Choking can also cause sudden coughing so parent should make sure that they are not choking. If that is the case, immediate emergency treatment is essential. Parents should also be aware that if the smoke in the house that will only increase the risk of respiratory problems in babies.

Causes

There are a lot of possible causes that led to coughing. However, some are more common than others. Cold and other similar viruses are known to be the common cause of coughing. Choking is another pretty common cause of coughing and it occurs suddenly. In case of barking, hoarse cough in most cases the cause is croup. Various chest infections like bronchitis for instance can be the cause of coughing as well. Chest infections are known to cause wheezing as well.Hay fever and allergy are known to cause coughing in cases when people are exposed to certain substances. Asthma cause coughing especially after exercise or during the night. Wheezing is also present in case of asthma. Apart from all these causes, whooping cough and pneumonia are not that common but cause coughing as well. When to seek immediate medical help?

It is important that children are taken to the hospital in cases when the child stops breathing during a respiratory attack. A parent should also take the child to the hospital in cases his or her child experiences breathing problems, his or her breathing is noisy, the skin changes the color, the child is unusually tired, choking occurs or a child has a fever.