Very often, mothers complain of nighttime coughing attacks in the child, when in the daytime the child seems to be healthy and does not cough at all, and at night he suffers from attacks, causing panic in the parents. The reasons for a child’s coughing night can be quite a lot, but every possible reason should be carefully considered, since the consequences of such a child’s cough can be very dangerous for the baby. Of course, a cough speaks of the body’s struggle against an ailment, so the struggle should not be aimed at the cough itself, but at eliminating the main reason for its appearance.
Pastel irritants
It is likely that the baby’s cough is allergic, and it occurs at night only because it is at this time that the stimuli are near the child: in the crib or in proximity to it. Perhaps the child has developed an allergy to the feathers with which the pillow is stuffed, or to the sheepskin wool from which the blanket is made. Perhaps the allergen is inside the mattress or just in a children’s bed poor-quality synthetic underwear. It is also possible that the child may be allergic to washing powder or rinse aid, with which the mother carefully erases the child’s bed.
Dry air
This is a fairly common cause of nightly dry cough in many children living in apartments with “battery” heating. It is easy to calculate this reason: such a night cough appears in a child in the cold season, beginning in late autumn, when there is a cold snap and heating is added to the apartments, and by summer this cough usually passes without a trace. Hot batteries are dried by air, which dries out the airways of the child and intensifies the cough. In such cases, it is necessary to lower the temperature in the house, ventilate the room well before going to bed, and if possible, buy a high-quality humidifier. But we must not forget that an air-humidifying device requires careful care and disinfection, otherwise it will become a source of dangerous bacteria and will cause even greater harm to the health of the child. Humidifiers are also contraindicated in children with asthma, without the recommendation of a doctor.
The beginning of the development of dangerous diseases
Even a night cough may indicate the onset of a child’s development of diseases such as whooping cough and bronchial asthma. A long, painful, dry cough, reaching the onset of vomiting, in which the face turns red, and a whistle is heard on inhalation and noise may indicate whooping cough. In asthma, coughing occurs in the morning, and in addition to coughing, wheezing is observed. Asthmatic cough is worse not only at night, but also with physical exertion, although it can be quite asymptomatic in children. And if the child also has a genetic predisposition and among relatives there are asthmatics or often sick with bronchitis, then the baby should be immediately shown to an allergist. In the absence of treatment, these diseases progress rapidly and pose a considerable danger to the health of the child.
Residual event or developing SARS
Quite often, children’s nocturnal cough is caused by developing or untreated viral diseases, as well as a residual phenomenon after illness.
If a child has just had a cold, and after careful treatment prescribed by a doctor, the child has night cough for some time, then you should not worry – within 1-1.5 weeks he must go through on his own.
If some signs of a cold are observed during the daytime, and at night the child coughs violently, this indicates the onset of SARS, sinusitis, pharyngitis or rhinitis in the child and parents need to seek help from a pediatrician.
Gastrointestinal problems
Gastrointestinal reflux can also lead to night cough in a child, but it is much easier to suspect this disease in older children, because the child will often complain of heartburn.