COUGHING AT NIGHT

COUGHING AT NIGHT

Hints for Sounder Sleep

On Monday your son's sleep was disturbed by a dry, hacking cough. Since then, the cough has been keeping him and everybody else up. Now it's Friday night, and even the dog is howling.

Of course, you are doing your best to ease those nasty nighttime symptoms. You've rubbed some strong-smelling ointment on his chest, dosed him with a multi-symptom cough-and-cold medicine and turned up the heat in his room. Now you're wondering if you should ask the doctor for some antibiotics. Unfortunately, according to the experts, none of those measures actually helps to stop the coughing.

''The most common reason for a child's nighttime coughing is a viral infection,'' says Blake E. Noyes, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics in the Division of Pulmonology at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. ''And that's the kind of illness that can't be treated with antibiotics. ''

MEDICAL ALERT

When to See the Doctor It's important that your child be checked by a doctor to determine the cause of any severe or persistent cough, says Blake E. Noyes, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics in the Division of Pulmonology at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. ''Nighttime coughing may be due to a virus, a bacterial infection, asthma, something your child swallowed that is partially blocking the airway, irritating fumes or, in some cases, a more serious disease such as cystic fibrosis,'' he says. You should consult a physician, advises Dr. Noyes, if your child: * Coughs continually throughout the night. * Coughs up phlegm. * Has a fever. * Has difficulty breathing. * Has a cough that has lasted more than ten days.

Because coughing is an important mechanism for keeping the lungs clear, you don't want to stop it completely. ''If your child has a viral illness, his natural defense mechanisms are temporarily impaired. The cough helps keep the lungs clear of bacteria and other irritants,'' says Dr. Noyes. ''If you suppress the coughing completely, you are wiping away an important defense against a more serious bacterial infection such as pneumonia.''

Although in many cases it's best to leave a nighttime cough alone, doctors say there are steps you can take, when necessary, to make your child more comfortable.

Offer lots to drink. The traditional recommendation, ''Drink plenty of liquids,'' is still good advice when your child has a cough. ''Fluids such as juice, water or clear broth are some of the best expectorants around,'' explains Robert C. Beckerman, M.D., professor of pediatrics and physiology and section chief of pediatric pulmonology at Tulane University School of Medicine in New Orleans. Fluids can loosen up a dry, hard cough and help expel phlegm. And unlike cold medications, there are no side effects, Dr. Beckerman says.

''A hot drink, in particular, can be a soothing comfort when your child has a cough,'' says Dr. Noyes. But any type of drink will do. '' When kids get stuffed up, they tend to breathe through the mouth, which dries out the throat and leads to a cough. Just keeping the mouth and throat moist may reduce the coughing,'' he says.

Turn down the thermostat. If your child's cough strikes during the winter months when the house is heated, you should turn the thermostat down at night, not up. ''Hot, dry air will irritate a cough. But if you set the thermostat lower, the cooler air will preserve some humidity,'' says Naomi Grobstein, M.D., a family physician in private practice in Montclair, New Jersey.

Don't rush to vaporize. Although it seems sensible to add some humidity with a vaporizer, that's not always a good idea. '' Vaporizers are hard to keep clean,'' notes Dr. Beckerman, ''and they tend to be a breeding ground for mold and bacteria.'' If your child is allergic to mold or has asthma, a vaporizer could make the cough even worse, he says.

Skip the chest rub. ''Petroleum products, which create a warm feeling on the chest, do nothing to ease a cough,'' says Dr. Beckerman. And if the child inhales or swallows a chest-rub product, it could possibly lead to a form of pneumonia, he cautions.

Try an antihistamine. If you know that your child's cough is caused by an allergy, an antihistamine at bedtime may help him get some sleep. ''Allergic coughs may be helped by over-the-counter drugs such as Benadryl Elixir,'' says Dr. Beckerman. Be sure to read package directions to make certain the product is recommended for your child's age. For the correct dosage, follow package directions or consult your physician.

Choose the right cough medicine. ''If your child has been up for a few nights with a bad cough, you can try a cough medicine containing dextromethorphan and guaifenesin, such as Robitussin-DM or Vicks Pediatric Formula 44e,'' says Dr. Grobstein. ''Basically, any products with these two ingredients will do,'' she adds. This type of over-the-counter preparation will loosen up the mucus a bit and provide very mild cough relief. ''Dextromethorphan is not 100 percent effective,'' she says, ''but that's actually good, because you shouldn't try to suppress a cough entirely.''

Caution: Don't give potent cough medication to a child who is under one year of age, says Dr. Beckerman. ''The cough reflex is controlled in the brain stem, and if you give a very young child something to suppress it, you might also suppress breathing,'' he says.

http://www.motherna ture.com/ Library/Bookshel f/Books/50/ 32.cfm

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.
The service is provided as general information only, and should not be treated as a substitute for the medical advice of your own doctor.

Rest in Next

“Perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see Life with a clearer view again.”

Syed Misbahuddin