What To Do If Your Baby Has a Cough?

Coughing means that your baby’s body is trying to get rid of a certain irritant. Common causes of coughing in babies are whooping cough, a cold, allergies, asthma, or pneumonia. We recommend going to a pediatrician if your child has serious symptoms such as coughing up blood, high fever, or labored breathing. However, if your child’s symptoms are not serious, there are several home remedies you can try to help ease their cough. This article will discuss what to do if your baby has a cough.

Keep their heads elevated while they sleep

If your child has a cough, you could elevate their head with pillows while they sleep at night. However, keep in mind that children under one and a half should never sleep with pillows in their cribs. A better alternative would be to place a pillow or a rolled-up towel under their mattress where they would normally lay their head.

Ensure they drink plenty of fluids

When your child is sick, they might not want to eat any food you offer them. In this case, we recommend you provide plenty of fluids to help keep the airways moist. Water also helps the body fight off infections. We recommend encouraging your child to drink water every hour or two.

Get rid of the irritant

Coughing is the body’s natural response to an irritant. One of the best ways to prevent your child from coughing is to avoid exposing them to irritants such as cigarette smoke, pet fur, and dust particles from carpets. If anybody in the house has strep throat, they should also avoid sneezing or coughing around the child to prevent contaminating the air.

Run a humidifier in the room

If the baby is not drinking enough fluids, you could moisten the air in the room using a humidifier. The moist air will also help loosen the mucus in the nose and prevent it from dripping down to the throat. We recommend purchasing a cold air humidifier as they are safer for young children.

Use saline drops

Mucus from your young one’s throat could travel to the throat through the back of the nose and cause postnasal drip. This drip causes your child to have a wet cough. It would be best to add two to three drops of saline solution to the nose at least twice a day to ease their cough.

Give the child honey

Research has revealed that honey contains antibacterial properties that can help fight coughs and infections in children. If your child has a cold or is experiencing bouts of coughing, you can offer them a spoonful of honey to ease their symptoms. However, you should never offer pure honey to a child less than one-year-old due to the risk of botulism.

Wrapping up

When your baby is sick, you are bound to get stressed. You won’t also get a good night’s rest because your young one will be too troubled to sleep. Research reveals that children can get up to eight colds per year. Fortunately, you will be better positioned to figure out what works to help keep their cough at bay as time goes by. We hope this article has been helpful.