Question
The child is 5 and a half months old. The child has had diarrhea for the past few days. After applying ‘Dinggui’er Stomach Plaster’ without improvement, the child took two days of “Good Baby” anti-inflammatory medicine. The diarrhea varies in severity throughout the day, with several bowel movements, with the stool being mostly normal at night, and diarrhea-like during other times. After 5 days of diarrhea, the child began to cough. Initially, it was just a few coughs a day, but after the third day, the coughing at night became severe, sometimes accompanied by vomiting (vomiting had occurred before each feeding).
How should I handle this situation?
Answer
Children generally do not suit the use of Chinese herbal cough suppressants such as codeine, guaifenesin, and promethazine. The respiratory system of infants is not fully developed; their cough reflex is poor, the airway lumen is narrow, the vessels are rich, and the cilium movement is poor, making it difficult for phlegm to be expelled. If strong cough suppressants are given upon coughing, although the cough may temporarily stop, the expectoration function of the mucosal cilia and the contraction peristalsis function of the bronchial smooth muscle are suppressed, leading to the accumulation of a large amount of phlegm in the trachea and bronchi, which affects respiratory function. Federal Cough Syrup contains codeine; attention should be paid to the dosage and timing of administration. For more severe stimulating dry coughs, such cough suppressants can be chosen. However, they should be used on the basis of treating the primary disease.
Cough medicine that combines expectoration and expectoration is suitable for children’s coughs; syrup is better than tablets. The syrup adheres to the pharyngeal mucosa after administration, reducing the irritative effect on the mucosa and achieving a cough-suppressing effect itself. When taking it, do not dilute with water or take it with water.
Regarding vomiting, vomiting is one of the common symptoms in children and can be caused by digestive system diseases or seen in various diseases of different systems and organs throughout the body. It can be a single symptom or one of the complex symptoms of various serious diseases. Therefore,
