Question
A nine-year-old child has been experiencing a dry cough without phlegm for over ten days. The cough is worse upon waking up in the morning but less severe during the day. A hospital check-up showed no issues, and the child is currently taking Amoxicillin. Is this appropriate? (I suspect it might be due to kicking off the blanket while sleeping at night, could that be possible?) Please assist, thank you!!!
Answer
Hello: It is okay to take! Coughing itself is not an independent disease but a defensive reaction to clear foreign bodies from the respiratory tract. Mild coughing is harmless to the body and can remove the cause of the illness, so there is no need to use cough suppressants. However, if severe coughing causes pain, cough suppressants can be used as needed. There are many causes of coughing: such as acute and chronic inflammation of the respiratory tract, foreign bodies in the respiratory tract, compression of the respiratory tract, allergic reactions, and stimulation of the pleura, etc. Therefore, when encountering a patient with coughing, it is first necessary to analyze the condition comprehensively, find out the cause, and choose appropriate cough suppressants for symptomatic treatment on the basis of treating the cause of the illness. Cough treatments are mainly divided into three categories: cough suppressants, expectorants, and bronchodilators. Cough suppressants include: codeine, morphine, cough syrup, cough emulsion, glycyrrhizin compound, etc. These drugs are effective for mild inflammation of the respiratory tract and for dry coughs caused by irritation. However, some of these anesthetic drugs must be used under medical guidance. Expectorants include: myrtle oil, ammonium chloride, potassium iodide, expectorant syrup, holly berry, and small cough syrup. These drugs are effective for clearing excess mucus and thick phlegm from the respiratory tract. Bronchodilators…