Question
An infant who is 70 days old started coughing a week ago, coughing several times a day; often with mucus but difficult to expel; the throat is red, without nasal discharge, and the temperature is normal. The child has been taking medication for a week, including bromhexine syrup, N-acetylcysteine syrup, ribavirin sprays for the throat and nose, antitussive and expectorant syrups, and nebulization with bronchodilator drugs to expand the airways, but the effects have been unsatisfactory. What should be done? Will it develop into lower respiratory tract disease? Will frequent coughing affect the development of its brain and other organs? The parents are very concerned, please experts answer generously, thank you!
Answer
Coughing itself is not an independent disease but rather a defensive reaction to clear respiratory tract foreign bodies. A light cough is harmless to the body and can be treated by removing the cause without using cough suppressants. However, when coughing becomes severe and causes discomfort to the patient, it may be appropriate to use cough suppressants. The causes of coughing are many and varied, including respiratory tract acute and chronic inflammation, foreign bodies in the respiratory tract, compression of the respiratory tract, allergic reactions, and stimulation of the pleura. The drugs used to treat coughing are mainly divided into three categories: antitussives, expectorants, and bronchodilators. Antitussives include: codeine, morphine, ciplox, cefixime, licorice mixture, etc. Expectorants include: mastic oil, ammonium chloride, potassium iodide, Mucinex, fuller’s earth, small cough nirvana syrups. Bronchodilators include: albuterol inhalers.