Cough is one of the most important and common complaints of respiratory diseases. In fact, cough is a protective reflex that plays an important role in clearing secretions and foreign substances in the respiratory tract. Coughing is very important to protect respiratory health. Although cough is mostly seen in lung diseases, it can also occur due to non-pulmonary reasons such as reflux, medications and heart diseases.
Cough in children is usually associated with viral infections and usually resolves spontaneously. Cough after a flu infection; It may last up to 10 days in 35-40% of school-age children and up to 25 days in 10% of preschool children after respiratory tract infection. In the 2-3 week period after a viral infection, the cough reflex becomes hypersensitive (hyperreactive) and harmless stimuli such as smell, exercise, and temperature changes easily stimulate the cough.
Cough types according to duration:
Cough lasting less than 2 weeks in children is called acute cough. Acute cough is most often associated with viral upper respiratory tract infection. Duration for chronic or persistent cough; Depending on the guidelines, it varies between 3-12 weeks. But mostly in children, a cough that lasts longer than 4 weeks is called chronic cough. Therefore, children who complain of cough for more than 4 weeks, that is, about 1 month, should definitely be taken to the doctor.
If children produce phlegm when coughing or hear the sound of phlegm in their chest/throat, it is called phlegmy (wet) cough. If there is no phlegm sound when coughing, it is called dry cough.
Types of chronic cough:
1-Specific Cough: It is a chronic cough that occurs mainly due to an underlying physiological cause (mostly lung disease).
Diseases that most commonly cause specific cough in children;
Lung-related causes: Asthma, lung infections (pneumonia, bronchitis), foreign body aspiration, recurrent small aspirations into the lungs (gastroesophageal reflux disease, swallowing disorder, larynx diseases), bronchiectasis, eosinophilic lung diseases, space-occupying lesions)
Extrapulmonary causes: Heart diseases, ear, Esophagus diseases, medications, tic cough, psychogenic cough, upper airway diseases
Of these, especially asthma, gastroesophageal reflux and upper airway diseases (upper airway cough syndrome) should be investigated as a priority.
2- Non-specific cough: It is a cough for which no underlying cause can be found as a result of the examinations. It is usually a dry cough and there are no specific cough symptoms. In most cases, nonspecific cough occurs after viral infections and there is increased cough receptor sensitivity. Most of these patients recover spontaneously.
In children with chronic cough, specific causes of cough should be considered and investigated in the presence of some clinical and laboratory findings. These;
Sputum (wet or productive) cough
Presence of blood in sputum along with cough
Presence of wheezing, shortness of breath (at rest or with exertion), chest pain
Recurrent lung infection
Beginning in infancy
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Beginning after suffocation
Concomitant heart disease, autoimmune, immunological, neurological and developmental disease
Developmental retardation, feeding difficulty
Chronic fever
On examination, clubbing, wheezing (wheezing) ), crepitus, chest wall abnormality
Abnormality in chest x-ray or respiratory function tests
Children who have any of the above, especially with a persistent cough, should see a doctor. It should be taken away.
Treatment of persistent cough is the treatment of the underlying cause. Cough suppressants should not be given to children with a cough that does not go away unless the underlying cause is found.
Smoking at home can cause recurrent respiratory infections and cause a persistent cough. Therefore, families with children with persistent cough should not smoke.
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