Dry cough in a child at night can appear for various reasons.. Such a cough tires the baby, does not let him or his parents sleep.. A strong and persistent cough harms the body, therefore it requires treatment. However, before treating a cough, you need to understand why it occurs..

Nocturnal dry cough is not always dangerous, but it interferes with the normal sleep of the child, and therefore undesirable. An important role in the excretion of foreign substances is played by bronchial mucus - sputum.. Dry cough does not produce sputum. If the cough is dry, the physiological clearing function is not performed. Night cough harms the child, tires, disturbs sleep and rest.

The appearance of coughing attacks at night has several explanations:.

At night, the parasympathetic nervous system is activated, in particular the vagus nerve, which triggers the cough reflex.. Activation of the vagus nerve leads to increased secretion of gastric juice. In a horizontal position, the likelihood of acidic contents entering the respiratory tract increases. At night, in a horizontal position, mucus drains and accumulates in the throat, which is produced in the upper respiratory tract. If the child has a stuffy nose, he breathes through his mouth at night. This leads to dryness of the mucous membrane and activation of the cough reflex.. Coughing at night is more difficult than during the day. Because of the cough, the child does not sleep well, cannot restore strength. Causes of dry cough at night in children Night cough is not a specific symptom, it can occur with various diseases. The cause of dry cough in children can be inflammation of the upper respiratory tract, childhood infections, and even extrapulmonary pathology..

Diseases of the nose and paranasal sinusesRhinitis and sinusitis are a common cause of cough in children. Exacerbation occurs at night if the child breathes through the mouth. You can suspect rhinitis and sinusitis in a child by the following symptoms:.

nasal congestion; mucous discharge from the nose; headache; subfebrile body temperature. The most common cause is infection (bacteria and viruses) and allergies.

Adenoids and adenoiditis A common cause of dry cough in preschool children is adenoids and adenoiditis. Adenoids are hypertrophy of the nasopharyngeal tonsil, and adenoiditis is its inflammation.

With adenoids, the child's nasal breathing is disturbed, so he breathes through his mouth. This leads to drying of the mucous membrane of the pharynx, which provokes a cough.. Cough with adenoids without sputum, it is accompanied by other symptoms:.

nasal voice; nasal congestion; half-open mouth; snoring, sleep apnea syndrome. With adenoiditis, the production of mucus in the tonsil increases. It flows down the back of the throat and provokes a cough.. Attacks are especially strong at night, since the child does not swallow mucus, so it accumulates in the throat. If the child is given water to drink, the attack will decrease..

Acute laryngotracheitis In acute laryngotoacheitis, the cough can also worsen at night.. In addition, there will be other symptoms:.

shortness of breath; hoarse voice. If a child has difficulty breathing due to coughing, you should immediately seek medical help.. This may indicate swelling of the larynx.

PertussisWhooping cough is a bacterial infection that mainly affects children.. With whooping cough specific cough:.

intensive; paroxysmal; frequent (more than 15–25 attacks per day); may result in vomiting. With whooping cough, attacks occur during the day, but worsen at night.

Whooping cough is a dangerous disease, at the first sign of the disease, you should consult a doctor.

Pertussis, a disease caused by bacteria that requires antibiotics. In an upright position, the symptom may be completely absent..

With GERD, gastric symptoms come to the fore:.

heartburn; belching sour; pain and burning in the chest. The disease manifests itself in older children, babies rarely get sick.

First aid for an attack. How can you help your child:.

Give warm drink. You can give your child warm tea, milk with honey, mineral water without gas. This will soften the cough, alleviate the condition of the child.. soothe. If the child is small - pick up, shake. An older child can be given a local anesthetic lozenge or mint to suck on.. If you follow these simple recommendations, in most cases, you can quickly remove a coughing fit.. But these are temporary measures that will not completely eliminate the pathology..