Coughs are pretty common in toddlers. This is because they are exposed to a lot of bacteria and viruses. While most coughs go away on their own, there are instances when your toddler won’t stop coughing. This can be worrying, but it’s important to remember that exposure to these various assaults helps your child develop their immune system.
It’s important that whenever your child won’t stop coughing, you try to find out what might be causing it and help them get enough rest so they can recover quickly. Most coughs last between one and two weeks and are usually dealt with at home. In this article, we look at what to do when your toddler won’t stop coughing even after two weeks.
Why Your Baby Might Be Coughing
A cough is the body’s normal response to an invasion in the lungs or throat. Several conditions will pop up in your search for the term, ‘my child won’t stop coughing.’ Here are some reasons why your child might be coughing, to begin with:
- Illness – These include respiratory viruses like a cold, flu, or bacterial infections like bronchitis and pneumonia. For these, you might need cough medicine for kids.
- Allergies – Some children over two years can cough as a result of seasonal allergic reactions. Others might also be allergic to pet dander, dust, mold, and other household allergens.
- Reflux – Other children have gastroesophageal reflux disease. The condition can cause coughing and gags due to irritation in the throat caused by stomach acid.
- Whooping cough – Also known as pertussis, this is a serious bacterial disease that can affect children and adults. You will also need cough medicine for kids to treat this cough.
- Asthma – Asthma is a well-known respiratory condition that usually causes coughs while children are trying to sleep.
In most instances, many coughs in children will go away on their own, sometimes without any cough medicine for kids. You might not even need to see the doctor. If you are not comfortable with just letting it resolve on its own, there is a lot of over-the-counter cough medicine for kids that you can buy, and the cough will go away.
A simple search of the term, ‘my child won’t stop coughing,’ might give you suggestions when it comes to what to buy. However, it is important to understand that a cough that won’t go away should be attended to by a pediatrician.
That said, if your child won’t stop coughing and the cough is accompanied by any other serious signs like high fever or signs of breathing difficulty, you shouldn’t waste time. You must see a pediatrician immediately.
Signs of Breathing Difficulty
If your child won’t stop coughing, you should evaluate their breathing. First, remove their shirt and watch them as they are as comfortable as possible. You can make observations while they play with a table or sit in front of the TV.
Count how many times they breathe in a minute.
This is important to assess whether your child is using more effort to breathe than usual if your toddler won’t stop coughing.
- With their shirt off, see if their skin pulls in at any of these areas as they breathe: above the collar bone, between the ribs, and on the tummy, below the ribs.
- Check if the child’s nostrils are flaring. This is an indication that they are finding it difficult to breathe.
- If they are still nursing, watch to see if they need to frequently pause to catch their breath as they are drinking milk.
If your child won’t stop coughing and they have any of these signs, contact your pediatrician immediately and share the details of what you noticed. You can also check out other signs of breathing difficulties by searching, ‘my child won’t stop coughing.’ If you consider the situation to be an emergency, don’t hesitate to call an ambulance.
How to Decode Different Coughs
Many of the coughs experienced by children are mild, and they might not mean that anything serious is wrong with their health. However, some are serious; therefore, it helps to know some of the more common types. If you are dealing with a cough that won’t go away, watch out for the following signs:
- Dry cough – These are usually a result of asthma or allergic reactions. Most dry coughs are quite persistent but not productive.
- Wet cough – Wet coughs usually sound pretty bad. They are usually due to mucus breaking apart in the chest.
- Whooping cough – If your child doesn’t stop coughing to the extent that they aren’t able to nurse or make a “whooping” sound afterward, it might be a symptom of pertussis. This is a dangerous bacterial infection, and it usually occurs in children who haven’t been vaccinated against it.
Regardless of the cause, if your toddler won’t stop coughing or they show signs of distressed breathing, you should see a doctor right away. Even if you think it’s “just” a cold, these signs should prompt you to handle the cough as an emergency.
What You Can Do
Unfortunately, most cough medicines are not safe for your child. Therefore you can only use the following home remedies if you are dealing with a cough that won’t go away:
- Offer liquids – breastmilk or formula will do. If the baby is older than six months, you can give them water, even watermelon. Hydration can help moisten the throat and relieve coughs.
- Change your baby’s position. Certain positions make coughs worse, especially if the cough is being caused by mucus or acid reflux. Allow the baby to spend more time upright than lying down.
- Additional treatments – Flush your child’s nose gently with saline to remove mucus. For older babies, you can also give a small spoonful of honey to coat their throat.
- Use steam. Place a cool-mist humidifier in your child’s room as they sleep.
If Your Child Won’t Stop Coughing
If you are dealing with a cough that won’t go away, your child will need to be examined by a pediatrician. Such coughs might be due to asthma, allergies, or GI issues. All these conditions will not usually be resolved without treatment.
When to See a Doctor
There are several signs that indicate a serious cough. Call a pediatrician specialist if your toddler won’t stop coughing, and they display the following:
- Mild Cough that has been going on for more than ten to 14 days
- Has a fever lasting three days or more.
- Coughs following physical activity
- Coughs that occur at night
- Non-stop coughing after food.
- Coughs accompanied by dehydration.
- Signs of noisy breathing, rattling, wheezing, and whistling.
- Shows skin retractions at the neck, chest, or belly while breathing
- Has difficulty breathing
- It sounds like they are barking or whooping.
- Displays signs of dizziness, excessive sleepiness, inappetence, or trouble crying.
- Can’t swallow food easily
- Coughs up blood
- Has pale or blue skin or lips
If any child under three months of age starts coughing, you should take them to see a doctor.
Have you had experience with any of the symptoms in this article? If yes, please leave a comment below. Most coughs will resolve on their own. However, if your child keeps coughing or you don’t understand some of the other symptoms, feel free to reach out to us.
Our pediatric expert, dr Ana Puga, has a lot of experience dealing with coughs in children, and she will certainly point you in the right direction. Also, if you want to get notified every time we post something about children, subscribe to our mailing list.
References:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/symptoms/cough/basics/causes/sym-20050846
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493221/
https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/conditions-and-treatments/diseases-and-illnesses/cough
