My child is coughing. What should I do?
Coughing, in the vast majority of cases, is not a serious symptom. It is often associated with a mild upper respiratory infection, which is usually viral. It can be associated with an irritation in the back of the throat; and therefore in the vast majority of case it's not a symptom that we particularly worry about. But there are a number of conditions that are serious that can be associated with coughing. For a start, bacterial infections. So if the cough is associated with a high fever, the child is unwell, and it sounds like a chesty cough, there could easily be bronchitis, and hence you would need to consult the doctor, if you're worried about that triad of symptoms. If the cough is associated with shortness of breath, it could easily be associated with asthma, and hence, if that is happening, again you would need to consult with your doctor. And then there is another reason whereby you should probably consult a doctor, and that is if the cough is interfering with the normal lifestyle of a child. For example, if the cough doesn't allow the child to sleep, well then it's potentially happening in relation to something a little bit more serious and it would need to be looked at. If every time the child does some sports, he starts to cough, again it might be associated with asthma. So I think one needs to try and take a common-sense approach about the cough, and if you feel that the cough is interfering with any of the normal activities of a child, then you ought to do something about it.
