When coughing kid on the arm

When coughing kid on the arm and calm down

14.02.2012

Many parents have experienced it before - at night, the child begins to cough heavily and to gasp for air. In such a case, parents should keep calm. The Foundation for Child Health advises to take the child in his arms or to sit upright so that it can breathe easier. An open window can also be helpful.

Do not panic at Pseudokrupp
Despite the dramatic situation - child with shortness of breath - parents should absolutely keep calm. You can hug and calm the frightened child. It is important to ensure that the child is sitting or held upright to help him breathe.

Often the nocturnal coughing fits with shortness of breath are pseudo-squirrels, according to the Foundation for Child Health. „During the day the child was still very happy and slept in the evening still very quiet. But suddenly a frightening sound is heard from the nursery, "says Berthold Koletzko, chairman of the Foundation for Child Health, explaining the symptoms, advising him to open a window so that the child can breathe in the fresh, cool, humid air Add water to the bathtub to allow the child to breathe in humid indoor air, and an open fridge door can also provide relief when the child takes in the cold air, after which the child should have a cold drink.

What is pseudo-group?
Under „real“ Krupp was once understood as the laryngeal diphtheria, which is now almost eradicated by immunizations in Western Europe. Pseudokrupp has the same symptoms as „real“ Krupp, however, without a diphtheria infection. The airways are narrowed, so that in addition to the strong coughing fits also respiratory distress occurs, reports the Foundation. Often it is preceded by a cold with a cold.

Cigarette smoke and air pollution increase the risk for pseudo-squads. As a rule, children are affected between six months and six years. The biggest risk is for two-year-olds. Normally a seizure is benign and the next morning everything is fine again. But there are also life-threatening forms. "If the airbrush gets worse and the lips, hands, or tip of the nose turn blue, the child has to go immediately to the nearest clinic, it would be wrong and dangerous to wait for the doctor or a doctor in such cases. Koletzko reports.

When pseudo-squad first appears, the child is transferred to a clinic for safety, where it is monitored until the next morning. In rare cases, a child does not suffer from pseudo-squamous but from a laryngitis that can be life-threatening. The child gets a fever and has heavy dysphagia due to the pain. The voice sounds bright and quiet, but not hoarse. The general condition of the child is rapidly worsening. The Foundation strongly advises parents to call an emergency doctor in this case. Children who suffer from pseudo-group have only slightly elevated temperature and no dysphagia. (Ag)

Also read:
Coughing can indicate serious illness
Self-treatment for cough

Image: Sabrina Gonstalla