Better understand cough with phlegm in infants

Various diseases are prone to be experienced by babies, and one of them is cough with phlegm. Although not a worrisome condition, cough with phlegm can make a baby feel uncomfortable and fussy. Therefore, parents need to understand how to properly handle cough with phlegm in infants. Viral and bacterial infections are a major cause of phlegm cough that is often experienced by infants. Some examples of infectious diseases that can attack the baby's respiratory tract are whooping cough, croup cough, bronchiolitis, and pneumonia. In addition to infections, cough with phlegm in infants can also be caused by several conditions, such as asthma, allergies, respiratory tract irritation, increased gastric acid, exposure to pollution such as cigarette smoke, or from swallowing certain objects.

Efforts to Cleanse the Lungs and Throat

Coughing is the body's natural reflex to cleanse the respiratory tract of mucus, dust, or food debris that is still stuck in the throat. Cough itself can be divided into two types, namely dry cough and phlegm cough. Dry cough is the body's effort to relieve itching in the baby's throat. Meanwhile, cough with phlegm is the body's effort to remove mucus from the lungs and throat. This condition often occurs if the baby has a cold or mucus flows from the nose to the throat (postnasal drip). Not infrequently, coughing in infants is accompanied by fever, sore throat, loss of appetite, nasal congestion, and red eyes, which make babies fussy.

Various Ways to Relieve Cough with phlegm in infants

Although phlegm or phlegm contains white blood cells that function to help fight germs, if coughing up phlegm in the baby is left constantly, it will collect phlegm in the baby's throat so that it interferes with breathing. Therefore, parents need to know how to relieve coughing in infants. The trick is as follows:

• Increase your baby's fluid intake

When the baby has a cough with phlegm, you should provide adequate fluid intake. This step is to thin the phlegm and to help the baby's body fight infections that cause coughing up phlegm.

• Enough rest

A sick baby will easily become fussy and have difficulty resting. If you have this, the baby will suffer from cough with phlegm longer. Therefore, try to get the baby enough rest, so that the condition of his body is strong enough to fight infections that cause coughing up phlegm.

• Moisturize the surrounding air

In addition to the two ways above, you can relieve cough with phlegm on the baby by moisturizing the surrounding air. This method is believed to reduce mucus in the throat and help the breathing of your child.

• Keep baby from pollution

When a baby is coughing, it is important to keep him away from pollution, such as cigarette smoke or dirty air. This is to prevent the worsening of irritation and coughing that is experienced, and help so that your child can rest well.

Keep in mind, avoid giving over-the-counter drugs without a doctor's prescription. In addition, avoid giving honey to babies under one year old to relieve cough. This is to avoid the possibility of babies experiencing botulism. Although there is no need to worry too much about coughing up phlegm in infants, but beware if the sputum starts to change color to green, yellow, or brown with a smell. Colored and smelly phlegm can indicate an infection and requires immediate medical attention. In addition, consult a pediatrician if the cough with phlegm in the baby does not improve after five days, the cough gets worse, difficulty breathing, there is wheezing, cough makes the baby difficult to eat and drink, or is accompanied by a fever of 38 degrees Celsius for babies under the age of three month, and 39 degrees Celsius for babies under 6 months. No need to overreact to respond to cough with phlegm in infants, but still monitor the conditions so that they can readily take the necessary handling steps.