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COUGHING & colds
Most coughs are caused by viruses and it
is your body’s way of clearing your
airways. When your throat is irritated
by something, you may get a dry or
tickly cough.
Other symptoms may develop and include:
fever, headache, aches and pains. Cold
symptoms may occur if the infection also
affects the nose. Symptoms typically
peak after 2-3 days, and then gradually
clear. However, the cough may persist
for up to 4 weeks after the infection
has gone. This is because the
inflammation in the airways caused by
the infection can take a while to clear.
If you smoke the cough may take longer
to clear.
An average primary school child has 3-8
coughs or colds per year. Sometimes
several coughs or colds occur one after
the other.
SELF CARE: What you can do for
yourself
Suck a ‘boiled’ sweet or sip hot ‘honey
and lemon’ drinks. This will give a
temporary relief. Don’t smoke. Avoid
smoky rooms. (Avoid smoking near
children). Put your hand over your mouth
when you cough and tell your children to
do the same. Use extra pillows at night.
With babies and children, raise the head
of the bed or mattress by 4in (10cm).
Try steam inhalation: breathe in steam
from a bowl of hot water. For children
make the bathroom steamy and sit with
them for 5 minutes. (The bathroom should
be as steamy as a Turkish bath).
Applying menthol (ie. vicks vaporub or
olbas oil) on the chest or under the
nose can reduce coughing when trying to
sleep at night.
Sometimes there maybe a temperature
associated with the cough/cold. Try
decreasing the temperature with
paracetamol or ibuprofen. If the
temperature is not coming down or
persists then consult your Doctor.
Antibiotics are not usually advised.
Antibiotics do not kill viruses - they
only kill bacteria. Antibiotics do not
usually ease a cough caused by a virus.
They may even make symptoms worse as
they sometimes cause side-effects such
as diarrhoea, feeling sick, and rashes.
Contact your doctor:
• if you cough up
mucus with blood in it
• if your breathing is painful,
wheezy, loud, or if you are short of
breath.
• if your cough lasts more than 2
weeks
• if you have a high temperature and
a cough and this goes on for more
than 5 days.
Children:
All the above reasons and:
• if your child has a high
temperature and appears unwell
• if your child has acute problems
with his/her breathing which you
can’t understand
• if your child’s breathing is very
fast and this makes him/her pant
Contact your doctor
immediately:
• if your
breathing is painful/if you have
chest pain
• if your child’s breathing is very
fast or the child is using a lot of
effort to breathe/grunting
• If you notice that your child’s
lips are bluish in colour
• If you are a known asthmatic and
are not improving on your usual
medication
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