Irritant cough due to allergy

A irritable cough triggered by an allergy can be assumed if, in addition to the irritable cough, wheals appear on the body within a short time, the nose runs and the eyes water. In the worst case, the allergic reaction can lead to threatening shortness of breath if the respiratory tract becomes cramped. In the case of an allergy, it is important to administer antihistamine preparations that displace histamine from the histamine receptor.

Histamine is one of the main messengers of the allergic reaction. Irritant cough is often triggered by food allergies, allergies to house dust mites, animal hairs or moulds as well as by allergic asthma. The chesty cough is always particularly bad when the patient is exposed to the substance to which he or she is allergic. The irritable cough caused by ACE inhibitors, which has already been described above, is a pseudoallergic reaction that is not mediated by histamine but by other messenger substances.

Irritable cough during pregnancy and lactation

Many pregnant women are particularly careful when it comes to taking medication during pregnancy, and for good reason. Well-tried household remedies against chesty coughs are not a problem during pregnancy: Pregnant women should wrap their neck warmly, apply warm breast compresses and inhale several times a day to keep the irritated mucous membranes as moist as possible. You can find more information here: Breast compresses marshmallow and thyme provide relief.

They can be taken as tea or as lozenges. The usual amounts do not harm the unborn child. Even a hot lemon or a glass of hot milk with honey are completely harmless.

However, cough-relieving medication should only be taken after consulting a doctor. They should be taken cautiously and only for a short time. The concern that the unborn child will be shaken by the constant coughing is unfounded.

The amniotic fluid absorbs the coughing impulses and significantly reduces the movements. The same rules apply to nursing mothers with a dry cough as during pregnancy: Even during the nursing period, the usual household remedies and lozenges can be used, but cough-relieving medication should only be taken after consulting a doctor. In babies, irritable cough can occur as a symptom during or after a viral infection of the respiratory tract.

Viral infections in babies and small children can occur up to six times a year. Some household remedies can help here: a damp cloth on the heater or a pot of hot water in an inaccessible place in the child’s room humidifies the air and thus the respiratory tract. Another frequent symptom is a chesty cough in babies as a reaction of the body to harmful tobacco smoke.

Apartments in which a baby grows up should therefore be absolutely smoke-free. However, various other diseases can also be considered as triggers. Especially non-immune babies suffer from pertussis, the whooping cough.

A vaccination is possible from the 2nd month of life and is strongly recommended. Pertussis begins with the catarrhal stage, which lasts about two weeks: coughing, rhinitis, subfebrile temperatures and conjunctivitis give the impression of a normal cold. In the subsequent convulsium stage, which can last up to four weeks, the children suffer severe attacks with staccato coughing, blue discoloration of the skin and brief respiratory arrests.

Especially in very young infants the coughing attacks may be absent. In the last phase of the pertussis disease the cough attacks subside. The coughing attacks of whooping cough can be triggered by a mouth spatula in the throat area.

Treatment is with antibiotics. Bronchiolitis is a viral infection of the bronchioles, which occurs almost exclusively in infants. Typical signs are coughing attacks with shortness of breath, which can be recognized by retractions on the nostrils and between the ribs. A coughing attack can also be a sign of an absolute emergency, perhaps your baby has swallowed something that now hinders breathing.