Propping yourself up may quiet your cough long enough to help you fall asleep. "Some people do well with a couple of pillows or sleeping in a recliner chair," says Brent A. Senior, MD, professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. "Try it for a couple of nights; it might be worthwhile."
Things you can try to get through the night: 1) Run a cool-mist humidifier in your child's room for a few nights. 2) If your child is over 12mo, give 1tsp of honey (preferably buckwheat honey). This has been shown to be more effective than cough suppressants in children.
Pillows to the rescue
Whilst in bed, prop up your little one with pillows so that their head is slightly raised. It's easier for irritants to trigger their cough when they are lying down, sitting up will also help to drain any mucus away and ease discomfort.
Shift your sleeping position.
Propping yourself up may quiet your cough long enough to help you fall asleep. "Some people do well with a couple of pillows or sleeping in a recliner chair," says Brent A. Senior, MD, professor at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.
“Elevating your head is probably the best sleeping position,” she notes. “Whether it's by adding another pillow or raising the head of your bed, this can help your cough by not allowing drainage to collect at the back of your throat too much.”
Lying a patient prone on their front can improve 'ventilation' and open-up these partially deflated areas. Lying prone can improve breathlessness and help get more oxygen into the body. Lying prone can also help your cough to be more effective. This helps with clearing out any secretions that are in your chest.
Signs and symptoms of a chest infection
a persistent cough. coughing up yellow or green phlegm (thick mucus), or coughing up blood. breathlessness or rapid and shallow breathing. wheezing.
After an incubation period of 1 to 3 weeks, pertussis infection typically progresses through three distinct stages: the catarrhal phase, the paroxysmal phase, and the convalescent phase.
It interacts with cold receptors in the nose and throat, helping to stop coughing. Vicks VapoRub contains 2.6% menthol to help stop constant coughing fast. Vicks VapoDrops are also an effective remedy for coughs. Allow 2 drops to dissolve slowly in your mouth to help stop constant coughing.
A bronchitis cough sounds like a rattle with a wheezing or whistling sound. As your condition progresses, you will first have a dry cough that can then progress towards coughing up white mucus.
What does a pneumonia cough sound like? This will depend on the type of pneumonia you have and be either a dry or chesty cough. Bacterial pneumonia is more serious and often results in a gurgling sound when breathing and mucus or phlegm when coughing.
Don't suppress a productive cough too much, unless it's keeping you from getting enough rest. Coughing is useful. It brings up mucus from the lungs and helps prevent bacterial infections.
“There's not much risk unless you are holding your cough for days rather than minutes,” he says. “The risk of infection is only associated with patients who have a suppressed cough reflex and this is a chronic condition over months.”
Some coughs stick around after a cold or flu resolves — for up to 2 weeks or more — because your bronchial nerves are recalibrating. They may have been sensitized by the initial infection to react to the slightest stimuli. So even a very minor irritant such as dust could set off a reaction, says Omid Mehdizadeh, MD.
When we obtain good posture, your chest naturally opens up to allow space in your lungs, giving your diaphragm the room it needs to function correctly. As the diaphragm works into full expansion, all your organs are being massaged, rolled and churned, allowing a new supply of blood, fluid and oxygen.