How to identify types of coughs in kids

The dry hack; the chesty heave; the pithy bark - these types of coughs and more represent myriad infections and conditions. If your child is coughing, do you know which kind of cough can be fixed with love and rest, and which kind needs a doctor?

Dr. Danielle Grenier, Medical Affairs Director of the Canadian Pediatric Society,
says most kids will pick up "the virus of the day", and present with a stuffy nose and dry cough. "Coughing itself is not dangerous, and a normal reflex to get rid of secretions," she explains. When a cough drags on past the 7 to 10 day mark, that's when something else is going on.

You know your child best - what do they look like? What are they acting like? If your child has a fever, is not feeding or eating, pale and especially fatigued, too noisy or wheezy when they breathe, it could mean they have an infection that needs medical help.

What's in a cough?
Below are some common ways a cough will present itself, and what could be the underlying issue:

1. The long coughing fit where your child or infant cannot draw breath
Possible cause: Pertussis, commonly known as the whooping cough
Pertussis is caused by a bacteria, not a virus like most coughs. Kids and adults tend to emit a 'whoop' sound between coughing fits as they try to draw breath, whereas infants tend to pause before turning red or blue from lack of oxygen according to Dr. Grenier. While most Canadians are immunized against pertussis as infants, this awful infection is experiencing a rise in the Canadian population. "Real whooping cough is 100 nights and 100 days of coughing," says Dr. Grenier. "The best protection is getting your immunizations up to date." This includes infants, kids, teens and adults.

2. The dry cough
Possible cause: Seasonal virus, allergies, asthma
Often feeling like a tickle in the back of the throat, a dry cough is not in itself dangerous, but a natural and normal reaction to secretions in the respiratory tract. Dr. Grenier suggests lots of fluids to help alleviate the dry cough, and discourages overuse of cough medicines. "They need to get rid of the secretions," she explains. "It's not the cough we worry about - it's a cough with respiratory distress [we worry about]."

3. The nighttime 'barky' cough, with wheezing while inhaling
Possible cause: Croup or laryngitis
Croup - or laryngitis - is an inflammation of the larynx (voice box) and trachea (windpipe) commonly brought on by a viral upper respiratory infection, or in some cases allergies. Croup is accompanied by stridor, a wheezing sound as the child breathes in. Dr. Grenier says to watch carefully for stridor, which means your child is experiencing respiratory distress.

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