Patient's question:
A 7-year-old child went swimming and choked on water on July 28. In August, he had a dry cough and took medicine, had injections, and received intravenous fluids, but it was ineffective. Later, he only had a slight dry cough. On September 18, he had an X-ray and was found to have pneumonia. He was hospitalized for 12 days with intravenous fluids, but it showed no significant effect. On October 2, he was transferred to Quanzhou Children's Hospital for 6 days of intravenous fluids. He still had a bit of dry cough, and on October 7, he was discharged and started taking medicine again, which he is still doing now. He is much better, but he still coughs at night. This pneumonia was entirely a dry cough without phlegm. He didn’t have a fever. He was in good spirits and had a good appetite.Doctor's answer:
The most common cause of a child's cough is infection. If the cough is frequent or lasts less than three days, a urine test should be conducted to check for bacterial, viral, or mycoplasma infection. Based on the results of the urine test, medication should be administered accordingly.The doctor should perform a lung auscultation or take a chest X-ray to check for bronchitis or even pneumonia. If pneumonia is present and oral medication is ineffective, intravenous fluid treatment may be necessary. It is also important to monitor if the cough lasts for an extended period. If the child has a history of allergies, it is possible that the cough is due to allergic bronchitis. In such cases, it is essential to identify and avoid allergens through careful testing to determine exactly what the child is allergic to.