Patient's question:
These days, the baby has been crying a lot, and whenever they drink milk, they start crying. Upon closer inspection, there is white foam in the baby's mouth. It has been like this for two days, with white foam constantly in their mouth, looking like it's mixed with milk. They still burp.Previous treatment history and effectiveness: What medicine should the baby take? What kind of assistance is needed: ...
Doctor's answer:
Sometimes, you can hear a "gurgling" sound in the throat, but no phlegm is visible being coughed up from the mouth. When a child's phlegm is thick and difficult to cough up, the following methods can be used to expel phlegm.Inhalation with a nebulizer: This typically involves adding drugs such as trypsin and gentamicin to physiological saline, which is then aerosolized and inhaled into the respiratory tract. This helps to reduce local inflammation and dissolve phlegm, making it easier to cough up. The treatment is usually administered for about 15 minutes each time, 2–3 times a day.
Steam inhalation: Suitable for older children, this method involves pouring hot water into a cup and directing the child's mouth and nose toward the steam, inhaling it into the trachea while breathing. Each session should last about 20 minutes. Steam inhalation helps dissolve phlegm in the trachea and urinary tract, reduces congestion and edema in the respiratory tract mucosa, and aids in the resolution of inflammation and the expulsion of phlegm.
Pharmacological expectoration: This is one of the most common and effective methods. Western medications such as brown syrup, which contains ammonium chloride, can stimulate the gastric mucosa reflexively, enhancing the excretion of phlegm from the urinary tract and making it easier to cough up. Bromhexine can break down mucopolysaccharide fibers in phlegm, reducing its viscosity and making it thinner, thus facilitating coughing.
Traditional Chinese medicine or prepared Chinese herbal formulas have a unique cooling effect, but they require a diagnosis-based treatment approach. If the patient has a fever, yellow and thick phlegm, and a yellow, greasy tongue, it indicates a heat condition, and formulas like Houzuo San are recommended. If the patient has no fever, white and sweet phlegm, and a white, greasy tongue, it indicates a cold condition, and formulas like Banxia Lu are suitable.