Patient's question:
Still only 12 days old, I've noticed that my child has been coughing up phlegm recently. During feeding, sleeping, and other activities, they sound like they're wheezing, but there's no actual coughing—just a constant feeling of shortness of breath. What should I do to treat this?Doctor's answer:
Infants and young children lack the ability to cough and expel phlegm. Phlegm transported to the throat by the cilia of the bronchial mucosa cannot be expelled. During breathing, the airflow through the throat produces a gurgling sound. Medications must be administered to infants on time. Infants often have a runny nose, nasal congestion, and sneezing. This is because the nasal passages of infants are narrower than those of adults, and their sinuses are not yet mature, with particularly sensitive nasal mucosa. Therefore, after sneezing, when exposed to cold air or crying, they often have a runny nose and nasal congestion. Additionally, the nasal mucosa of infants, like that of adults, produces a normal amount of secretions daily. If the secretions at the front accumulate for a long time, they become dry and hard, blocking the narrow nasal passages of infants. With each breath, the infant's nose is congested. Sometimes, when an infant sneezes, they expel the mucus from the nasal passage.