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A barking cough is understood as a cough attack without sputum or with a minimum amount of it. It is accompanied by a loud sound that resembles the barking of a dog. Such a cough can be triggered by infectious and non-infectious diseases. You should not be afraid of it, you need to find out the cause and start treatment.
From a physiological point of view, a dry barking cough is not useful, since it does not lead to the removal of sputum, does not protect the throat, but only irritates the mucous membrane of the respiratory tract, strains the bronchi and causes pain.
Barking cough occurs in both adults and children over the age of 4 months. Most often, preschoolers under 5 years of age suffer from it. Severe attacks may culminate in vomiting and difficulty breathing. If we are talking about a child, then laryngeal edema and suffocation are not excluded. Therefore, it will not be possible to do without a doctor. Sometimes you need to seek medical attention immediately.
Causes of barking cough
Barking cough is not a disease in itself. It acts as a symptom, so in order to completely get rid of it, and not suppress it for a while, you need to look for the cause of the attacks.
Laryngitis
For inflammation of the larynx at an early stage, a slight cough caused by a sore throat is characteristic. A day later, the attacks intensify, the cough is accompanied by a characteristic sound like a dog barking. Worries about sore throat, but sputum is not separated.
The intensity of the cough increases in the evening, at night. The severe course of the disease is accompanied by paroxysms, in which the cough manifests itself in the form of tremors following one after another. When it ends, the person takes a noisy breath.
Kurp
Diphtheria most often leads to the development of true croup. At the same time, the patient suffers from a barking cough, in between he takes short convulsive breaths, which are difficult. This symptom persists for about 3 days, after which it disappears. Patients with croup complain of a feeling of a foreign object in the throat, as well as a lack of air.
Respiratory infections
In the early stages of most cold infections, sputum does not come out when you cough.
A characteristic sound resembling the barking of a dog occurs with the following diseases:
adenovirus infection. Cough occurs 14-20 days after infection. Increases at night, interferes with normal sleep. The symptom is combined with the release of a small amount of sputum, conjunctivitis and rhinitis.
Parainfluenza. Swelling of the larynx and trachea leads to coughing.
Whooping cough. Convulsive barking cough worries a person at the peak of the disease. It is often provoked by laughter, bright lights, noise. Cough jerks alternate with breaths, accompanied by a whistle. The patient’s face becomes red, blood vessels often burst in the mucous membranes and in the conjunctiva.
Tracheal injury
With inflammation of the trachea, its receptors are irritated, which leads to the appearance of a rough barking cough. It is observed in diseases such as:
Laryngotracheitis. Cough manifests itself in the form of seizures, accompanied by fever, hoarseness. The symptom is worse at night and in the morning. Dry barking cough is observed at an early stage of the disease.
expiratory stenosis. A barking cough in this pathology develops against the background of infection, but remains even after treatment is completed. The impetus for an attack is physical stress, the ingress of dust and chemicals into the respiratory system. In severe cases, coughing can cause loss of consciousness.
Postponed tracheal intubation. Barking cough is the result of swelling of the walls of the larynx. It is observed in the first three days after removal of the tube, accompanied by shortness of breath, blue nasolabial triangle.
Stenosis of the bronchi and trachea. This is a congenital pathology that leads to coughing immediately after the birth of the child.
Allergy
Barking cough, which occurs in the morning or at night, most often accompanies bronchial asthma. Inhalation of cold air, transferred stress, physical overwork can become an impetus for an attack.
If the patient suffers from allergic laryngitis, then the cough haunts him during the day. At the same time, the patient’s voice is hoarse, he complains of discomfort in the throat.
Tuberculosis of the bronchi
Cough persistent, barking, disturbs the patient constantly. It gets worse as the infection progresses. Sometimes the attack ends with the release of sputum, it is thick and mucous. In addition to coughing, a person notes a decrease in working capacity, increased sweating, and shortness of breath.
Exudative pericarditis
A barking cough develops due to pressure on the airways by fluid that has accumulated in the heart sac. Its strengthening contributes to heart failure. Before an attack, a person experiences pain and a feeling of fullness in the chest. During a cough, the pain intensifies, gurgling and wheezing are heard, the veins in the neck increase, and blood pressure rises. To alleviate the condition helps to receive a vertical position of the body.
beryllium vapor poisoning
If a person inhaled vapors of beryllium, then he will experience a burning sensation and sore throat. After a few days, the barking cough will become less intense, the main thing is to exclude contact with a toxic substance. If this does not happen, then the cough will continue to intensify, bloody sputum will appear.
Occupational cough
Attacks can be associated with work in hazardous industries, when there are a lot of toxic impurities and substances in the air. Workers in the coal mining industry and other industries, where people are forced to stay in dusty rooms for a long time, suffer from a barking dry cough.
Barking cough with fever
If a barking cough is accompanied by an increase in body temperature, then with a high degree of probability it is caused by SARS, infectious pharyngitis, laryngitis, tonsillitis, bronchitis, whooping cough or influenza. It can also be caused by diphtheria and measles.
Most viral and bacterial infections are accompanied by the following symptoms:
Pain and sore throat.
Temperature rise above 37,5 degrees.
Redness of the throat.
Hoarseness of voice.
Increased fatigue.
Increased heart rate.
Tearing.
Sometimes when listening to the chest, the doctor detects wheezing. With viral infections, nasal breathing is difficult, rhinitis is observed.
If, in addition to coughing, a rash appears on the body, and the body temperature rises to 39 degrees, the development of measles can be suspected.
Barking cough without fever
Barking cough without fever may indicate diseases such as:
False croup. Acute stenosing laryngitis most often develops in children, it is rarely diagnosed in adults. An increase in temperature is observed mainly with croup, provoked by the influenza virus. If its cause is an allergy, adenovirus infection or parainfluenza, then there is no fever. Most often, an attack occurs at night, accompanied by increased excitability of the child, shortness of breath and a barking cough.
Attack of bronchial asthma. As a rule, patients are aware of such a diagnosis, so a sudden barking cough will not come as a surprise.
Heart diseases. The main pathognomic sign will be chest pain on the left side. It can radiate under the scapula and into the epigastric region. There may be a burning sensation.
Allergic reactions. The body temperature remains normal, but there are other signs of a violation of well-being: lacrimation, rhinitis, skin rashes. If it intensifies at night, it is possible that an allergic reaction occurs to the pillow filler.
Barking cough with or without runny nose
The combination of barking cough and runny nose most often indicates the infectious nature of the disease caused by viruses. The temperature may be absent, or rise to 38 degrees. Cough is provoked by swelling of the respiratory organs, mainly the larynx. Nasal mucus is initially light, but as the disease progresses, it changes its hue to green or yellow. When an infection enters the body, a person becomes lethargic, gets tired faster. Shortness of breath may occur.
Allergic reactions lead to a cough with a runny nose and watery eyes, but without an increase in body temperature. Often there is pruritus. Possible separation of clear liquid sputum.
Causes of a barking cough in a child
False croup. It is most often diagnosed in children 5-7 years old. The disease is accompanied by swelling of the mucous membranes and spasm of the laryngeal muscles. The breath is wheezing, the child coughs all the time. An attack of barking cough can last up to half an hour. The skin of the child turns pale, the nasolabial triangle turns blue.
Paragripp. This infectious disease most often affects young children. To relieve cough. The child sits down, with emphasis on the hands. During an attack, breathing is noisy, breaths are convulsive. There is cyanosis of the nasolabial triangle, pallor of the skin.
Entry of a foreign object into the respiratory tract. In this case, the cough occurs suddenly, against the background of general well-being. Suffocation is not ruled out, so measures must be taken immediately.
psychogenic cough. This state deserves special attention. This cough is often a response to stress and can be very intense. It occurs only during the day, during sleep or eating, the attacks of the child do not bother. There are no other symptoms indicating deviations in health.
Diphtheria. This is an acute infection caused by Leffler’s bacillus. The disease develops mainly in childhood, if the child has not been vaccinated with DTP. The disease is accompanied by barking cough, fever, sore throat. On the tonsils, a plaque of yellow or gray color is noticeable. The disease is deadly.
Causes of night cough in children
If the cough occurs only at night, the reasons may be as follows:
Croup (stenosis of the larynx on the background of laryngotracheitis).
Obstructive bronchitis. Barking cough occurs at an early stage in the development of the disease.
Bronchial asthma.
Pneumonia. At night, the cough intensifies, during the day it is also present, but the attacks are less intense.
Whooping cough. This is a dangerous and contagious disease that has a persistent course.
Reflux esophagitis.
Allergy to bed linen, dust mites, pillow or duvet filler.
Sleep in a smoky or dusty room with dry air.
Parasite infestation.
In children, a barking cough develops at night more often than in adults due to the special structure of the organs of the respiratory system. Their trachea is narrow, and its mucous membrane is richly permeated with vessels. The bronchi are also much smaller, and the muscles and elastic fibers are not fully developed. Therefore, all diseases that affect the organs of the respiratory system are more severe in children. The gaps in them overlap faster, which causes a barking cough and wheezing.
The most severe night cough occurs in children suffering from atopic dermatitis, bronchial asthma, and allergies.
Barking cough treatment
Since coughing is only a symptom of the disease, first of all, efforts should be made to eliminate the cause that provoked it. A person may be prescribed antiviral and antimicrobial drugs. With an increase in body temperature, antipyretics are used.
The main task is to translate a dry barking cough into a wet one. It is necessary to achieve relief of attacks, remove swelling from the mucous membrane of the respiratory system, and reduce inflammation.
For young children, cough preparations are prescribed in the form of syrups, including: [1], [2]
Omnitus, Sinekod, Codelac Neo. These butamirate-based preparations can be used in the treatment of whooping cough and other conditions in which there is no mucus in the respiratory organs. They affect the cough center located in the brain, reducing the intensity of attacks. For accurate dosing of the drug, a measuring spoon is included with it, which allows you to measure the right amount of the drug. The dose depends on the age of the child and the severity of the disease.
Gedelix. The main active ingredient in it is ivy extract. It allows you to translate a dry cough into a wet one, speed up recovery. It can be used to treat children from birth. Gedelix is used for bronchitis, tracheitis, laryngitis.
Tussamag. The main active ingredient is thyme herb extract. It is used in the treatment of bronchitis, tracheitis, tracheobronchitis, whooping cough. The drug can be offered to children older than a year.
The use of these drugs allows you to remove inflammation from the respiratory system, reduce irritation of the larynx, improve mucus discharge. It is good if the drug is based on herbal ingredients that act on the child’s body more gently and cause fewer side effects.
Adults can use pills to eliminate cough. To alleviate seizures, relieve inflammation and thin sputum, the following drugs are prescribed: [1], [3], [4], [5]
Tablets Stoptussin. They act as an expectorant and antitussive. They are used for dry cough caused by infectious and non-infectious causes, including SARS, influenza, laryngitis, pharyngitis, bronchitis. The drug is incompatible with alcoholic beverages.
Tablets Libeksin. They are based on prenoxdiazine. This substance has numerous effects: anesthetic, bronchodilator, reducing the activity of the respiratory center in the brain, but without its oppression. The drug can be used for acute respiratory viral infections, influenza, bronchitis, emphysema, for the treatment of night cough in patients with heart failure.
Ambroxol tablets. It is used to treat dry cough caused by SARS, influenza, chronic diseases of the bronchi and lungs, bronchial asthma, bronchiectasis. Age restrictions – 6 years (for tablets). When combined with antibiotics, Ambroxol enhances their effect, accelerating recovery.
With a barking cough of allergic origin, prescribe drugs such as: [1], [4], [5]
For thinning sputum: ACC, Mukaltin, Fluimucil.
To block the cough center in the brain: Sinekod, Libeksin.
To expand the bronchi and relieve spasm from them: Salbutamol, Berotek, Eufillin.
For the relief of allergy phenomena: Zirtek, Suprastin, Loratadin, Tsetrin, Tavegil, Erius.
All drugs listed in the article should be prescribed only by a doctor. They have contraindications, may interact with other drugs. When choosing the best drug for barking cough, the specialist will be guided by numerous factors, including: the age of the patient, his state of health, the cause of the cough, its duration, possible side effects, etc. It will not be possible to take them all into account on your own. Incorrectly selected therapy can lead to a deterioration in well-being.
General Tips
In order for attacks of barking cough to disturb less often and not be intense, you need to adhere to the following recommendations:
Ventilate the room.
Carry out wet cleaning in the room where the patient is located.
Do inhalation with a nebulizer. You can use regular saline.
Drink warm drinks, herbal infusions, if they are not allergic.
Perform a chest massage.
Do not overload the body with fatty and fried foods.
First aid for stenosis of the larynx before the arrival of an ambulance
False croup is a dangerous condition that can be fatal. Since young children are most often exposed to it, parents should know the rules for first aid.
The child must be taken to a room with high humidity, such as a bath. It must be in a vertical position. You can do foot baths or put it under a warm shower. If nasal breathing is difficult, vasoconstrictor drops are used.
The main thing is not to show your excitement to the child. Talk to him in a calm voice. When in a room, open a window to allow fresh air to enter.
The nebulizer helps to relieve the attack. You can fill it with saline supplemented with a vasoconstrictor for inhalation. This will relieve swelling and normalize breathing.
What is dangerous barking cough?
If a barking cough is caused by stenosing laryngitis, cardiac pathologies, bronchial obstruction, immediate medical attention is required.
Signs indicating that you need to call an ambulance:
Forced elevated posture with an emphasis on the hands.
Cyanosis of the nasolabial triangle.
Sharp blanching of the skin.
Whistling on exhalation, noisy breathing.
Involvement in the respiratory act of auxiliary muscles, retraction of the intercostal spaces, supraclavicular space.
Pre-fainting state, or loss of consciousness.
A barking cough develops in a child under one year old.