How to help your child return to health.

If your child is coughing, this shouldn't be a reason to panic. But it is often a reason to visit your doctor. Children often have a harder time protecting themselves against pathogenic germs, so be sure to give your child extra help too.

How to ease your child's recovery:

• Give your child lots of liquids.
  However, avoid carbonated or citrus drinks, because their acid can be painful on raw areas of the mucosa of mouth and throat.
• Make sure that the humidity in your child's room is high enough.
  Ensure that the air is not only humid, but clean too. Additional irritants such as cigarette smoke make a child suffer even more with more frequent coughing. Regular ventilating replaces used, germ-laden air, while your child's body is supplied with fresh oxygen and the mucous membranes are moistened.
• Be patient and remain calm.
  Especially young children may suffer from repeated infections. Understandably, this can be very taxing for the parents, and a cause for anxiety. But staying calm helps yourself and your child.
• Talk to your doctor to find an effective treatment of the illness and/or its symptoms.