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How to treat chest congestion in a child?

Dr Satish Saluja
Consultant Neonatologist,
Sir Ganga Ram Hospital,
New Delhi

Q: Sir, My elder child is 4 3/4 years old. He is suffering from chest congestion. Since birth he had problem of cough cold chest congestion regularly. When we were staying in Vadodara , Gujarat. We need to give him nebulizer when he had chest congestion. Sometimes twice a day on once a day. This was required 4 to 5 times a year.But since last 3 years we shifted to Panipat. He didnt face such problem due to less polution & dry climate.. But due to recent rains & then sun rising lead to the problem again . So we had to give him nebulizer again. Is there permanant solution to this problem ? Beacuse when he is suffering from cold cough he couldnot play easily. He is getting tired much early.

A:Your child is suffering from hyperactive air way disease, which in a laymans term is respiratory allergy which manifests bas recurrent cough, colds and may be wheezing. Since mother has a similar problem, it means he has a inherent tendency to have these symptoms. There is no permanent cure but it can be treated effectively by inhaled medications as well as with nebulisers. We may be able to reduce the episodes by minimizing exposure to triggers like dust, smoke etc.