An ongoing cough could be related to an environmental trigger or to a pathogen/infection. Environmental triggers might include contact with cigarette smoke or to pollution. However, there are also illnesses that can cause a chronic or ongoing cough e.g., respiratory tract infections, asthma, bronchitis, and croup or whooping cough. Therefore, it is important to consider it in combination with other symptoms.
A runny nose is when there is streaming mucous (or slime) coming from your baby’s nose. For some babies, it may seem like they have a constant runny nose, however this can be perfectly normal and may just be the result of your baby having a back-to-back cold or viral infection. Therefore, it is important to consider it in combination with other symptoms.
Wheezing, or noisy breathing, is a high-pitched, whistling sound, which happens when the small airways become narrow, making it difficult for a baby to breathe. It is a common problem in babies, and in general, babies and children wheeze more often than adults because of differences in the size of their airways. It can be due to a chronic illness such as asthma, a respiratory tract illness, a cold virus or to food allergy. Therefore it is important to consider it in combination with other symptoms.
Respiratory issues such as an ongoing cough is commonly caused by an infection. Therefore, an ongoing cough should only be considered if it exists in the absence of an infection (or in combination with other symptoms) and has persisted for 1 week or more.
Once completed, this chart should be reviewed by your baby's healthcare professional.
