Why Is My Baby Coughing? 8 Possible Causes and When to Worry
If your child's temperature is 100.4 degrees or higher and they look sickly, call your doctor. Also call your doctor immediately if your baby is 4 months old or younger and they have any signs of fever; even a slight fever is serious in babies.
Baby Cough From Croup
Usually caused by a viral infection, croup makes the lining of the trachea swell up and closes the airways, which leads to breathing difficulties in babies.
What croup sounds like
A barking cough
Symptoms of croup
The most telling croup cough symptom: hearing your baby coughing at night with a barking noise (the sound is hard to mistake) and difficulty breathing. The seal-like barking cough appears when your baby inhales (not on the exhale).
Croup typically affects children under age 5 and often begins with a normal cold or sniffle earlier in the day. After you first hear your baby coughing in sleep, croup should clear up in three or four days; if it doesn't, call your doctor.
Croup treatment
First try to calm your child. Then consider one of the following techniques to ease their breathing:
- Run the shower, close the bathroom door, and let your child breathe in the steamy air.
- If it's a mild evening, take them outside; the damp air should make it easier for them to breathe.
- Have your child breathe the air from a cool-mist humidifier if one is available. Cool air from the fridge or freezer can be helpful as well.
Baby Cough from COVID-19
Babies usually have mild or asymptomatic cases of COVID-19, but they can also develop a wide range of side effects, including a dry or wet cough. Symptoms generally appear within 2-14 days of exposure to the virus, and they often resemble a cold or flu.
What COVID-19 sounds like
Dry and continuous cough—though wet coughs are also possible. Some babies get a barking cough that resembles croup.
Symptoms of COVID-19
The symptoms of COVID-19 vary widely. Aside from cough, babies may experience fever, runny nose, shortness of breath, decreased feeding, changes in behavior, vomiting, diarrhea, or other symptoms. In rare cases, COVID can lead to severe illness that requires hospitalization.
