Common questions from community
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Question
How come this is a problem? Is it someone’s fault?
Answer
There can be lots of reasons why a child gets lung sickness. Sometimes we don’t know why but it is not anyone’s fault.
Question
Is wet cough bad? /Will my child be sick forever?
Answer
It's normal for children to have a wet cough when they get sick. The cough should stop after a couple of weeks. If it's still there in 4 weeks, there might be an infection, and your child might need antibiotics. With the right medicine, your child will recover.
Question
Can the wet cough come and go?
Answer
If the cough comes and goes- meaning some days, there is no cough – then this means your child has got better in between. The cough needs to be checked by a doctor if it doesn’t go away after 4 weeks.
Question
They've always had this cough; it doesn't seem to affect them....
Answer
When children have early stages of chronic lung sickness the only clue is a wet cough that doesn’t go away. They are otherwise healthy. So even though it seems like they are ok and can keep up with their friends and sleep well, they can still be sick inside their lungs.
Question
I thought we don't give antibiotics for viruses
Answer
That is correct- we don’t give antibiotics for viral sickness, but sometimes after the virus goes away, children can get a secondary infection from bacteria – this is why doctors will prescribe antibiotics.
Question
How come we need to give the antibiotic medicine for a long time?
Answer
The bacteria in the lung can form a barrier or layer over it and it takes a long time for the antibiotics to do their job. The longer time for the medicine means all of the bacteria will be destroyed by the antibiotic.
Question
Can we use bush medicine?
Answer
It is important to talk to your doctor about the bush medicine you might want to use to check if it will interact with the antibiotic medicine.
Question
Is smoking bad for cough?
Answer
Yes smoking is bad for a child’s lungs and can make them more susceptible to getting chronic lung sickness.
Question
Can I stop once the coughing goes away?
Answer
It is important to finish the whole dose of the antibiotics even if the cough has stopped. This will make sure all of the bacteria in the lungs is destroyed by the antibiotic medicine.