Should children with cough sleep in air-conditioned rooms?

My three-year-old child has been coughing for about five days now. Does sleeping in an air-conditioned room make the cough worse? (Thanh Mai, 35 years old, Ho Chi Minh City)

Reply:

Coughing is a reflex of the child's body to the respiratory tract to remove respiratory irritants such as dust, mucus, viruses, bacteria. If your child has respiratory health problems, you can let him stay in an air-conditioned room but the temperature is stable at about 26-28 degrees Celsius.

Children should not be kept in air-conditioned rooms with temperatures between 16-22 degrees Celsius. Low temperatures will cause the air to be dry and cold, easily causing the child's respiratory mucosa to lose moisture, stimulating a more severe cough.

When the temperature is low, the blood vessels in the nasal and throat mucosa constrict, reducing blood supply to this area. Changes in local immunity create an opportunity for bacteria and viruses to attack, leading to more severe respiratory infections.

Children's bedrooms need to maintain a stable temperature; limit sudden temperature changes and temperature differences between the bedroom and outside because it can easily make the body unable to adapt.

Parents should use a fan when turning on the air conditioner, but do not let the wind blow directly on the child. Use a humidifier or add a bowl of water in the room to maintain humidity. Give the child water regularly, turn off the air conditioner 5-10 minutes before letting the child leave the room.

Do not leave your child in a closed air-conditioned room all day. Instead, parents can turn on the fan and open the door to let the air in the room circulate, limit the spread of viruses and bacteria, and help children adapt to the natural environment, create immunity, and increase resistance.

MSc.MD.CKI Nguyen Thi Thuc Nhu
ENT Center, Tam Anh General Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City

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