• Give medicines only as directed by your child's health care provider. Do not give your child aspirin because of the association with Reye's syndrome.
• Put a cold steam vaporizer or humidifier in your child's room. This may help keep the mucus loose. Change the water daily.
• Offer your child fluids to loosen the mucus.
• Be sure your child gets rest. Coughing is often worse at night. Sleeping in a semi-upright position in a recliner or using a couple pillows under your child's head will help with this.
• Wash your hands after coming into contact with your child.
prevention
• Keep your child's vaccinations up to date.
• Make sure that you and all of the people who provide care for your child have received vaccines for flu (influenza) and whooping cough (pertussis).
seek medical care if:
• Your child's symptoms do not improve as soon as the health care provider says that they should. Tell your child's health care provider if symptoms have not improved after 3 days.
• New symptoms develop.
• Your child's symptoms appear to be getting worse.
• Your child has a fever.
seek immediate medical care if:
• Your child is breathing fast.
• Your child is too out of breath to talk normally.
• The spaces between the ribs or under the ribs pull in when your child breathes in.
• Your child is short of breath and there is grunting when breathing out.
• You notice widening of your child's nostrils with each breath (nasal flaring).
• Your child has pain with breathing.
• Your child makes a high-pitched whistling noise when breathing out or in (wheezing or stridor).
• Your child who is younger than 3 months has a fever of 100°F (38°C) or higher.
• Your child coughs up blood.
• Your child throws up (vomits) often.
• Your child gets worse.
• You notice any bluish discoloration of the lips, face, or nails.