Carrickfergus Health Centre | Taylor's Avenue | Carrickfergus | Co. Antrim | BT38 7HT | Tel: 028 9331 5955

Belfast health and Social Care Trust: Coughs and Colds

Coughs and colds are extremely common in young children. Over the first year of life, your child is likely to have up to eight of these episodes. Coughing is the body’s natural way of clearing infection.

Most of these are likely to be caused by a virus, which means that antibiotics are of no benefit (and may actually result in side effects such as rash and diarrhoea, as well as increasing the risk of them developing  antibiotic resistance). See the video on antibiotic awareness below.

Having green snot or a noisy chest does not mean that your child has an infection requiring antibiotics.

It can sometimes be harder to identify the cause of a cough. In general, if it is associated with a runny nose, red eyes, ear pain or a wheeze, it is far more likely to be viral. Noisy chests are also common in young children with viral infections.

Coughing can wake a child in the night but does not mean the illness is more severe.

Children requiring antibiotics usually appear more unwell, with difficulty breathing, drowsiness, cold hands and feet and possibly blue lips – your child may need urgent medical attention if any of these features are present. Use the guidance below to help you decide what to do.

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IMPORTANT PATIENT NOTICE:

We are changing our clinical IT system between the dates of: 4th December and 11th December.
Please ensure you have ordered your prescriptions ahead of these dates. Please note there may be limited appointments available during this time.
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.