4.3.3  Treatment for no pneumonia: cough or cold

A child with ‘no pneumonia: cough or cold’ does not need an antibiotic. You should give the mother advice about good home care. Teach her how to soothe the child’s throat and relieve the cough with a safe remedy such as breastmilk for exclusively breastfed infants, or home fluids such as tea with honey or fruit juice. Cough syrups are usually harmful so advise the mother that she should avoid using these. Advise her to watch for fast or difficult breathing and to return to the health post if either one of these develops in the child.

A child with a cold normally improves in one to two weeks. However, a child who has chronic cough (a cough lasting more than 21 days) may have tuberculosis, asthma, whooping cough or another problem. You should refer the child with a chronic cough to the hospital for further assessment.