Cough Remedies...

Although I have not tried it I read recently that rubbing Vick's Vapor Rub on the bottom of their feet will stop the cough. I started asking around and those who have tried it say it really works.

My daughter age 5 has the same thing. It is quite a nuisance huh? Like you said, I think it bothers us more than them. But, what I've found to help at night especially is a humidifier and a spritz of Chloriseptic (I think that's what's it's called). That spray that you use for sore throats. It's like it's a little tickle in her throat she said so, that has definitely done the trick. Other thing I tried was the vicks plug-in at night but she doesn't really have the plugged nose with it so, it hasn't helped with the coughing. The spray worked the best when it was just that dry cough.

Someone else mentioned Olba's and my husband loves it. For our daughter (she is 3 also and has a cough now) we use Chestal. It's natural and has honey. Honey alone may do the trick too.

Vicks on the chest and bottoms of feet seem to work for my kids. I've also been told by my Dr to give Delsym cough medicine but only at night. She advised letting them cough during the dad. I don't think it totally gets rid of the cough by itself but if I give them cough medicine, vicks and have the humidifier in their room it seems to do the trick.

Good Luck :)

WE swear by putting Vicks (the regular, not the baby version) on the bottoms of the kids' feet. Just slather it on, then put on footie pjs or socks, and within the hour they usually stop coughing. If the cough is really bad, it will come back about 2 or 3 in the morning--if that's the case, we either let them sleep through it if they can, or reapply. The pediatrician totally approved this method for us.

I think they say children over 2yrs can have cough meds but I am not 100% sure what types. I would call your peds office. My suggestion is to have a humidifier running in her room at night while she sleeps or naps. I have noticed my 18 month old daughter has been coughing a little more lately, our house is a lot more dry than it is in the Summer time, so I run her humidifier pretty much every night. That keeps her room moist and helps her to sleep better--also helps her during the day to not cough as much.

Good Luck! Happy Holidays!

I had just read not too long ago to put Vick's on the feet and cover with socks. I haven't used it personally, but heard other friends that had and say it does indeed work...

Eucalyptus essential oil... just one drop on her chest and/or the bottoms of her feet! But don't just pick up something from the store, chances are it has alcohol in it.

Use a humidifier or vaporizer. That is the only thing that really makes a difference with my boys' coughs.

Hi M.,

It could be that it's dry in your house. Do you have a humidifier?

Could be an allergy?

Is she on any meds?

Keep asking questions and by process of elimination, you can usually find the answer.

J.

Your daughter's cough sounds like what my 3 year old son gets during the winter- dry, barky. He is considered to have asthma and sees a pulmonologist. It may not be the same thing, but I would take him to the doctor as it may be "reactive airways" and a simple nebulizer medication like albuterol and/or pulmicort can help tremendously. Also, this is the first winter that I took him to a homeopath who started him on a liquid remedy. He takes 1/2 tsp. 2x/day and he has not developed the cough at all since starting the remedy.

my children and I both get this. I know that we all seem to get this when it is either really dry in the house and/or we have been around smoke. I would be willing to bet it is allergy related. I would run a humidifier. Ours has been running non stop for the past month and it really seems to help. Also,drink lots of water.

I guess the old-fashioned steam in the shower,vaporizer,and good old Vick's vapor rub would be a start.This may not make it stop,but should be comforting and alittle love can do wonders.Best of luck to you and your daughter.P.S.-have her up her fluid intake.Applesause and pudding cups to moisten her throat.My kids always have liked a big chocolate milk when they have a sore throat.

Hi M.,

There is a cough syrup called "Olbas" that my family swears by. It's from Switzerland and it is made of honey and a blend of herbs. No articificial colors or sweeteners; it's all natural. You can find it at most co-ops, Whole Foods, and health food stores.

You could also give her some warm water with a splash of lemon juice and some honey in it.

I second the humidifier

The old wives tale swore by honey and rum. Rum is not considered safe now but there is some truth to the honey. Recently a study was done that proved that honey is a natural cough suppresent. Buckwheat honey specifically. I just give my DS a spoonful of honey and w/i 5 min his cough is better. It's worth a try!

I would get a humidifier. They say a spoonful of honey helps stop cough..I haven't tried it, but it is worth a try.

I'd try putting a humidifier in her room...that helped with our daughter! Good luck!

Is your house really dry? If so a humdifier will solve the coughing if it isn't connected to anything else. Our house has forced air heat which can be really dry and a humidifier really helps. It works wonders for my LO's in the winter when they have had dry coughs that were not colds, flu, etc.

Have you tried a humidifier in her room? Sometimes that does the trick. I have also heard (haven't tried it yet on my kids because they haven't gotten a cold yet this year) that putting Vicks Vapor Rub on the bottom of their feet and then putting socks on them WORKS AMAZINGLY WELL!!! My husbands co-worker told us about this and she says it is a the "cure" for coughs. My mom tried it on herself last month and she said it worked also. Weird huh...but as mommies most of the times we are willing to try ANYTHING :) Good luck!

I have found that a humidifier works wonders for winter time coughs! I put it in my kids' rooms at night and during nap time.

It the time of year when the air is dryer and with furnaces running it makes it worse. Try a cool mist humidifier in the house and one in her room at night.

I too swear by the vicks on the feet! It usually seems to work for us. My 7 yr. old hates the smell though. He said to get the smelly stuff out of his room until I pointed out that it was his feet:) My kids generally sleep through the night when I apply it before bed.

The last time this happened the cough had gone on over a month so i finally took him in. He was getting tired of the vicks and i had finished off a tub of it on his feet. Turns out his allergies were acting up. Do you have a live Christmas tree in the house? Is the house really dry? Are you heating with wood? We started up the fireplace in November, about the time the cough started. We ended up refilling his singulair prescription. He is also using a saline nasal spray (the doc had given a sample of a prescription nasal spray but any time I had used those i would end up with a sinus infection so I didn't want to try it with my son).
Try a humidifer in the house/bedroom or put a pan of water on the stove to boil to get some moisture in the house. If the cough continues for quite a while then you might want to go in for a check up. In the meen time try the Vicks.