20 Month Old with a 3-4 Week Cough

A little late in responding; however, my son, 19months, had the same issue for 9 weeks.
We did all the tests, took all the above medication until I refused the last prescription the doctor wrote.
We did a chest xray to rule out pneumonia, but like the doctor said in the first place, it was nothing, and though it went on for a while and kept us up most nights, it went away on its own.
Not saying you should wait this long, but don't want to medicate everything unless it's totally necessary...then your child's immune system won't develop properly.

Hope allergies are not the issue and it goes away on its own.

Good luck!

Hi Kristy! the cough could be from many things...but I would look at any potential allergens. If he has clear mucus, it sounds like he is not "sick", but could have post nasal drip from allergies. I have not experienced this with my child, but I have with myself. I have very sensitive lungs. We took a fun getaway to Las Vegas, and I paid for it for 6 months after as just the second hand smoke from the casinos caused me to be up for night after night after night coughing. Look around your home environment and see if you have added ANYTHING new. Many things can outgas. As adults, we build up tolerance, but those beautiful new lungs are not as tough. Have you put in carpet, bought a new mattress or furniture..tried a new home cleaner with bleach, etc. Have you added anything new to his room? As the last mom said, think about food allergies as well. I know dairy products cause excess mucus, so maybe try to omit those for a week or so from your sons diet while you try to clear him up. Good luck, I am sure he will be just fine..really sounds like an allergy to me.
A. C. :)

Hi Kristy,

It sounds like your baby may have a food allergy. Does he have some minor digestion problems as well? You can do some research of your own on this topic. Some of the major allergic foods are dairy, wheat, and eggs. You may want to start by eliminating all dairy for 2 weeks and see what happens. If nothing start with the next food and so on. Good luck

Kristy

We lived the exact same scenario for 6 months! We had one doctor tell us "I have 25 years experience, give him cough med with codeine. He'll stop coughing and sleep through the night" Guess what...he was WRONG! My son NEVER wheezed until he came down with pneumonia and that was actually heard as a "rattle"; he was diagnosed as a severe persistant asthmatic
We finally had a doctor tell us to get to an allergist. Our son was diagnosed with multiple food allergies. That's what stopped his cough! That and nebulizer treatments, daily.

You didn't say what area you are in, but if you need an allergist recommendation, I have a great one!
Feel free to email me, I would love to talk to you about your son

L.