2Yr Old with Cough

A friend just told me about a remedy she said works--I've yet to try it. Rub Vick's vapo rub on her feet and cover with socks before bed. Supposed to work.

Triaminic Cold and Cough strips for Children is labeled for kids 2yrs and over. The strips are great. I can even give them to my child through out the night without waking him. It is a tiny paper that melts on thier tongue.

I use Triaminic Daytime Cough and Cold starting at age 1 and the doctor said it was fine if used in moderation. My 2 year old just got over a bad cough and there are 2 things that worked the best for her- putting infant vicks on the bottom of her feet and on her chest before bed and giving her a spoonful of honey. The doctor actually recommended the honey and it worked a lot better than the cough medicine. I was worried about the sugar keeping her awake, but it didn't.

Whole Foods has a couple of natural cough remedies/syrups for kids. For my 2 yo son, the "Chestal" brand works well.

Good luck

Coughs are misserable especially when they are sleeping. You can try a warm drink right before bed like lemon water with honey or a lemon tea with honey. That really helps my son. Steamy bathrooms or even a warm bath will help too.

But she can also take robostusm (sp?). It is 1/2 tsp for a two year old. It is dosed on the bottle itself. If you get the one with the expectorant in it, she will get rid of the junk in her lungs much faster. My pediatrcian will give me a dose for diamtap to give my kids only at nighht to help with the nasal drip. That way she isn't getting as much down the back of her throat at night.

Good luck. I know how misserable it is being sick and having sick kids when you are pregnant. I'm due in a few weeks too and we are just getting rid of this cold that has been going around. If you guys can't kick it naturally go to the doctor and get antibiotics. Both my cold and my sons turned into sinus infections. I waited 4 weeks before I went it. I wish I had gone sooner.

The best thing we found for our son at that age was steaming up the bathroom and taking our him in for 15 minutes, making sure he was drinking plenty of clear liquids (while your child can, of course, have milk, milk often thickens mucus, so adding more clear liquids helps), giving him some honey, using a cool mist humidifier at night, and propping up his bed/crib so that his head stayed higher. You can either put raise the whole crib/bed or put a wedge or pillow under the mattress. I would caution against using any kind of vapor rub or vapor inhalant. I asked the pharmacist about these products when my son was that age because I didn't know if I should get one that he inhaled straight out, or that went on his chest, or in his humidifier. The pharmacist told me about studies that had shown that those vapors can cause an altered state of mind in children that young. That doesn't mean that will absolutely happen, but the pharmacist said he would never use those products for his own young kids. You might want to google using vapor products with young kids before actually buying any. Actual pharmacists (not just the people at the register in the pharmacy) have advanced degrees in pharmacology, and I don't recall if I searched online for more info, but I did decide not to give my son any of those products, and we made it through. Will your daughter drink warm (not hot), weak herbal tea? Make sure it's truly herbal tea (a tisane) to make sure it has no caffeine. Decaffinated tea can still have trace amounts of caffeine. The process does not remove 100%. Anyway, warm, clear liquids can loosen mucus. I hope some of this helps!

Hi B.,

I would give her some honey (if there's no allergies) and make sure you have a humidifier running to keep the moist air. That's what works for my son.

Good luck and God bless
N.

Personally, I've never found anything better than steam. I'd shut the doors and windows in the bathroom, open the shower door, turn on the hottest water and sit in there for about 20 minutes. Just don't leave her in there alone obviously.

B.,

You can give her a spoonful of honey. It works wonders for a cough and helps you get better quicker! I talked with my son's pediatrician and he said it is just as good as an over-the-counter cough suppressant/expectorant. You can give it as often as you feel it is needed. I found it really helped giving it right before your child goes to sleep. Hope you two feel better soon.

Molly

Dear B.,
Talk to your pediatrician about cough medicine. There are medications that are safe to give to 2 year olds, especially if they are congested.
However, I have always used Vicks Vapo-rub on my kids backs and chests. Rubbing a little on their feet helps too...not sure why. My son is 13 and still wants Vicks on his chest when he's got a bad cough. That in conjunction with a nice hot steamy shower running in the bathroom.

I hope your little one will be feeling better soon!

Humidifiers, steam treatments, lemon-honey water or chammomile tea. There's a book called Naturally Healthy Babies and Children which has many herbal remmedies. You can get it on amazon. The author has "cough syrup" recipes.

Good luck!
-C.

Give her a spoon of honey. It thins secretions that cause cough and coats the throat helping to control the cough. Its rough when the little one's are sick...
Also does she have any post nasal drip? That often causes cough-even a little runny nose can trigger cough. Then I would use some saline spray and suction her nose too.

ETA: Someone recommended Vicks but I would google that. Recently it was found that Vicks didn't help and could cause problems.

Raw Honey works really well along with a warm (warm works better for us than the cool) humidifier. We also put California baby's cold and flu oil or Nature's Baby organics Ah-Choo! Chest rub on my son's feet with socks on. I know it sounds nuts but it really helps! Their are some natural cough medicines at health food stores that can be used on his age. Good Luck!

Hi B.,

Put a little vick's on the bottom of her feet and them cover them with socks. This will quiet her cough and make it less frequent.

Blessings
C.

Hi B.-

I advise my patients to use essential oils to sooth a cough, open airways, decrease congestion, and soothe the child. Add a few drops of lavender and/euchilyptus oil to a warm bath, humidifier and/or a damp rag placed on your child's chest while sleeping. Allowing her to fight this cold off on her own, verses administering a medication that will only suppress the symptoms, will build up her own immune defenses for long term advantages.

A visit to a Chiropractor or Acupuncturist will also boost her own immunity.

I hope this helps.
-L.

When my oldest was small her docotor recommeded little noses saline drop it really helped her at night.Also make sure there is not any wheezing going on. It seemed like 7 out of 10 times she needed a breathing treatment when she had a cough.

Hi B.,

I know it is frustrating when you do not feel well.

Warm water and honey is very soothing to the throat.

I use several great products to help rebuild the immune system and the immunity is awesome along with jadegreenzymes. It is whole foods and you can take it while you are pregnant and great for the children.

If you are interested in learning more let me know.

Have a great day.

N. Marie

Have you tried giving her a little honey? I remember my dad used to give us honey, sometimes honey and lemon when we were coughing.

Hi - I use Vick's baby rub, rub it on my little one's feet and then put socks on them - you can also put it on their chest as well. Someone recommended it to me and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Definitely worth a shot.
Good luck!

We've had great success with honey. You can give her honey with a little lemon in it if it's too sweet for her otherwise. I think 1 tsp was the recommendation. There is also a homeopathic remedy with a honey base called Chestal. We buy it at Whole Foods. It's awesome. (Most doctors say honey is okay after the 1st year, others, 2) Another thing we heard that really does seem to work is putting Vick's on her feet. Rub a generous amount on the soles of her feet (the pad below the toes is the "lung" region in reflexology)then put socks on. Don't know why. Works!

Hi
I use to feel that way whenever I caught a cold and was pregnant or breatfeeding, nothing I could take wouldn't affect the baby. Then I remembered an old cold and flu remedy my dad use to make for me when I was a kid. And kid you not, I would feel much better the next morning. All it is is water, white sugar, one half diced onion and lemon juice boiled together and served warm. Maybe you could put it in her bottle or sippy cup. She should like the taste- kind of taste like lemonade.

Sidenote- I would also drink this when my 7 month old daughter had a cold. I figured since I was breastfeeding she should still get the nutrients ... And it I don't know if it was wishful thinking or not but it seemed to have worked.

I hope it works

This is going to sound weird, but try black tea. We were on vacation a few weeks ago and I had an allergic reaction to the bedding and no inhaler. I read online that a home remedy for coughing was black tea and after a few cups I was able to avoid a trip to the hospital.

I saw a study the other day that said that honey is just as effective for little kid coughs as any of the cough medicines out there. That's what I use.

H Bille! My 27 month old son just got over 15 days of being sick, along with a horrible cough, lots of congestion, low grade fever and he was very lathargic. It was awful!

We raised the head of his bed, ran a humidifier and tried to give hime lots of fluids. But he just wasn't getting better. He had been a VERY healthy little boy.

Sinupret for Kids is a highly reccomended homeopathic medicine for children as young as 4 months. I couldn't find it in my area, though, my Safeway pharmacist said they could order for me. Someone on Mamasource told me they found it at Walmart in the Danville area. Dr. Sears (Jim Sears is on "The Doctors" TV show, and his family has a great website, http:///www.askdrsears.com , and they ONLY reccomend the Sinupret for Kids).

We gave my son some other homeopathic cold medicine from Whole Foods, but by day 11 the cough was worse and he still wasn't sleeping.

Day 13 we saw his pediatrician who said we COULD give over the counter medicine, BUT we needed to know how much to give him based on his weight and by no means do not give more or more often. My son was given albuterol and an aero chamber to help him breathe and lessen the coughing, amoxicillin (because he had fluid behind both ears) and we were told to get the adult Robitussin CF and she told me EXACTLY how much to give for his weight, and for how often.

We see Dr. Jennifer Tenney at Kaiser Hayward and I have been very pleased with her. One of the bonuses in seeing her, is that she has a 2 year old! She is very in touch with what I am dealing with, with my 2 year old. Dr. Tenney is relocating to Kaiser Oakland next month, and we're going to commute to Oakland to continue seeing her.

Call the pediatrician. Thier reccomendations for children under 4 seem to very, drastically right now. Ask about what was prescribed for my son, and see what they say.

I really hope you and your child get relief soon!

God Bless,
M.

"If you are not praying for your children on a daily basis, you are leaving thier lives to chance" - Stormie Omartian

Hi,

Have you ever tried Hyland's cough syrup? I think it's safe for your daughter's age. I found mine at Rite Aid, I'm all out so I can't check the ages it is apropiate for. Hope it works :)

http://www.hylands.com/products/coughsyrup4kids.php

We don't use anything during the day, but we've been using children's Vick's Vapor Rub on our daughter's feet at night (we put socks over them after coating). Seems to really help ease the cough she's had. Might as well give it a try!

We recently went thtrought the same thing with our 3 year old. We used vics vaporub on her chest at night and it seemed to calm the cough and ease her breathing. It don't make the cough go away completely but we all slept a littl better. I hope this helps.

A great home remedy for a cough is a teaspoon of honey and sqeeze a little fresh lemon juice from a lemon in the spoon. They will love the taste and it curbs the cough. I also know that Pedia Care makes a a few products that you can take for children under six, but after you call your doctor to ask for advice. They will give you the correct dosage. The humidifier is great and they even have a cold mist one if they get too hot. And of course I swear by the Vicks rub. Take Care!

hi~ sorry, i know it's a tad bit late by now, but i wanted to let you know about the most amazing home remedy for night time coughing. if your kiddo is coughing a lot at night time, cut up an onion and set it near their head as they are sleeping. it works, i swear. we have side stepped bronchitis and gotten through croup this way. somehow the oils released into the air stop the coughing and allow the little guy to get his rest. i guess the onion works great on excess mucus as well.

the same book recommended getting lemon oils into the air when someone in the family has a cough. the author suggests cutting lemons and putting them in front of the heater. i just cut them up and put them in a pan of water that i simmer on the stove. let me know if you're interested in the name of this home remedy baby health book.

finally, the BEST medicine for a cough is an Elderberry cough syrup. this can be found at a Whole Foods or similar type store.

Hi B.,

I just went through the same thing with my two-year-old granddaughter who was sick with a serious cough plus she has the fever, runny nose, sneezing, aches and pains too.

When my daughter brought her to the doctor and told her what we were doing for her... giving her dimetapp cold&cough every 4 hours at 1/2 teaspoon among other treatments for fever, (Children's Motrin) and such my daughter was suprised. The bottle did not say that was o.k. But having already raised 3 kids of my own I had remembered my pediatrician saying that was o.k. in the past.

Then one day I was looking through some boxes and found some sample children's pediacare for kids 2 and under which recommended the same dosages as I was giving my little one. Unfortunately it was expired. While at the store for more I couldn't find any and chose to speak with a pharmacist I had known for a long time. She told me that the law prevents manufacturers from listing dosages for children under 6, but that what I was doing was perfectly safe.

My granddaughter recovered fine with the help of some antibiotics too. We just had to mask the taste of the dimetapp in a small amount of her juice as she hates to take medicine.

I also used Vicks on her chest for breathing and to help her cough, and a humidifier to help her breathe. I kept the windows cracked for cool air to circulate in the house and kept the heat off at night as well. All helped her breathing.

Unfortunately I do not know of any natural remedies to take by mouth, but I hope this information will help you.

Sincerely,

B.~

My 2 year old has had a terrible cough also and I have been using a humidifier in her room and and have been rubbing Vicks on her feet and putting socks on. It really seems to work for my daughter. Hopefully it works for your daughter.

HI,

If the cough comes with rapid breathing, or it seems to go on too long, you should take him to a dr, it can be asthma. if it is a regular cough, steam helps a lot, so sit in the bathroom with him, on the floor or toilet, and turn on the hot water, (Don't get in the shower) shut the bathroom door and let him breathe the steam. I recently read in a parents mag. (parenting, I think) that new studies show vicks is bad for babies and small children. I am not sure about the facts surrounding that report. I would stay away from cough medican unless the doc says its ok and tells you what the dose shuld be.

Good luck