3 Year Old with a coughI

Lavendar essential oil mixed with a bit of grapeseed or olive oil rubbed on her chest and bottoms of her feet.
Spoonfuls of honey and lemon juice a few times throughout the day.

try a little honey, diluted a bit to a thick drinking consistency with warm/hot water. It will help coat her throat and soothe the cough. Works well, especially before bedtime!

Hi A.,

Sorry to hear that your little one isn't feeling well. Illness always makes vacation rough. Here's the list our pediatrician gave us for relief for our toddler during a series of bad coughs last spring. I tried many on myself during a pregnancy cold because I don't like the side effects of the particular brand of cold medicine my OB allows. They do help quite a bit. The effects may not last as long as cough syrup, but they definitely offer some relief.:

Steam: play in the bathroom (not the tub itself) with the shower on full hot. This always helped a lot before bed.

Honey: one spoonful soothes the rough throat

Elevate her head when sleeping

Warm juice

Saline nasal drops: if she has any nasal drainage adding to the cough (even if her nose isn't stuffy), this can help loosen things up and return her to normal. It's pretty uncomfortable and causes a gagging sensation, but it helps.

Rest!

Best wishes

I have two little boys, 3 and 4, that go to daycare and they get several coughs/colds each year. My pediatrition told us to have them drink 100% purple grape juice as an expectorant, and the heavy syrup from canned peaches is good for soothing (like cough syrup). I've also heard that a spoonful of honey can help sooth, but my boys didn't like that. My mom used to make warm water with lemon and honey for us to drink and I remember liking that as a kid. One last thing, when my second was a baby he came down with croup and the dr said cool night air helps, so maybe try cracking a window at night.

Whooping cough is definitely a growing concern right now and is spreading in communities. But, it's pretty distinct when they get it - literally sounds likes seals "whooping".

I would NOT give cough/cold medication unless expressly advised by the Pediatrician. The reason the FDA restricted the age is because so many people were overdosing and creating serious risks in younger children.

One of the best things is cold steam. So, even without the vaporizor, you can take her outside at night when the temperature has dropped (if you're in an area cooling down in the evenings). Often when children with coughs are taken outside, the cold air relieves the symptoms of the cough.

Good luck!

My almost-four-year-old had a lingering cough last spring, and we finally took him into the doctor, and we were told to STOP with the Vicks, because it suppresses the cough, leaving more phlegm in place to cause the cough. The doctor told us it wasn't *quite* bronchitis, and wasn't *quite* a sinus infection, so we just had to deal with the cough the best we could while he recovered.

To be honest, we still used Vicks a couple of times on a few of the very worst nights, but not every night.

Here's what worked for us:

- Elevating his upper body and head at night with lots of pillows
- Honey by spoon every few hours to soothe his throat
- Lots of fluids and grape popsicles to keep him hydrated and his secretions thin
- Echinacea tea regularly thru the day (Yogi's "immune support" tea is really sweet & palatable, and also soothing to the throat)
- Motrin to keep the cough from hurting his throat at night
- Sitting by/in a warm shower for 30 minutes at a time

Hang in there! Some of those viruses can be quite persistent. Our Doc didn't seem phased by the fact that our little guy had been going for a few weeks, once he'd listened to his lungs and ruled out bronchitis and pneumonia.

Have you tried very warm water or a hot beverage like tea? We have a child with asthma, and even wtih her treatments, she would have coughing at school, it would be very disturbing to her learning, and once she started, it kind of just went on and on. The teacher started to send her to the nurse for a "treatment" and it was nothing more than some hot tap water. I don't know if they just convinced her that it would stop it, or if it really did, but since it helped, none of us cared! Worth a try.

Hope your daughter is better soon.

M.

This may sound really strange... but it works. I have done it and know of a couple of other parents that have done it too. You can look it up on the web for more info. Our Naturopath, (more than one) recommended (for all ages) to soak your feet in warm water (5-15 minutes) then put on a pair of wet cotton socks (soaked with cold water) and over that a pair of wool socks. Then go straight to bed. This should be done at night obviously... before you go to sleep. I didn't try it for a long time, but when I finally did... it worked. I was completely better the next day.

When my 3 yr. old had a terrible cough due to a virus I gave him Delsym cough syrup. It's for 6 and older but I gave him half the dose. I also took him to the doctor after a few days and had him checked to be on the safe side. I know what you're saying I also hated seeing him hurting from coughing so much especially at night (it kept him up). I did mention Delsym to the doctor though.

http://www.healthsuperstore.com/p-herbs-for-kids-cherry-b...

Cherry bark is a natural alternative and this particular one is made for children. I have used it for my daughter when she was sick. :) You can find it at PCC or Whole Foods if you dont want to order online.

Try Vick's rubbed on the bottoms of her feet. Sounds crazy, but I've had success with it!

Elderberry syrup works great for coughs. As does taking the dairy out of her diet.

You might want to take her to the doc just because "whooping cough" has reared it's ugly head again just recently. I know we've had quite a few cases of it in California this year.
I always rub Vicks on the bottom of the feet and put some socks on to prevent coughs, it works pretty well.
Also, a spoonful of natural honey is a good way to coat a throat and it has antibacterial ingredients in it as well.... and kids take to honey pretty easily.

A teaspoon on honey works well. No honey for kids under 2. Another variation is a hot toddy - a spoonful of honey in hot water for them to drink. But I can't get my kid to drink hot things.

Another thing that works great in the middle of the night - is to have a steam. So we go in the bathroom turn on the shower hot full blast and steam it out - it gives some relief to the kiddo and they can usually go back to bed for a bit. If you are in a hotel - make sure the fan isn't on.

Good luck

I do use raw honey, best taken on empty stomy first thing in the morning and last thing before she goes to bed plus any time she needs it during the day or night. Hot milk with honey is another way to help her deal with the cough. Good luck!

I know they say no cough medicine but I still give my 4 year old and 10 month old cough meds. I have asked a doctor and pharmacist the amount to give. ( the bottle won't tell you) Just use common sense and make sure what you are giving her is the right dose and just know it may take a little while for it to kick in. The reason why they have taken it off the shelves is cause parents have been overdosing their kids. Something may not have worked right away so they would give another dose. I do always use it as a last resort..