Asthma and Coughing

Poor baby. If you have not seen a pediatric pulmonologist, I think you should. If you have seen one, I would go I to see him again.

it's the asthma....my son refers to it as THE cough...ans yes sometimes he coughs so hard the throws up, usually phlegm

Hope he feels better

E.,

Please share this information with your son's doctor and then get a referral to a pediatric pulmonologist. It's really important to get his asthma under control, and it will take working with your son's treatment providers to develop a new treatment plan. It doesn't always happen overnight. There is some trial and error in getting the right medications and dosages. I've been through this with my youngest, who is 9 1/2 now, but we finally got it under control.

Keep working with his doctors, and you'll see how much better he'll be! Good luck!

J. F.

ETA: Regarding some of the advice below. Please do not add ANYTHING to the nebulizer unless specifically told to do so my your son's medical providers. While it is true that more than one medication can be given via the nebulizer, you should not add anything unless directed to do so by YOUR providers. We should not be telling other parents on an internet forum to alter any medication regimen. Most of these medications already come premixed with sterile saline
anyway.

You need to see a pediatric pulmonologist. His asthma is not adequately controlled.

It is not a habit. It is his body trying to catch a breath.

Our daughters Asthma was the same way that darn cough! During beautiful times of the year. The pollen, the flowers, the grasses, the mold after the rains.. It all brought on the coughing as her body was trying to breath.

I discovered that she really needed a breathing sanctuary in our home. I purchased a Hunter Electric Air filter for her room.

We removed all carpets and drapes in our home so that we could easily vacuum and dust the entire house more often. The Swiffer became a life saver once it was introduced. . Her bedroom door was kept closed and the air filter left on in there at all times.

We changed our filters all of the time. I realized that at some times of the year, her air filter needed to be changed every 3 weeks. Even though the Hunter recommendations said 6 to 8 weeks. (dust down here).

You probably know in the Winter, the extreme cold can help him to clear his cough. You just take him outside and let him breath in the cold for just a few minutes.

Yes, our daughter used the nebulizer, the inhalers. The good news? She was used to it. And after 5th grade, seemed to finally grow out of it.

TRY not to make it a big deal. He honestly is struggling to breath.

Do continue to mention it to the doctor. I agree to see a pediatric pulmonologist. This is all that they do.. Maybe by now there are new medications or updated information.

Hello
my son had childhood Asthma (it's gone now) but one of the issues he experienced as well was a constant post-nasal drip.. which leads me to... your son might have allergies ... if you can, keep a food journal and begin to write down what foods you give him and then notice, if after certain foods, does he begin to cough more ... Also, don't discount detergents or soaps you may be using.. all those things can definitely make a person cough as can stuffed animals (esp with all the dust they can pick up and or the synthetic materials that are used) ... it will take more work to keep the journal, but it might well be worth it... good luck

My allergist would say that he needs a new asthma plan. If he is coughing a lot, it means his asthma is not under control and with the proper treatment, it should be. Please get a consult with a specialist if you have not done so. It may be that he needs testing to determine what is triggering his asthma, so you can eliminate it. I didn't do this until adulthood and regret that other doctors only treated the symptoms for years. All my best for you and your darling son.

It was common for my nephew to cough a lot with his asthma, so much so that my sister joked about making him a shirt to wear to the park that said "I am not sick or contagious, I just have asthma".

All you can do it talk to his doctor about it and try to limit activity and exposure to air pollutants when he is having issues.

I just read this. I hope you have found a pediatric allergist and pulminologist. My son has cough variant asthma. That means he doesn't necessarily wheeze - he coughs. And can't quit coughing. It sounds like your son's asthma isn't controlled and this is what he's doing instead of wheezing. Good luck !

A LOT of asthma attacks are nothing more than coughing "fits". They don't always come across as wheezing.

I had the doc put the kids on Xophenex instead. It's similar to Albuterol but it doesn't have the side effects. It's much easier on them.

When you use a nebulizer and put the vial of fluid in the machine that is about half sterile water. It helps the med get where it needs to go better. The water also helps loosen the dried up goo and the open tubes from the meds lets the kid cough up a lot more mucus.

Talk to the doc and see if kiddo's lungs are okay or it there is an excess of dry stuff that he's trying to get up.

Was he tested for allergies with both a scratch test and blood test?

My 14 year old DD has had asthma and allergies since she was three. The only time she coughs is when her seasonal allergies kick in in the spring and fall. For her, it's a dry cough every few minutes - especially when she lays down. It's caused by a nasal drip down the back of the throat. When it went untreated, she used to throw up a lot. We use a medicated nasal spray for a few weeks each season and that helps a lot. An allergist can spot the nasal drip immediately.

Of course, you've gotten some really good advice here too. Keep digging until you find what works. Good luck.

Sinus infection? Sometimes a person has very few symptoms with a sinus infection, just a constant cough.

I finally to my son to an asthma/allergy doctor and found out that he really didn't have asthma. He had a sinus infection and is allergic to a whole lot of things.

M

Peds are ok at treating asthma up to a point. It sounds like your son is past the point where his ped can treat his condition well so time for a ped pulmonologist. They'll do lung function testing and figure out the best combination of medication for him.

Has he seen cardiology? Often, when the heart is not working properly, a patient will cough to compensate. If this is a constant problem, I'd consider getting a cardiology consult to rule out any heart problems.

Best of luck to you.

Perhaps his cough has become a habit. Does it sound the same all of the time, like with a tickle in the throat, persistent but not like his body is trying to clear itself? An asthma cough can be like that but there is a subtle difference. I don't know how to explain it.

I would first have an asthma specialist examine him. If his lungs are ok, I'd try stopping the cough early before he's starting to gag. I suggest the gagging, nearly vomiting is not a part of an asthma cough unless he has a sensitive gag reflex.

Recently I have been coughing to the point I start to gag. The cough starts as a tickle. If I interrupt the cough by drinking something cold the cough stops. I suggest you try giving him something to drink and distract his awareness away from his cough.

If he isn't seeing a pediatric allergist who works with asthma, suggest you make an appointment. An allergist focuses on a broad range of conditions that affect asthma. His focus is more specific than a pediatrician. He has specialized equipment not available to a pediatrician. You want to know theccondition of his lungs. My daughter's allergist knows if her lungs are inflamed while a pediatrician can only surmise. He is not just a pediatric allergist and works well with children. My granddaughter was 4 or 5 when she first saw him. Because he was a specialist he was more helpful.

I've no experience with a pulmonaligist and so cannot speak to which is more helpful, an allergist focused on asthma or a pulmonologist. My granddaughter does have allergies which affects her asthma. Additional testing indicated allergies not found by the pediatrician.