My little one has had a cough since Halloween. Here in St. Louis, we have had a very cold and long winter and he does goes to daycare, but I know stay-at- home kids his age that have a lot of colds this year too. It comes and goes- he will usually be good for a week or two and then it comes back. He has been to the doctor four time (for different things- one was a reg checkup, one was Halloween for his ears, and the other two were for the cough but were over a month apart). He has been on antibiotics before and they help, but don't fix...
He is keeping himself and the entire house up this week with his cough. It is constant and he has a stuffy nose to go with it. He'll go through his coughing fits that last for almost an hour some times and it is just awful.
My doctor has recommended benedryl or zyrtec and friends say Delsym. The first two don't seem to do much of anything- any suggestions?
I know my kid isn't the only one who is sick but I feel awful that he is always struggling with this. I truly hope it isn't because he is at daycare because that would make me feel worse!!
We went to the doctor today because they were concerned by how long this 'version' of the cough had lastest. Don't get my previous statement wrong, he has gone a week here or there without being sick since october, but it keeps coming back. He has an ear infection (which he just got over 2.5 weeks ago). They said his lungs sounded congested but 'clear' of bronchitis and/ or anything worse.
I will definitely try some of these suggestions for helping making him feel better while the antibiotics take time to work!! Keep the suggestions coming!!
Get a WARM MIST humidifier for his room. Run it the whole night and get one for the house too... they do work wonders : ). Also HONEY... a teaspoon of it will really help better than any medicine. And here's the crazy one... smear lots of vicks (I like baby vicks) on the bottoms of his feet before bed and put on footy pjs or socks. Crazy I know, but it can't hurt and I swear it works : ). Good luck, hope he feels better soon.
Ok so my son has had an awful cough since before New Year's.(also 21 months) He finally woke up in such a bad coughing fit that we took him to the ER. They couldn't do anything for him there, since the fit had mostly ended but I put my foot down and went on the attack. I had been doing all of these things but not all at once:
#1 Saline. They hate it. They scream. But, it thins out those thick nighttime secretions, so hold him down and get both nostrils.
#2 Little coughs. this will actually cause coughing at first so I do it after the saline to help the loose stuff move around after the saline.
#3 Benadryl. Half a tablet. It will dry him out for the night--don't use it during the day, though, as it will thicken the secretions too.
#4 Cool Mist Humidifier
#5 Elevate the head of the bed or prop him up on a pillow
#6 Mattress protector and pillow protector to prevent allergens from exacerbating the issue. Wash sheets and comforter in HOT water.
#7 Lots and lots of water--like double usual. Water instead of milk at night. I swear it makes his nose worse, new claims are that it doesn't affect mucus secretions. I'm sure it does based on first-hand experience.
#8 Warm apple juice sipped through a straw. I use a coffee straw. Will settle a scratchy or dry throat.
(Also, Delsym, in my experience does.not.work.)
Good luck, my son's cough has really calmed down and he hasn't woken up coughing since Sunday night.
If he has had this all winter it could be from the dry air. Get Vick's cool mist vaporizer and run it every night no matter what. You have to put cold water in it but it comes out warm plus it has little spout on it to put liquid Vick's.
I saw something about this at the beginning of winter on the news and it was saying how many problems the dry winter air causes. Also Vick's on his chest and feet with socks on. One of my kids always is very congested and coughs alot in the winters but this year has been totally different. Plus, we've not been sick hardly at all this winter because they also said there is alot of winter bugs that "fester" in the dry air as well.
Benedyrl or zyrtec will help with post nasal drip that can cause coughing. You should not give cough suppressants or other cold meds to children under 4 unless a doctor tells you to and gives the correct weight and age appropriate dose.
Friends and family members most likely do not have md after their names so although I listen to their medical advice I always go with what our ped says.
Some non drug things you can do: run a humidifier, prop him up so he isn't flat, vks on the bottom of the feet w/ cotton socks at night, saline spray, steamy bathroom, johnsons vapor bath, honey, warm tea
This is going to sound weird, but we put a humidifier in our little guy's room and it's done a world of good. Some other things that have helped:
-Dissolve a Halls cough drop in warm water and give it to him in a sippy cup.
-Make some weak(ish) tea with a lot of honey and lemon. It soothes the throat and helps get stuff out.
-Have him eat raw garlic. (Awful, I know, but so effective!) It is a natural antibiotic and it really will get stuff out of him QUICKLY! (Speaking from personal experience on this one!)
Good luck!
There's a company in St. Louis that makes a phenomenal children's supplement that boosts the immune system. It's pure food so it doesn't conflict with any meds.
The meds will treat the symptoms (if they work) but the fact that he's been sick for SO LONG really concerns me.
I think the meds he is getting are designed to help with the head congestion but not with the stuff that's down in his chest. Still, they aren't working. It sounds like bronchitis or whooping cough if the cough is constant - unless he's doing a bark sort of cough which is croup. Is anyone listening to that child's lungs???
You can try the humidifier, honey and so on - but double-check on the Vicks suggestion -- there are many reported hazards to Vicks especially with young children, and you should really investigate that.
