What can i do for my little girl. She has been coughing (dry) for over 2 hours. It's 130 am, i am up and i feel bad for her, she can't be getting good sleep. She has allergies but doesn''t seem to be sick. This has been going on for a while. It stopped for a few weeks but now is back. I run a humidifier all the time in the winter. Her mattress is propped up slightly. I keep reading online that this could mean asthma. I take her to a chiro weekly. I was giving her claritin for a while but that didn't seem to help. I feel like something is wrong. She's happy and healthy otherwise. Although last time she didn't cough this often this long so she can't be sleeping at all. What should i do? TIA
BTW i went in and gave a spoonful of honey, and vicks on her feet and some water to drink which i always do for her cough, none of it helped at all. She seemed to get worse after i went in. grrrrrr
Is there a smoker in the house? (Not judging but I had a cough for years when my dad smoked when I was little...it went away 6 months after he quit.)
I went to the doctor and was given a cough medicine that helped wonders.
It was the only thing that worked.
Humidifier was good, too.
A glass of water by the bed is ideal as well. Good luck. Try everything!
Poor baby :( I would think about giving her some cough medicine in the meantime, and then see if your pediactrician or ER has an On call nurse and ask her what she thinks you should do. They are there 24 hours a day, and very helpful, I have called them a few times and they will help you out.
Best of luck for you and your little one.
Poor mommy, poor daughter. Be sure your vaporizer is clean. Mold and mildew can build up in some designs, and that can create a whole new layer of allergy and illness. Be sure her room, especially around her bed, is dust-free, and that could include running stuffed toys through a cool dryer cycle to help remove deep dust. Wash all bedding and jammies in a scent-free detergent, and put a cup of vinegar for softening and extra cleaning in the rinse cycle. Avoid dryer sheets altogether – they contain seriously toxic ingredients, and can trigger lung and other irritations (I get asthma when I get a hit of somebody's fabric softener).
You might also find a naturopath can do wonders for her underlying problem. I've heard that chiro treatments can help, but it sounds like you need something more.
Finally, you'll probably get many recommendations for Vicks on feet or chest. This apparently does help some children, but use with great caution. There's at least one recent study showing that Vicks and other mentholated compounds actually increase congestion for many kids. If you use it, watch carefully for her response.
I sure do wish you both the best. I've had chronic lung problems my whole life, and have lost plenty of sleep over it.
put vicks vapor rub on the bottom of her feet and put socks on her..then let her sleep!! it really does help!
The allergies are playing a huge role in this. My son has allergies but he also had another underlying issue which I will get to in a minute. For him we have to use a combination of Zyrtec and Singular to get rid of his dry cough. We kept a bottle(not a baby bottle) of water by his bed and if he was coughing he would take a drink to help. When the coughing started I though he had whooping cough because it sounded just like a seal barking cough. So he was taken in but he didn't have it. We got use doing the doses of Zyrtec and Singular. This worked for about 2 yrs for him. Then the bloody noses started getting to three times a week. His regular dr couldn't figure out so she sent him to a ENT. One look and the ENT started asking me questions about snoring,coughing, and the list went on. Come to find out besides allergies his adenoid and tonsils were enlarged. Dr even said he was surprised he hadn't seen him before now. My son had those removed and shock of shock he is cough free and has been for over a year and half.
So for use it was tonsils and adenoid removal that fixed everything for him. So make sure when you take your daughter in to ask to see and ENT just to be on the safe side.
my daughter had dry cough specially at night and when i took her to the pediatrician twice he said it was her allergies acting up which i been on top of her allergy medicine after being coughing for a couple weeks i took her to the er and come to find out she had bronquitis which 2 days later turned into pneumonia with a severe case of asthma, i was very angry because i thought how couldnt the pediatrician see this both times i took her with the same symptoms in the last month in my opinion if you feel theres something wrong get a 2nd opinion winter season is pretty bad with kids and bad colds and viruses
I second that she should see an ENT. My girl had her tonsils and adenoids out too (they were HUGE) and all her problems disappeared. Also, if she has allergies to dust mites, get rid of the humidifier. Dust mites love humidity.
Even if its dry sounding she could have a bit of a post nasal drip going on...
My 3 yr old also had a dry cough for a few weeks... didn't bother him most of the time but it is heartwrenching to hear them coughing at night.... The claritin would help with that... Cough meds may help also... The horrible thing in my mind is that you have to go thru the trial and error period... Hope she feels better soon!!
You're singing my song... My girl was just like this -- only cough at night every 30 seconds or so when hormone levels are down and nothing we did ever stopped it from 11pm to 4 am (and I mean EVERYTHING). I tried to work with the pediatrician for several years, but always winding up in the ER once a winter.
We finally went to the asthma/allergy dr 2 years ago -- she and you will be better:) We use Dr Fineman at Atlanta Allergy & Asthma near Kennestone Hospital. ###-###-####
No more ER, no asthma, no allergy, just RAD and seasonal rhinitus. They gave us a "plan" for green/yellow/red/OHNO! levels and explained how and why all the medications work... for real. No "try this" but really explained and listened.
We are only "bad" in the fall and winter, so that's when we use the preventative, then episodic, then emergency plans; then, when all that fails, we call them... I now have that 4th-tier medicine at home to use and then call them the next day to checkup:)
Get your pharmacist to recommend a cough drop or syrup specific to a "dry cough"... Make sure her humidifier is clean. Is she losing sleep or just you? She might be sleeping right through it. Sounds like itchy throat tho.... I'd ask the pharm for ideas.
Kansas mom is right...I use 2 drops of eucalyptus oil mixed with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Rub it on her back, chest and feet then put socks on her. I also put a couple drops of the e.o. in her bath and in her humidifier. I really think it helps!
IS she drinking plenty of water during the day? Keeping her hydrated will help to thin any mucus that might be adding to the problem.
Besides making sure that the humidifier is clean and free of mold etc I would also consider changing the furnace filter...if she has allergies then anything on that furnace filter will be blowing into the air and aggravating her allergies.
Talk to someone at a health food store about "essential oils" that you can use to rub on her back that my daughter says have helped her son a lot. You have to follow their directions very specifically, you only use a small amount of the essential oil along with olive oil as the base ( I THINK that is what my daughter told me...if you are interested...message me and I will contact my daughter for more details).
takeher to the er sounds like cough variant asthma
