My kids have a lot of problems with coughs also. My son has a history of asthma and my daughter also. They're both a lot better now, and it's been a long time since treatments, but I do know some things that work for me that you could try. One thing is Delsym. It's a 12 hour cough suppressant that works better than anything else I've tried over the counter. As a matter of fact, I had a pharmacist once tell me to try a dose of that, along with nighttime triaminic (which is the best OTC medicine in my opinion for kids) and see what happens. Well, it works wonders. Of course you still have nights when you're up a few times with them, but those two medicines atleast help them. I give my kids 1/2 tsp of the children's Delsym and have ever since they were about 1 1/2. Now they're 4 and 5, and I tend to give them between 1/2 and 3/4 tsp. I give them the Delsym about an hour and a half before bedtime to give it time to kick in. Another thing I do is put a second pillow on their bed to prop them up a little. I also run a Vick's humidifier with vick's medicine oil in their room for about an hour before bedtime so the vapors fill their room. I also rub Vick's on their chests and necks. I know it sounds like a lot, but I know you feel me on the fact that if it works, it's worth every ounce of effort. And I have been there so many times, that I have this routine down to a tee! Another thing too that I noticed when I read your post. It always seems to get worse at night right? And it's barky? My son gets croupe about 3 times a year. It's a high pitched cough that sounds like a seal barking. And it's always at night, and really bad at night. During the day, it's just a normal sounding cough, but at night it turns into a croupe cough. What I do with him is take him outside. I wrap him up in a blanket and walk in our driveway for about 10 minutes. Croup causes swelling, and the crisp, chill in the night air gets rid of it. I have rushed him to the ER before, only to have his wheezing and coughing stop by the time we get there, just because he was outside in the cold air. If you wanted to make it easier, you could sit in your car with him, I know my son weighs about 43 pounds! If I notice that the night air helps him, I usually open the windows in his room and sleep in there with him so I make sure he's not freezing. If it's croup, a quick 3 day treatment of steroids kicks it right out of them. After only one dose, the cough is 90% better. Hope this helps! By the way, if it is croupe, breathing treatments won't do a bit of good.
