17 Mo. Old Teething, Rough Cough, congestion..no Sleep for Me.

My oldest child always had cold symptoms when he was cutting teeth. (Some people will say that runny nose, cough and even fever are not symptoms of teething....I disagree completely.) I think she may be waking up because of the pain of teething, not necessarily because of the cold symptoms. Why not try to give her some sort of pain relief (Tylenol or Motrin before bedtime and see if that will do the trick.) Best of luck,
L.

Hi M.,
My 16 onth old son went through this last month.He had it for over a month, at its worse I slept sitting up with him in my arms,he could not lay down at all he would cough and choke from coughing so hard.I also used vicks( next time I will try it on his feet).I agree the Chiropractor can help also.My son was n antibiodics also. My ped. told us to give his 1/2 teaspon of childrens dimeatap and that seemed to help. Good luck.
L.

I am going thru the same thing right now w/ my 7mo. old and he is the youngest of 4, we tried everything, sleep on a slant, saline drop, vaporizer etc. I finally called my Dr. and he gave him Ceron, a decongestant/antihistamine combo and I only give him 1/2 of the allowed dose and it worked in a snap. Now that I know the rounds of "sickness" are from teething I am going to go to our health food store or WAL-MART and get the all natural "pills". They dissolve and helps with all the teething problems.

The Vicks on the feet may be an old wive's tale, but it has worked for us and a couple of my friends sewear by it. Also, the vapor patches that you can put on their chests - I think they are Triaminic - have worked well for us also.

the cold may be a result of her teething. When teeth start the gums swelling other things around them can become inflamed as well. My dd had ear infections for several months straight until her molars came through on the bottom then it was a sinus infection until her top molars came in. Try taking her to a pediatric chiropractor it will help with drainage. You can also try Dr. Hylands' teething tablets. You can find them in Walmart or healthfood stores near the vitamins
V.

Hi M.,
I hate those persistent colds, it's so tough. My 2 1/2 yr old son actually has some respiratory thing, possibly seasonal allergies right now. It's only been a few days but we're feeling it out. Anyway, with both my kids I had these homeopathisc teething tablets (got at walmart)and they are real small and dissolve instantly in the mouth (I tried one, not yucky flavor). They really help to calm them from the teething pain. They come in a small box (like eye drops)and they are Hylands Teething tablets at walmart they are in the aisle with the vitamins and supplements by the pharmacy. Its pink at the top and blue towards the bottom. It has chamomile in it that is a natural soother. You can give 2-3 tablets 4 times a day. Both my kids got cold symptoms every time they got teeth no matter what age and often fevers too. The more teeth at once the worse the symptoms. Some docs will say there is no connection but I have heard too many moms say the same thing to not believe it! anyway, the cough is probably due more to the post nasal drip and congestion from the teeth and at that age its hard for them to cough hard to clear it so it just sits there. For me the best cold cough med I've used so far is dimetapp (check with a doc cause I'm not sure the dosage for a 17 month old. ) its one of those meds that says under 6yrs ask a doc. My daughter can have 1tsp and she is 4yrs, so maybe about a 1/2 tsp or something. But it really dries them up and makes them sleepy. My kids get hyper on Benedryl, tylenol cold and others too, but dimetapp knocks them out! A humidifier could help at night a lot too. Also maybe if you give her a bath before bed, run the shower first with the door shut on real hot water to get it real steamy in there and then fill the tub for a bath. The steam can help break up a lot of the congestion before bed. Hope that is helpful and good luck. Jennifer

I have a three year old who had an ear infection in Feb. and she was given antibiotics to clear it up. For a month she had a harsh cough in her throat and chest that got worse at night. During the day it was mild though she'd wheeze if she over stimulated herself. It kept getting worse so her teacher suggested walking pneumonia. I got scared and took her in but turns out she had a respiratory infection caused by her ear infection not totally clearing up.

I responded to another mom with the same problem along with a couple of my girlfriends who went through this. I have even used this remedy on my own children.
Vapor Baby Rub...rub a dime size amt. on their toes and feet. Cover with socks. Do this every night and nap time. This should help with the coughing. This method was taken from a chinese method from healing of the senses via the foot (especially the toes).now it may not be the trick for you but it has worked wonders on others. :

Mom of 4.

There is an actual cough medicine that a doctor can prescribe, I am sorry to say I do not know the name, oh wait, its something like Tussin, not sure if that is the generic name or not. Anyway, it will also cause her to be drowsy, which is fine for bedtime. Call your doc and see if he will call it in.

I also heaerd a study done that says HONEY will do better for a cough than any other over the counter med.

I was just reading over some of the other responses and I too have tried the vicks on the feet and I felt it worked as well.

Don't allow anyone to smoke around here, or in the house. Use a warm vaporiser at night while she's sleeping.

Belvoed M.:

In most drug stores...walmart, cvs, etc in the baby aisle there are teething tablets...they are natural and they seemed to work well for my grands....I can not remember the brand, however the label on the bottle is pink.

I.

Our pediatrian told us to use benadril for kids (our daughter is the same age) - 1/2 teaspoon for cough at night to help our daughter sleep and it worked!!!! we also put a humidifier in her room. good luck!!!! check w/ your dr first!

Try steaming in the bathroom,vapor bath or vaporisor..i use the triaminic night time...

I know this may seem like an unusual remedy, but it works for many people. Try putting Vicks Vaporub on the bottoms of her feet. Then put on light socks. I read about this in a doctor's advice newspaper column. It won't hurt to try. Good luck.

If she's teething, she probably has extra saliva she might be "choking" on. Is it more than a clearing cough?

All right, I tend to be a "wait it out" kind of girl, but here is my 2 cents....

My son did the same thing, coughed all night long, and here is what we were told.

When your kids are little, their airways are little. So, while you and I as adults may take 2 weeks to get over a cold, it may take them up to 4 weeks.

HOWEVER, after 6 weeks, I took the baby to the dr and he was diagnosed with allergies. It was as simple as a little bit of Benedryl at night and the cough was gone THAT NIGHT. (I baked cookies for the dr since I was so thrilled to get a solid night's sleep for the first time in 6 weeks!) He only needs it for a few weeks a year, and I swear it makes all the difference during the day when they get a full night's rest!

I would call the dr - at the very least to get the dosage and explain that you think that you want to try it, there is no reason not to. (I think for my guy it was 1/3 of a tsp).

A Tip: Don't get the dye free kind, just plain old benedryl (I even use the store brand), the kids did not like the taste of the dye free stuff.

Don't give her any cough meds - it does nothing for kids this age anyway and recent research suggests that cough medicine doesn't really do anything for coughs for any age.

Good luck!

Hi M.,

Have you tried a humidifier? Those work well... might be from sleeping with her mouth open makes her mouth and throat dry...

M., been there done that....My son is now almost 5 years old and I swear I got 2 hours sleep for the first 3 years. He also has asthma, which brings me to your problem. Every time he got a runny nose, it would move into his chest and start his Asthma cough. Medicines did not help and made things worse in most cases. I hated using Vaporizors because they left a dust on everything and they were just messy. One day I got an email about Vicks Vapor rub. Here is what has helped my son only stop coughing at night and has even worked on my husband, daughter and myself when we have that night time cough... Put the Vicks Vapor Rub on the BOTTOM of your daughter's feet (on the bottom of the toes to the heel) then put a pair of socks on and get into bed yourself because you will be getting more sleep than you have since this started. Another thing you can add is Sudacare Plug in Waterless Vaporizor. You plug it into the wall. No medicines, just Aromatherapy. Go to the drug store today and get the Vicks. You will be happy you did.

L. C

Hello, My daughter always seems to get a cold when she was teething. We would use a vaporizer, I got a pillow like thing that goes under her sheets it's like a wedge at Baby Depot. I also gave her a little bit of Benedryl antihistamine to dry her up at night and she started to sleep better. Hopefully this helps and I know how you feel I've been there 3 nights with no sleep and finally a dr. came through and told us about the Benedryl. Hopefully this helps good luck. Angie

Some times teething can cause babies to get more congested. As far as the teeth I would give her Motrin for the pain like 20 minutes before bed and try the vaporizer for the cough and congestion. Good luck

Hi M.,
Ah...just when you thought you guys had it made, eh? LOL
I agree with the cool mist humidifier idea and the tilting of the crib is good. It will surely give her some relief.
Could you try a little bit of Vicks Baby covered with a cloth for nighttime?
Also, if her teeth are bothering her during the day, I used to wet little baby washcloths, fold them into fouths and stack them up and freeze them. My son would "gnaw" on ine and it seemed to help. This will pass. Don't you just hate to see them suffer like that? They are so helpless. Hang in there!

Soory to hear. Since her cough seems to be worse at night I would try using a cool midst humidifier, if your not already. I know this helps my son who goes through the same thing when he get sick or cuts teeth. Actually, we're going through it now, although now I'm thinking it's not teeth because his boogers are green and yellowish. Sorry you really didn't need to read that. But I would try the humidifier and keep her elevated. Good luck to you, if you read anything diferent pass it on, aren't we all always looking for something better? Good Luck again,
C.

M.,

Try some Baby Vicks. Rub a thin layer on her back, chest, neck, throat, and feet. Rubbing it on the feet is an old remedy my Gram told me about. This method works with my daughter and it also opens up the airways, making breathing easier. Good luck!

E.