This is kind of a two or three part question. My 4yo daughter has a very bad cough, she had it at this time last year, it lasted for 3 months and we even had her tested for whooping cough (which was HORRIBLE)went to the ER a few times (no insurance) and she was given intense breathing treatments and had X rays taken as well. Nothing worked no over the counter or prescription cough medications. She has no fever, and is just as active as ever she just sounds horrible. It sounds like a croupy cough so we have also done vicks (on the feet too which has worked for many but not her) and steam. The only thing that made a difference was when we were finally able to get to the DR and get steriods to add to the albuterol in her breathing treatments and that was after two months of coughing so I am not sure if it was that or if it finally just stopped. I have no money to go to a private dr right now, not for at least two weeks and the city clinic will not accept any new patients. DOES this sound like asthma. One ER doc said it did but if they disgnosed her before we got insurance she wouldnt get covered (we will get insurance on the 15th). She never has any other breathing problems except this time of year with this cough. Has anyone had a similar experience? What worked? Do you know of any dr's that would take a post dated check? Does it sound like asthma? Ok it was a four part question but Im feeling pretty powerless.
Yes, Elishea, it DOES sound like asthma. My son coughed for 2 years before someone finally diagnosed it.
I took him to see Dr. Ruff and they helped us get into a pharmaceutical research program. It is completely safe, and free ! As a matter of fact they pay YOU! Here is the number to call:
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Bryce has done research there (off and on) for 13 years!! You should give them a call...
I developed this seasonal allergy reaction as an adult. Claritin kicked in after about 2 weeks (I had been dealing with it for 3 months before the docs figured out what was going on). My daughter (now 8) has had the same type of reaction in the fall/winter since she was two. We give her claritin beginning Sept. 1, and are able to discontinue it around March/April. When we travel/forget the claritin, benadryl works wonders for immediate symptom relief.
Good luck!
btw... my dh had asthma as a child, and the intensity of symptoms was seasonal, but it didn't just disappear for 9 months, and suddenly show up for 3.
All 3 of my kiddos have had this. My son, now 9, had it major when he was 4 and can still get it if we don't keep it under control. Same kind of cough. His was not asthma. It was allergies. No drainage out his nose at all, no sounds of congestion. We gave him the generic (Robitussin) Tussin CF from WalMart to keep the drainage under control. For the first week we gave him Benedryl too. After the Tussin kicked in we could usually stop the Benedryl and just give the CF to keep him clear. He is now 9 and takes a generic sudafed once a day (sometimes twice) during "the season." You have to be 6 to take one sudafed tablet. One of my 6 year old girls is borderline asthma (not diagnosed), but if we keep her drainage/cough under control with either CF or when it is really bad the generic prescription Extendryl (it has an antihistimine) then she has no problems. The key is giving the CF, Extendryl or whatever you use every night to keep it under control. Once it goes to far, it does take a few weeks to get back under control. Not every child is misdiagnosed, but I think asthma is starting to become an automatic label like ADHD. Here in Texas it is about keeping allergies/drainage under control regularly, not when it is too late. It took us a year to figure out with our son what to do. His cough was awful enough to have people stop and stare when he coughed, but it was just allergies we had let get to far, not realizing that was what it was. Hope that info helps!
I am also a mother of 4 and going to school to earn a master's degree. This sounds like asthma to me. My son has situation or conditional asthma. It is only present when conditions are right (or wrong, really), such as when he is already congested, if it is very cold outside, if he is overly active, or any combination of the above. He has an albuteral inhaler which he only needs occasionally. Your concern is a difficult one because waiting for the insurance could put your child at a serious risk, but asthma treatment can be very expensive. Can you talk to the insurance company with which you will be covered in the near future? Have you looked into COBRA?
My 3yr. old son has had a terrible cough for almost 3 weeks now. We've been to the dr. twice in the past 2 weeks b/c the cough just wouldn't go away and I was worried that it was getting into his chest/lungs. Turns out he was wheezing really bad as well and so he was FINALLY put on an antibiotic (Azithromycin) and breathing treatments every 4 hours. It's only been 2 days since we started the breathing treatments, so I've only seen slight improvement. If the cough is not better in 5-7 days we are to go back to the dr. Since he gets this around the same time each year, his dr. mentioned that it might be allergy induced asthma. Who knows?
I have had experience with this type of coughing. We have 7 children. What we found is that at this time of year, everyone runs their heat and it dries out the air. We run a humidifier, not vaporizer, in the room. After a couple of days, the coughing eases up and the child feels more comfortable.
this definitely sounds like asthma, where are U located? if you are in Frisco, Celina or Prosper, they have a low cost clinic. Here's the link:
http://www.friscocares.com/
Good Luck --
I am not sure where you are located but you may want to try Plano Children's Clinic it is a free clinic for those that do not have insurance. I would not worry about having her diagnosed before getting insurance especially if you go to Plano Children's Clinic. Plano Children's Medical Clinic - ###-###-####
1407 14th Street (where it crosses Avenue N)
HI. It does sound like asthma. I am asthmatic myself since birth and my five year old son is showing signs. He too is coughing right now. We are new to Texas but I have been told that there are some trees this time of year that cause asthmatics and people sensitive to allergies to start having reactions such as coughing, sneezing or stuffiness and itchy eyes/skin. When I was young, my mom would sit with me in the bathroom and let the hot water run creating steam - this would help open up the breathing passages in my lungs allowing me to breath better. Also, you could try warm tea - or clear soup. Stay away from serving anything cold or anything with milk as this causes more mucus in the lungs. Good luck and hang in there! K.
My daughter did this last year about this time and did it again this year. It is aweful, she sounds like a 40 year smoker. She does not have asthma but this year the doctor put her on a pulmacort breathing treatment that really helped. I can't answer any of your insurance questions, but I can say that with the Pulmacort breathing treatments, the cough is now gone and she is fine. Good luck!
A.
My son was diagnosed with croup but after several trips to er and 3 epinephrin breathing treatments (1 at each er trip) they finally gave him antibiotics, and did a chest x ray and it showed his throat was swelled nearly completely shut. ask for omnicef or a broad spectrum antibiotic and have a chest x ray... my son got better with in hours of the antibiotics... he is only 4 Good luck- AJ plus you might try to sign up for CHIPS insurance if the other thing falls through- AJ
It certainly does sound like asthma, just like my child has. You've probably heard the term Reactive Airway Disease (RAD) as well then. It is good you have your child on albuterol (opens the airways) and the steroids (anti inflammatory) will really help. During the cold and flu season, asthma will worsen and present as the croup. I would be careful using those over the counter medications unless a doctor has specifically told you to do so. You need to try to hold out until you have insurance - and then find a good allergy and asthma specialist. They can help you better manage your child's asthma (if that is what is going on) so you have less visits to the ER, and don't feel so helpless. My doctor told me to treat my child with inhaled steroids thru his spacer (not a nebulizer) every evening, 2 puffs for the next 6 mths. My doctor is Dr. Sugarman at Medical City Dallas. Their practice has really helped my son out, he's been to the ER several times over the past year for asthma. Let me know if you have any other questions. -Jo
This does sound like asthma. My six year old daughter was just diagnosed with viral induced asthma. She was just like your daughter with a prolonged winter cough. After a cold she would take a month or more to get over the cough. Since she would usually catch another cold before her cough was gone her cough would last for weeks to months.
It never occurred to me that this was asthma. She never has any problem breathing and she never wheezed. I did not know that asthma could be like this. She was given the oral steroids for five days, antibiotics for an ear infection (the reason I took her to the doctor),
and a maintenance inhaler that she uses twice a day. My understanding is that she will only have problems when she is sick with a cold or has been sick.
I hope this helps.
Not sure how much help I'll be, but I thought since I had asthma as a child, I'd post. First off, let me tell you the question I don't have an answer for: I don't know a doctor that can take a post dated check. Secondly, let me just say I am not a doctor and this should not be taken as advice based on anything but my personal experience. If it is asthma, from my experience and knowledge, attacks are brought on by three things: stress, allergins or exertion. Mine was allergy related. You might try to determine what seems to set it off. Since it seems to hit at the same time of year, it sounds like allergy induced to me. I also know that allergins will cause coughing outside of asthma (I'm dealing with that right now) because of the sinus drainage that the allergy causes. So, you may be able to lessen the cough if you can determine something she might be having an allergic reaction to. I would also caution you to be very careful with it because I did catch pnuemonia during my higher asthma troubles. Sorry I couldn't be of more help and good luck!
My son was classified with asthma and the doctor you saw was right that insurance might not take him. If you can, don't have him labeled with asthma until after you have insurance. Our son used to have to have steriods about every month, so our pediatrician told us to see a pediatric pulmonologist. That was the best! We saw him for a couple of years (4 times a year) and he got everything under control. There are many medications out there that can be prescribed and our pediatric pulmonologist had to find just the right combination for our son. The good news is that after a couple of years, he is no longer labeled with asthma and takes no medication! Good luck!
My 4 year old son had a cough that wouldn't stop, and he had repeated sinus infections when he was two. Fortunately, we did have insurance and he was referred to an ENT--to sum it up--he ended up having to have his adenoids removed, which helped a lot. It does kind of sound like asthma, but really the breathing treatments and albuterol should have helped get that under control. You might try giving her something that has an antihistamine to dry up any drainage along with the cough medicine. Drainage can also make them cough. I would definitely take her to the doctor as soon as insurance kicks in.
