Bad Cough at Night.

I just wanted to reiterate what someone else said...Benadryl probably isn't the best thing to give for a cough. I would take her in to see the doctor...she may need an antibiotic at this point. A pediatrician once told me that if a cough is getting worse, you need to go see the doctor, even if you've just been to see them recently. Pneumonia and bronchitis can develop pretty suddenly. Also, you never know, there could be a sinus infection or even ear infections (my oldest had lots of ear infections with no pain). Good luck!

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I would be careful with the Benadryl--unless your doctor says okay to it--really not supposed to give toddlers under 2 any medicine and I dont think Benadryl is meant for babies. Also, that may be contributing to the constant cough--if it is drying her up too much the cough can't be productive. Check with the doc for sure about this! Is she really not sleeping or does she cough while she is sleeping? When my daughter is sick she will cough at night, but doesn't call for me most of the time. Sometimes these things takes weeks, especially during this time of year. Definitely trust your mommy instincts and call your doc!

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Hi C., Our daughter did the same thing when she was little and the Dr tried all the prescription type things and then we did the over the counter things well of course nothing worked. My brother-in-law fix her some Honey, lemons and whiskey and that worked she slept all night with just a teaspoon of this concoction and now at the age of 32 she will still take it if she starts coughing. I know it sounds crazy but it really does work. Now I don't know the exact ingredients but I do know that he used the whole bottle of honey and about 6 lemons and then I think it was just about a cup or so of whiskey or you can use vodka. So I hope that this helps. C.

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You sound like you are doing a good job.

Remember a constant cough can also be a sign of asthma. Be sure to document all of her symptoms and how you are treating her for the next doctors visit.. I made a lot of excuses to myself before I would admit it was not just a cough caused by a runny nose.

We also purchased a Hunter electric filter (we had to change the filter every 3 or 4 weeks because of all the crud in the air)for her room and removed the carpet and drapes..

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Hi I am teacher, and one of the assistants an older Hispanic lady told me have you ever tried honey with fresh ground cinnamon for that cough? She told me to mix about 1 tablespoon honey to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and swallow. This worked great, so I tried it with my kids, it too worked wonderful!

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Vicks on her chest will help some. But, my doctor always gave my kids a cough suppressant for night time only to allow them to sleep.

Also, raise her up a little in bed. Laying down flat will make her cough more.

Both of my children were also diagnosed with reactive airway when they were smaller. Have you tried Vicks Baby Rub?

take her to the pedi. it might be more than allergies, or the benadryl might not be working for her. i didnt think kids under 2 were suppose to take benadryl???

It might be asthma. I would take her to see an allergist.

She may have asthma. That's what happened with my daughter when she was that age. She coughed all night long. She was so tired she was lethargic. She wouldn't eat because she was exhausted and sleepy. I thought it was just allergies and she was drowsy from lack of sleep. I suggest taking her to a doctor.

You are doing the right thing and sounds like you are a very caring mommy. Try nasal decongestant instead of Benadryl, the humidifier is a great thing too but using the Benadryl & the humidifier together are working aginst each other a bit. It sounds like the nasal drainage is causing the cough but as we found out too the dry throat makes them cough as well{from Benadryl}. My son goes through this and the E.N.T.doctor says cronic allergies is cause. We go for testing soon. good luck with your lovely little one. Merry Christmas

Definitely go see the dr. And if the pedi can't help, go see an ENT. There are limited things you can do for home remedies (honey, mattress at a tilt, lots of liquids, humidifier). None of those seemed to help my baby girl and we are now in the process of scheduling an adenoidectomy for her. If your daughter keeps getting colds, something else may be going on. I do know how you feel.

I, too, have used the Vick's Vapor Rub on the feet and it worked for my kids and everyone else that has done it. After it's rubbed into the soles of the feet, we put socks on.

Hi C.-
You can try putting a couple drops of lavender and a couple of tea tree oil in the humidifier. That seems to help our son. Be careful and don't put too much because it can smell really strong if you do, so a couple drops to start out is good, then see if you need to add more.
Also, we get a couple of meds from a pharmacy here in Austin that sells some alternative meds (as well as mainstream ones). One is called Chestal. I think it's homeopathic and it works really well with the cough for our son. Look around for a pharmacy like that so you can talk to a pharmacist about homeopathics and your son. (I'm assuming you live in Houston because you mentioned snow?)
Good luck!
K.

Put Vaporub on her feet, then socks. Sounds crazy, but absolutely works wonders for our whole family!

Have you tried homeopathy? You can do an online search for her symptoms paired with the words 'homeopathic remedy'. It will give a list of remedies. Just read them and choose the one that fits the best. You can get them at Whole Foods. My children respond to them really well. Good luck. G.

Hi,
So sorry to hear about your little one's cough. My daughter also had asthma that we realized when she was one or so. She also had tons of food and airborne sensitivities that made the asthma worse. She also had bronchitis frequently as well as other infections. Because my little one was sick so often, I got worried about all of the drugs she took, so I learned a lot about holisic healing and nutrition and I also found some practitioners that used a more holistic approach. I would be happy to give you some names if you like.
Good Luck!
Blessings,
K.

Please don't give you child OTC cough medicine. Give her a teaspoon of honey. Its a natural cough suppressant and she can have more than one teaspoon if it doesnt work within 30 mins, it's even safe to give her every couple of hours.

I also hope you consulted your physican about the use of benadryl on an 11month old. That's kind of dangerous.

Good luck to you and I would think about a doctor's visit soon. Coughs are tricky and can easily turn to bronchitis or pneumonia.

Lots of great suggestions from other moms. Beyond saying yes you should probably take her to the doctor, here's a trick you can try that might help her sleep a little better. (Won't cure the cough, but might produce more restful sleep.) This works especially if your little girl coughs way more at night and naps then when she's up during the day. Put a pillow under her mattress at the end of the bed where her head is. This will tilt the mattress to raise her head up a bit, without the suffocation risk of putting pillow in there. It's the same effect as propping yourself up in bed with a bunch of pillows to sleep rather than laying flat. For some people this helps the mucus drain and minimizes coughing (okay at least it works for me as I usually prop myself to near a sitting position to sleep when I've got a cold).

A homeopathic remedy we use with our daughter that has really worked is called Nectadyn. It works as a cough suppressant and expectorant, and you can order it online. Also, I know the pediatricians recommend cool mist humidifiers but we've had the best luck with the Vicks warm mist humidifier. They have the Vicks liquid you can buy and put in it & that made a real difference for our little one. (She is still in a crib, so we don't worry about her getting out and getting into it!)
Hope she feels better very soon!

Does the Benadryl have an antihistamine? The reason I ask is because when my oldest was little he developed a cough at night. I would get up and give him cough medicine which of course didn't work. The Dr. said that the reason he was coughing was due to the drainage. When they lay down it just gets worse. She told me to buy a medicine that had an antihistamine in it to dry up the drainage. Worked like a charm! Now if you are giving her something with an antihistamine and she is still coughing then you definitely need to go see a Dr. God bless!

a little trick a nurse taught me 8 yrs ago and i still use to this day with my 8yr old and 2yr old... sit with her in steam (bathroom with hot water running) for about 10-15 mins... THEN take her outside into the cold air. It works! Hope this helps.

I would take her to the Doctor, sounds like she may need a breathing treatment, better to be safe than sorry.

Take her to the dr. they have a great nightime cough medice they can give you a prescription for. It worked wonders for my son at that age.

When I was a little girl I remember my mom would put ice pack around my throat and that would calm the tickling sensation.. of course it was wrapped in a towel and not too cold..but cool enough to do the trick.. I used that on my kids and now my great grand kids.. and it works every time.. & the best thing you get a little sleep in between changing the coolness...Hope this help you!

I know this is weird, but try rubbing Vicks-vapo-rub (or baby variety) on the soles of her feet. It really works for coughs.

We use to put vicks vapor rub on a kleenex near the vaporizer... a big glob.. since I did not want to put it on their chests...since it always made my chest burn...when Mother put it on me... it helped.

I put mine on a pillow so they were at an incline and that helped...but I know now they are so against pillows.

Good luck.

She definitely needs to see a doctor, but for those symptoms, my home treatment would be Mucinex (an expectorant) during the day (helps thin the mucous so she can release it from her bronchial passages) and Delsym at night if the coughing is too terrible to sleep. Delsym was recent a prescription that became over the counter and works pretty well.

Believe it or not try VICKS vapor rub on her feet and then put some warm sock son her - her cough will stop and she sleep "like a baby"...... god luck - I went through something like this with my girl but she was asthmatic and the change of weather ALWAY affected her....