Cold/Cough - Three Year Old

Try rubbing vicks on his throat and chest it always helped my son. If he doesn't get any better have hin checked for allergies and asthma. My son had both.

Vic Vapor Rub or anything mentholated on the feet then put socks on at night or during the day will help suppress the cough. Don't ask me how it works but, i have done it and it works. It was recommended by a nurse practitioner that i know.

Dear R.,

I have had great success with putting Vicks Vaporub on my son's chest AND feet with socks before bedtime. I don't know what the feet have to do with it, but this seems to really help with the cough - especially at night. Also, mucinex is awesome - but my son had a cough a couple of months ago and even with these things it took about two weeks to subside. I know how you feel about other people thinking ill of you letting your child "out" when they are "sick" - but if the doctor says he's not contagious - go have fun!

Good Luck!
C.

Hi R. if he has a cold give him some lemonade or lime and honey.

When my children get a bad cough their doctor usually prescribes them something that stops the coughing, usually it also makes them sleepy but maybe your doctor can offer something that won't make them drowsy.

Well, is it a productive cough? (Is he moving stuff in his chest when he coughs?) If so, the Mucinex is good for loosening the stuff he needs to cough out (not swallow). If it's a dry cough -- if it's just an annoying cough but there's no gunk to cough out, the Mucinex is superfluous. Mucinex is Guiafenisen (same thing as Robitussin) and is just an expectorant.

If it's a DRY cough, quit the Mucinex and just give him Delsym. That's Dextromethorphan, a cough suppressant. If it's a PRODUCTIVE cough, use Mucinex DM. That is the expectorant plus the cough suppressant. (DM stands for dextromethorphan.) So he won't constantly need to cough but when he does cough, he'll move the phlegm. Also, don't forget, if he's needing to be on the Mucinex, up his fluid intake. Also, a cool mist vaporizer (with a clean filter) may help.

If he's on the antibiotics (and the infection is bacterial) then he won't be contagious. I'd go ahead and have the party. Before you take anyone's advice, though, (including mine) you should call your pediatrician and double check that you've got a good plan of action.

Oh, one more thought: you may want to have the doctor take a listen to his chest in case he has reactive airway from all the coughing and the cold. In that case, he'd probably be given an RX for some prednisolone and albuterol treatments. If he's been coughing for a week +, that may be what's going on...

Good luck -- and enjoy the party!

I'd just tell them it's not contagious and I'd have the party mucinex will make some extra drainage so he'll cough because of that alone.

Hello and Happy Ground Hog Day. My daughter is 3 and an asthmatic, her cough is eased somewhat when she has a nebulizer of albuterol and pulmicort. It sounds like your son may have the same issue. Your son's doctor would be the best person to explain. Usually, the cough will take a while to go away but if your son is not experiencing any fever or fatigue then I say, let him have his fun. Tea with honey and lemon works wonders for my daughter as well. I hope that you have a good time at the Birthday party.

It seems to me that antiobiotics should only be taken if there is a bacterial infection. I understand they don't work on a virus. I have given my daughter in the past and continue to do so over the counter Vitamin C and Echinaccea. This is more preventive than anything else. I also bought a cold air humidifier to sleep with. All this helps to keep her well. She rarely gets sick due to prevention. Kids cough and have runny noses, that is a part of life.
Good luck with the party. It might help him get his mind off of coughing.

The DR might think he is too old to have it but did they test him for RSV?? It is that time of the year for kids to catch it. Have you tried a humidifier in his room or some Vicks greaseless vapro rug on his chest too. I got some for my son and it opened my sinuses up and I wasn't even congested!! As far as the party goes, any mom should understand that kids don't get better the day after they get an antiobotic in them. Just try to remind your son to cover his cough in either a few tissues or in the shoulder of his arm which is better than using his hands. If he does cough into his hands, remind him to wash with soap and warm water.

Tell him Happy Birthday and I hope he feels better soon!!

S.

Well, the good ol' teaspoon with lemon and honey 2 x a day , and if he can stand it, what is absolutely better would be organic apple cider vinegar and honey instead of lemon. Of course, you will have to look really hard for the FDA approval stamp, but the "from God" stamp is written all over it. Also you will save a lot of money.

C. Y

Get some delsym it works great.

Hi R.,

The antibiotics will only help if it is a bacterial infection. A cool mist humidifier will always help. Also you can go to the health food store and get some Beta Glucan. It is an enzyme that will build the immune system so he can fight off whatever is causing the cough. A child can take it. Just make sure when you go to the store you get a capsule. You can open in and put it in some applesauce or such. Beta Glucan can be very expensive or very cheap. The cheap is okay for a cough. The strong potent, expensive stuff is meant to fight off cancers and deadly diseases.

If you decide not to cancel, just tell the moms as they get there that your little one has a residual cough and the doctor told you it wasn't contagious. If they decide not to stay, that's their decision.

Hope your little one feels better soon!

M.

Hi R.,
My son who is four has been on breathing treatments his whole life for breathing/coughing issues. A friend recomended a chiroprater for me and said once her son started he was off all of his asthma medicines. I tried it and was shocked to see that my son has been off his medicine since going. It was amazing his cough and congestion stoped..
Hope this helps
M.

Try warm milk with honey dissolved in it....honey is a natural anti-bacterial and works womders with the throath. This is a natural remedy that my grandmana used for all her children and grandchildren as well. Good luck!

antibiotics for a cold??? why do dr.s do this?! if this is a virus the antis are useless. get him off the antis and give him some elderberry syrup or make a remedy we use often : 1/4 tsp ground ginger, turmeric and honey mixed with a few tsp. raw honey. al 3 spices/herbs have a dozen anti-viral compounds each to fight off a cough/cold viral infection. vit.C given a few times per day along with the honey mixture and lots of rest for your son and no sugar/dairy/fruit juice til he's better. personally, i wouldn't put too much stock in fda approved meds. esp. when it comes to kids.

hope he gets better soon!!
love,C.

My doctor said a new study confirmed that Honey works best for a cough, better than cough medicine. I have used it for my 3 year old son and it is the only thing to get him to stop coughing and sleep at night. 1 teaspoon every 3-4 hours.

Counter Act Cough Drops

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Put this link in the address bar

http://melaleuca.com/ps/index.cfm?f=ps.contentPage&sC...

Please be aware that Vicks VapoRub contains camphor, which can cause seizures.
At the party, be sure he 'coughs in his elbow,' which is what is recommended now. That way he is not coughing directly on anyone nor on his hands which will then touch others. Good luck. Oh, I would stay away from Mucinex if it is an expectorant. My understanding is that expectorants actually induce cough to try to expel mucous.

Happy Birthday to your son!!

I can't imagine why the doctor prescribed antibiotics for a cough. It must not be a cold.

In any case, most Mamas know that it is the 'fever' which indicates (in most cases) that the child is infectious.

As an Organizer of a Moms Group, I see MANY coughing kids at events. The Mamas seem fine with it.

As long as your child is able to cough into his elbow and isn't runny or feverish, I don't see why you should cancel his party.

My daughter is sick, too. It sucks!!!

I need to get a different humidifier.

Let us know what you finally do!!

Hi R.,
I wouldn't cancel his birthday party, because the doctor said it's not contagious. What I would do to ease parents fear of "my child's going to catch that" is to simply phone the Mom's/Dad's attending and let them know. This way when they show up, they won't be harboring any ill will (no pun intended) or hard feelings of not having been told your little boy isn't a hundred percent right now. As a mom, I know this is something I would appreciate, and I would have no qualms about bringing my child to attend your son's birthday party.
As far as old fashioned tried and true comfort remedies, there's nothing like a good old fashioned humidifier to loosen the chest. Above and beyond this, while I'm on the prowl too. So, I'm interested to see what other mom's have to reply about this. =)
Good luck with your son's birthday party tomorrow, I'm sure it will be a great time had by all!

Hi, R. --

I've already written a response to another mother about her child's persistent "croup" (which my child supposedly had).
Part of her child's -- and mine -- symptoms included a persistent cough, basically written off by our respective
Pediatricians.

In my child's case, after a LONG time of coughing, it turned out that she had severe asthma. Apparently, coughing is seen
in asthma MORE than wheezing! (That was news to me!) My daughter was two to four years old, during our long ordeal. She's now in seventh grade, and never coughs, thanks to her ashtma meds.

Back in second grade, a little boy in her class (whom I occasionally carpooled with) had a terrible (often productive) cough. I kept urging his mother to take him to our asthma/allergist specialist; but she put all her trust in their Pediatrician. Lo and behold: this year (5 YEARS later), she changed doctors, and -- you guessed it: Ben has asthma.

One word to parents of teens: a friend's daughter coughed for over a year -- it was asthma; no, allergies; no, fungus in the walls (so they tore their house apart). Long story short: it was PERTUSSIS!! -- (whooping cough)!! Those shots wear off, after around 10 to 12 years. You CAN have
your child re-vaccinated. I just had my daughter re-vaccinated last month.

Re having a party when your child is coughing: if he doesn't, and hasn't, had a fever throughout this past week -- I think it's OK to have the party. If he HAS had fever, even at the beginning of his illness, I say: cancel.

Good luck!

K.