Cough Syrup

Two things: Firstly, if there is a lot of phlegm, I would suggest any kind of tea with A LOT of lemon, it cuts right through it. If it's a dry, scratchy throat, you want to make tea with A LOT of honey, that will coat it and give relief from coughing. Cutting out mucous forming foods might also help, like dairy. I found this online recently-perhaps it will be of some help to you:

The Onion Pack
I’ve never seen anything work faster to
stop incessant coughing than a pack made
of yellow onion. When my sons coughed
through the night, remaining asleep while
I lay awake, I’d head for the kitchen
to prepare this remedy. By the time I
would get from the bed to the door, the
coughing would stop!
The medicinal properties of the onion are
contained in its fumes and the inhalation
of them is what does the trick. The room
won’t smell so fabulous in the morning,
but I always figured it was worth a
night’s sleep.
Thinly slice a small yellow onion, place
in cheesecloth, folding it over to make a
self-contained “pack.”
Place in a 200-degree oven for just a few
minutes to warm it.
Place on your child’s chest, taping in
place with surgical tape and covering
with a nightshirt.
Chest-Relaxing Ginger Rub
When your child’s chest feels tight as
a result of cold or flu and coughing is
painful, a ginger rub will bring herbal
heat to the chest. Ginger’s stimulating
properties increase circulation and help
loosen things up, with greater comfort
being the happy result. I can remember
times when this remedy was so effective
that the next night my son required an
onion pack to stop the incessant coughing
from all the loosened phlegm!
To prepare this rub, mix together 1
tablespoon each of powdered ginger
(Zingiber off.) (purchased from a health
food store, where it will not have been
irradiated) and a non-petrolated
petroleum jelly (also available at a
health food store).
The mixture will look rather like brown
frosting. But don’t eat it — spread
it on your child’s chest, then cover
with a cotton T-shirt.
A reddening of the area is normal and
indicates that the ginger is increasing
circulation to the capillaries near the
surface of the skin.
In the morning, the petroleum jelly will
have been absorbed and the ginger will
have worked its magic, as indicated by
your child’s ability to breathe more
easily.
Another wonderful reason to use ginger: A
Brigham Young University study revealed
that this herb significantly decreased
nausea and diarrhea associated with the
24-hour flu.

Onion-Honey Cough Syrup
Here’s a sweet and delicious cough
remedy your child will love to eat! The
anti-inflammatory properties of both
honey and onion help relax coughing
spasms and soothe irritated tissue. Onion
and honey are anti-microbial, as well.
Research reveals that onions, as well as
garlic and cayenne, produce an irritation
in the stomach lining that signals the
lungs to release a flow of secretions
that help thin sticky, thickened mucus.
Can you recall how peeling an onion
brings tears to your eyes? That’s the
same mechanism in action. This is what
makes onion such a good expectorant,
breaking up congestion in the lungs.
Mountain Rose Herbs. A herbs, health and
harmony company. Since 1987
In a small saucepan, mix together 1 cup
honey; 1 medium, yellow onion, chopped;
and 1 tablespoon thyme leaf (more, if you
use it fresh).
Cook the above ingredients until the
onion is softened.
Serve warm by itself, eaten by the
teaspoonful, over mashed potatoes or with
your child’s favorite vegetable, meat
or chicken.
Small amounts may be eaten several times
a day, if desired.

1 mom found this helpful

Coughing can be an allergy symptom- especially the "tickle" type of couch. My 7 year old granddaughter (who lives with us) takes Benadryl syrup for her allergy symptoms. It really helps, but may make your child sleepy at 1st. We give her 1/2 dose if needed in the AM, whole dose if needed at night.
hope he's better by now...

If in doubt about something the doctor told you, you really should ask them to clarify. But my guess would be that she suspects allergies. My kids and my husband coughs from post nasal drip and the Benedryl can help some. It's over the counter and an easy fix if it works. Try for 3 days and if it does not help call you doctor back

I had the same exact thing happen to my son. We prefer Zyrtec but benadryl works nice too. We also have a nebulizer on hand with albuterol for when he gets really bad. for the record cough syrups will not work on this, they may make him better for a little bit but the allergy meds will rid him of the cough. Good Luck!

It stops/dries mucus from running down the throat that is probably causing the cough.

I am not a doctor, but it seems to me that I have heard and read that nothing - not any form of medicine or cough syrup hinders coughing. I imagine you would want to make sure it is not symptomatic of something more serious. Perhaps looking into alternative medicine like Chinese medicine might provide some relief.

My son has a great deal of seasonal allergies and many times coughing will occur from the nasal draining. It can also happen because the same allergens that can irriate the sinus passages and eyes can irritate the linings in the throat and bronchial passages. I have allergies to tree and corn pollen (and I live in the midwest LOL) and deal with bronchial irritation and this type of coughin every year/. If your son does have a cough due to nasal drainage the benedryl will definitely help. It will also help him sleep at night since one of the side effects is drowsiness.

It is to help the post-nasal drip dry up. I have been giving my daughter Benadryl since she was 2-1/2 and it's the only thing that helps her cough and also helps her to sleep. Hope your son feels better soon.

Sometimes a cough can be from allergies, so your doctor probable wants to try it to see if improves

The coughing may be due to sinus drainage which is in a cycle
of allergy components. Benadryl is an antihistamine, so it
works on "allergic" symptoms.

This may be the reason.

L. P.

BTW - some have mentioned the cough syrup recall - don't worry about it. That voluntary recall was specific to Robitussin and similar cough medicines due to the fact that they were ineffective (didn't work on the cough) and there was an occasional overdose usually due to parents who mis-measured the dose, or when two caregivers EACH gave a dose without checking with each other. Also, many of the measuring cups were missing the "half teaspoon" line, making accurate small doses hard to do. The recall concerned children ages two through five.

I am a veterinarian. I use benadryl a lot for coughs. First of all its main side-effect is drowsiness which helps with sleeping. Its hard to sleep when you have a bad cough. A lot of dogs I use it on have a night-time cough. Secondly, my husband is a family-practice physician. He says most cough from upper-respiratory viruses are from drainage down the throat that irritate it. Anti-histamines help reduce the drainage by blocking over production of histamine which occurs with colds as well as allergies. All in all, whether it helps will really depend on what's causing his cough. If its truly an expectorant cough, it may not help, but may help him sleep better. Anti-histamines are also very safe (pretty un-toxic), so your pediatrician won't be making things worse.

Hi Yvette
I am a 48 year old mom of 8. After years of the runny noses and coughs, you learn all kinds of things. The Benadryl will dry up the drainage from the sinuses which run down the throat and cause rattle coughs. The Albuterol Syrup causes it to loosen up. Hope this helps
N.

Benadryl dries up secretions, which can cause the cough. It is the only thing that works on my night time coughs, which are almost always caused by post-nasal drip.

Try Mucinex Cough syrup for Children, or Triaminic strips Nighttime for cough. Both work well for my 4 1/2 year old.

Still, I would try another pediatrician. If your son's cough is getting worse, they really should check him for pneumonia or bronchitis.

Good luck.

Hi Yvette,

I have 3 children 11, and twins who are 9 and our ped prescribes allergy meds. The reason behind it is that sometimes the cough is caused by post nasal drip that irritates the throat and bronchial tubes. The antihistimine in the allergy meds stops the nasal drip to help relieve the cough and throat irratation. We have also found an over the counter med called Delsym. It is a non-narcotic and last for 12 hours. You can purchase it anywhere, Walmart, Walgreens etc. Hope this helps.

Ok...You are going to think this sound completely hokey, but for some reason it works. There is some sort of gland in your feet that respond to this. At night time, rub vicks vapor rub on your childs feet and cover with cotton socks. Give it a 1/2 hour and coughing should stop. Also use a humidifier to keep room moist. If I were to recommend any cough medicine for kids it would be Delsym, it is the only one that has ever worked for my kids. Good Luck and be careful with all of the OTC medicines!

Maybe he is coughing b/c of post nasal drip? Benadryl would help with that, though there are other allergy meds you could try that are non drowsy, like claritin or zyrtec.

My 2 year old had a horrible cough and nothing was helping. I gave him one dose of Benadryl (per nurse at the MD office) and it really helped. It silenced the cough. I only gave it at night though. I have also (just yesterday) heard about the Child Vicks on the feet. My one year old has a cough and I am just about to try that too.

Good luck and hang in there!

Get Delsym. It works miracles!!! You only take it every 12 hours. Within 15 minutes you will notice a HUGE difference.

Hi Yvette,
My pediatritian told me once, by treating the mucus in the nose it is not so thick dripping down their throat, which is causing the cough. My pediatrician always recomends Robitussin DM ( Wal-Tussin DM ) It loosens up everything in their nose and chest making it easier to cough it out. I hope this helps. Best Wishes.

Benedryl has drying agents that help dry you out. The doc probably suspects the cough is from post-nasal drip so Benedryl would help dry up the drip and take away the cough.

i assume they thing your son's cough is due to allergies, but who knows why? I highly recommend an 'alternative medicine' cough syrup that is homeopathic. homeopathy energizes the body to heal itself, whereas the other syrups you buy at the store try to suppress the cough. suppressing does not try to fix the root cause of the problem

the 2 i like the most are these. The boiron brand one (called CHESTAL) is available at whole foods market or at fruitful yield.

http://www.fitfuel.com/boiron-chestal-cough-honey-p-9441....

http://www.homeopathyworks.com/product.php?xProd=8714&amp...

If you want to know more about homeopathy (i'm a gigantic fan of it helping my son's eczema), email me offlist. A naperville homeopath is giving a free talk on chronic illness and how homeopathy can help heal on 3/15. More info is on her homepage: www.dupagehomeopathic.com

Jen S.

It is possible that he is coughing badly because of post nasal drip.
You are right ...Benadryl is for allergies.
It makes my daughter tired, but dries up the mucus, when I give it to her during spring seaon. You should talk to the pharmacist about an appropriate medication or take him back to the doctor.

Honestly any pharmacist or pediatrician will usually tell you Robitussin is the best to use. The only particular reason she might tell you to use Benadryl is because their expectorant can dry up excess mucous. Albuterol is an antiinflammatory and a bronchodilator most pediatricians prescribe for children. It's not used to eliminate excess mucous. In some cases before a cough gets better it can get worse. When you cough, you bring up phlegm and when you loosen excess phlegm it promotes more coughing. Which in is not to say that the Albuterol didn't work it probably did. Her intention was to dry up the excess that it moved out. But Benadryl wasn't probably the most effective choice. They have a Robitussin cough expectorant for kids and it works pretty well. My kids especially love it and I normally have given them Robitussin DM.

I am usually not one for giving steroid meds, but if its bronchitis which is usually caused by inflammation in the lungs. Especially with children it's not a good idea to experiment with home remedies unless under the care of a Naturopathic Doctor. I am a Naturopathic Counselor, but we are specifically educated not to treat bronchitis to let conventional medicine step in for that. You can still give them packs and certain safely measured herbal teas.

I hope this helps a little.

At night, try a small bit of honey. This can soothe the throat and keep coughing supressed. Since this is sugary, make extra sure he brushes his teeth. A cool air vaporizer in his room (not pointing towards the bed), can also help the dry air and aid in supressing a cough. Most important, if you are truly not happy with your pediatrician, please shop for another. Ask friends and neighbors for recommendations. You MUST be comfortable with your child's doctor and feel you can ask questions and get answers without feeling foolish.

Good luck.

Here's some good information for dealing with coughs....

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T081000.asp

Best wishes for quick healing.

Believe it or not, raw honey works very well for coughs. Put it in a teaspon, heat it up a little on the stove and give it to him. My own dad use to give this to us when we were sick. (honey also works when kids scrapes their knees!) I also just read that 90% dark chocolate will do the trick to help supress the cough. There is nothing like good old fashioned remedies that we already have in our kitchen. And since he is way over a year old, it is completely safe.

Whenever my kids get a cough I was told by a pharmacist to give them Delsym (for kids) It comes in orange and grape. After a couple of days of that the worst of coughs gets better. It has worked for me everytime. You can get it at any Walgreens or grocery store. For a 4 year old just verify the dose with the pharmacist. My kids started using it when they were 4. Good Luck!

Hi Yvette. My daughter is also 4 1/2 and has had a cough for about a month now. The benadryl is supposed to help for the post nasal drip which is causing the cough. Our doctor told us to try Zyrtec which is also over the counter. We are going on our 4th dosage and it is helping but not 100% yet. You have to keep them on it for at least a week. I think this is the age where kids allergies start to come out. Take Care. Its so sad to see them cough so hard. I also give her a lot of baths which helps since they can't always blow there nose. The next step will be a nasal spray if this doesn't work but it is helping better than anything else. I tried vick on her feet and deslym it didnt work for me. Take Care Nic

This is going to sound completely nuts, but my sister-in-law tried it and it workes! Before bed, rub vicks vapor rub on your son's feet and put cotton socks on him. It really works!

Benadryl will dry up any mucus that may be causing the cough by running down the back of the throat (post nasal drip). If the cough is non productive, meaning that there is no mucus coming up and being expelled, I highly recommend Delsym. It's over the counter and works on all three of my children and works wonders on me. It totally saved me as I used it during an improv show I was in. Good luck.

Hi-
I have read, and heard from several friends that honey is more effective in controlling cough than cough medicines. Either straight (which my daughter loves!) or in a bit of tea. Good luck.

It may be an allergy causing the draining of the sinus' down into the throat that is making your son cough. It happens to my son during the winter months. It also helps to have a cool mist vaporizer in his room at night to help keep his nasal passages moist.

I don't know why, but my son was coughing and my mom told me to do the same thing for him. There is something in it that will quiet the coughing, although that is not what it is actually intended for.

perhaps for it's affect on mucous... to help dry him up?

this could be a stretch too... but i know Benadryl is also used for it's sedative purposes (also sometimes used for motion sickness)... is your son not sleeping? or nauseated/dizzy? Albuterol in my daughter has always caused her to get the shakes, and sometimes vomit.

I would call her back and say 'can you tell me exactly what the benadryl is supposed to do so i know if it's working or not?'

hope your little guy feels better soon, and hope your little girl stays healthy!

OPs are right about the benadryl and the dripping. That said, try a small spoon full of honey. A recent study indicates that this works as well as most OTC cough syrups. It has worked for me before, and certainly can't hurt.

Benadryl is an anti-histamine, and is used to "dry up" the mucus that he is coughing. The albuterol loosens it all up from his lungs, so the fact that he coughed more doesn't surprise me. If he has a productive cough it's important that he does cough to get rid of it. If he has a non productive cough, it might just be a trickle of sinus drainage down the back of his throat.

because allergies cause itchy throat and an itchy throat causes the coughing. me, my mom, and my 5 yr old have allergies and there is alot more to allergies than just some sneezin and runny nose. sometimes certain allergies cause flu like symptoms too. you may think its a common cold but its allergies. we are on prescription lortadine and its very good. M./31/illinois e-mail: ____@____.com

Well you obviously know a lot now about Benedryl. I only want to add a couple things. Be sure you read the packaging on the cough meds (and any meds). If you are using the Benedryl, you DO NOT want to also end up giving a cough med with antihistamine in it as many formulas do. Guiafinasin (sp?) is an expectorant and is a MUST with coughing children. It can be found in cough meds, and sometimes by itself - good for daytime. It helps break up the congestion so they are coughing stuff out. Don't give the Benedryl during the day. You want the child to be draining out the congestion, and too much Benedryl can make it thick and sticky, which can then in turn make the coughing worse. Be sure to check with a pharmacist about how much Ben. your child should have. You might not be giving enough if you go by the age requirements on the bottle. Finally, steamy bathrooms can be good, but as we found out with my oldest child, some kids do better in the cold outside air. It seems silly, but try bundling up your little one, and sitting on the porch looking at the stars.

Hi Yvette

somtimes kids don't respond well to steroids and that is what abuteral is. benadryl will sometimes help. My son has asythma and it helps him. sometimes a cough is allerys acting up some kid have a different reaction to them. I have asythma also and when I take a steroid I get worse not better but I can take benadryl. I hope this helps

I dont know why we would send you for Benadryl, but here's a trick to help him sleep.. Rub vicks vapor rub for kids on his feet and put socks on over it... Works every time for my daughter.. she slows the coughing down and sleeps... Benadryl will dry up the mucus, if he has a lot of that...

Hello there! Perhaps she thinks that his coughing is related to postnasal drip that began due to allergens he is encountering. She may figure if the postnasal drip stops, there will be no more irritation which may be playing a role in his coughing. I hope he feels better soon.

Hello Yvette,

Congestion can make a person cough. If you give your child the Benadryl you will dry up his congestion and stop the post nasal drip. His cough made be due to allergies. If the cough goes away after taking the Benedryl there is a good chance the cough was caused by an allergy. I would give it to him at least for a day or two.

If it is a dry cough with nothing coming up it normally means that your child has post nasel drip. It tickles the back of the throat and causes them to cough. The Benadryl dry that up no no more dripping.

D. :-)

They tell you Benadryl because it drys the nasal passages and then can dry out some of what causes a cough. I haven't found it to work too well either. It also makes some kids sleep.
On another note, I had a friend tell me about an old family treatment that she swears works for kids coughs. Take Vics rub (you know the stuff in the blue jar that smells of menthol) and put it on kids FEET at night. Then put socks on the feet. It's supposed to stop night time coughs, I think because of the old Eastern medicine theory that the feet are the windows to the rest of the body. As long as there are no sores on feet, it probably can't hurt.

Hi Yvette,

Sorry your son has been sick. We've had a house full of sickies this winter! I think your pediatrician must believe the coughing is due to post-nasal drip - meaning that sinus/nasal congestion is causing drainage down the back of his throat & therefore causing him to cough. The Benadryl should help dry up the drainage, and hopefully eliminate the cough. Good luck & hope he feels better soon!

Hi Yvette!
I've been a mom for almost 22 yrs, my kids are 21, 11, and 9. In my experience, the Jewel/osco store brand cough medicine works better than any of the prescriptions I have recieved, and it is a whole lot less expensive! Look for the actual symptoms that your son has and match the symptoms on the box. Also, I only give it too the kids if they can't function because of their cough, ie, sleeping.

Yvette,

Albuterol is an ingredient used in inhalers which actually helps to break up the congestion in the lungs, so that could truly be the reason for him coughing so much more. Believe it or not, that's a good thing! If it gets trapped in there, he could worsen and develop a bronchitis or pneumonia. Has he ever been tested for allergies before? The reason for the Benedryl can be a few things. A lot of times when a cough is persistent a dr. may prescribe this thinking the cough may be allergy related. If he responds, then theres a good chance the source of the cough could be influenced by allergies. Another reason for benedryl is when you get a cough, its actually from drainage from your sinuses that drips down into the chest/lungs. By drying up the sinuses with this type of medication, you may see some improvement on the amount of coughing he does.
My advice of course shouldn't take the place of your drs. however my experience comes from Nursing(although no longer practicing)and years of dealing with a child with severe asthma and allergies.
I hope this helps. Try steaming him in a shower daily a couple times. Just sitting in a steam filled bathroom helps loosen the phlegm. Again, he'll cough a little more, but a few good coughs will help get all that junk up for him to expel. Of course, humidifiers in the room, lots of clear liquids and avoid milk products for now as they produce more mucous. Best of luck!!

I am not sure why your pediatritian would tell you to use Bendadryl, but I do know that Delsym cough suppressant works great. It works for twelve hours and it has seemed to work for my girls. Good luck!

Hi Yvette

I am not sure why your Dr. would tell you to buy Benadryl. But a really good remedy for coughing is to put vicks vapor rub on the bottom of his feet and put socks over it. An added idea - is to mix a couple drops of Therapeutic Eucalyptus essential oil with the vicks .... magic. This also works for adults.

You would be amazed what the allergy ones can do...alot of times the coughs result from inflamed chect/air passages or from post nasal drip. Claritin and the other children's allergy meds that have adult versions that come in children's form are very good too.

I've got two small girls and have an in home day care with 5 two year olds. You'd be amazed what is going on this year with coughs and other illnesses.

Follow your gut instinct...but I think you'll have good luch with the benadryl. Honestly, multiple trips to the pediatrician are the thing this year.

Have you heard about doing the vicks on the feet thing? Generously rub the feet before bed time and place socks over the feet. It seems to help, no cure. It has minimized the interruption of sleep for several of my kids.

Our pediatrian told me that Benadryl is good for drying up congestion and nasal drip that lead to the cough and for helping kids get the needed rest at night. The cough medicines on the market don't seem to be effective for kids so there's little point in using them.
Good old fashion sleep, liquids, and rest with a little help from Benadryl is what she recommended for us.

Hope that's helpful.

He is probably thinking maybe your son has sinus drainage and that's why he is coughing. My daughter had a dry cough on and off from the time she was two until 7. After trying several medications, the doctor finally put her on Singular and it has worked great!

Albuterol is often for asthma type symptoms. She may have prescribed Benadryl because she is attributing the cough to post nasal drip. I would suggest going back in so she can listen to his chest. You don't want bronchitis or pneumonia to sneak up on you - and it does. When my oldest son was 12, he came home sick from school on a Wednesday (he'd thrown up at school). I took him to the doctor on Thursday and she said it was stomach flu, Friday I called back because he was worse and they said to give him Gatorade - these are the symptoms they'd been seeing, supposedly. Saturday morning I took him to the ER - I had to carry him because he couldn't even walk. Turned out he had pneumonia. He was in the hospital for 10 days. Thankfully, he's fine now. I'm not trying to scare you, I'm sure your son just has a cold, or other bug. I just don't recommend sitting on it for too long. Good luck and I hope he feels better!

benydryl dries everything up so it is very helpful. a cough will last up to 2 weeks. I would just recommend lots of liquids during the day- and benydryl at bedtime. just make sure your child is not wheezing.

Hi Yvette, someti8mes it is the post nasal drip that runs down the throat that causes the cough so that is probably why they are recommending trying benadryl to dry up the runny nose.

Hello, My daughter starting going through this when she was 4. i know he is probably only coughing, but with there probably is some sinus drainage and the benadryl will stop this and the albuterol will help with the cough. The first time this happened it turned into bronchontis. She has had that 3 times and pnemonia once. Now my daughter is 8 and if she starts coughing for anymore than a day, I always start the albuterol. It is her cough medicine, of course, now she can take it in pill form. Hope this helps.

She most likely recomended Bendadryl because sometimes a persistant cough can be linked to allergies. Sometimes when you have so much drainage, it will start to run down the back of your throat, thus making your throat "itchy" and giving you the need to cough. So yes, I would definately try either Benadryl or Claritin.

Haven't had the opportunity to try this because it was just passed on to me but others swear by it. Try putting Vicks Vapor Rub on his feet at night and then covering them with socks. It's supposed to quiet the cough immediately. Hope it gives you both some relief

A little about me:
mom of 5 working from home.

Sounds like bronchitis caused by an allergy and that is why your doctor suggested it. I would recommend Clariton for kids over Benadryl though, for one it lasts longer (24 Hours) and secondly it doesn't make them drowsy. My daughter has this persistent cough like this every time the weather changes (allergies). Hope this helps.

Yvette
Albuterol syrup is normally used for a wheeing cough like thise seen with asthma symptoms. It sounds like your doctor thinks his cough is from an allergy..The benadryl should not hurt your child bit will make them sleepy..Beadryl has many uses for illness, it is even used for patients goig thru chemotherapy to control nausea.

She told you for "coughing" because that was the main symptom. Listen to her, she knows best. The cough is probably keeping the poor child from sleeping enough...so, get rid of the cough , sleep will be better, then the healing can begin. I know it's nerve wracking honey but hang in there. It shouldn't be much longer. If anything gets worse, call the ped. immediately. Good luck.

You're doctor should have given you more information on why she was perscribing an over the counter allergy med, and how to administer it, as well as information on what not to give along with it. Because it's straight benadryl I wouldn't be too concerned, however didn't the FDA just put out that all over the counter allergy and cold medications are unsafe for children under 6 due to ease of overdose issues? Just sounds pretty irresponsible. I would try nothing but the vicks vapo rub on the chest and bottom of the feet, and see if it gets better, If not then the doctor should be perscribing something, like quifinesin to dry up the mucus, with delsym (the only cough syrup with only one ingredient and lesser risk for problems in children) as an as needed assist.

Yvette,
I was just at the doctor Friday...son has runny nose and bad cough...said throat hurt. Doctor said throat looked good, not red but the runny nose was draining down the bad of his throat, causing him to cough. I had been giving Benadryl because of the runny nose and he said to continue with that as it will dry up his nose, stop draining down the throat...therefore, no more cough. I have always been told to avoid cough meds when possible...it's a symptom not a cause of the issue.

Hope it helps...K., mom of 2 kids (5 & soon to be 3)

Probably because you need to get rid of the congestion in his nose that is going down his throat and making him cough. Try to use a salt water rinse a couple of times a day to clear out the congestion.
My kids have used Nasonex and it really helps. You need a prescription for that though.

Albuterol syrup? Never even heard of it? And, i am a peds nurse. Maybe it's just something that isnt used much. I am used to albuterol nebs or inhalers. Did the MD happen to say what the lungs sound like? Many times kids to the layman sound bad, awful coughs, junky. But, when you listen to their lungs, clear as a bell. Kids tend to have lots of drainage that they dont necessarily know how to cough up and out. Their bodies are also small, which makes things sound worse. Benadryl isnt what i would have chosen, I would have chosen some guaifenesin (sp?) syrup. It's safe for this age and thins secretions out. From a nursing/ medical perspective if there is no fever or adventitious breath sounds, the best things you can do is offer lots to drink, some cough syrup for his age group, tylenol for fevers <100.6 (typical fever ranges with kids with viruses) and use a cool mist vaporizer at bed time. Cool mist vaporizers differ from humidifiers in that they are cheap ($15-20) and they put out large enough droplets you can feel it on your hand easily and quickly when you pass over the output portion of the machine. They do a WONDERFUL job of helping coughs, esp at night. My husband and I used to be like, "sure we are running the vaporizer" when we weren't when our kids were small. Then we started using it, and now we use it when we are sick. It makes us feel foolish that we didnt do it before! It really makes a huge difference. It is probably a virus, and will have to run it's course, which it will over the next few days. As long as he isnt running a big fever, it's okay to have the cough, and frankly, in many cases it's better to have the cough than none, it's mother natures way of clearing the mucous out. Good luck, hope some of it helps.
C

First, Albuterol is a steroid, not a cough syrup, so it would be used to open up the airway. Benadryl could be used if she thinks he has post nasal drip (ie the drainage is dripping down his throat causing him to cough).

I usually use Delsym for a cough...it's a great med, can be used for kids and adults and works really well. I will give Benadryl if he is having a lot of trouble sleeping because in addition to it helping with the drip, it also makes them very very sleepy. I would only give Benedryl at night. If he is coughing during the day though, I wouldn't treat it too much cause the coughing helps to get the bad stuff out of there so he can get better.

They may have suggested that so you could dry up the nasal passage, that draining could be what's making him cough, that nasal drainage is irritating his throat. My son has had this problem before too, also try the mucinex it has worked Really well for my hubby and son. Good Luck!!!