Cough with No Other Symptoms - West Mifflin,PA

See the pediatrician. It could be pneummonia. They can also prescribe a prescription cough syrup. I have found the over the counter cough syrups to be useless but the other stuff works great.

Could it be allergies? Have you tried giving them over the counter children's Claritin?

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You take your child to the Doctor, then with that information and diagnosis, you can tell the Preschool, if he/she is fine or not.

USUALLY, only with a Fever, a kid can't go to preschool or daycare.

You NEED to take your child to the Doctor... ESPECIALLY since his cough is "deep in the chest."
That is not good. What if it is serious?????
TAKE him to the Doctor.

You NEED to have the cough... DIAGNOSED.

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Take them to the doctor. My son had and continues to have this problem.
He was prescribed Advair and only needs it once in a while. Last year he had this problem in school and i took him to the doctors just to make sure everything was fine and then let the teacher know he went to the doctor and was prescribed Advair and the cough was not contagious.

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I agree--take them to the pediatrician.
And run a cool mist humidifier at night in their room(s).
Good luck.

And--yes--schools can have whatever "policy" they decide to instate. Good or bad.

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Tell the preK that it's environmental allergy induced... they can't prevent a child from attending just because they have a cough, all kids cough, and usually for no medical reason! Unless it's accompanied by green snot, or a fever, I don't see how they can stop you from dropping the kids off. That doesn't seem legal. You're paying them, and it's costing you money to not work. Maybe have the pediatrician write a note saying they're not contagious.

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I also disagree with those that suggested telling them it was environmental and just taking them. That is not fair to the staff or other children. I sent my daughter to a pre-school that did not allow sick children because she has a disorder that causes her to end up in the hospital even for a little cold. I should not have to keep her home because someone else wants to send their sick child to school. But they do and did. there were times parents lied and everyone knew it. Times I took my kids out or threatened to even when healthy when a parent brought a sick child in. Sometimes I had to keep my healthy children home when parents brought their sick kids in, other times the parents took their sick child back home with them when confronted. Policies are there for many different reasons. The school we went to I suspect they didn't want their teachers getting sick and having to find replacements. And i would suspect that with any place. Especially smaller places with fewer staff. So you are doing right by trying to treat it before sending them back. I would say run a humidifier in their rooms. Make sure they get plenty of rest even if they don't want to. If they are acting fine otherwise, if not maybe it is time to see a Dr. I wouldn't run to the Dr. if they seem fine otherwise, but I don't like to expose my kids to Dr.s offices with all the germs especially when they are fighting something off and then they get even sicker. But you could always call them and ask the nurse about treatments. Sometimes you can give children a mild decongestant called mucinex. But if there is no mucous in the cough it wouldn't help. It could be bronchitis, which will eventually go away but could be helped by treatment if you do take them to the Dr. Just go with what feels right to you.

I've had two types of coughs with my kids that have no other symptoms. One was asthma (with my daughter), and it happened only at night. It was a very dry sounding, hacking cough. The other cough was associated with allergies, and it was more of a "normal" cough, like a tickle in throat but maybe a little wetter sounder (like there's mild congestion with no actual runny nose). The asthma went away after a year of daily steroid treatments with a nebulizer. We've never seen it again since then. The allergy cough usually disappears after a few days of regular doses of Zyrtec or other allergy medication. However, you shouldn't take the word of anyone on here. Your pediatrician needs to examine the child/children and rule out other issues or get a description (or better yet, a sample of) the cough himself, prescribe the proper treatment for your situation, and generally be aware of the situation so it can be monitored if necessary.

they cant go back to preschool with a cough? thats extreme. is it an all day cough or is it in the mornings. if they both have it im guessing its a virus and coughs can last 3 weeks if not more. I would maybe take them to the pediatrician to see if its pneumonia or bronichitis but i dont think that having to stay home is neccessary.

Have you tried using a cool mist humidifier in their rooms at night? I know sometimes when my little ones have a nagging cough I will use it and it will help to break it up and clear it up quicker.

If the cough is totally disruptive, makes them possibly gasp for breath (I have one of these coughs right now and just can not shake it...I can not imagine a child dealing with it), I could see an exclusion. I run a home based childcare and certainly would consider it. They get to make the rules, remember that. I see many people posting things like "you pay them, they can't keep your child out" sort of mentality. Well...yup, they can. Most policy books have a "we get to make the call on an individual basis" sort of line in there somehwere. I know mine does. I am the boss here, and its why I get paid the big bucks (LMAO..ok...that was funny..sorry!)

Anyhow, you are not their boss, you are a client, and truthfully, if you are not happy with their policy on this (once you have exhausted the discussions and "what can we do" sort of stuff of course), you are free to move along elsewhere to another care facility.

As far as the cough itself, a trip to the doc perhaps, altho, personally I hold little stock in their replies with such non-specific illness as this sounds. FOr my own, I finally went in since an old inhaler I had was expired and I knew that would help me (I get this at the tail end of many colds in the last few years).

Good luck!

Hi, T:

Call you ped and ask this question.
Just a thought.
D.

Call your Pediatrician's office and ask to speak to the nurse about this, she will be able to tell you what you should do. It could be from post nasal drip, but it's best to call their doctor.

maybe they should see the pedi...I agree w/ BD, it could be pneumonia...on the other hand it could be bronchitis...it could be the asthma ...my son's asthma involves what we call "the cough" which is different than "a cough"...good luck