Long Lasting Cough in My 4 Yr Old.

Updated on November 12, 2009
B.S. asks from Chicago Ridge, IL
10 answers

Back on Dec 7th, i took my son to the doc cuz he had a sore throat, turned out to be strep, and he also had an ear infection. About mid way through his antibiotic treatment he developed a cough (dry at times, loose at others) i took him back on the 13th, the ear and strep cleared up, but i did finish off his meds he had 4 more days left. At the time the doc said..he has no wheezing (he has a history of bronchitis) so no need for breathing treatments, just give him cough suppressant to help minimize the cough, but that it was just a virus that had to run its course (she said some kids have cmoe in and its lasted months). Well periodically over the days since, i have noticed some wheezing and when i do (based on knowing how he sounds when he does have the bronchitis flare up) i would give him breathing treatments, usually a couple in a day and then he would be fine, give anther one or two to make sure that it was gone. Well he is stillll coughing. IN the morning and through the night when hes sleeping, its really dry barking (i have made sure that his room is not to dry) through the day, its a lose phlemy cough. I dotn watn to run him back to the doc for them to say let it run its course, but ther has to be something i can do to make him get better..i feel bad for him, and those around him when he coughs...i cant keep him locked at home with no interaction with the outside world for all this time, both he and i would go crazy. OH i did try a trick a friend told me to soothe the cough at night...now it seems odd, but it does help (you put vicks on the bottom of yoru feet and put socks on) but thats for night time..or bed..lol, doesnt help during the day when hes up adn about.

3 hours after initial post....i have just spoken with the doc after talking with a friend about it, and the doc said taht a cough (even without wheezing) can be an astham attack, so they want to see him to see if they cna rule or rule out asthma..he goes at 2pm. As for the meds i have been giving him (in reference to some of the replies) i have tried, triaminic, tussin, and delsym, each for aat least 3-4 days at time before changing it, and none of them helped. So i will let you all know waht the doc says, but plz feel free to keep the suggestions coming, im open and desperate to try anythnig. I just remembered he has gymnastics and starts a sports sampler program through the park district on the 7th, and with him coughing just from laughing, im not sure i want to put him in them and make him more miserable.

Went to the doc, he said that its bronchitis and he has congestion in the left lower side of his chest and gave him an antibiotic..and nothing diff for cough itself. He said the meds will get rid of the congestion but the cough can still linger..gee what a help. If after the 5 days of the meds, i dont see a decrease in the amount of coughing, im going for another opinion from a doc outside of the office we go to...and maybe he will get something for the cough to help him sleep, cuz when i ask any of his regular docs he has seen, they all say its not necessary for any cough med other than OTC stuff.

Any ideas, suggestions, thoughts would be appreciated.

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B.C.

answers from Chicago on

My son had The Cough for over 5 weeks, and could not participate in gym class or any of the sports he was signed up for. We were also told it was a cold that would run it's course. Turned out the cold turned into bronchialitis. Finally, aroudn the 5th week, he was given a strong antibiotic, an oral steroid, and albuterol (sp?) breathing treatments. After 5-7 days, he was tons better! I wouldn't normally be willing to medicate him so much, but it was really an uncontrollable, painful cough for him, and it kept him from living a 'normal' 4-yr-old life for over a month. Try telling a 4 yr old that they can't run, jump, etc. for 5 weeks.
I feel for you and your son. We also did try all the usual things....humidifier in the room, turn on the steamy shower, increase vitamin c intake, etc, etc. Didn't make a notable difference.
I rmember how horrible this was , and i'm just praying my son's current cold doesn't bring us a 2nd round! If it's not getting better, i suggest you either keep harrassing your dr., or get another opinion like you had mentioned.
Best of luck!

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C.H.

answers from Elkhart on

Hi B.,

I would try MonaVie with your son. If he has asthma, it may help with that as I know it has with others. A friend of mine had a chronic cough, and it helped her. I get a cough (with phlem) a couple of times a year (maybe allergies), but I haven't had it as bad since I've been drinking MonaVie. In fact, I had one starting a couple of weeks ago and drank more juice....it helped!

MonaVie works at the inflammation in our bodies....anything ending with "itis" is inflammation; for instance, bronchitis. It may also help him sleep better; that's the report from a lot of people when they start on MonaVie. :)

For additional information you can check out my website; www.BerryGoodAcai.com and also my business listing. Please contact me with any additional questions. I would love to talk to you about it and tell you more!

Have a blessed day,

C. :)

My email is ____@____.com and my phone is ###-###-####.

N.M.

answers from Chicago on

Hi there - not sure if this is going to help w/ your son's condition, but we all here at our house have The Cough too, the one that lasts weeks so I was checking out online what I'm doing wrong here to "help" the cough last, and was surprised to find that when you use an antihistamine AND an expectorant for a cough, they work against each other. Now, not that this has anything to do w/ your question, but it did help me to know that when you take an expectorant it does help to give your lungs time to clear out the bacteria that grow in that hot moist environment. I am not sure though w/ your son who needs treatments, but w/ the wheezing it sounds like bacteria in the aveoli (this is just from what i read, not that i'm an expert:) and when we lay down it compresses the lungs and kind of forces the gunk out. If I were in your situation I'd still give the breathing treatments, but I think I'd actually start giving out more cough meds to include cough suppressant and expectorant. I have noticed a total difference in my own cough since starting the cough medicine -- i'm not usually a medicine person, and find that i'm pleasantly surprised to have a much looser cough and much more productive cough, easier to sleep at night, less wheezing. I've read Delsym works best for coughs in kids and adults, but I've been using Robitussin which is fine. I am hoping this will help you out, it's rough having sick kids, both mine have the cold, my daughter (2yo) has the same cough I do and is also on the expectorant which is helping much.

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S.P.

answers from Indianapolis on

Dear B.,
Has your child been tested for allergies?
Especially pet allergies?

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J.C.

answers from Fort Wayne on

My kids have a lot of problems with coughs also. My son has a history of asthma and my daughter also. They're both a lot better now, and it's been a long time since treatments, but I do know some things that work for me that you could try. One thing is Delsym. It's a 12 hour cough suppressant that works better than anything else I've tried over the counter. As a matter of fact, I had a pharmacist once tell me to try a dose of that, along with nighttime triaminic (which is the best OTC medicine in my opinion for kids) and see what happens. Well, it works wonders. Of course you still have nights when you're up a few times with them, but those two medicines atleast help them. I give my kids 1/2 tsp of the children's Delsym and have ever since they were about 1 1/2. Now they're 4 and 5, and I tend to give them between 1/2 and 3/4 tsp. I give them the Delsym about an hour and a half before bedtime to give it time to kick in. Another thing I do is put a second pillow on their bed to prop them up a little. I also run a Vick's humidifier with vick's medicine oil in their room for about an hour before bedtime so the vapors fill their room. I also rub Vick's on their chests and necks. I know it sounds like a lot, but I know you feel me on the fact that if it works, it's worth every ounce of effort. And I have been there so many times, that I have this routine down to a tee! Another thing too that I noticed when I read your post. It always seems to get worse at night right? And it's barky? My son gets croupe about 3 times a year. It's a high pitched cough that sounds like a seal barking. And it's always at night, and really bad at night. During the day, it's just a normal sounding cough, but at night it turns into a croupe cough. What I do with him is take him outside. I wrap him up in a blanket and walk in our driveway for about 10 minutes. Croup causes swelling, and the crisp, chill in the night air gets rid of it. I have rushed him to the ER before, only to have his wheezing and coughing stop by the time we get there, just because he was outside in the cold air. If you wanted to make it easier, you could sit in your car with him, I know my son weighs about 43 pounds! If I notice that the night air helps him, I usually open the windows in his room and sleep in there with him so I make sure he's not freezing. If it's croup, a quick 3 day treatment of steroids kicks it right out of them. After only one dose, the cough is 90% better. Hope this helps! By the way, if it is croupe, breathing treatments won't do a bit of good.

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C.S.

answers from Chicago on

My 4yo has "the cough" too. He has had it since begining of November. It is much better but still sounds junky. He has been to the DR 2 times for it and both times they say its just a cold. He does not really need any meds for it at this point as it is not interfering with anything ( while it was bad he was taking a prescription call Donatussin and that did help).I cant remember if you tried this or not but a cool mist humidifier really helped him too. I just wish it would go away. Alot of kids in his preschool have it. If its not gone this week I might take him back in. I hope you get some help from here.

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J.

answers from South Bend on

Unfortunately, there's not a lot you can do for the cough. The OTC cough suppressants are usually pretty good. The only thing stronger is a prescription with codeine in it. Coughs can last for months, so I can't imagine that you would want to medicate him with codeine for a long time. If he has bronchitis, that is probably causing the wheezing and discomfort. Bronchitis is usually caused by a virus, not bacteria. The antibiotic probably won't help it. Doctors prescribe the antibiotic anyway because the patients want something. It will run its course and be done when the antibiotic is done. A cool mist humidifier at night should help. Sorry you have to go through this. I hope it gets better soon, but I don't think another doctor will be able to add much over what your doctors have done. Good luck. I hope it's much better before he starts his sports program!

J.

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M.T.

answers from Chicago on

Hi B.-

My 4 year old has been coughing for about a month...this summer we finally convinced his doc that he HAD to have some kind of allergies because he was stuffy ALL the time and it would go into a cough if not pneumonia...so she has him on Nasonex now and it seems to help even with the cough b/c it clears up any post nasal drip that settles and causes the cough. I called the doc in December too and they told me this time of year it's perfectly normal to have a cold/cough for a month or so (which I think is horrible) and to just go with the suppressant and a vaporizer. So he sleeps with a cool mist vaporizer ALL the time now and I think that helps too! keep me posted too if you get any new info....I'm also worried about the allergies eventually turning into asthma!

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M.C.

answers from Chicago on

This sounds similar to a cough my daughter had last winter. When we went to the doctor he gave us a prescription cough med with something in it to make her sleepy - sorry can't remember what it was right now. He said the cough medicine was basically the same as the over the counter stuff, but what they really to get rid of a lingering cough is get a lot of sleep. Thats asking a lot out of toddlers and preschoolers who can't sit still - so a little help was welcome. After about 4 days, sure enough the cough was better.

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R.L.

answers from New York on

hello i'am a desperate mother with a 4 year old named jadeden with the same exact problem and i also been back many times to the doctors office and they gave him benedril, claritan,ventolin hfa (albuterol sulfate ) inhalation aerosol 90mcg per actuation,and prednisolone 15mg/5ml solution (orapred) and now he just started amoxillin 400 mg/5ml, and he is still coughing he is seing a lung specialist on friday and on monday he is seing an allergist but i also want him to see a gastroantritis just in case it might be accid reflux. i hope to god that we find a solution i dont have any time for myself its so sad , i feel so bad for my poor son. my name is rosie

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