My 18 Month Old Son Can't Sleep Because He Keeps Couging!!!

Well...I'd keep the Vicks off his chest and away from his face. It can actually irritate more than help at that age.

Otherwise, it sounds like you are doing just about everything you can. Sitting in the bathroom with a hot, steamy shower running every couple of hours may help.

Small amounts of caffeinated tea--the caffeine can help relax airways--with lemon (and honey if you feel comfortable with it at his age) may help ease it.

There are some homeopathic cough remedies that can help, but I don't think any of them are listed for children under two. I use one called Chestal that I find at HEB or Whole Foods. I found that it was more effective than what the doctor prescribed...even if it has to be taken more often.

My daughter also sleeps better on her stomach when she can't breathe or is coughing. Inclined but on her stomach...I spent many nights in a chair (recliner or with a stool) holding her so we could both get SOME sleep.

Good luck...just a couple more nights.

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Another very strong possibility is that your son has asthma. It's really hard to definitively diagnose at this age, but since he's been sick for so long, with recurring symptoms, it sounds like asthma to me (both my girls have it). Consult your doctor, and if so, he needs to be on a maintenance medication for asthma, such as Flovent. The nebulizer isn't helping because it's only meant for breakthrough episodes (such as a cold) when asthma kicks in more. He needs to get the asthma under control first with a maintenance med, and then use the nebulizer (with Xopenex or albuterol) when needed, hopefully not too much. It's important that he get the asthma under control, though, because lung scarring can occur if asthma is left uncontrolled for a long period. My older daughter has asthma that presents as a cough. I don't think I've ever heard her wheeze. When she was about your son's age she had a cold that made her cough so much she would throw up. That was when we took her to the pediatric pulmonologist. And I agree with the other posters, get rid of the Vick's - it won't help his sensitive lungs. God bless you!

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A.: My son who is now 37 yrs old, had phneumonia when
he was months old. Make a long story short every winter he
had bouts of coughing, especially at night. This my mother
told me to do. When he would begin to cough put Vic's (the
baby kind)sold at stores. Put the vics on the chest and on
back.You and also put some on his feet and socks. Warm up a wash cloth and put it warm not hot one on his chest and one on his back. At fist, it might take up to
several times of repeating the warm cloth,but it will work.
It a home remedy that worked for my son.Hope it works for you and your baby.

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Please don't use the vicks. It can make things worse . When i was about your sons age and had similar symptoms my mom put vicks on me and i nearly drowned from the excess fluid it caused. It's too strong for babies and young children . Call a pharmacist and see what over the counter cough suppressent they recomend. Or call the nurse. They are usually pretty good at giving recomendations. But please don't use any vicks or products like that. The doctor told my mom that it was drowning me and she had to wash it off right away.

Hi A.....rub some Vic's vapor rub on the bottom of his feet at night & put some socks on....it will calm his cough so he can sleep better...this is what doctors recommended awhile back when they started taking off medicines off the shelf bcuz many kids were getting overdosed....Hope this helps...I know it will!

Apparently I'm more pushy than these other "nice mom's" but I'd either insist that the Dr. see him today or I'd go to a minor care clinic and have him seen. That baby is much too young to go through this...

Have you tried cutting down on his milk consumption while he's ill? When my son was small we would immediately cut down on milk when he started to get congested and it seemed to work. Also, children's delsym is the best cough syrup I've found... Good luck!

My kiddo gets that fun stuff too. If the neb isn't working, I would call your Dr. office again. Ask if you can get him in sooner. If not, talk to the nurse and ask her what to do. Perhaps in speaking with the nurse, they may "find" an apt that the secretary "couldn't". Otherwise, she can tell you what might help or recommend an ER trip. Good luck!

If it ever gets so bad you're worried about his breathing - put him in the bathroom and close the door. Run the shower (with no one in it) and run it full blast on the hottest setting. Let the room fill with the steam and let your son breathe in all that humid air. This trick was told to my parents by their doctor and it saved my brother's life.

I think you are doing about everything you can. It sucks that there's so little we can do to help them in this situation. I agree with the other poster on losing the Vicks. You can also give him a tsp of honey - supposed to be a cough suppresant. My daughter had this horrible cough that she could never shake for 3 months straight. We finally saw an ENT (ear, nose, and throat specialist) and an allergist. Both said to get her adenoids out. We saw the xray showing how they were blocking her air passage. She just kept getting reinfected because the passage was so blocked. We got them out last Wednesday. The point is don't be afraid to go see a specialist (or two) if you don't get anywhere with the pediatrician. Good luck.

My 3 yo daughter went through this recently. I was at my wits end of no one sleeping for 3 nights in a row. I don't ever use anything buy natural remedies and sometimes mucinex, but in this situation (under the advice of a natural healer!) I gave her Children's Nyquil for 2 nights. She slept all night long without coughing and that sleep gave her body the energy she needed to heal. I would only use this in desperate circumstances, but it sounds like that's where you are. Here's the link for dosage:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T089201.asp
Good luck!

My 3 month old son had/has the same problem. At first it seemed like a cold. He didn't have a fever and not even a runny nose at first. But, then the cough just kept getting worse week after week to the point that he would vomit. It was heartbreaking! Nothing helped. Finally, after 4 visits to the pediatrician and almost a month of symptoms we got a diagnosis. He has Pertussis or Whooping Cough. Even though he's had a vaccination it takes at least 3 to 4 vaccinations before children begin to build up an immunity. Adults can also get whooping cough, but it presents more like a cold with a bad cough and they can give it children. Here is a website with more info: http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/bacterial_viral/w...

The treatment involves antibiotics and a cool mist humidifier to help with symptoms. I've also use a bulb syringe to suction out the mucus when he coughs it up into his mouth. The pediatrician can diagnosis pertussis with a nasal swab test. Good luck!

What about a humidifier? Have you taken him to an allergist?

I agree about stopping dairy for a while. Especially at night. Start noticing what you feed him and how he changes through out the day. Keep a food diary. Go to Whole Foods and get some pro biotics you can add to his food a couple of times a day. Make sure it's dairy free and a powder. Not yogurt. Also, try adding fish oils, or some type of essential fatty acid to his diet. Like Evening Primros Oil. Are there any pets that go in his room? If so, keep them out and try keeping his room as pure as possible. Even his bed sheets and pjs. Make sure those are cleaned in "free and clear" good detergent. If he doesn't move around too much in bed try putting his matress at an incline. Also make sure his vaporizor is a "cool mist" one and make sure it is clean and doesn't contain mildew. If you haven't cleaned it in a while do so with some vinegar and water.
Keep us posted and hang in there honey!

My daughter had a cough for 8 weeks. We also tried everything. What worked best was all the same you are doing. We had three humidifiers going day and night. Also hot tea with 1tbsp of honey worked wonders, no coughing all night. Much better than the cough syrup we used.