Safe Cough Relief

Is there a family history of bronchitis or asthma? That's the first thing that came to mind. My daughter (now 4) had a similar situation, and the only cough syrup that helped her at all was albuterol syrup. When she turned 3, they finally recognized she had some sort of form of asthma that doesn't present unless seasons change or she gets a virus. We'd prop her head at night, or hold her up while she slept. Yes, we were zombies the next day. We used vaporizer. Do not use Vicks', as that sometimes aggravates asthmatics. We also tried warm lemonade, slightly tart, fresh squeezed. No honey, as she's still too young, but sweeten with a little sugar. That seemed to knock out the cough at least so she could get some sleep. She'd awake in the morning with the cough. You can look up lemonade and cough and toddlers in google. Finally, sitting in a bathroom with hot water running to steam it up helped a little, but not much. You really want them to eval for brochitis or asthma, even if there's no fever (bronchitis/allergy response). We also tried brometane syrup. No help. What finally worked was combination of pulmicort respule (inhaler), Prelone syrup (steroid), antibiotics, and fresh lemonade, once it had gone on several weeks. Sometimes a little Tylenol or Motrin if the throat was raw. You cannot do any of this without a doctor's supervision or Rx. Yes, it could be allergies, but the dr. might have to be a bit more aggressive in helping her get that under control. If she is asthmatic, no over the counter meds, please. My son was miserable when we tried pediacare, etc. I also tried Vicks on the feet. That might have brought some relief, but I can't remember. I think we did that when our son was older (more like 8 yrs. old). If she's gagging on stuffy nose, then maybe a tiny dab of vicks at the sinus point of forehead might help before bedtime. But also try holding her upright in a rocker while she sleeps and see if there's drainage.

Hi A.,

I think your daughter is overheated. We have had some warm days recently. The child will develop the cough such as the one you are describing from being overheated. A young child can withstand more cold than an adult. My children are now 26, 28 and 30. When they were the age of your daughter, I would always dress them cooler than I dressed myself. Instead of bundling her up because she is coughing, cool her off. For example: Remove her undershirt for a few days until the cough stop. Don't pile a lot of covers on her when she goes to bed. Turn down the heat in the house. Her cough should go away. Also give her a couple cups of water per day.

Is it possible to give her a smaller dosage of the medicine? A friend of mine sent me an email today about a study that was done on children and adults using Vick's Vapor Rub. Apparently, its more effective to put it on the bottoms of the feet and the cover the feet with socks or footie pjs. The pores on the feet absorb the vapors and it was proven to work better than putting it on the chest. Might be worth trying! Also , we have a coo mist humidifier that we put the vick's liquid stuff in (we got the frog humifidier from Target) - its awesome!

It sounds like she might have allergic asthma. My daughter (7 yrs old) and I both have it and the coughing really is bad. Ask your doctor if that could be the problem and see about getting a nebulizer. It works wonders for us.

THE first thing I can think of is to run a hot shower to steam up the bathroom. Once it is in full steam in there. Bring your little girl in there and just have her breathe. (you might want to bring her in with just a pamper and you in shorts and a tank because it will be hot in there put your hair up too) The steam will help loosen up whatever is in her chest and hopefully help her to bring up whatever is in there. I agree your 14month old shouldn't be on medicine that's going to knock her out! I have 4 with my oldest being 20 and my youngest 8. YOu may want to try a little bit of vicks on her chest. Good Luck!

Oh A. that is scary. What was the allergy medicine that you used? There are some out there that really sedate people maybe that was one of them. I would recommend calling the MD back and asking for suggestions on other brands to try that might not knock out your daughter too much. Also- you might have tried this already but- Try elevating her head when she sleeps to help limit the post nasal drip. I would also try to eliminate all the allergens that might be triggering her allergies. Like get rid of all the stuffed animals, get pillow & mattress covers that are allergen proof. Do you have a pet?
I hope that helps some and good luck. Let me know how it turns out.

I haven't had a child with a cough that bad but something that helps coughs is rubbing regular vicks vapo rub on the bottom of their feet with socks over. It's worth a try. I did that for my 2 month old and 3 year old. It helped them both sleep so much better and it soothed alot. My friend gave me this advice because it helped her daughter stop coughing at night. There's a lot on the internet about it so try a google search.

TAke her to the doctor. Normally they don't do anything for a regular cough unles it lasts for 6-8 weeks, however, vomiting wiht a cough is bad and I wold take your daughter to the doctor

For cough from cold & flu - a tablespoon of honey can work great. You can make that home remedy even better by grating some ginger and mixing the juice from it with the honey. That combination works really well for me. It works for my daughter too...only when I can get her to swallow enough of it : )

I would definitely check with your doctor on the allergy thing though - maybe see if there is a way to get tested to be sure or if there are alternatives to the medicine prescribed.

Also (not trying to scare you but just want to think of the possibilities), was she recently sick with cold or flu that could have turned into bronchitis or pneumonia? I know a couple of people who have had it recently and they said that during the day they were fine but at night they would cough constantly.

Good luck!!

Our son would cough a LOT at night. Our peditrician recommended that we put some corn syrup in a syringe and "shoot" it in the back of his mouth when he had a coughing fit. It worked like a charm!

Have you tried Delsym? It is specifically designed for coughs. I used it once for my son when he had a bad cough with no other symptoms. We used it just at naptime and night time so that he could sleep peacefully. Check with the doc or pharmacist though because I don't know what ages it is for.

Hey there

*** First let me say that kids under 6 should not be given cold meds. (not that you have, but i noticed that she is VERY little, so some of the replies mention cough medicines which cannot be given at that age.)

We had this with our daughter but it usually happens with post-nasal drip. It also happens because she has severe acid reflux- so everything is exaggerated.

It makes her vomit as well- but you don't see any nasal drip- so I would recommend seeing both an allergist and an ear/nose/throat doc/
There could be some sort of foreign OR benign object that is causing this-
It could be an allergic reaction to something My asthma presents as a never ending hacking cough that does not respond to anything but my inhaler.

If your daughter had that reaction to the allergy meds, i would definitely bring the bottle of what you used and tell the allergist the dosage, so it can be in her charts. She may be extra sensitive to something in that medicine.

Pediatrians can help OVERALL symptoms of OVERALL kids but are not specialists. They can diagnose you based on what 80% of the kids are presenting with- but a specialist can help you get down to the bottom of it.
Good luck! In the mean time you can raise the end of her mattress where her head rests, by putting a rolled towel under her mattress.

it could be an asthmatic reaction to something- based on how long it has occurred. Keep detailed notes for the specialists!
good luck. Good notes = best diagnosis!

Lastly- do you have a cold air humidifier or hot air? we had cool mist and it did nothing but make the room get cold! we got a hot mist humidifier a month ago and it made a huge difference! I am not sure why one is prescribed over another, but the cold air one did nothing. The 14$ hot air one we got at CVS did work.

A.,

That's a very scary reaction to any drug. I, personally, try to avoid drugs when possible. What I have found that works well in my house is putting menthol in the humidifier,and using the shower to relieve the cough. Also, have you tried putting the chest rub on her throat? i would let the doctor know about the reaction to the medication and find something not so strong, or cut the dose by half. I hope that this helps with all of the other postings, let us know what happens.

I have heard alot of children having this right now due to the change in temperatures. A great multivitamin in boosting her immune system could help ease the congestion in her little system. Also keeping her up on fluids helps as well.

Hope she feel better soon.

J. Z.
www.jenniferzaranis.com

1 teaspoon of honey works great for us (as long as it isn't the allergy thing - check a doctor first!) I remember reading to heat it up with a little lemon juice, but I finally just started reaching into the cabinet and giving plain and cold.

I am not a doctor but this used to happen to my son, it is very scary. We found out that he has severe acid reflux. I am not sure if that is what your daughter has but after we started him on Previcid and a few weeks went by, his coughs stopped. He is now 7 years old and if he misses his Previcid for more than 2 days, his coughs come back. We also used and inhaler pump to help his breathing at night until we got his coughs to calm down with the Previcid. We go to a specialist in pediatric gastroenterology. Many general pediatric doctors don't think of acid reflux when it comes to coughing. I had to do this all on my own. And with my son, he didn't have acid reflux untit he got older. I hope this helps! A. I just read the other's suggestions and we thought it might be asthma as well, but he never had the wheezing and he was fine when he was running and outside.

Dark honey is the best cough medicine for children (over a year old). Do some research on it - I'm fairly certain I've seen studies where honey worked better than cough syrups. The trick is finding a good dark honey. Grocery store honey is usually clover, which is OK but doesn't have the same benefits as it's a very light-colored honey. I can't remember what the difference in the dark honey was, but it was significant. I can usually find a good dark honey at the community market or country convenience stores. You can also find it in large quantities over the internet. Since honey never spoils (and I mean NEVER), you can buy a lot and use it for a long time.

My daughter who is now five does the exact same thing when she gets a cold or just a cough. We ended up in the Er on Christmas eve when she was 3 and they ended up giving her an inhaler (now expired). I'm not sure if it did help at all. From experience the adult formula of Vicks Vapor rub does help a little but I think you girl is too little (your Dr might say ok). (I was even told by someone to rub it on her entire foot before bed and cover with socks to help and I think it did...weird though). We did do a few things that you could try that I do think helped. We changed her laundry detergent to Tide free or All free and clear. I think she was allergic to the regular detergent. It helped, especially her bed sheets etc. Then we started looking in to the food that she ate when she got sick and the differences from the nights where she woke up numerous times and vomited and the nights when she didn't. We first thought it was milk because that thickens the mucus. Then we realized that is was actual tomatos. We love chili and spaghetti and our children will eat them any time. When she is sick now we no longer give her any foods with tomatoes and she has not thrown up in a long time....thank God. So I guess when she is sick she has a food sensitivity??) One more thing, not to make this any longer she has a horrible gag reflex. If she gets a hair in her mouth she throws up, same thing if you brush too far back accidentally. That may contribute. I know your daughter is only 14 months old but we give ours claratin (for allergies) which thins the mucus and she doesn't "choke" on it as much. This was so scary for me I would stay up nights when she was sick and coughing and I would just cry for her. To make things manageable before they get better put a few layers down on her bed (towels, waterproof sheets, etc.) and peel them away when she vomits so you are not changing the sheets all night. Also she might not be big enough to aim but when my daughter was coughing I would be right there, knowing what was coming, with an empty old wipe container with no lid. Then when she did vomit I would sit her up and hold it under her mouth. I hated when my daughter caught any colds because I new what was coming....nights and nights of vomit. Her Dr says that some children are just like that....frustrating I know. It could be anything that she is overly sensitive to, laundry detergent and tomatoes are just two. Oh and I forgot to mention that my daughter is not allergic to tomatoes when she is not coughing or sick she has no problem with them. Good luck, it does get better and I hope I helped!!
I know you are expecting another, my second daughter now almost 3 doesn't have this problem!

I will second the recommendations to take her to an asthma-allergy specialist. A chronic cough is often a sign of asthma. In the meantime, just for symptomatic relief, I second the recomemndation about Delsym. A pharmacist told me about it (they often know more about meds than the docs) and it really works.

That is a scary reaction to the medicine. Did you tell your DR? Maybe see another one as well. I found that mixing 1t lemon juice and 1t honey and have her take it frequently will help with the tickling in the throat. My husband, 3 yr old daughter, and I used that recently during a cold and it helped along with warm tea with honey. You can even put honey in warm milk. the lemon disinfects and the honey coats and sooths.
Megan (stay at home mom or 3yr old and 14 mo old)
we go to Reston Pediatrics Ass. and love all the DRs there.

A.,
Have you tried Dylseum, this might not be spelled correctly. This is an over the counter cough medicine that they make in adult and children and it is wonderful. I have used it with all of my kids when they have had acough and it works wonders. I know Wal-Mart carries it as well as Rite Aid and I believe I have see it at Walgreens. I never had any problem with it knocking my kids out, it just helped them sleep because it controls the cough and it is long lasting. Good luck.

Hi A.,

First off I would try homeopathic remedies for the allergies and for the coughing and vomiting. I usually buy the Hylands ones. You can find more info at www.hylands.com. They work WONDERS for my family!!! Not sure where you live but I get the best price on them from www.organicfooddepot.com.

Second, what kind of allergy medicine did the doc have you use? Maybe the dose was too big?

Good luck!
S.

I would try another doctor. The medicine does indeed sound dangerous to me, and so does the cough. It would be good to know what she is allergic to, and how she could get relief without medicine.

A few safe things to do:

-get an air cleaner--But check Consumer Reports. Some of them do NOTHING, but some are REALLY good. I have an awesome one that I used when I had pneumonia because I knew there was mold, to which I am allergic, in our building's ventilation system.

-Wash her bedding in HOT water often. If you can, hang it in the sun. This will help reduce dust mite activity. My ex-husband, who was horribly allergic to dust, used a new pillowcase every night. Remove fuzzy rugs from her room if possible. Go to a bare floor.

-Try a humidifier. If she is allergic to dust mites or mold, though, this might make the allergy problem worse!!! So be careful.

-turn down your heat at night. The cool air might help reduce inflammation, and the heating system will not be blowing dust and mold. If you have the opposite problem and the room is too cold for her, get some kind of heater for the room that does not blow air (like one of those radiant oil heaters).

--check to see if she is being exposed to diesel fumes. I have heard that the rise of asthma in kids might be linked to the use of diesel in school buses. Of course, she's a little young for school, but some kids are in early these days!

And maybe not safe:

--She might have asthma. Asthma in adults apparently responds well to wild cherry bark tea. But I have never heard if this is safe for children. Check with a doctor!!!!!

My son coughed like that before. We thought what is going on??? But it does seem like it is allergies. The sputum (drainage) goes down and irriates the throat. Some people have a more sensitive gag reflex. We have been on several meds and more than one at a time. We also got rid of the cat in case it was dander and we moved form OK to VA and it still continued. As he has gotten older (now 5) the vomiting has lessened. Can you try less of the medicine or a different type. Sounds like she is vomiting from the cough so if she is not coughing she shouldn't vomit. We have been on claratin, benadryl, nasonex (nose spray) and now zyrtec. Zyrtec has been the best fit so far. Much less coughing. There is also a new ointment you put on the outside of their nose to stop allergens from entering. We just started that one today. I think it is Little noses. Good Luck.

Since your daughter is now over 1 year, you can try giving her a teaspoon of honey. Generally before bedtime and it will help coat the throat to relieve coughing. Also, is the cough associated with mucus? That may be what she is gagging on. A cool mist humidifier is a huge help, plus I use a vapor plug in. You need to keep the door closed so that the vapors stay in her room. I would also check with your doctor to see if she can have the mucus thining medicine (mucinex I think). That may help as well. Good Luck

My son coughed like that and he had asthma (still does). It took forever to be diagnosed because he didn't have a classic "wheeze". I would ask to see a pulminologist. And not let this go on. It took my son getting pneumonia before he was diagnosed. Don't wait on this. It could be allergies. If they are that severe, she should be seeing an allergist. At any rate, coughing that produces vomitting should not be ignored! I hate to be an alarmist, but I listened to friends and doctors tell me it was a cold for months before he developed pneumonia at 23 mos. Then no one diagnosed his asthma until he was nearly 4! If your intuition says there's something truly wrong, run with it! Find a doctor who will listen.
J.
Single mom of 11 yo boy and caregiver to elderly parents.

My now 7-yr old had a persistent cough last year starting in November and she had no other symptoms. She too would wake herself up at night coughing and vomit at night and during the day (several times in the car - fun!). Anyway, we took her to an ENT and he diagnosed her with horribly inflamed adenoids that were actually draining down the back of her throat and causing the cough. We had them removed in February (4 months of this horrible cough was enough for me to opt for the surgery.)

Also, please check out the asthma/allergy angle. I had a friend whose daughter was finally diagnosed with a form of asthma after several years of her persistence. She kept making DR appts every time her daughter got a cough and the DR was finally able to hear the wheezing with the cough. I also have a friend whose daughter was diagnosed with allergies after her persistence (several months) of constant DR appointments.

Definitely go with your gut and continue to call the doctor - and get a 2nd opinion - 3rd & 4th if necessary until you get a diagnosis and treatment that work – you are your child’s best advocate!

Good-Luck! ~ B.

I have found that Delsym (Over the counter in an orange bottle) works great to suppress coughs. Check on the age recommendation though. I use it at night for my boys when they have coughs. I've never seen any side effects from it.

During the day if they have a wet cough, I use children's Mucinex to help loosen it up. It comes in little packets of a grainy powder that dissolves in their mouth.

Hi A.,

I haven't read the other responses, but have you tried just putting the Vick's on the bottom of her feet and then putting socks on? I read this, but my husband insisted on also rubbing it on our son's chest. It seemed to help, but he still had terrible spells at night even using the humidifier. So, I just tried putting the Vick's on his feet (nowhere else) and it worked like a charm. I don't know how, but it did.