what to do about a toddler's constant cough??

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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Toddlers

What to do about a toddler's constant cough??

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mushmom

Wed, Nov 21 2007, 8:25 pm

my two year old is coughing like crazy! only at night, and he has no other symptoms. The cough is pretty dry, not chesty, so im not so worried- but it wont stop! should I be worried? should I make an appt at the doc? and how do I get it to stop?
he sleeps with a humidifier in his room already. I suspect it might be exacerbated by the milk in his bottle- any ideas for what else to put in a babys bottle when theyre coughing? (he loves milk)

thanks for sharing

pink car

Wed, Nov 21 2007, 8:56 pm

my toddler had that recently, he would cough only at night,

it went on for around a week untill I took him to the Dr. and guess what? he had an ear infection!

he was showing no signs of pain etc. just the cough at night...

so maybe have him checked out by the Dr.

better safe than sorry

twinkltoes

Thu, Nov 22 2007, 2:11 am

I'd definitely start by stopping to give him milk products.

My daughter had a TERRIBLE cough last week - she could hardly take a breath day or night without turning red from coughing so much - it was awful. And that same day I read on the internet that fresh ginger is good for bronchial troubles and I had some at home. I peeled it, cut it into small chunks, boiled it with a cup's worth of water for 5-10 mins on the stove, removed the chunks, mixed the strong ginger water with about 1/2 tsp. of honey and put that in her bottle with enough cold water so it wouldn't burn her but was still nice and warm. I gave that to her right before bedtime and by morning her cough was gone but I still gave her another dose in the morning. I've never seen a cough disappear so fast.

Worth a try.

Thu, Nov 22 2007, 2:19 am

my 2 year old also had this cough at night and nothing during the day. it was keeping him from sleeping (and us!) so I took him to the dr. everything was clear so the dr. said it was either laryngitis (sp?) or flem, both of which there is nothing to do and if it doesn't continue more than 2 weeks and he doesn't get fever, I shouldn't worry about it. b'h he was fine after about a week.
by the way, I learned something from a neighbor that seems to work pretty well for coughs- cut an onion (into 2 or more pieces) and cover it with honey and leave it (covered in the friedge) for a few hours or overnight so the onion seeps into the hone. I can't remember if you are supposed to add water but when I add water it's a better liquid consistency so it's easier to get into the medicine syringe. I give 5 cc. my ds loves it and always asks for it when he starts coughing (I guess the honey has a more overpowering taste than the onion).

gryp

Thu, Nov 22 2007, 6:40 am

Quote:

when my 4 yr old had that it turned out to be strep.

mushmom

Thu, Nov 22 2007, 6:44 am

thanks for all your suggestions!
The onion thing reminded me ofsometing I read recently about cutting an onion into quarters and leaving it next to the crib. ginger idea sounds good.
ill try anything

twinkltoes

Thu, Nov 22 2007, 6:46 am

Let us know what works. Refuah shleimah.

Ruchel

Thu, Nov 22 2007, 7:24 am

doctor!!

Mevater

Thu, Nov 22 2007, 7:46 am

Are vaporizers old fashioned?

twinkltoes

Thu, Nov 22 2007, 10:28 am

If vaporizers are old fashioned then I'm old fashioned! Wink

Pickle Lady

Thu, Nov 22 2007, 1:10 pm

Take him to the doctor it doesn't hurt. I once had my son coughing at night for ahile and it turned out to be bronchitis.

Tefila

Thu, Nov 22 2007, 1:54 pm

1. Dry coughs can progress to wet so just watch it.
2. Can last up to 4-6 weeks according to my Dr. Sad

shopaholic

Fri, Nov 23 2007, 6:58 am

DD had a wet couggh, which turned into a dry cough & she was up for 3 hours last night coughing. Tonight I'm tyring the onion by the bed. I did it once before but can't remember if it worked or not.

Mommy F.

Mon, May 12 2008, 5:42 pm

My toddler has had bad coughs before and a nurse suggested several things:

1. use a humidifier in the room
2. mix honey with warm water and freshly squeezed lemon juice
3. make a big pot of chicken soup

mammala120

Mon, May 12 2008, 6:52 pm

when this happened to my kids this winter I had to give them antibiotics.

a while later, once they started to cough again I decided to add garlic to any/all cooked food. cough whent away. so from now on ii add one garlic clove to every cooked meal. even soup. I grind the garlic not slice them. it blends better in food.

refuah shelema....

please let us know what works so we may learn from your experience too.
thanks

ShiningThrough

Tue, May 13 2008, 2:05 am

You should trust your intuition about giving him milk, a known allergen and mucus producer. I suggest getting him allergy tested.

In the meantime, the homeopathic remedy Drosera is really helpful for dry coughs. In Israel there's a preparation called Pilka, 5 drops on the tongue, very effective, I've found... And a moist humidifier (with some lavender oil added to the water?) is a good idea.

Hope it clears up soon!

btMOMtoFFBs

Tue, May 13 2008, 3:32 am

when my child had this at age 2 it was diagnosed as reactive airway disorder - a form of asthma that presents with continuous coughing. We have been treating him for asthma for years (hes almost 7 now). The meds really helped him and now, BH a million times, he's nearly outgrown the asthma!

Its definitely worth it to take some of the suggestions here and to visit the doctor.

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