Bad Cough - Rustburg,VA

Elevate the head end of the mattress by putting a folded blanket underneath. She'll sleep at an angle and sometimes that lessens the coughing.

I always had bad bronchitis with every cold until I added the proper, balanced, nutritional supplement with everything in one formula. Powder mixed in liquid, no pills, nothing pre-mixed. I learned about it from a sports professional and his teacher wife whose child had pneumonia-like symptoms 3 weeks out of 4 for the 2nd year of his life. Changed their lives. It's not a quick fix for the existing problem, but it supports the immune system so it doesn't happen again. Prevention is better than treating symptoms after the problem develops, you know?

Good luck - I hope you get some sleep!

We have had innumerable miserable coughs. I have raised the mattress head, done a humidifier, given her honey & lemon, given her Benadryl - nothing worked. Well, the Benadryl would help the first night, then a little less the second night, etc. - would check with the pedi before doing this since Benadryl is not really for a cough. Anyway, this past week, I finally tried the Vicks Vap-O-Rub on the feet with socks (also kept humidifier on). Thought it was a little weird, but I had tried everything else. Worked like a charm! 5 years is old enough to do it (my DD is 4). It is worth a shot. I know how miserable not sleeping is for him and for you.

I see you have done the Vapo steam, have you tried Vicks VapoRub? My daughter has sickness induced asthma, so every time she gets sick, it goes to her lungs and we are up all night coughing! Since I have started putting the Vicks on her feet with socks or on her chest, we sleep peacefully. I hope he feels better!

My ped had me get Dimetap Cold & Cough nighttime. It has really helped my 5 yr old sleep.

My 11 year old went through this for almost a month. Doctor kept saying just a virus. The only thing that made the cough stop was a couple teaspoons of honey. Its good with warm water and lemon but my son wouldn't drink it so he just ate the honey plain. It worked for a few hours so he at least got some sleep. Good luck!

Is it a wet cough? Is he coughing up any mucus? If that is the cause, then a cough syrup will not help. Have you tried a steam bath? When my son has a bad cough, I would turn up the bath water as far as it would go hot. Close all windows and doors, and sit with him on the tub and let him breath in the steam. It really helps him.

I would try to elevate his bed or have him sleep with his head elevated. Sometimes when they have a cold, they get the post nasal drip, and stuffiness. Sleeping elevated will relieve some of that pressure and feeling of the need to cough.

Sometimes I will give my son the Mucinex for cough/chest congestion. That has seemed to help him quite a bit . They have a night time kind, which does help them sleep more. This is when it is a dry cough, and he isn't producing a lot of mucus.

Well since the cough syrup isn't helping my suggestion might not work either, but I'm giving it to you anyway! ;) We give my little ones Benadryl to help supress the cough since they are too young for cold medicine. You could try that, just read the label for his correct dosage. We've done Zyrtec too but Benadryl is better for the cough. Vicks on the feet does sort of seem to help too I think, although we usually try it in conjuction with something else so I can't say for sure, but it's worth a try. I would also maybe put a big cup of water in his room to help him if his throat gets dry! Good luck!

Vick's on the feet w/ socks worked for us too