Bewilldered Mom with 4 Month Old Son and Chronic Coughing

I also agree - reflux is a likely cause. My friend's daughter had a good experience on Zantac as a young infant and has now been off the medication for a year (she's 2 1/2). She was much happier once she got started on the medication and grew out of the reflux so there are no more problems.

My dd has food allergies. For the previous posters, coughing can be associated with food allergies. FYI also, lactose issues are an intollerance, not an allergy. Intolerances can cause lots of issues but ultimately are not life threatening. Food allergies are potentially life threatening. I'd contact another ped, or allergist or gastro. Maybe asthma? Allergists do that too. RSV may also be a concern. Not sure who to see for that. I think you can call Children's Memorial 800-Kids-Doc and they may be able to tell you who to see. Good luck!

ETA: the loose stools and spitting up are more of a concern for allergies for me. Maybe the hypoallergenic formula still has proteins in it of the allergy or he has more than one allergy.

Hi!
My friend's baby has reflux and has a constant cough with lots of spitting up. She always tries to figure out if it is a cold or just her relfux cough. The cough is better with her reflux meds, but once it wears off she'll go back to the cough and lots of spit up. I don't know how much your son spits up or if he is a fussy baby, but it is just an idea.
L.

I have the same problem. He is coughing like he had just 2 packs of cigarette. I took him to his doc. They said his lungs were clear. today I will try something new, I will broil one apple with couple of drops lemon and give it to him. Old recepie hopefully it will work.

Sounds to me like an allergy. My son (he's 3) has some sort of food allergy that we are in the process of figuring out and he has a cough that won't go away. His is more in his nose and its dripping that is causing the coughing.

But I agree with the previous reply that it may take up to 2 weeks to clear up if you just switched.

Good luck and let us know how he's doing!
B.

I agree with the other Moms, esp. the reflux. My daughter had horrible reflux, but she spit up constantly. Another thought is maybe he is over a cold and just keeps coughing b/c it is funny to him. You didn't describe how the cough is, but I know both my girls went through a stage of coughing just to cough. They are learning all the fun sounds they can make. I've never heard of an allergy causing you to cough, but my kids don't have any food allergies.

I have an 11 mo. old that a few months ago we seemed to have this constant cycle we started and it seemed to happen every other week or so. Where she would start sneezing/runny nose, then it would turn into a stuffy nose and then finally cough.My pediatrician has since diagnosed her w/ infantile asthsma. (She did also have some wheezing & her cough sounded a little croopish). It could also just be allergies of something...dust, pet dander..etc that is irritating him/her causing a tickle in his/her throat causing him/her to cough.

Be aware that there is a virus going around that lasts for WEEKS that is exactly as you describe. Hacking cough with very little nasal conjestion. If he starts to make a whooping sound get him back to the doctor immediately, there have been 15 cases of Pertussis (Whooping cough) reported in the area. Trust your gut, keep him well hydrated and moisture in the air. =)

I would ask doctor about Lactose free formula number one, but it could be teething as well...my daughter is four months old and coughs a bit because her first two teeth are just about to push through..my son did this as well. And it may jsut be colds...I swear my son had a constant runny nose his forst two years of life...so far I am lucky with my daughter no colds yet and has been in daycare for 8 weeks...hope this helps and I hope yopur son is okay.

Being a mother of 4 and going through this every year my advise to you is treat them both seperately first. For the cough because it usually is dry in the house and other places because of heat use a humidifier in areas where your child is and while he sleeps it will definetly go away in a couple of days. It sound like he need moisture, my 7 year old gets like this still to this day every year around this time. To be honest with you being allergic to formula does not cause coughing. Spitting up, crying, restlessness maybe. My son for the 6 months of his life did this until we switched to soy and oh my god what a completely different child.

Good luck and Congratulations to year on the birth of your son.

Jackie,

This sounds so familiar. My daughter was diagnosed with Reflux at about 4 months old. Then she had a cough and congestion from about Oct - April. The Dr. said it was a virus, etc. Then finally she was diagnosed with Reactive Airway Disease which is another way of saying asthma. She hardly ever spit up with the reflux. Her coughing woke her up at night. The cough is caused because she is trying to breath. Once she was put on breathing treatments for the asthma we all slept better through the night and she had alot more energy during the day. But it was rough getting there.

Good Luck

If he's allergic, you won't notice a difference for two weeks.. 10 days probably the earliest. My youngest had colic and it was a lactose thing.. we had to do lactose free and they told me 2 weeks min to see a difference.. right around then is when he stopped having such stomach issues.

Not sure about coughing being an allergy though, usually it's more spit up or puking. Could he have an environmental type allergy?

Hope you can find some answers for him!!!

Does the coughing seem "real" or is it just little coughs. I ask because when my son was about 4 months old he figured out that he "could" cough. He does it now just because he can, I'm quite sure. (6 months old now). Sometimes he does it when he's hungry for solid food. So you might consider the possibility that the coughing has nothing to do with the other symptoms. Also at this age they start drooling a lot and when they swallow the drool that can lead to looser/greener stools.

My friend had the same issue w/ her son and they finally diagnosed him w/ asthma. He also had an upper repisatory infection-bronchilitis. One night it was so bad we rubbed him in baby Vick's and turned the shower on and let the steam soothe his cough. I would get humidifiers,plants ,remove carpet and pets if any. And when you dust make sure to get on top of window sills. Some nasty critters live there. After your doctor's appointment please update us.