Chronic Cough

Updated on April 28, 2008
A.M. asks from Irvine, CA
4 answers

My son is 2.5 and has had a Chronic "barking" cough for over a year now. We have been seeing his dr over and over since January 2007. He has been treated for asthma with an inhaler and steroids which made his cough tremendously worse. So we stopped that treatment. We started treating and still do for allergies with benedryl or clairton. He was allergy tested for 47 different inside/outside allergies, food allergies etc and only ONE came back, dust mites which was a 2 on a scale 1-6(being the worst). He has been on and off anti-biotic, which i HATE! We did a sinus x-ray and he had a chronic sinus infection so we treated that with SIX WEEKS of anti-biotics/ (Omnicif). What was weird was that his cough was GONE while on the anti-biotics and about 2 weeks of being off of them his cough has now returned at full force. The dr called in a prescription for acid reflux. (My son was born with acid reflux but we never had his tested to see if he had "grown" of out it, the dr thinks that the acid could be irritating the esophagus causing him to cough) I have been thinking of getting a second opinion but i am not sure any other dr will be able to see anything different! I am at wits end! My son was coughing so bad last night i was in tears, not because it was keeping him and I up but because i felt so bad for him. There have been times where he will cough so hard he will throw up! Finally I went downstairs with him gave him a tums, a bottle of warm milk and a cough suppressant(which usually NEVER WORKS) and he stopped coughing and went to sleep. I don't know which one worked but something did.
FYI i did at one point cut ALL milk products out of his diet and that didn't help one bit.
I have tried almost every cough suppressant over the counter even prescription and they don't work. cough meds nothing works!
I think i covered everything. If anyone out there has had a similar situation and maybe knows the cause or what to do please help!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you in advance.
A.

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S.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi A.,

I really feel for you! I would get rid of all the toxic cleaning products that you may have in your home. If you use bleach for your white clothes, get rid of it. It is one of the most toxic. It helped my kids alergies when they were little by changing the products that I use in my home, and what I washed their clothes with. I have found Shaklee products work the best in my house.

Best to you!
S.

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

Does he have reflux or GERD still???
I would look into this more.
It causes coughing and wheezing...
Sinus problems/infections also causes coughing. My Hubby has sinus problems and it drips and it causes coughing that goes on and on. It's hard to stop it.

"Nasal saline irrigation/rinsing" is also very helpful in keeping the sinuses healthy and clear of bacteria. My husband swears by this. Your son may be too young, so maybe not. Here is a link about it:
http://allergies.about.com/od/noseandsinusallergies/a/nas...

Here are some links about coughing:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid...
http://lungdiseases.about.com/od/termsdefinitions/a/chron...
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/tools/sympto...

Perhaps switch to natural/organic or "safe" household cleaning products as well. I've heard this has helped a lot of people who suffered from illness or allergies. The fumes from chemicals can build up in a house, causing toxicity.

Take care, I really hope a solution can be found for your son.
All the best,
~Susan
www.cafepress.com/littlegoogoo

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

K.F.

answers from Los Angeles on

A.,

I would look into house hold toxins. I was amazed at what was in my home. Anything from what I thought was 'safe' laundry detergent to shampoo and even sunscreen! These items contain toxins that can cause asthma and what your son is going through. Your smart to be concerned about the antibiotics! I would check into the toxins also. I have a company I order toxic free products from and they are guarnateed 100%. So, if your not happy you can get your money back. Now that's smart! Let me know when is a good time to call and you can try out some of these items and see if they help your son. ____@____.com

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J.B.

answers from Los Angeles on

my daughter (13mo) has asthma and allergies. she was diagnosed with asthma 2 months after she got a cold because it wouldnt go away and no cough meds would work. shes on 2 staroids she gets via a nebulizer because an inhaler didnt help. she get albuterol for when shes sick or has coughing fits and she gets pulmicort as a preventative (to calm her symptoms she gets that one everyday no matter what). what steroids was your son getting? i know with the pulmicort she got worse for a week so her dr doubled her dose. he might need a stronger steroid. do you keep your house warm? warm air while he sleeps could makes his cough worse at night. put a cool mist humidifire in his room and keep the air in his room cooler that will help with any inflamtion in his lungs and airway. if you want a second opinion get one it wont hurt anything if they tell you the same thing or if they tell you something different. good luck i hope this info is helpful!

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