Hi Moms,
My daughter has had a cough that gets worse at night for the last couple of days. Also a fairly mild fever (100 degrees) and one bought of chills. We've gotten little sleep at night but during the day she feels pretty good, running around, ok appetite, good mood. But the cough is pretty persistent and at times seems constant. Now she has a clear, runny nose as well. I've put a call into her Dr. but they always say "bring her in" (to the tune of $200), so I thought I'd check with the REAL experts first:-) When do you ride it out and assume it's just a cold or mild flu, when do you bring her in? She's had pneumonia before so I worry about that. Any thoughts on what a fairly happy kid with a mild fever and constant cough could have? I'm guessing I'm heading to the doctor in the end, but thought I'd ask for your thoughts and expertise.
I have insurance so my copay is low. But for some things I choose to use natural supplements. If you want to know about those, let me know.
If your daughters symptoms get worse, I am sure you will see the doctor. If she is coughing anything up, it might be bronchitis. There's no medicine for that if it's viral that I know of.
Hope she is well soon.
Victoria
I would NOT bring her in. Sounds like the flu. Give her some tylenol if she seems miserable, but otherwise lay low until her fever has been gone for 24 hours. At that point if she feels up to it you can put her back in school/daycare - I would just go with how she feels. Honestly, what do you think the doctor is going to DO? Nothing really. If her fever gets really high (like over 104) and you cant bring it down, bring her in right away. Same if she has trouble breathing.
My daughter had the exact same thing around 3 weeks ago , cough cough cough all the time , mild fever and ok in herself. I bought an OTC cough medicine , gave her tylenol for the fever and rode it out , after a week she was back to normal. Even if she has flu there is nothing they can give her for it and you are $200 worse off.
I would suggest going to your local health food store. They have some great medicines for colds that are naturally made. Yes, the health food store is pricey, but it's worth it. When we get colds, we take Airborne and Echinacea Supreme. The Airborne you can buy at Rite Aid or your grocery store, but the Echinacea Supreme you'd probably have to buy at your health food store. I would also recommend giving your daughter raw garlic that's been chopped up. I usually chop mine up and put it in water then just drink it like that. No, it doesn't taste all that great, but it does work. So, with the Airborne, Echinacea, garlic, maybe some vitamin C, and some cough syrup from your health food store, your daughter should start feeling better in a day or two. Also for the cough, I'd recommend lifting her mattress up and putting a pillow underneath it, so that she's elevated just a little. That should help, too. I do all of this because I don't particularly like how quick doctors are to hand out medicines that only cover up your symptoms not make you feel better. This stuff that I mentioned, actually works. My husband and I use it, too. Hope this helped. Good luck!
