My son has a constant cough now for 2 weeks. Been to family doctor twice, treated him for asthma. Predisone, inhaler and antibotics. Nothing worked. Tried Robitussin and clariton didn't work. He was this cough from the time he gets up to the time he goes to bed. About every 20 seconds. It sounds like a very dry cough. Have a humiidifer in his room, cleaned all bedding, curtains and blinds. Nothing seems to be working. Took to a allergist today and he said it is not a asthma cough or allergies. He thinks its a habit cough and reflex cough. Now on 1/2 tbs dimetapp and acid reflex over the counter pill. I don't know what to do, my son is coughing his head off. Is anyone else dealing with this similar problem. My son is 11. Seems to of started out just a regular cold. We went through this last year also. The cough did go away after 3 weeks. It always seems to be during the being of fall months. Please help with any suggestions you may have. My son did have a chest xray eveything is clear. His cough is a dry clearing your throat cough every 20 seconds during the day. He is fine sleeping at night
Has anyones child had reflex cough.
I'd take him to an ENT and pulmonary specialist. If all else fails, ask the ped if he thinks it could be a tic. But press on with the medical part first. And demand tests, etc. Rule out everything and go in with that attitude.
Good luck!
We went through the same thing, right down to all the allergy meds and cough meds not working. My son had this. He coughed for a month, then it went away. Then my daughter got it. Coughed for a month, then it went away. My sister suspects they had pertussis (which I've now been told, is going around). I don't know whether they did or didn't have pertussis, but it did go away after a month and hasn't returned.
Did they take an X-ray of his chest and look at his sinuses? One time my son had the worst time clearing his throat all the time. Ped sent him to ENT who actually said Torretts! I was stunned he said it in front of my son. Just to appease me he had us do a cat scan on his sinuses. Called the next day with tail between his legs saying my son had bilateral impacted sinuses! He took a stronger antibiotic and was "cured" of his torretts! Press it mom. Time for mamabear!
Have you considered getting a second opinion from a different allergist or Ear Nose Throat specialist?
There's a possibility that the change in seasons is affecting him, and the mold growth around the doors is contributing. With grass still growing, leaves growing on some trees but changing and falling off of others, and changeable weather, it's not surprising to hear children coughing. I'm frequently clearing my throat lately and have to use Flonase more often at this time of year to minimize the post-nasal drip and reduce the swelling in my sinuses. I also take Claritin every day.
At this time of year two of my daughters usually need to take Claritin daily for about a month and a half. Just until there's a good hard frost that kills the molds and pollen-makers. Before you do anything like that, talk to the pediatrician. I would avoid cough medicines right now, and maybe offer him extra fluids to drink. Lots of extra fluids. Part of the problem could also be dehydration.
It very well could be a tic. My son developed one and he made a weird jerking motion with his head/neck. It was subtle but still noticeable. He was stressed at school and on the baseball field. It went away and then came back several months later and went away again.
The fact that this is happening with your son in the fall and there are no signs of an illness or allergies, this could be a tic signaling stress with the new school year/sports, etc. Our pedi said it is very common and would go away. It did.
Just a thought.
Sounds like post nasal drip. Try benedryl at night and Alegra during the day. Works great for my daughter that does have asthma & allergies, so I would think it would work for someone who doesn't.
Side note; humidifier. According to our asthma Dr. Humidifiers are horrible. They can never be thoroughly cleaned. The small plastic parts breed bacteria and not even bleach will clean it. He told us only a whole house humidifier that uses fresh water should be used. This contradicts what my pediatrician has told us. Just wanted to throw that out there. Could be making his cough las longer instead of clearing up.
A couple of us always get a cough for about a month in the autumn. I take Singulair, and Zyrtec. But... although that helps somewhat, the best cure for me is when we have a hard freeze.
As for humidifiers, we use expensive ones with a filter and the silver ionic anti-microbial sticks by Air-O-Swiss. (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004FO9P8U/ref=as_li_tf_...)
I might be tempted to take him off dairy and/or wheat for a few days to see if you notice any difference. I'd also make sure he's getting plenty of hydration (water).
With the fall timing I *would* suspect some sort of allergies. With my son his environmental allergies are much worse when he's eating stuff he's intolerant to.
I might also look into vocal tics (though that seems unlikely to me). Still, it's something to think about . . .
I'm not a health care practitioner of any type - this is just my "mom" opinion.
Good luck and I hope you get it figured out!
