I have a 2 yr old that has had numerous illness since he was 6 weeks old(he was full-term). Here are a few ____@____.com, croup, ear infections, hand, foot, mouth, a little bit of phnemonia in one lung.... so ok, with all this said, when he gets a cold/virus, he always gets this nasty cough that lingers on forver, and each time he gets the cough, he cannot sleep. I do all the stuff the dcs/nurses suggest: coolmist humidifier, saline nose, sleep upright, ive done the home remedies- vicks on feet, honey, warm fluids, you name it.So he was real sick on New Years & was on a steroid, antibiotic, albuterol, & flovent. He started to recover, and hadnt coughed for a week/so, then brother got sick, now he has the cough again. Took him to the doc yesterday, everything sounde fine. She told me to keep doing the breathing treatments & then gave him a steroid which hes had 2 doses of. Ive also been told its ok by our doc to give him Delsym @ night, and sometimes musinex. And here is where I need someones help. He had the cough over summer, and another doc at the same practice gave him cough med w/ coidine to help him sleep at night comfortably. Well, last night he hacked all night, tried to nap today & hacked, so barely had a nap. I was at the point where I was like this isnt right, he cannot sleep, and if Im not sleeping & feeling exhausted I cant imagine how he feels. So, I called the office & explained this, the nurse said our pediatrician wasnt in but she give the note to another doc. He said to all the ususal stuff that never helps, cut back on the albuterol, and the cough is normal. This doc isnt the one in the practice that prescibed the cough med w/ coidine in it b4, so was like, great, another night of no sleep. I cant do this again I thought. So I called back, spoke to another nurse and was like why wont this doc give him something to help him sleep, and the other doc did. She called back & told me the doc that said no to the meds, was like I will give it to him, but the mother(me) must know the risks & that the FDA took all cough syrup off the shelves b/c it is harmful to kids under 6. Ok, what the heck? So he was like her choice. That totally freaked me out. But I know the risks. I just dont know what to do now. If someone whos ever been in my shoes, could you give me your personal opinion/story? I would so greatly apprecite it, and so would my little guy! Thanks in advance-
P.S. Sorry if tI was all over the place with my story and concern, hope it makes sense.
IMHO I would take him to a pulmenologist or another pediatrician. Coughing can be asthma & you don't want to let that go untreated. Plus, it sounds like you know there is something not right. You know your son better than anyone. As for giving him the codeine, I wouldn't. If the coughing is asthma, it won't help. So, my suggestions are not to give the codeine & to go to a doctor to see what is going on. Hang in there Mama, it is so hard to see your little ones are sick.
J.
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C.M.
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You need to have your pediatrician refer you to a pediatric pulmonologist because it sounds like your son has cough variant asthma. If this is diagnosed and treated appropriately (usually with a low dose of inhaled steroid like flovent) then he shouldn't have as much trouble after upper respiratory infections. The issue with cough and cold medicine in young children is that they haven't been proven to be effective (which only means the tests haven't been done, not that they definitely aren't) and many parents and caregivers accidentally overdose their children by using multiple products that contain the same ingredients. Using Delsym or cough medicine with codeine at night short term shouldn't be a problem. He really needs to be evaluated for the asthma though because if it is left untreated his lungs could suffer some long term damage from the ongoing inflammation. Hope that helps.
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C.L.
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I personally wouldn't give it. Yes they determined that alot of the cough meds were bad for kids under 6. Varying degrees of problems including death. I felt I could suffer through it if my parents did. We have been going through several night of no sleep here, and even a trip to the ER 1 night last week because she wasnt breathing and had severe croup. Shes taking antibiotics, steroids( take in the morning!), breathing treatments and the cold mist humidifer. I have also been told that delsym was ok to give. Sorry I dont have the magic bullet for this. Winters are just so hard. Good luck.
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S.W.
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I'm not sure what to say about the codine. I'd hesitate, since there is that new warning out - and doctors have to go by that.
BUT, I do have a friend whose son got REALLY sick ALOT. Whenever he did get sick at all, it ballooned into a huge illness with respirators and trips to the ER. They found out that he was allergic to cats, and once the cat moved out he had NO MORE respirators or ER trips after getting sick!
Just thought I would mention it, in case it is something that is a possible contributing factor for you.
You might try chamomile to help him sleep too. You can get a tincture at a health food store, or just make some tea and chill it and give him a couple of teaspoons. It's probably safer than codine.
