Incessant Cough

I'd definitely ask about her airways for signs of asthma. That's my sons sign that he's having tightness when he gets congested. It's either an answer or something that can be ruled out. And I think coughs are often worse at night. Maybe a humidifier would help?

zyrec is not recommended for children in your childs age group. your doctor should have never prescribed it to begin with. if its not helping the child, then stop giving it to her. more then likely, your doctor prescribed it to her because the pharmacy rep. gave him a big check as a incentive to prescribe it to as many people as possible. if the childs sniffles are worse as she is going to bed, then more then likely it is the bedding that is causing it. what to do..simple, take everything off the bed, sheets, blankets, pillows, toys, the dog, everything.then wash absolutely everything in hot water with baking soda, no detergent. get rid off the feather pillows, no dog or cat sleeping in room with the child, and then tackle the room, steam clean the rugs, and wash the curtains and wipe down the bed frame, throughly.any questions, email me..
K. h.

If it is allergy, best to find out what that is. Skin testing is not accurate. Blood or hair testing is most effective. Oral steroids weaken the immune system and are only a bandaid. Best to seek out a naturpath. Also research NAET( Natural Allergy Elimination system). Yes it does work!
Most common allergens are dairy,wheat, soy, nuts, This can make a person sensitive to outdoor allergens. I used to have the cough and phlegm all the time growing up. Had allergy shots, But only when I took dairy out of my diet completely, did the cough, phlegm resolve all the way.
You can give her things that will boost her immune system. Limit sugar and artificial sweeteners. Extra vitamin C and querticin,
Hope this helps.
L.

My daughter has this same thing! The only thing that made the cough go away and stay away is a round of oral steriod, then twice a day inhaled steriod, along with the zyrtec once a day and usually benedryl before bed. But since we started this (per our doctor) she has had NO more coughing at all. My daughter has had a couple of wheezing spells though and that probably changing things a little. good luck, hope she gets better and stays better.

Your daughter may have asthma. You need to get this checked out.

she could also be asthmatic. my daughter was the same way at her age. use a full tspn as long as the dr approves it. i used childrens benadryl (with dr ok) because it does the same thing as the zyrtec and its cheaper. get a cool mist humidafier in her room and suction her nose out really well before bed. i only say asthma because my daughters airway gets inflamed and sounds really wet and flemmy but also note that my daughter never wheezes and her lungs are always clear and she is asthmatic. deffinately voice your concerns with her dr. good uck

When you visit your doctor, ask for allergy tests to be ordered for your daughter or a referral to an allergist. You need to find out the cause of the congestion so you can eradicate it instead of just trying to treat the symptoms. I've suffered from allergies my whole life and my mother took me to get a skin patch test when I was very young. Turns out I'm pretty much allergic to all life on this planet. Sucks to be me!

Maybe you'll find out your daughter is allergic to a particular animal or plant she's coming into contact with and you can remove the allergen from your home.

It gets better though. I was a miserable snot nosed little booger factory growing up but now I have two cats, a bird and even some indoor plants and no congestion! Some allergies just get outgrown I guess.

Another thing that helped a ton when I was all stuffed up and miserable as a kid is a humidifier with a reservoir for some vicks vapo liquid. Set it up to run at night but make sure to air the room out during the day and wipe down the window sills so you don't get mold growing there.

Wait until your see her doctor to try anything. It could be allergies(environmental and/or food) but it can also be an early sign of asthma. If she is stuffy in the morning you can use a plain saline nose spray and bulb syringe to help clear it.

She could be sensitive to something in her room so clean all bedding, remove stuffed animals, dust, and if there is carpet have it cleaned. If you have pets make sure they stay out of her room. A humidifier and/or air cleaner may help.

Ask the doctor to help you determine the presence of any food allergies. Some serious culprits are: dairy, additives, dyes or wheat. Evaluate what she eats and try to observe any reactions in her following various foods like crankiness, mood changes, sleepiness, etc. Also, it would behoove you to use sheets with allergy guard and wash her bedding frequently. If you don't already give her vitamins, she needs them to give her body internal fortitude
to fight back. She needs a lot of green vegetables and bright yellow or orange, to give her foods to boost her alkalinity. If you need to supplement this, respond, I can give you some pointers. Hope you find your answers.

I've been there and also recommend the allergy testing. There could be a pet or food that is causing her to cough. With the flemmy cough and stuffy nose, it sounds like she has some allergic rhinitis going one. They might be able to give her nasonex, an allergy nose spray that helps dry her up as well. If you find a good allergist, I'm sure you'll get help. My son is 3 and I've spent a ton of time reading and researching this area, not to mention countless visits to specialists. One other thought is a pediatric pulmonologist is another doctor to consider, also very helpful. Your daughter will be fine, keep us posted and feel free to email if you have any questions.

Also ask your doc about reflux. This is common with young ones. When she lays down at night, if the reflux is coming up high enough it will cause a cough and morning stuffy nose. People don't realize if reflux is bad enough it can come all the way up to the throat and nose when laying down. So don't just assume it's allergies.

Most allergy meds are approved for children over 2 because that's the age they were tested on and proven safe. Unfortunately children don't always wait until they are 2 to have clinical allergy symptoms. As a pediatrician I personally object to the post that states the most likely reason the doctor prescribed the medicine was some financial incentive from the drug rep. Whenever I use zyrtec or Claritin off label I make sure parents understand that it hasn't been approved in this age group and the potential side effects. I also review methods to reduce allergen exposure such as those mentioned by others. There are problems with skin and blood testing for allergies that limit their usefulness in isolation. You have to look at the entire patient to help interpret the results and determine how to adjust someone's lifestyle. If testing indicates an allergy but on repeated exposure there have never been any problems or if the test is negative but after exposure there is a life threatening response you have to go with what the body is telling you. Most allergist would delay testing until there's enough exposure to affect the test which is typically after 2 unless there is a life threatening response.

I'd say try some of the methods others have recommended but keep the dose of antihistamine at half a teaspoon (you could see if there's a better response to loratadine/Claritin). If no major improvement after daily use after 2 weeks you should go back to the doctor.

My daughter has the same issue with drainage causing a cough that never ends. I also use zytec. But find that when she still has the drainage it works to use a nasal spray. She is using a generic for flonase. That always does the trick and she won't cough at all. Good luck