Painful Cough...

The last time my baby had a cold the Doctor made some excellent suggestions that I hadn't thought of. The main one was to give her warm water to drink or warm juice or tea. Alternatively, you could go the other route and give extra cold stuff.

I know it's rough. Hang in there and hope this helps.
N.

You definately need a humidifier for the room and run it on high. The room should feel like a sauna. You'll also want to try to get him to sleep at an angle. When mine had a bad cough like that I was able to get her to sleep in something similar to a car seat, but I don't know if you can pull that off at their age. At a minimum, put some rolled up towels under the mattress to slightly lift one end.

Do you have a humidifier? That helps. The baby vicks may help too. Good Luck...sick kids are no fun.

If it sounds like a seal barking cough it could be the croup. If he is having any breathing difficulties with the cough you should take him to the doctor. As far as treating him at home goes, I would try some baby vicks rub or a cool mist humidifier. Good Luck.

I agree about going to the doctor, and isn't this weird - I *just* got off the phone with my mom, who told me three separate people said I should put Vicks on my son's heels at night to stop the coughing. He's had a bad cough and cold all week. I'm going to try it tonight!

My daughter had a cough like that last winter. It was dry, and constantly woke her up. Go to the pediatrician. Ours gave us a prescription for nighttime use that helped her sleep. They need rest to recover. After a couple of days - poof - the persisitant cough was gone.

Sit in the bathroom with the hot water running in the shower so it is nice and steamy. We would do this right before bedtime and then run a humidifier in the kids' rooms and this would help. Good luck...

I would give your chil'd soc a call...my kids ended up with pneumonia las month :( My daughter had a sore throat before evolving into this, which is usually how it can begin, and my son just started with a dry hacking cough and hives. They were both coughing so hard it would cause them to vomit most of the time. Anyhow, aside from ibuprofen my kids doc had us use Baby Vics Vapor Rub (it's safe for 3 months plus) and rub it on their backs, chest, necks, and the soles of their feet. I also had them sleep with the vic plug in vaporizer...way easier than the ones we had when we were kids, and I swaer more effective. Tha seemed to really help them sleep much better at night. Warm liquids like chamomile tea are really good, and so is a warm compress on the chest for 10 minutes or so. Steaming in the shower is great too. My doc also said that diluting Gatorade in half with water was better than juice with water because the corn syrup also helps to thin the secretions and bring them up. Hope this helps and hope your little one feels better soon.

my mom (and I did it with my Kids) always used vicks vapo Rub with a cough and cold

I recieved the following in an email a few weeks ago. I tried it with both my kids and it really works. I copied and pasted the email. Good luck.

I wish I'd known this when my family was young during winter colds and coughs. I am going to try it myself. Share with young parents.

Isn't life strange. When we had a lecture on Essential Oils, they told us how the foot soles can absorb oils. Their example: Put garlic on your feet and within 20 minutes you can 'taste' it.

Some of us have used Vicks Vaporub for years for everything from chapped lips to sore toes and many body parts in between. But I've never heard of this. And don't laugh, it works 100% of the time although the scientists at the Canada Research council (who discovered it) aren't sure why.

To stop night time coughing in a child (or adult as we found out personally), put Vicks Vaporub generously on the bottom of the feet at bedtime, then cover with socks. Even persistent, heavy, deep coughing will stop in about 5 minutes and stay stopped for many, many hours of relief. Works 100% of the time and is more effective in children than even very strong prescription cough medicines. In addition it is extremely soothing and comforting and they will sleep soundly. I heard the head of the Canada Research Council describe these findings on the part of their scientists when they were investigating the effectiveness and usage of prescription cough medicines in children as compared to alternative therapies like acupressure.

Just happened to tune in A.M.Radio and picked up this guy talking about why cough medicines in kids often do more harm than good due to the chemical makeup of these strong drugs so,I listened. It was a surprise finding and found to be more effective than prescribed medicines for children at bedtime, in addition to have a soothing and calming effect on sick children who then went on to sleep soundly. Polly tried it on herself when she had a very deep constant and persistent cough a few weeks ago and it worked 100%! She said that it felt like a warm blanket had enveloped her, coughing stopped in a few minutes and believe me, this was a deep, (incredibly annoying!) every few seconds uncontrollable cough, and she slept cough-free for hours every night that she used it. If you have grandchildren, pass it on. If you end up sick, try it yourself and you will be absolutely amazed by the effect.

I have heard to rub vicks on the feet and put on socks at night. It is supposed to take the cough away.

What I have often found with my son and colds is that a non productive cough will linger for as long as he has excess sinus drainage. Sinuses drain into the throat and causes coughing, but its not productive because there is nothing in the lungs to cough up. His pediatrician recommended Ocean Nasal drops, which are safe for your sons age group, and I have found that almost anything that can dry up the nasal passage works as well. Benadryl is not recommended at that age, though it can be given, I caution that it can have reverse affects in children, they can become hyperactive instead of sleepy.

The sound of the cough can change the course of treatment; if he has a seal bark like cough, he could have croup, which is often non productive and painful and also something you can get as an adult though usually not as severe. My sons respiratory therapist said to sit by an open window (open just slightly) with cool air coming through because it will ease the constriction in the trachea. But he also needed breathing treatments to help so a visit with the doctor is a good idea.

Both the cold or croup are viral infections (croup is a viral inflammation of the trachea, colds of course are caused by typical rhino viruses) and cannot be treated with antibiotics. If you take him to the doctor and an antibiotic is prescribed I would ask why; it won't help if infection isn't preset and will only increase the likelihood that he becomes resistant to antibiotics in the future.

Bear in mind the fact that he is already 16 months and just coming down with his first cold is a good sign his immune system is strong. My son started repeatedly getting sick at the age of 3 months and it took another 3+ years to get him well!

Saline for the nose. Vicks vapor rub or patches, and a humidifier/vaporizer.

I would recommend going to the doctor. My son had similiar issues and we found out on Sunday he has a sligh case of pneumonia. Thankfully he is doing much better. Doctor prescribed a different antibiodic that should help with chest and potential strep as well as cough medicine (which I never did end up giving). I would also recommend humidifier especially if your furnance doesn't have one. And also vicks vaporizer - we have been using the waterless kind. You could also put a little vicks on chest/socks - i have heard that works well too.

Hi S.,

I have a 23 mth old- a dry cough x's 3 mths after a cold- typically ____@____.com became so bad he would cough until he vomit. Finally after using everything I could over the counter - Benadryl, Triaminic Nightime according to my Ped's instructions on dosage- I took him back to the doc. She suggested a allergy med-ie. Zyrtec or Claritin liquid for children. Claritin worked great, but he became extremely hyper and restless from the antihistamine. He's taking Zyrtec now doing great. My Ped. was wondering if something like dust from the heating vents was the culprit. I'm considering getting them cleaned out-couldn't hurt...
I really dont want to keep him on a med long term, but for now he is sleeping- vomit free. :) Good luck and Congrats on your second baby! A. B.

try vicks on his feet cover with socks , in the morning the cough will be better! True!!!

Hi S.!

I suggest getting your son to the doctor. We have been in 3 times since the week before Halloween and the doctor and schools confirm that both strep and a cough that requires antibiotics are going around. It's possible that the kids can catch one after another or both at the same time. Try to get rid of this as soon as possible or it could drag on and on. Until you get in I would follow the advice of the other moms who already responded. I know how you're feeling right now. I hope he feels better soon!

humidifier and one of those vapor plug-in

Delsym works great! I had it recommended to me by my pharmacist. It's 12 hours too, so it lasts all night. I always give it to my kids about 1 1/2 hours before their bedtime so it has time to work. If you ask, you can find out through a pharmacist how much to give him.

We always use a humidifier in our kids rooms when they have a cold/cough at night. It really helps. My mom also told me about another tip....put VICKS on the soles of their feet...not too much...and it's supposed to help! Worth a shot.