In september my 4 1/2 yr. old son got a cold. Coughing, runny nose, fever, everything. Since then it has cleared up. Everything but the COUGH. His cough is getting worse by the day. This past weekend he started to run a fever with this cough. Got as high as 103. Thank god the fever only lasted about 4 days, but the cough still stayed. I have been to our pediatrician who did chest x-rays that showed nothing. Did bloodwork which showed nothing. Flu swab: Nothing. Told me its just a virus & to use Mucinex DM. Well that's not working. We've since moved onto Delsym & that too has had no effect on him. I feel so lost & helpless. He can't sleep & when he gets to coughing bad, he gags & then vomits. Now my 2 yr old daughter has a fever & is starting to cough as well. Any suggestions &/or tips would be much appreciated. Oh, also using humidifier & vick's. Thanks.
So last night was a little better. I did put Vicks on the bottom of his feet & put warm socks on him. It didn't totally stop his coughing, but he definately slept ALOT better. I paged his dr. around 9pm last night & told him I didn't care what he thought that this was my child & he is getting worse. Told me to give him another dose of medicine & call his office in the morning. Too bad he didn't tell me they would only be in the office until 10am. Needless to say that after so many nights of 'sleeping with one eye open' watching him, we finally got to sleep for awhile. He seems to be doing better today. He actually ate a good amt of food & no vomiting. My 2 yr. old...same thing. Yes, they're both up to date on their vaccinations. Allergies weren't officially ruled out, but seems contagious to me since his lil sis has it now too. The only thing different in our lives is that Jordan now attends PreK & yes, he seems sick everyday now. No, his cough is not bark-y & he does drink lots of water. Keeping my fingers crossed that this illness passed from them both soon. Hate seeing my babies sick. Thank you all for ur tips, advice, & suggestions.
Mucinex can result in LOTS of mucous! My adult brother barfed like crazy after taking that.
Also, do consider allergies. My son had a few endless school years of snot, cough, etc before I finally (duh!) realized it was seasonal allergies.
Enter Zyrtec.
Exit snot!
Id consider that it may be rooted in allergies... have you thought about giving him a daily allergy med for a few weeks and see if that helps?
Take him to a pediatric allergist to check for allergies and to discuss the possibility that he has asthma. I have found that the pediatrician's were quite misinformed about these topics. My son aso had a cough that wouln't stop and it turned out to be both allergies and asthma.
Also-The fever may be from a different virus. Esp since he has had a cough since Sept.
Your doc has dropped the ball. Coughing that bad at night is something he needs to be aware of. Call tomorrow and explain the coughing, gagging throwing up thing. Your kids did get their vaccinations, right?
One thing to remember with the Mucinex... be sure they drink PLENTY of water.
Also, here's a bit on how it works..... the mucinex thins and loosens the mucus.... which of course, then needs to be coughed up! So, essentially it will temporarily increase the coughing.
The "DM" portion of Mucinex DM is Dextromethorphan... which is supposed to be a cough suppressant... but, it doesn't stop the cough completely.
Again, be sure that your son drinks plenty of water, to help him keep the mucus thin.....
I have problems just about every fall (and sometimes in the spring), so I associate it with allergies... but I don't run a fever. I end up with a cough that stays around for a while, and yes, it can be a nasty cough...... I then end up with laryngitis from the coughing! I haven't completely figured out how to avoid it..... but I use the mucinex, also.
My vacinated 9 yo daughter was diagnosed with whooping cough in August. The doc swabbed the inside of her nose and we found out 2 days later. My whole family had to be treated. Your son needs to go back to the doctor IMO.
Did they test him for Whooping cough? It's really going around.
Coughing asthma. See pediatric pulmonologist. I works for one and that's what it sounds like.
How about allergies? Have you discussed that with the doctor? My older daughter used to get really sick with a horrible cough this time of year when she was little. Turns out she is allergic to Christmas trees of all things! We had to switch to fake and we felt so bad we were the idiots making her sick!
She also needed a nebulizer at times to open her airways, because they were swollen and irritated. Her cough would be horrible and it would make her gag, like you are describing with your son. In addition to the nebulizer, she was sometimes on breathable steroids to help open her airways. AND.... we were always prescribed cough syrup with codeine at those times to help her sleep through the night.
So you need to ask your doctor about helping to get his airways open with inhalers and/or nebulizers, and ask for a stronger cough medicine to help him sleep. And ask about allergy meds. Your doctor needs to be helping you more.
Have he been checked for asthma?
Nope. This isn't right. A cough since September???
Get another opinion if you want to go the medical route. No 4 year old should be on meds that long. It could be bronchitis (I used to get that 4 times a year and it would last for a month). It's worse at night, which is why he can't sleep and why he's exhausted. It may be viral, may be bacterial. Prop up the head-end of the bed - roll a blanket or fold it, and stick it under the mattress so he slants up from the waist. Don't just push up his head.
Could be asthma but usually that's more wheezy than cough-y. If it's a barking type cough, it could be croup or whooping cough.
The mucus draining is causing the stomach upset and vomiting. That could be from what he's coughing up, or it could be from a concurrent sinus infection that's draining post-nasally and filling up his stomach with junk he can't digest (not that you'd want him to). He may also be reacting to all that medication.
You can strengthen his immune system which sounds really compromised - that's what I did and none of us have had a sick visit to the doctor in 5 years. It's not going to turn him around in a day or two, but it will help and will, ideally, prevent a recurrence. Sounds like the 2 year old needs the same thing. That can be done without meds but it takes some time, as I said.
I agree about the whooping cough check. And please don't take this the wrong way, but is there any way the kids are exposed to any kind of mold? Do they go to a daycare where there might be health or hygeine issues? Or they could be developing allergies that are causing more serious issues like the cough. I have a bad allergy to Christmas trees and this is the worst time of year for me, I have to basically stay doped up from Thanksgiving through New Years. I've already had one serious upper respiratory infection and so has my son due to this allergy. Good luck and hope the kiddos get better.
My older two children had bronchitus and sinusitus a lot in the winter months and asthma as well. You definately need to get a nebulizer machine and some medicine, this will work wonders and I have no doubt that his cough will be non existant within a few treatments. I would actually take him to the er and they will give him the treatments and most likely give him a pediatric nebulizer machine and medicine to put in it. God bless him I hope this helps you out.
Well, this is something different from Sept. Do you have a cool mist humidifier? If you don't, get one. If you do, make sure that you clean out the filter part because molds can accumulate and you don't want him breathing it.
I have read here from several mothers to actually put Vicks on his feet. (I assume with socks over it.) It's worth a try...
Dawn
I would ask about doing nebulizer treatments, they are like magic.
My toddler has battled some horrible coughs and giving him a few tablespoons of honey a day helps ALOT!!!! I would certainly keep working with the doctor to get a better diagnosis but honey should help the symptoms! Good luck and hope your little ones feel better soon!!
