My 3 1/2 yr. old has come down with quit a cold. He coughs some during the day, but at night, once he lays down he can't stop. I have him sleep on 2 pillows, to elevate him, he has a humidifier in his room and I have bought those Vics plug ins but still he coughs. I even put Vics on his feet with socks. He gets to sleep ok, but around 5 am it starts. I feel so bad for the little guy as I know all he wants to do is get some sleep. Any suggestions that might have worked for you would be GREATLY appreciated. I know the cold has to run it's course, maybe this just has to do the same. Other than that he is still full of energy, more than me on a good day. :) Thanks for your help.
T.:
I hope this is still timely...
I haven't taken the time to read thru, so if this is a repeat I apologize...
VICKS on the bottom of his feet before bed is all that I have to offer. Otherwise, could his room be getting warm or stuffy toward morning? Sounds crazy but worth considering...
I have had issues in the winter like this with my older son, who is now 4...we just discovered and tried the Hyland's C-Plus cold remedy--it's homeopathic, for kids age 1-6 (Hyland's also makes the homeopathic teething tablets). We found/bought them at CVS pharmacy (they're in a pink and blue container)--they worked GREAT! (We followed the directions on the container--and by the second day, all was better!).
My pediatrician's office suggests giving them a teaspoon or two of honey as a natural cough suppressant. I haven't tried it, but I've heard it's effective.
Hi T.,
have you tried giving him a tablespoon of honey? (sometimes something with this consistency can coat the throat and help ease a cough). Good Luck!
(my son is our "respiratory child" and has frequent colds, etc. He has a neb machine which also seems to help him....ask your doctor if this may be helpful for yours).
B.
That happened to my son once and it turned out to be walking Pnuemonnia. I felt terrible. But once it was diagnosed, he was better in a few days. Definitely take him to the doc if you haven't already. It could be anything.
I've read that milk does not cause mucus (old wives tale). You might want to ask your Dr. before stopping milk, especially if your son likes it and it can be used to keep him hydrated.
If it seems to be due to mucous I would try Mucinex otherwise Delsym for quieting the coughing both are taken every 12 hours.
I was just going to suggest the Vicks' on his feet but saw you do that! Hmmm... have you tried the Vicks hot water vaporizer with the Vicks steam in it? That helps a lot too!
My older son went through this recently and finally after two weeks or so of it (no other symptoms), I took him to the doctor. He treated it like bronchitus and gave him an antibiotic, which helped tremendously. He also recommended Mucinex D, which you get behind the counter at the pharmacy. He said anything with a decongestant that you buy over the counter is not worth the money. I'm not sure a 3 year old could take that though, but you could ask the pharmacist if they have a decongestant for a child that age.
We give our son honey for dry coughs. Try googling it? We also bought some Hyland's homeopathic tablets from Health Hut for coughs. Before bed, we steam him in the bathroom for about 20 minutes, give hom the 1-2 teaspoons of honey, vics on feet, 2 hyland's tablets then brush teeth and get ready for bed. Increase his fluids (but not milk...which increases mucus. Good luck!
My first question is how long has he been doing this? If has been over a week I would get him into the Dr right away. It could just be a cold but it could also be the start of something more serious. Also be sure and use distilled water in your humidfer as the metals can still be floating in the air causing more irritation then helping him. Colds in little ones are so hard to handle because we want to ease every little thing. If he starts coughing harder or has more nasal discharge than with a normal cold I would get him into the Dr right away.
My daughter is on the tail end of a very similar cough. Many people have suggested a cold mist humidifier in her room, and it seems to be helping. Otherwise, you just have to let it run it's course. It sucks, I know, b/c you feel so bad for them, but it will pass! :)
Hi T.,
So sorry to hear about your little man!!!
I found Boiron's Homeopathic Children's Chestal Honey cough syrup seemed to work well (or out of desparation just plain honey works okay too). Also, our old favorite ped dr suggested that they drink warm water when the coughing starts. It seems to stops the spasms and they go back to sleep.
Hope that helps!
Blessings,
G. H
If seeing a chiropractor is an option, you might try that. My son gets that same sort of cough every year. I got fed up and took him to my Chiropractor. His coughing went away! It has been a great experience for us in this area. It has also helped with overall headaches and stuffyness that he constantly had. I know it is discouraging hearing them cough and cough. Good luck!
My 2 1/2 yr old had a terrible cough this week, too. We use a cold mist humidifier in her room, warm bath before bed and 1-2 teaspoons of Karo syrup. (I guess we could use honey, but we started this for colds when she was a year old and our doc's office suggests not giving honey to kids that young.)
Our pediatrician also doesn't suggest quitting milk. He always says if they are drinking it and are able to keep it down, then keep drinking it because they need to stay hydrated.
Before bed, run the hot shower until the bathroom is really steamy and then sit in there with him. Stay in for at least 10 minutes and then off to bed. This helps alot!!
The other thing that helps when they are in a coughing fit is to wrap in a blanket and go outside in the cold for 2 minutes. Sounds weird but our doctor suggested it and it works wonders!
Good luck!
I didn't read your other responses, but we use honey for our 3-year-old's cough and it works great! I usually gave it to him before bed and then once in the middle of the night and his coughing definitely lessened. Good luck!
I have a 6 year old and when she had her first cold i found this portable fan by triaminic with moons and stars on it.
It last for 8 hrs and works great because you can set it right by the head.
I also, use a theraflu patch and put it on a T-shirt under her pjs.
they both work great together.....
you can get both at walmart,walgreens that i know of.
Hope this helps you.....
ps try not to have him drink milk......
