my son is month under 3 and has been coughing at night for about a week. Any suggestions?

Rachael - posted on 10/20/2009

This might sound strange, but put vicks on the bottom of his feet and put socks over them. My mother in law told me to do this when my son (who is 3 1/2) did nothing but cough everynight for about 2 weeks and let me tell you, after I did that, he slept pretty well. Good luck.

Myra - posted on 10/17/2009

I'd try a humidifier if you have one. If you don't, you can always boil some water on the stove for a while in the evenings. I don't have a humidifier, but just boiling some water for 15-20 minutes puts a lot of moisture in the air...which is great especially if you have gas heat.

Amanda - posted on 10/17/2009

Thanks, tricia! I am going to try the honey and lemon mixture tonight before bed. And I think I will turn the heat down a bit in his room. I really appreciate everyone's help!

Tricia - posted on 10/17/2009

What works for myself and my son is instead of giving him chemical medicine for a cold or coughing is that I mix honey and real squeezed lemon juice together and I give that to him like it was cough medicine and I do this just before bed and then after he is all tucked in I put a cold, cold wet wash cloth on his head for while he sleeps. Something about the honey mixture and the cold cloth help him sleep alot better without coughing nearly as much if none at all. The other thing I do is that I noticed that the cooler it is in his room the better and more soundly he sleeps which I think also helps with suppressing the coughing. I have a window open just a crack and put a few more blankets on his bed. If you don't want to open an window then I suggest putting a fan in their room and turing it on at night only while they are sleeping. Hope this helps this is what works for me and my son. Good Luck!

Shauna - posted on 10/17/2009

my 9 mos old dtr had the same problem as well as my 3 yr old son. I put a vaporizer on at night and put some Baby Vicks on their chest and back at night. It seemed to help alot! The baby vicks isnt as strong as the regular, and I use the older vaporizers , not the "waterless ones"..that way there is moisture in the air to help with the cough. Hope this helps!!!

Jennifer - posted on 10/17/2009

Bronchial infections are common after a cold. My son is coughing at night too. It sounds like he is coughing up the mucus that loosened up and drained from his cold. I'm running a humidifier at night and that's about all you can do. Unless he runs a fever it's not necessary to take him to the doctor. The cough usually goes away within a few weeks.

Amanda - posted on 10/17/2009

Thanks Caroline, I do have a humidifier in his room. I also don't like to give him medicine. That is why I haven't taken him to the dr yet, because I know he will give him cough medicine. Thank you, I feel better just letting it leave his system on it's own.

Caroline - posted on 10/17/2009

Well the only thing I can suggest is getting a humidifier. Though he may not be sick, he still may have some of the mucus left in his system and coughing maybe the way of his body expelling it out. He maybe coughing for a week or so but it will eventually go away. There is some over the counter cough medicine available but personally I don't like using it.



Good luck!