Leanne - posted on 02/13/2012 ( 217 moms have responded )
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Hello,
I have a 5 year old daughter who has had a barking cough on and off since she was a toddler. We have been to doctors and they always say her lungs are clear, no wheezing or trouble breathing- just a cough that is around more than it's not. She has an inhaler of a non-steroid prescription-Salbutamol for when she is having a cough attack. We use it a lot when she is sick as the cough gets awful and relentless. Wondering if anyone has any experience with this in their child? From my research it seems like "cough variant asthma" ..would love some suggestions! Thanks :)
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Denise - posted on 02/26/2012
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WOW...you have gotten SO many replies here it must be overwhelming...i have to say from experience though that you can't discount the feedback you get from others....one of your comments was quick to dismiss acid reflux..."reflux would not give a kid a cough"...WRONG!...HUGE MISTAKE...while every kid who has reflux doesn't have a cough....a chronic cough CAN indicate reflux!!! ask me i know! i discounted the idea too and i was so very wrong...my daughter also had reflux as a child, but no failure to thrive, weight loss, or pain with it...even though she spit up heavily with it until she was a year old!.....so it went untreated!!!...to complicate matters she had RSV at about 8 months and her first allergic reaction at 9 months....her allergies were so severe and hard to manage that we began allergy injections at age 7...by around age 8 we had been battling a increasingly chronic barking cough for over a year....off and on....lasting at times up to 12 or more weeks and resulting in breathing treatments and many go rounds of steroids which were no fun for anyone!!!...since allergies and asthma run in our family, our allergist started with the most obvious testing....asthma challenge....inconclusive....obviously not the "clear cut" asthma we thought she had...cystic fibrosis...negative thank God...etc, etc...she finally had a video stroboscopy.... where they put a small tube with a video camera through the nose and down past the throat to view the entire area including the vocal chords....guess what??? a severe case of GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) ..."silent" by the way meaning no obvious symptoms....with subsequent vocal chord dysfunction which further exacerbated the cough!!!!
approximately four to six weeks of the right medication and NO more cough, NO more inhaler, NO more prednisone since!!! my advice is start with the obvious and test and treat until you figure it out...a chronic cough is miserable for everyone and when they're school age it causes even more problems...disrupting sleep, disrupting the classroom, etc, etc....good luck! hope you get it figured out soon!
Amanda - posted on 02/14/2012
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Honey I've been dealing with the same thing for the past 7 yrs with my youngest. And oddly enough hers is flared up as we speak. Hers was bad about 2 wks ago I finally got it cleared up then this past weekend she went 2 my ex-husband's parents house & suprise surprise it's back. It seems like EVERY time she goes 2 either his house or his parents house she comes home with a horrible cough. What I do is I give her neblizer treatments EVERY 4 hrs around the clock even when she's sleeping. If shes sleeping I just sit her in my lap & slip the mask over her face while supporting her weight so that she's sitting up & just hold her until the treatment is over. I also use a cough suppressant, a vaporizer, LOTS of honey, I let her drink coke a cola (which is a RARE thing my girls are not aloud 2 have soda under normal rules, when it's really bad I will steam up the bathroom & sit in there with her, basically just anything that I've heard works. But I would be lieing if I said it works all the time. There's times that NOTHING works. There's been nights (a week straight) I've just sat up with her comforting her even after she was asleep because nothing seemed 2 work. I know it's hard & very heart breaking when they have these coughing spells. The most important thing I can tell u 2 do would be 2 just comfort her & let het know ur there. I've sat up many of nights all night long just so I knew she was ok. I can tell u the 2 cough suppressants that I have found that work the best but I'm don't think ur little one is old enough for 1 of them but talk 2 ur pharmacies because in some cases u can give ur child the med u just have 2 use a smaller dose then it says 2 use. But here's the 2 that work best 4 my little girl Childrens Nightquil cold & cough & Mucinex Cough. Now every child is different so they may not work as well 4 ur child as they do 4 mine & like I said theres been LOTS of times that neither 1 of these 2 meds has had any affect & she STILL coughs all night so just because they didn't work this time doesn't mean they won't work ever. Something else I've learned is that if u use the Neb start using it at the FIRST sign that she's getting a cough. Also if u think it's a cold & not allergies or asmtha try giving her something caller silver u'll have 2 order it online but it's a GREAT way 2 knock out ANY kind of virus or infection. Now ur Dr is going 2 tell u it won't work but it's a natural antibotic my bf is who introduced it 2 me. He HATES DRS & believes in using natural things as opposed 2 meds. Now I'm NOT a dr so don't think I'm giving u med advice. I'm just telling u things I do with my daughter when her coughing spells are happening. I hope ur little one feels better soon & I hope I was able 2 help.
Lee - posted on 02/14/2012
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Have had same problem with same answers! Ive found regularly changing his pillow, vaccuuming his room and dusting and putting mattress in sun helps. This kills dust mites which I think triggers my sons allergies! Though every child is different!
Rachel - posted on 02/15/2012
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I would take her to an allergist, and consider video taping her when she has the barking cough so that the doctor can hear exactly what it looks and sounds like.
Carrie - posted on 02/21/2012
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Have you had your child checked for refux and or any other stomach problems? I know it sounds crazy but it can all be related.