[babygrant]

DS is 2 1/2. He has been in the hospital three times for a total of 8 days in the past year and a bit with croupe. During the winter months, every night while sleeping he coughs so hard that he's gagging. I've brought him to the doctor a handfull of times about this and the doctor just tells me he is more prone to croupe because he has had it a few times and that he is just coughing..just because. I wanted to have him checked for allergies....but no dr will refer us because they said allergy testing before 4 is not accurate. This is disrupting ds's sleep because everytime he goes into a coughing fit, he is wide awake so we have to get him back to sleep. Any ideas?<br><br>
Angela

 

[dove]

I have to wonder if he has asthma??? Frequent hospitalization for pulmonary problems and night coughing can really be big sign of that in little ones (especially in hindsight). Chronic bronchitis could also be the problem. I would take him to a pedi pulmonologist.<br><br>
Also consider classical homeopathy if these are ruled out. My mil is a homeopath and has had amazing success with children who have chronic night cough.<br><br>
You might also try de-allergenizing the room he sleeps in and see if there is any relief.<br>
Check out this very informative and comprehensive article about allergy by dr sears:<br><a href="http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T080500.asp" target="_blank">http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T080500.asp</a>

 

[USAmma]

Angela I am struggling with that right now, too. My dd had croup and RSV (at the same time!) 6 weeks ago and she still is coughing at night. I have been to the ped with her 3 times since the dx. The ped examined her last week and said she was being slammed by allergies. Her nose is not running but she's sniffly, rubs her nose a lot while sniffing, asks for Vicks. Her eyes were looking watery and a bit swollen too. He said it's probably allergies causing the cough. When she is lying down the mucous drains from her nose and settles in her throat. About halfway through the night she starts coughing and it lasts until an hour or after she wakes up. Same with naps. She is short of breath sometimes when she runs too much.<br><br>
Anyway last week the ped gave me some samples of Singulair to try. Now she and my other dd have a cold from the ped visit, so I can't tell if it's working or not. I also just put her on an antihistamine for appetite stimulant (she has eating issues, and this med triggers hunger as a side effect) and that seems to be working somewhat. Her eyes look better and she's not suffering as much with her nose, but it's still there. The other welcome side effect is it makes her sleepy. So she gets rest at night.<br><br>
Can you give your ds Benedryl or Claritin to help with the allergies? My dd1 responds well to Claritin.<br><br>
Even though she's too young for testing (I don't want to put her through it just yet anyway) we can still treat the symptoms. There's no reason to suffer like that.<br><br>
I agree about cleaning out the bedroom where he sleeps. I just did that this weekend with my dd's room. We encased her mattress in a zip cover, same with pillow. Washed all the bedding on HOT water and dried on hot. Took down the curtains to wash, shampooed the area rug, removed stuffed animals, and dusted/washed the tile. I also set up a HEPA filter in the room to run at night.<br><br>
Here's something I found online:<a href="http://www.yourlunghealth.org/diseases_conditions/asthma_menu/pediatric_asthma/pa_symptoms/index.cfm" target="_blank">http://www.yourlunghealth.org/diseas...toms/index.cfm</a><br><br><div style="margin:20px;margin-top:5px;">
<div class="smallfont" style="margin-bottom:2px;">Quote:</div>
<table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0" width="99%"><tr><td class="alt2" style="border:1px inset;">Frequent coughing is a more common symptom of childhood asthma, particularly coughing at night or after physical activity or crying, and any child who coughs regularly should be evaluated for asthma. Chest tightness, shortness of breath, and frequent bouts of respiratory infections are also common symptoms, and in infants, a rattly cough and rapid breathing may be a sign of asthma.</td>
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