[because]

On 4/11, DD (15 months old) was exposed to a sick cousin (11 months old) at Easter <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/angry.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="angry"> .<br><br>
On 4/16, DD got the cousin's symptoms: high fever (104) for 2-3 days, listlessness, occasional choking cough from thick nasal drainage, constant crying, no appetite.<br><br>
On 4/19 (day 3), I took her to the doc who diagnosed her with slight croup and said the cough was from her nose because her lungs were clear. Nasal discharge was thick and clear sometimes or yellow/green sometimes. Wrote a script for amoxicillin but said not to fill it unless she got worse. It was probably a virus given the fever and that the cousin took antibiotics, which didn't help her at all. Still miserable and no appetite. Never filled the script.<br><br>
By days 4-5, fever was down and spiked to 102 occasionally. Still no appetite but seemed to be feeling somewhat better (not good, by any means, though). Nasal drainage lessened and clearer. Occasional cough that seemed less choking from drainage and more in the lungs.<br><br>
DD has gotten better and better with her appetite slowly returning (thank god for breastfeeding!), her attitude getting better, interest in toys/books/playing returning.<br><br>
By 4/24 or so (10 days +) it was just the coughing fits. She will be totally fine then go into a fit of coughing with whooping and retching/vomiting. The cough sounds wet but isn't productive (that I can tell). The fits only happen once or twice a day, usually in the middle of the night and don't seem to be affected by strenuous play or crying. They last up to a half hour.<br><br>
The doc knows she's not vaxed for pertussis but had suggested that it might be asthma or "broncho-spasms" when we talked last. He said that we could do a nebulizer but didn't press that idea. He hasn't heard her lungs since day 3.<br><br>
FWIW #1: The cousin's cough lasted 2 weeks and she never had the vomitting, etc. (cousin has had bronchiolitis, been on a nebulizer... all before this illness)<br><br>
FWIW #2: She cut 2 molars and 2 canines during this time.<br><br>
Now, 5/11, she is totally better except for this blasted cough. We're avoiding dairy but not taking anything for the cough.<br><br>
What do I do for her? Wait it out? Look into asthma? Look into pertussis (but this came on totally differently that pertussis, right?)?<br><br>
Thanks,

 

[girlzmommy00]

JMO but I'd definately look into the asthma end of things. My 3 girls and I all have asthma and it's usually flares up after they are ill or during seasonal changes (sounds like she's being hit with both, assuming that you are being hit with all the pollen we are right now). So while they've gotten over the illness, they get this nasty cough that lingers until they are able to use the nebulizer for a few days, and it's usually the night coughing.<br><br>
Your mention of the coughing at night, is a classic symptom of asthma. My oldest will often be woken up with coughing fits so bad that she vomits. I'm often running around at night like a nut trying to figure out who's doing the coughing so I know who needs the neb the next day <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/wink1.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="wink1"> But once they get the nebulizer, the coughing stops.<br><br>
I'm glad to hear that your dr at least mentioned asthma. Some drs aren't up on current research and still think that no wheezing means no asthma. Going through it myself, I know that it is definately asthma (for me at least) that I have but I never wheeze and never have. My oldest used to see a different pedi dr who kept insisting that it was not asthma. We had to switch drs due to ins changes, and the new dr immediately diagnosed her with asthma and the day after she started treatment, the cough completely stopped.

 

[BreastisBest78]

Some doctors aren't up on asthma, this is true, but on the other hand some doctors call EVERYTHING asthma <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/irked.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="irked">: ..so make sure you do your research and then work from there. If your little one is coughing at night she could be thirsty or dry from breathing in the air....try a little water or a humidifier first!

 

[lizziejean]

My son (almost 2) got this kind of illness too, and so did a few other kids in my little circle. Two of the kids ended up with pneumonia, and 2 others on some kind of nebulizer treatment. My son has reactive airways (what they call asthma before it can be properly diagnosed later in childhood) and so it triggered an episode for him - he was coughing and coughing and couldn't catch his breath. He ended up on oral prednisone and nebulized albuterol followed by inhaled steroids after the course of oral drugs ended. I was pretty close to going to the emergency room before the drugs kicked in just in time.<br><br>
I would definitely get the asthma angle checked out, if possible by a pediatric pulmonologist if you have access to one. Also, if you have access to a nebulizer, you might try giving nebulized saline - this tip was given by my friend's doctor as a way of loosening secretions... I haven't tried it myself but it seems like a good thing to try, more efficient than sitting in a steamy bathroom, but not involving steroids. Saline is mixed with drugs like albuterol for use in a nebulizer, so I know it's safe for inhalation. You can buy single-use capsules of it at the pharmacy to make sure it's sterile.<br><br>
For myself, my asthma was diagnosed when I went to the doctor with a chronic cough that lasted long after a regular cold went away. Coughing is often the only obvious symptom of asthma in children.<br><br>
Good luck!<br><br>
Elizabeth<br>
ds 7-2-02<br>
dd 12-24-00

 

[pageta]

From what I've read about whooping cough from my research on vaccinations, I would say that is what it sounds like. They whoop mostly at night, and all of the symptoms but the cough go away while the cough sticks around for around 6 months. Whooping cough is mis-diagnosed 80% of the time so people have it more often than we realize. I would certainly not rule it out.

 

[BreastisBest78]

I took little Caleb into the ER today because he woke up from his nap wheezing and it scared the living daylights out of me. The doctor diagnosed him with Bronchiolitis and reactive airways. I'm just having faith that it's not asthma and it will never turn into asthma. They prescribed the anti-inflammatory and the steroid (which I'm VERY apprehensive about giving him) because I just wonder if maybe the tubes become dependent on it..i don't know..plus my neighbor's daughter ballooned up huge and is very hyperactive from steroids. My aunt said the anti inflammatory would work to counter act the steroid but I'm SOO SOO worried. My dh is on his way now to pick them both up. Meantime, I've been trying eucaliptis steam and vapor rub..benadryl for the sniffles..I'm searching for a homeo way to cure this without meds but none found so far...any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

 

[Marsupialmom]

Yes, steroids can cause a lot of bad things but as an asthmatic breathing is nice. LOL<br><br>
Remember there is a time for non-homeopathic medicine. I would honestly rule out whooping cough. Try the humidity and allergies (they can cause sinus drainage and coughing).<br><br>
I think your aunt is a light goofy about anti-inflammatory counter acting steroids. Also, this little girl did she get less active post diagnose? Is the hyperness caused by sugars and sweeteners in oral meds?<br><br>
Another thing to try is caffinated coffee. I have found if I am starting to have an asthma attack plain caffinated coffee can decrease or stop it. I have used this to tame them when I have been caught without my inhaler.

 

[lizziejean]

breastisbest, I know what you mean about being worried about giving steroids to your little one. I've never heard of a kid getting fat... I was more worried about the possiblity of stunted growth... but it turns out to be unfounded (growth can slow down while they're on the meds, but in most if not all cases they catch up). I did a lot of research and asking questions, and I've ended up with this: The key thing for your child is to have 100% healthy lungs and to be able to breathe. If they have a low level of inflammation... ie they are functioning pretty well but not completely healthy... this will cause long term damage, and starting at around age 40 their lung health will deteriorate much faster than people who had healthy lungs as a child. Also, having reduced lung function right now can lead to stunted growth itself.<br><br>
I also never heard of any interaction between an anti-inflammatory (what do you mean? ibuprofen? albuterol?) and the steroids (I'm assuming orapred? or maybe pulmicort via the nebulizer?). FYI the oral steroids have much stronger side effects than the inhaled ones, like a week's worth is equal to several months' worth. So if you can get your kid stabilized and on a regular (low) dose of the inhaled steroids which will keep him clear, then you are on the right track.<br><br>
As for hyperactivity, albuterol (not a steroid, but used during an attack to reduce swelling of the airways) can cause you to get hyper. It really affected my son when he was littler (under a year old) he was like he'd just taken a hit of something, totally psycho. Now he's almost 2 it doesn't seem to affect him at all, maybe makes him sleep a little lighter. My friend's mom still gets hyper from it though. Maybe this is what's happening to your neighbor's daughter?<br><br>
I do hope your kid outgrows this, about half of them do. Good luck!

 

[mamacate]

Is there a low, persistent fever. My DS had a similar course of illness, and he had this persistent low fever that would only go up at night. Turned out he had mild pneumonia and a sinus infection (dx via x-ray).<br><br>
Coughs can definitely linger, but if your mama instincts say there's something more, pursue it. To get the pneumonia dx, we ended up bringing him in on a saturday morning after calling the office 4 times during the week and being told it was just a cold.<br><br>
Cate

 

[Piglet68]

moving this to health and healing.... <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.mothering.com/discussions/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="smile">

 

[Scarlett Mother]

I'm so glad I found this thread. My 2 year old dd has been diagnosed with reactive airways. After she started day care at 16 months she had back-to-back colds and a couple of more serious fever-type things and with each one she would get this cough that pretty much only hit when she was trying to sleep. And she would cough for 15-20 minutes after going to sleep at night and often in the middle of the night. This was the worst. Some nights I would nurse her to sleep in she would cough in my arms for what seemed like ages. And then there were times we'd take her into bed with us and she would cough with every single breath for 3 hours (so tired that she was sleeping and coughing at the same time).<br><br>
Needless to say I was beside myself while this was going on, but it would last a few days and gradually get better for 4 or 5 days until she got another cold. Eventually, she had one cold where she was coughing almost non-stop throughout the day. This was when we ended up with a chest x-ray and 5 days of prednisone (cortico-steroid) and we have a prescription for an albuterol inhaler. But these things are not nice for kids.<br><br>
We took her to a naturopath and got her a homeopathic remedy as well as having her take a Vega test for food sensitivities (no pricking involved!). So we've changed her diet to eliminate the sensitive foods and started giving her echinacea the first sign of a cold and also lemon cod liver oil, which is high in omega-3 fatty acids and is an anti-inflammatory. This year things have been much better.<br><br>
Basically, the explanation that we got it is that sometimes if kids get a very bad virus early in their lives that causes their lungs to become inflamed (our dr. told us about a common one called RSV) it makes their lungs vulnerable to subsequent attacks by illness or environmental factors.<br><br>
I highly recommend talking to a naturopath to look for alternative ways to treat or head off more episodes.<br><br>
Good luck!