What's your best "secret" remedy for a cough?

[tmarquez]

My DD(5) gets a terrible cough whenever she gets a cold. She's gotten it since she was an infant. Dr's have said she might be slightly asthmatic...but maybe not.

Anyway, she has it now. It's keeping everyone up at night...including her. What can I do? I already have a humidifier going in her room and we rubbed Vicks on her chest and back. She has a prescription cough medicine that doesn't work so I quit making her take it. Last night a healthy dose of kids Benedryl stopped the sniffles and cough long enough for her to get SOME sleep, but there has to be a better way!

What do you do for your family?

 

[oldbay]

Both of my kids have had cough issues when sick. The oldest has had croup many times. The cold air seems to help, even air conditioning is good to reduce any swelling. The contrast between a hot shower/ then cold air helps as well. Also, ice pops seem to be a big help when they get a bad cough at night(the flavorice are a big hit). The cold liquid calms it down so they can sleep. Another help might be a little children's advil or tylenol (with dr. permission) to reduce some swelling as well. I also remind both of them to blow out a lot and not sniff in and 'stuff' trying to come out as it tends to make the cough worse and also get in their ears. Another idea is to have them sleep semi-propped up so any 'stuff' drains and does not get stuck in their throat. Oatmeal also helps a sore throat too.

Can you tell we try everything?

The best though to really get rid of the cough was an oral steroid they gave my son for croup. It works amazingly well to get rid of any cough he has. This does need a presrciption though. It may be something to ask about next time, especially if this is asthma-like.

Good luck and will cross my fingers your DD gets better soon.

 

[Donna]

i've heard rubbing VICKS on the bottom of their feet works. (don't ask me how!) Worth a try!

 

[HeatherC]

I nebulize my kids. I have 3 kids who have always gotten a terrible cough when they get allergies or a cold. We thought my oldest was asthmatic, but it turned out to be allergies. She is now getting shots for them.


I would ask your doctor about it especially if they think she might be slighty asthmatic.

We have found with the doctor's help that if I start nebulizing them within the first day of them coughing, it seems to catch it and not turn into something worse like pneumonia. I usually wind up doing it like two days straight and it seems to help a great deal.

I also don't give them cough medicine because that just keeps the junk in their lungs. At least coughing lets them expell it somewhat.

I don't advocate giving a kid medicine or drugs unless you need to, but I do think in our case the albuterol has made a tremendous difference. We used to have nights where the kids would cough non-stop ...even with cough medicine - for several nights in a row. Exhausting to say the least. This just seems much more effective for us.

Good luck to you!!

 

[Stephaniecmc]

i've heard rubbing VICKS on the bottom of their feet works. (don't ask me how!) Worth a try!

Lather bottoms of feet with VICKS and cover with socks before you go to bed. Works wonders for your cough, congestion, and your feet too!

 

[SLK1]

i've heard rubbing VICKS on the bottom of their feet works. (don't ask me how!) Worth a try!

I heard this too...rub it on the bottom of their feet, then put socks on them. Good luck! Coughing at night is enough to make me want to jump off a cliff!!

 

[Matt'sMom]

Honey is still the best natural/home remedy for coughs. I think that it tends to coat the throat, so the post nasal dripping doesn't 'tickle' and trigger the coughing spasms as easily. Take by the spoonful, or mix it into hot tea. The tea or other warm beverages can also help reduce the irritation & keep sinus passages open. I have a lot of sinus issues, and a mild form of asthma... and find that the honey, hot tea, and sleeping propped up in a sitting position, all help to get me through when I have an annoying, lingering cough following a cold.

 

[Russian-in-Kansas]

I don't know how secret mine are, they are basically traditional remedies in Russia and do work I think. 1. warm milk and honey. 2. In the summer pick a bunch of daisies and make a tincture, you can add a few drops of it to the milk or boil a pot of water and add the daisies to it and have the child breath in the steam for a while. works for caughs, doesn't kill the virus though.

 

[sohappy]

I agree with the nebulizer treatments or even just the inhaler. My oldest has an "acceptably narrow airway". Whenever he gets sick he coughs alllll the time. Even strep makes him cough. We have a routine that works for him (vicks on the chest, tylenol simply cough, inhaler and nasal spray). If we leave anything out, we are up all night. If we do all the steps, he sleeps like a dream. He is an extreme case and everyone might not need all that. He does though or his little body is just exhausted.

 

[Belle72]

Maybe see an allergy/asthma specialist if you can. My pediatrician told us kids' coughs can last a long time after a cold. We went through many winters with sleepless nights. DD6 (5 yrs old at the time) was finally diagnosed with asthma- but has symptoms only with respiratory illnesses- otherwise she is fine-no symptoms of asthma. A cough at night can be the only symptom sometimes. As it was posted earlier- a nebulizer or an inhaler will take care of the problem amazingly. Oral steroids are for extreme cases, they have some potentailly bad side effects so are not for mild cases. My daughter did not wheeze, but the tests they did at the allergy/asthma office showed decreased lung function with colds- that is why she was coughing at night (a usual time for asthma to get worse). Hope this helps!

 

[Robmom]

Oh man! I wish this post was around a few days ago. I had this tickly cough that drove me nuts for 2 nights. I would have tried the Vicks!

 

[ardig123]

We do the thick layer of Vicks at night and cover with socks as well!! Works wonders!! I would not recommend doing it until right before bed...I am not so sure that prolonged walking would not make it seep out of the sock and stain the carpet. I put my kids in bed and then rub it on.

 

[tripletots]

i've heard rubbing VICKS on the bottom of their feet works. (don't ask me how!) Worth a try!

I ditto this too! This truly works for my family. When my daughter had the flu last winter, I did have to reapply in the middle of the night, but that was much better than listening to her cough all night. It can't hurt to try it.

 

[EpcotSweetHrts0512]

I'll have to try the Vick's on the feet thing! My mom always squeezed fresh lemon/lime juice in a little bowl, heated it up, and then mixed in honey. We would just swallow it by the spoonful! It did help our throats and the coughing, plus it tasted good!

 

[all4fun]

I haven't tried them yet but just last weekend I was at Costco and saw some freezer pops for kids that have honey in them. They were with the other childrens cold and cough remedies in the pharmaceutical section. Unfortunately, I can't remember what the name brand was.

 

[MichelleinMaine]

I'd be asking for a referral to check for asthma. As someone else said, every time my DD got a cold, she would get an unstoppable cough. After repeated episodes of this, they figured she did have asthma- that was triggered by a cold and by exposure to cats, dogs and/or dust. (Dogs the biggie.)

Definitely something to have investigated further. DD has a couple inhalers we start proactively when she gets a cold. We made it through all last year with no trips to the doc.

 

[Huskerfamilyof5]

We had they same problem with DD3, we took her to an allergist and although she did not test positive to allergies, with her frequent respiratory infections, he put her on Singular and Zyrtec. That has worked great, we use them on a daily basis during allergy season. We also have a nebulizer when she does get a cough, that works great too. Hope these help, I know about not getting sleep.

 

[wlfans]

I would see a specialist. Your child may be having Allergies instead of a cold. There may be some post nasal drip causing the cough. Try some good decongest tablets. Also, you may want to use Mucinex will clear the lungs out of any junk. My daughter and I both get this nagging cough during colds and allergy time. Most of are problem stems from post nasal drip. Staying on Claritin and Triminic cold/allergy. Saline spray they say help, but they don't work for me. Flonase nose spray does seems to cut down on some of the nasal run off.

 

[mrsmiller]

when I was pregnant with my youngest son I developed a nasty cough that lasted for months because of the pregnancy I could not take any medications , finally my doctor told me to drink chamomile(spelling?) tea and It did work wonders for my cough, to this day I give my sons chamomile tea anytime they have a cough or asthma , it helps then stop coughing.

Linnette

 

[Dopey's twin Dippy]

i know this will sound funny, but my 19 year old, yes 19 years, has had a cough for over 2 weeks. went to Drs. they did not to any tests, blood work. whatever, but now it seems to be getting worse..not to sound mean, but all night she coughs......i think i will call themback tmw. and get another look at her....i finally bought some honey to. she doesnt like it........haha......i just want to sleep at night............hah