Need help with toddler's constant coughing at night

[Dr.Girlfriend]

He's already seen his pediatrician and an urgent care doctor, and both have said he just has a cold and it needs to run its course. They've offered no help in getting this cough to stop.

My son will be 2 next week and he's completely fine during the day. But at night when he lays down, he coughs a very phlgemy cough that wakes him up at all hours. On Friday he got into such a bad coughing fit, he threw up all over the place.

I'm at a loss as to what to do now. Last night he woke up at 12 and coughed off and on until 1, then I picked him up and had him sleep on me on an armchair in the living room until about 2:30. He coughed some, but not as much since he was inclined, I guess. He had another coughing fit about 4 a.m. then was up coughing at 5:45 a.m. and he had enough of trying to sleep.

I do have a cool mist humidifer in his room and I also have Vick's on his feet and chest. Anything else I can do?

 

[golfgal]

Take him to an allergy/asthma specialist. It sounds a LOT like allergies and maybe allergy induced asthma. Our oldest was the exact same way, just fine during the day, coughed his head off at night. Fall is his worst time for allergies.

 

[Dr.Girlfriend]

Take him to an allergy/asthma specialist. It sounds a LOT like allergies and maybe allergy induced asthma. Our oldest was the exact same way, just fine during the day, coughed his head off at night. Fall is his worst time for allergies.

My husband suggested the same thing and we mentioned it to the doctor, who kind of brushed it off. I'll bring it up again to him later today and look for one in the area. Thanks!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Have you tried any saline solution? It's not a popular option (on the kid's part) but it may help dry up some of the green goo.

Is your DS still in a crib or in a bed? If in a crib, you can always elevate 1 end of the mattress (put blankets under it) OR take the sheet off, layer some pillows/blankets, reapply fitted sheet. That way your LO won't be at risk for suffocation if pillows/blankets shift. I prefer the under the mattress, but either work.

 

[stichy]

I agree with taking him to a pulmonologist. It could be he has really bad bronchitis. DH had a bad case a few years back. Once it cleared up he had a really bad cough for months. He would cough constantly. It was so bad that he would choke. The doc prescribed him hard core cough meds for months.

 

[Dr.Girlfriend]

Have you tried any saline solution? It's not a popular option (on the kid's part) but it may help dry up some of the green goo.

Is your DS still in a crib or in a bed? If in a crib, you can always elevate 1 end of the mattress (put blankets under it) OR take the sheet off, layer some pillows/blankets, reapply fitted sheet. That way your LO won't be at risk for suffocation if pillows/blankets shift. I prefer the under the mattress, but either work.

Still in a crib. I've never tried elevating the mattress....I'll give that a shot tonight, too.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

Still in a crib. I've never tried elevating the mattress....I'll give that a shot tonight, too.

We usually put a couple blankets underneath, to lift it up a bit. It's worth a shot! Good luck! I hate the nights in the recliner!

 

[Tinkermommy]

Poor little guy!

How long has this been going on? If it's been over two weeks, I would take him to a pulmonologists. My daughter has seasonal allergies and mild asthma. She had to use a nebulizer and it did help.

It may have to just "run it course" but I would have it checked out to make sure.

Good luck!

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

Vicks Vapor Rub on the feet, put socks on so as not to stain the sheets or matress. It's my favorite (of 2) home remedy/miracle. I read about it on here maybe a year or 2 ago. My daughter was like your son. Fine during the day, but as soon as she went to bed, she coughed until she couldn't get a breath in. I had remembered reading about the vicks cure on here and thought "what the heck". I went into her room with it and told her to sit up. I slathered vicks (the generic is what I always get, it's the same thing) all over the bottom of her feet. She resisted because she thought it was gross (I'm mentioning this part to prove it probably was not a placebo effect). Put socks over her feet, she laid back down, coughed once more and that was it. She didn't cough again the rest of the night.

I'm sure you will get lots of people on here backing this up, because like I said, the Dis is where I heard about it and I swear by this. Hey, I can't hurt. And vicks is cheap. You can even do a google search and see that a lot of people swear by it. I was shocked at how quickly it worked. It probably doesn't cure a cough, but it does something to make it stop.

 

[Dr.Girlfriend]

We usually put a couple blankets underneath, to lift it up a bit. It's worth a shot! Good luck! I hate the nights in the recliner!

Well the worst part was, I'm still getting over a combination of strep, bronchitis and pink eye (gotta love daycare germs!) and was scared I was going to leave more germs on him as he slept on me early this morning

 

[dzorn]

It sound like sinus drainage that starts from the change in position. You can use a saline spray a little while before bed to help it drain before bedtime.

Denise in MI

 

[Dr.Girlfriend]

Vicks Vapor Rub on the feet, put socks on so as not to stain the sheets or matress. It's my favorite (of 2) home remedy/miracle. I read about it on here maybe a year or 2 ago. My daughter was like your son. Fine during the day, but as soon as she went to bed, she coughed until she couldn't get a breath in. I had remembered reading about the vicks cure on here and thought "what the heck". I went into her room with it and told her to sit up. I slathered vicks (the generic is what I always get, it's the same thing) all over the bottom of her feet. She resisted because she thought it was gross (I'm mentioning this part to prove it probably was not a placebo effect). Put socks over her feet, she laid back down, coughed once more and that was it. She didn't cough again the rest of the night.

I'm sure you will get lots of people on here backing this up, because like I said, the Dis is where I heard about it and I swear by this. Hey, I can't hurt. And vicks is cheap. You can even do a google search and see that a lot of people swear by it. I was shocked at how quickly it worked. It probably doesn't cure a cough, but it does something to make it stop.

I guess I'll also try just the regular Vicks...I've been using the baby Vicks and it's a lighter version, I suppose?

 

[lovesmurfs]

For the vaporizer, use the liquid Vicks in the water as well.

 

[bored]

He's already seen his pediatrician and an urgent care doctor, and both have said he just has a cold and it needs to run its course. They've offered no help in getting this cough to stop.

My son will be 2 next week and he's completely fine during the day. But at night when he lays down, he coughs a very phlgemy cough that wakes him up at all hours. On Friday he got into such a bad coughing fit, he threw up all over the place.

I'm at a loss as to what to do now. Last night he woke up at 12 and coughed off and on until 1, then I picked him up and had him sleep on me on an armchair in the living room until about 2:30. He coughed some, but not as much since he was inclined, I guess. He had another coughing fit about 4 a.m. then was up coughing at 5:45 a.m. and he had enough of trying to sleep.

I do have a cool mist humidifer in his room and I also have Vick's on his feet and chest. Anything else I can do?

I could have written the same story with my DD. According to pediatrician she didn't have allergies. We took her on our own to an allergist and she has multiple allergies and allergy induced asthma. They only manifested at night as she was completely fine until she hit the bed and laid down. She now takes claritin and singulair daily and has improved 100%. We also run an air purifier in her room 24/7 and that helps as well. We found the humifider made her coughing worse.

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

My daughter had the cough like that several times a year when she was growing up.
It lasted months each time. Was mainly at night & naptime & she'd cough & cough till she threw up.
After lots of visits to the doctor they finally said it was a asthma type cough & treated it that way. Allergies always seemed to trigger the start up of it though.
Hope he feels better soon!

 

[loveysbydesign]

Sounds like an allergy cough. My dd had it at age 3 and had to take Singulair and use and inhaler from time to time. Thanks fully she got better as she got older and no longer needs meds. Now my ds who just turned 3 is starting with it. Claritin helps as do BHI Heel homepathic cough pills. http://www.heelusa.com/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?id=1001170&bc=COUGH TABLET 100 CT

 

[CaliforniaDreamin]

I guess I'll also try just the regular Vicks...I've been using the baby Vicks and it's a lighter version, I suppose?

I'm not sure about the baby Vicks, but I would give it a try before buying the regular. It may have enough mentholatem (sp) to do the trick!

Ok, I just checked Snopes about this, and since your child is so young, don't slather a bunch on (nothing excessive) and definately try the baby Vicks. Snopes says this home remedy is Undetermined to be true or false, but it really did work for us.

 

[Christine]

I think we've all experienced having one of those colds that leave you with a cough that takes weeks to go away and rears its ugly head at night...

I'm in my 40s but remember one cold like that when I was about 7. The coughing was so bad I still remember it.

I just read a book about colds, very interesting. Anyway, some of the cold viruses irritate the nerves in the broncial area and cause them to make you cough. Things like post nasal drip, dry air, food, etc. hit those nerves and trigger coughing since the nerves are already irritated.

It sounds like your son is draining in the evening and getting the nerves irritated. The doctors don't like to give cough meds to young kids and they don't work well on adults either unless they knock you out.

Barring any other problems, you're probably going to have to wait this out.

 

[LuvOrlando]

I am a huge advocate for children with airway trouble. Take a look at this website, it might help you aanma.org

Coughing when a child changes position is a pretty big sign or Asthma. Do not use Vicks or any other scented irritant (remove candles and plug ins ect, no perfume) until you can get your child evaluated. I have 2 kids with Asthma and childhood Asthma presents very differently than adult Asthma, it is not uncommon for a child with Asthma to cough instead of wheeze, my DD11 doesn't even cough, she just breathes shallowly and complains of a tickle in her throat. My son12 has only ever complained about his throat closing, never the chest, never the lungs. Most people look for the wheeze and since they don't hear it the child goes undiagnosed. Also, it is worth mentioning that he medical community has a protocol of not diagnosing a child with Asthma until he/she reaches the age of 5. I really can't understand why this is but it's been said to me too many times from too many different professionals to think it's not true. It is very possible that something else might be going on with your child but the coughing when he lies down struck a nerve with me because that was exactly the symptom that pushed me to find help for my own kids.

If I had to do it all over again and were in your position I would make an appointment with a Pulmonologist right away and have an expert evaluation done instead of going the route the medical community shoves everyone which is Pediatrician to Allergist to tons of useless medications to finally end up with a Pulmonologist 11 years later.

 

[laughinplace199]

OP, My DD went through the same thing when she was 3. She'd be fine all day, but as soon as she would lie down at night, the coughing would start and it sounded horrible! At first, I figured it was a cold and that it would just run its course. After a month of no change, I took her to the dr. They did chest xrays (to check for pneumonia, which she did not have) and they ended up prescribing an inhaler with albuterol. The albuterol helped, but a few months later, the cough came back. This time, I took her to her allergist who put her on Singulair, which worked like a charm. At that point, he suspected asthma (we already knew she had allergies) but he said thay don't usually formally diagnose kids with asthma until age 5. DD is 11 now, has allergies and mild, persistent asthma. Daily Zyrtec and Singulair have worked wonders for her, although she occasionally needs some albuterol as well.

Also, I wouldn't use Vick's in case your DS is asthmatic. Vick's is not recommended for those with asthma.

Good luck getting this figured out!