Coughing

My two have colds ... horrible ugly colds. They cough NON STOP. Hailey just made herself throw up from coughing so hard. I'm at a loss for what to do. I had them to the doc on Wed. night, and they said it's viral (no strep, ear infections, etc). So it's been motrin for fever, and humidifier at night.

What else can I do? I feel like it's been 5 days, and it's still an awful cough. The fever is gone, but the nose is still running, and it's interrupting their sleep (and mine!)

Any advice? The ped said they were too young for any cough medicines ... that kills me. I just wish I could give them something to help!

 

Have you tried honey? Some people swear by it. I haven't noticed that it helps my DS a whole lot, but his cough never goes away, so that may be why.

 

Try honey with a little lemon. If they will drink it, warm tea with honey and lemon.

 

My boys had an awful virus in November that lasted 13 days. I swore it was H1N1..but they both tested negative. It began with congestion and fever and towards the end was just coughing and stuffed up nose. They too would cough so hard they would make themselves puke. We put blankets under their mattresses to elevate their heads at night...some nights we would rock them to sleep and put them upright in their carseats to let gravity help with drainage. I used Vicks Vapor Rub on both their chests and back. We would take steamy showers every morning to help clean things out. We did do the honey-lemon water as well...but they didn't really care to drink it. We also STOPPED all milk and went very light on any other dairy food. It was an awful two weeks...but we made it and so will you!! Good luck!

 

When I called my ped's nurse help-line, they suggested 2-5ml of straight corn syrup. I tried it once and didn't notice any change, but the ped said that it does help some kids. Good luck! I hope yours feel better soon.

 

Is it dry cough, or phlegm-filled post-nasal drip cough? Kevan really struggles with the latter, because his breathing issues make it hard for him to clear his throat -- I can't count the number of times he's thrown up from coughing.

Anyhow. What I do is use a nasal rinse on him -- AYR is a good one -- to get his sinuses as clear as possible. Then, I give him warm water with honey to sip, and I follow that up with Chestal Honey homeopathic cough syrup. Also, Vicks on the chest and feet.

You could try Benadryl to dry them up a little bit, or plain children's Sudafed (the kind behind the counter that people use to make meth!) to unclog their noses.

Bleagh. Hope it ends soon! The last time Kevan was sick, his cough was so bad that the doctor prescribed antibiotics (which I never used, because he clearly didn't have an infection), plus an albuterol inhaler. The inhaler really helped him.

 

Oh, that stinks, Erica. I'm sorry the kids aren't feeling well. We've had our share of cough-sponsored vomiting. Yuk.

When my kids are hacky, I usually send them to bed with a warm sippy (it hasn't affected our ability to keep our pants dry overnight or their ability to NOT have a drink in bed once they're better). If they start hacking in the middle of the night, I refresh them with newly warmed water. Those dry, hacking coughs are often helped by keeping their throat lubricated. During the day I would give them warm, watered-down juice (50/50) or warm milk with a dash of cinnamon in it (that made it novel --let them sprinkle it in-- and kept them sipping). If you're having diarrhea accompany this illness I'd avoid the juice, if you're having constipation, avoid the milk.

I got some actual children's cough suppressant for the first time this year. I hadn't felt comfortable using it before now, but that's mostly b/c my kids are such peanuts their weight had been more like an 18-month old's than a 3-year old's.

Hope H&J feel better soon.

 

Honestly...my doc told me that a half teaspoon of Delsym cough syrup at night is not harmful and if they're coughing that hard I give it to them...I've noticed that it does work.

 

Assuming that the coughing is from mucus, I would give them benedryl to clear up the mucus, and run a humidifier all the time. Put them in a steamy bathroom too for 10 minutes a few times a day to give them an extra dose of steam.

ETA as someone else said, cut out dairy, increase water and gatorade, nothing creamy to eat or drink. The key to getting rid of mucus is to increase the water in the mucus so it drains to the stomach.

 

We do steamy shower and a warm drink before bed. If that gets them to sleep, then I don't bother with meds. But if they are coughing so much that they can't get to sleep or are waking themselves up I will give them Delsym (1/2 tsp) and see if that helps. If they are really mucousy sometimes I give them a tsp. of Benadryl to dry them up and get them to bed. Mine can get wicked coughs so we also have a nebulizer and inhaler to use as needed as well.

I hope they turn the corner soon. I thinks coughs are the worst. There just isn't one thing that works all the time or even at all.

ETA: we also run a humidifier at night if they get the cough when it's not humid outside

 

I'm not opposed to Delsym at all -- you could try it. I've used it with some limited success in the past, but the last couple times it did nothing at all. Just luck of the draw, I think.

 

I sympathize! Caleb is very prone to throwing up from the mucus drainage and coughing. I second what everyone else said about the humidifier and cutting out milk, or at least cut it down to skim. I'm not opposed to Benadryl either.

 

Did they test the kids for RSV? It's a respiratory virus that causes a bad cough. Both of mine had RSV over the holidays. I gave them Zyrtec daily to help with the secretions as well as albuterol neb treatments for the cough. I haven't found that cough syrup really helps us much, but it certainly doesn't hurt to try it (per my pedi).

 

Gosh, you ladies rock ... so quick with the good answers! It's a very phlegmy loose cough ... so it's not dry and hacking ... all gross and phlegmy from post nasal drip. Their noses are running like faucets. The fevers are gone, so I really think it's just an awful cold. It just breaks my heart when Hailey was coughing and crying and said "Mommy, I can't make it stop" ... seriously, I got tears in my eyes. I might try some Benadryl or Delsym. What is that? Can you just get it at like CVS?

Anyway, thanks for the quick responses. I have the same awful cough and cold as them, but at least I can take stuff to keep it under control. My DH is disgusted by the whole lot of us, blowing our noses, coughing, etc. I keep telling him his turn is coming! :girl_devil:

 

Yes, its a cough suppressant that you can get at CVS. It's not labeled for kids under 6 ( I think that is the age) anymore due to the more stringent cold medicine guidelines. We have been using Delsym since my older DD was a toddler without issue.