Is there anything I can give for a cough?

My poor dd has been coughing all day, once to the point that she threw up. Now she's been coughing nonstop since I put her to bed. The humidifier is running, the vicks is on her chest and I gave her a nice menthol bath before bed. It's just very heartbreaking listening to her cough and suffer so much. It's most likely a cold, the MD listened to her lungs at her GI appointment today and didn't think I should take her to the pedi. Even if I did take her, they would just tell me there's nothing I can give her, right? I just can't sit here listening to her and not do nothing, especially if there's something I don't know about that I could give her.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks
Jennifer

ETA
I just found this article, has anyone tried robitussin at this age?
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T089302.asp

 

I took mine to the pedi last week for cold symptoms and the pedi gave me some prescription medicine for the symptoms. I thought it might be the same as some of the over-the-counter stuff so I brought it to a pharmacist but he told me no, there is no over-the-counter equivalent. It's called poly hist and they can have it twice a day.

 

Have you put the Vick's Baby rub on her feet? That's what I learned here and that's what I do...works like a charm! They do not cough all night long! It's crazy!

I hope she is feeling better soon!

 

Our pedi told us we could give them Honey or Karo syrup to help with the cough. It seemed to help a little bit. I hope your LO is feeling better soon!!

 

I give my boys Benadryl for their cough. It's supposedly the 'best' cough suppressant for younger kids. A pharmacist at Walgreens recommended it & when I asked my Ped, he said Benadryl was fine. Unfortunately, I'm not 100% sure of the dose. I read online somewhere that it's the same dose as Tylenol, but I'd never give my kids that much (I give 5cc of Tylenol, but only give 3cc of Benadryl). I'd rather dose low than high. It seems to help, but I will warn you...it can make some kids hyper versus tired! Luckily, mine both sleep well with it. If you're interested, I'd call your local Walgreens. They have a chart there that doses the Benadryl both by weight & by age (age is a lower dose...I took the in-between dose & kinda lowered it to get my 3cc that I use). Generic Benadryl works just the same & is much cheaper (it's called Diphenhydramine).

Hope your little lady feels better soon. I HATE colds & coughs. My Conner coughs until he throws up quite often (he's a gaggy kid). I mainly hate that they want to sleep soooo bad & just can't . SOOOO, GET WELL SOON!!!

 

QUOTE(Kyrstyn @ Apr 15 2009, 09:07 PM) [snapback]1274930[/snapback]
Our pedi told us we could give them Honey or Karo syrup to help with the cough. It seemed to help a little bit. I hope your LO is feeling better soon!!


My pedi told us the same thing, you might want to put in a call to your pedi to see if there is anything else they can suggest. Good luck and I hope your DD feels better soon!

 

Oh, I will 'slightly' second Meg's post about the Vicks. I don't use the Baby Vicks, though...I use the regular adult Vicks. I slather it on their feet & then put socks on. It helps, but definitely never fully knocked out the cough if it was really bad (which is the only time I use the Benadryl).

I also use the Pedialyte plug in things...'something Vapors', I think they're called. It's a plug in nightlight that you put a mentholated pad in & it sends the vapors into the room. You get it by the other cold stuff at the store. I don't know how WELL it works, but it doesn't hurt!

 

Straight honey on a spoon, or sips of very warm water with honey dissolved in it.

I've also had good luck with a homeopathic cough syrup called Chestal Honey (haha, that sounds like a porn star) -- it's made by Boiron.

And yeah, Vicks on feet, with socks. I've never heard of Benadryl for a cough, but Benadryl is good stuff in general, so I'd be willing to try it. I like the Ask Dr. Sears website for dosing instructions.

Hope your munchkin feels better soon!

 

Hylands makes a homeopathic cough remedy that I've used. I think it's a cough and cold product. It has honey in it and a bunch of other things. We haven't dealt with major coughs, but the Hylands stuff seemed to work well for the minor cough and stuffiness my girls had.

 

QUOTE(idril @ Apr 15 2009, 10:05 PM) [snapback]1275016[/snapback]
Hylands makes a homeopathic cough remedy that I've used. I think it's a cough and cold product. It has honey in it and a bunch of other things. We haven't dealt with major coughs, but the Hylands stuff seemed to work well for the minor cough and stuffiness my girls had.


Has anyone else used this? I had gone out to the store and brought this back and dh thinks it won't work.

 

QUOTE(Buttercup1 @ Apr 15 2009, 08:30 PM) [snapback]1275050[/snapback]
Has anyone else used this? I had gone out to the store and brought this back and dh thinks it won't work.


It doesn't sound like you're looking for my opinion since I already gave it, but I'm curious... why would your DH think it won't work?

 

Our pedi once told us to give them a very low dose of robitussin cough med when they had pretty bad coughs. I think we gave 1/4 teaspoon, maybe less. It worked for us.

 

Okay, now you have all got me worried - maybe I'm the only one, but my pedi has prescribed my boys prescription cough medicine. They are big boys though - 30 lbs each at 20 months, so maybe it's a weight thing. Either way, I can give 1/4 tsp as needed at 4 hour intervals. One of my little guys is coughing like crazy right now and gets that way every "cold" to the point that we end up putting him on steroids for residual cough and chest fluid to keep him from developing pneumonia. He has been referred to the allergist for possibly being asthmatic. So, maybe we are a different case here, but that's what they did for me. I use it very sparingly and am pretty psycho about making sure it's EXACTLY 1/4 tsp, but other than that, I'm going with it.

The other advice I got from a nurse was the honey/karo syrup thing and it did work decently.

Best of luck.

 

QUOTE(emcavaco @ Apr 15 2009, 09:56 PM) [snapback]1275098[/snapback]
Okay, now you have all got me worried - maybe I'm the only one, but my pedi has prescribed my boys prescription cough medicine. They are big boys though - 30 lbs each at 20 months, so maybe it's a weight thing. Either way, I can give 1/4 tsp as needed at 4 hour intervals.


That's what we did. 1/4 tsp at bedtime. I said maybe less because I wasn't positive, but yea, it was 1/4 teaspoon. It was prescription and it helped them sleep, which was nice because the poor girls were waking themselves up all during the night coughing (that's why it was at bedtime only, made them very sleepy!)

ETA: mistake

 

You CAN give benadry for a cough. 1 tsp for under two. It's now the only thing that is recommended for coughing when under age two. It calms airway inflammation etc.

And it is safe.

 

QUOTE(idril @ Apr 15 2009, 10:55 PM) [snapback]1275095[/snapback]
It doesn't sound like you're looking for my opinion since I already gave it, but I'm curious... why would your DH think it won't work?


I didn't mean to offend, I was just looking to see if anyone else had any luck with it. DH thinks it's not going to work because other than honey, the ingredients are homeopathic and he doesn't believe in homeopathic remedies.

 

My pedi has either given me prescription cough syrup or said to use robitussin, i forget the dose though. I think the best thing is to just call the pedi (in the morning ideally) and ask if there's a safe dose of cough suppressant to use. All the new OTC labels have been changed to not let kids under 6 use cough medicine, but the pedi says it's fine as long as dosed appropriately and used when really needed.

 

QUOTE(Buttercup1 @ Apr 16 2009, 05:36 PM) [snapback]1276589[/snapback]
DH thinks it's not going to work because other than honey, the ingredients are homeopathic and he doesn't believe in homeopathic remedies.


I haven't used that particular product, but the Hyland's teething tablets were highly effective for us. I would try it... homeopathic remedies can not cause harm (other natural products can have that potential, but homeopathic do not), and it just might help. You never know!

 

QUOTE(Buttercup1 @ Apr 16 2009, 06:36 PM) [snapback]1276589[/snapback]
I didn't mean to offend, I was just looking to see if anyone else had any luck with it. DH thinks it's not going to work because other than honey, the ingredients are homeopathic and he doesn't believe in homeopathic remedies.


Oh gosh - you didn't offend me. Sorry if my reply sounded that way. No, I was just curious what your DH thought. I was a little suspicious about homeopathic stuff too, but after using a few homeopathic things myself (cold and allergy remedies mostly) I'm sold.

 

QUOTE(ivfbound078 @ Apr 16 2009, 07:22 AM) [snapback]1275248[/snapback]
You CAN give benadry for a cough. 1 tsp for under two. It's now the only thing that is recommended for coughing when under age two. It calms airway inflammation etc.

And it is safe.

Thanks! That is great to know!

 

We have been okay to use benedryl, guafasin (sp?) and at night Robitussin-our pedi said these are all pretty safe drugs but you just want to make sure that you arent giving them a dose of say benedryl with something else that also includes antihistimine-that is how parents were overdosing.
If you you call your pedi and let them know that they are coughing all night long and it is affecting their sleep they should either give you a perscription for them to take to help or give you an OTC and correct dose.
Hang in there! Colds/coughs suck!

 

Not much help for Massacuttes, but those of you in the south, bouganvillia tea is GREAT for coughs.
It should be the purplish hue of bouganvilla, not the pinkish one. Boil about 5 flowers, and a stick of cinnemon. I also through a small clove of gralic in there. Boil for about 5 minutes. Then cool to tempid in a cup, and mix in table spoon of LOCAL honey. Every single honey has a different chemical break down, it's not the coating action that makes honey good, honey is anitbacterial, antiviral, and has pollen which will protect you from allergies--that's why it should be locally produced.
I give this at the first sign of a cough and they've been healthy for the past two years.

 

I have a question for those that recommended honey-I thought you shouldnt give honey in any form until the age of 2? Not in anyway saying I follow all the "rules" just wondering if this is okay or if pedi's are making this recommendation still.
I would totally try honey for a cough but didnt think I could for a while yet. (I thought they couldnt digest it correctly or the bacteria in it...???)

 

QUOTE(Lesley Anne @ Apr 17 2009, 03:47 PM) [snapback]1277916[/snapback]
I have a question for those that recommended honey-I thought you shouldnt give honey in any form until the age of 2? Not in anyway saying I follow all the "rules" just wondering if this is okay or if pedi's are making this recommendation still.
I would totally try honey for a cough but didnt think I could for a while yet. (I thought they couldnt digest it correctly or the bacteria in it...???)


Some peds say 1, some say 2. My boys have been eating honey since the week they turned one. DH got them addicted to PB & H sandwiches :grr:

To the OP: if the cough continues, take him to the ped. My boys had a bad cough and it turned out to be ear infections. The drainage was going down their throats instead of out their noses. About a month later, they were still coughing falling asleep and at wake up. Dr. told us it was allergies and the boys now take Claritin at night.

 

QUOTE(ivfbound078 @ Apr 16 2009, 06:22 AM) [snapback]1275248[/snapback]
You CAN give benadry for a cough. 1 tsp for under two. It's now the only thing that is recommended for coughing when under age two. It calms airway inflammation etc.

And it is safe.


I would look up the dosage on the Dr. Sears website. I looked Benadryl up recently for my girls and the dose for their weight is 3/4 teaspoon. I wouldn't dare give my girls one teaspoon. I worry about overdosing them so I always look things up for their weight before I give it.

 

Thanks everyone for the responses. I did try to give her honey and benedryl but she wouldn't take the full doses. The really bad coughing only lasted that one night. Other than a runny nose she's doing much better now.