Help - constant stuffy nose, cough at night

[magnoliaparadise]

Hi,

I'd love your advice. My ped doesn't seem worried, but my DD (4 next month) has a constant stuff nose every night and it affects going to sleep, staying asleep, depth of sleep, and waking up. This in turn affects her mood and behavior so I'd like to address this issue as soon as possible.

Ped suggested: humidifier, nasal saline drops, propping or sitting DD up with pillows, shower mist in bathroom.

Nothing has worked.

Ped now has given Patanase, an anti-histamine child nasal spray and said that ONLY if DD has allergies, this will help. Unfortunately, DD is very upset about taking nasal spray and I haven't forced her yet after first night so I'm not sure if it'll resolve stuffy nose. I'm going to ask Ped for liquid anti-histamine.

DD has now started coughing a lot so I've also started giving her over the counter cough syrup with a 'stuffy nose' component, but since she is so young, it's really not for her age group/size so I hate to give it to her for too long.

Family of father of DD has allergies and asthma.

Does this sound like allergies or asthma to you? What would you do?... I really have to prioritize this because at this point, DD has had a stuffy nose for several months (almost all nights) and I feel terrible that I haven't figured the problem out. Would you see an allergist? Any other doctor?

Thank you.

[Green_Tea]

I'd try Claritin for kids. It's safe for kids 2 and up. Is your home really dry/warm? That definitely aggravates my kids' nasal passages. I keep their rooms at a cool 62 degrees at night (they sleep under down duvets and in fleece PJs) and that really seems to help. A stuffy nose at night is a pretty common problem. I think your ped's suggestions are decent and par for the course.

ETA: The cough is likely from a post nasal drip. I don't think it sounds like asthma. Does the stuffiness start after lying down?

[katerinasmom]

I've taken my 4 year old daughter in 3 times in two weeks to the ped because of exactly the symptoms you describe. Every time, she checks her lungs, ears, nasal pasages and tells me that right now it's just post nasal drip which just sounds worse than it is because she's lying down. She suggests the same things as your ped - humidifer, saline spray, pillows, etc. She also said, she could have the cough for weeks. But I should of course bring her back in if it sounds different or worse or if she coughs repeatedly nonstop for more than just a minute or two.

Doesn't sound like asthma to me. Could be allergies, my ped also suggested trying Claritin to see if that helped. But nothing helps except really a warm bath or washing the face with a warm washcloth and then a lot of nose blowing after we loosen the boogies up.
Last night I gave her some sample nonmedicated cough syrup tat the ped gave us to try (can't remember the name). She actually slept very well - not one single cough. I'll try to remember the name and post again.

[crl]

Could be allergies. How long has she had the symptoms? If it has been more than three weeks, I might try an allergist. If it is allergies and you can pinpoint the allergy, there are things you can do to help (in addition to claritin/allegra). For example it it is a dust mite allergy, you can encase pillows and the mattress and wash sheets on hot and so on to minimize exposure.

Catherine

[Green_Tea]

Last night I gave her some sample nonmedicated cough syrup tat the ped gave us to try (can't remember the name). She actually slept very well - not one single cough. I'll try to remember the name and post again.

Was it Chestal? We've had good luck with that!

[katerinasmom]

Was it Chestal? We've had good luck with that!

No. I found another sample in my bag - it was Zarbee's Cough Syrup. But the ped also recommended Chesteez or Chestal (if there's a difference, I think she said Chesteez but who knows, I was just so glad she didn't have pneumonia like her sister that I might have just made that up in my head).

[Reina]

Sometimes dairy products cause excess mucus (which leads to stuffy nose & cough). Maybe cut back on milk/cheese for a couple days and see what happens?

[jennilynn]

Exact same story here with my youngest. Stuffiness every night for months. We actually saw an ear/nose/throat specialist who determined it was due to his acid reflux. The reflux was irritating his throat and nasal passages. He prescribed meds but we never took them. It got a lot better once he was able to sit up (so around 6 months.)

[magnoliaparadise]

Thanks for all your replies - and it was so helpful to know that others have experienced this. I feel like NIGHT AFTER NIGHT I say to myself and my daughter, 'OK, we WILL get to the bottom of this.'
I am making appointments for a ped allergist AND ENT (on maternity leave right now so am trying to push all the dr appointments in that I can).
I am thinking it IS allergies, as you suggest. I gave her Claritin tonight - which she flat out refused after a small sip, saying it didn't taste good - so compliance is a serious issue here and I'll try Zyrtec tomorrow - but EVEN with that small sip, I can hear her breath and can assess her depth of sleep and I'm pretty sure her nose isn't as stuffy tonight... so I'm happy about that. I will start addressing possible dust mite issues as well. And decrease our milk intake to see if that makes a difference.
Thanks everyone.

[KrystalS]

My DD has allergies and really bad post nasal drip when they act up. Her allergies are seasonal and always act up at different times. I don't like to give her the allergy meds all year because she doesn't need them. I missed them this year and started her meds too late. It normally takes about 2 wks for them to really get into her system and start working. Just wanted you to know whatever you try it will take awhile to start working, it definitely won't be overnight change.

We tried Claritin a few years ago and it didn't help us. DD takes Zyrtec and Singulair (a chewable tablet).