DD has had a cough for two weeks now...need some advice

[Virginia Dad]

DD has had a cough and congestion for two weeks now. We do not give her pediacare or triaminic because both upset her stomach and she doesn't eat. Her cough is definitely the worst in the morning, but last night she had a 10 minute bout in the middle of the night. We run the humidifier with some Vicks inhalant, and that usually works wonders. Unfortunately, it ran out of water last night and that's why the coughing (I think). DW called the doctor after the first week, who said to keep trying Triaminic. But it upset DD's stomach so we stopped. Last night, I asked DW to take DD to the doctor's office on Friday (DW works on Thursday, but not Friday). DW said she would just call and not take her in. I know that DW is afraid of the people at the dr's office thinking she is a worry wort for taking DD in when it's just a cough, but I am worried that it might be an infection. It has been two weeks now, and it has only slightly improved, if at all.

Am I being overly concerned and should just listen to DW and have her call the dr? I have been quite busy here at work, but am thinking about taking off early to take DD in. Should I not? How should I handle a DW who, because of the fear of being embarassed, does not want to take DW to the dr? Or am I the one being a freak about it? HELP!!!

[papal]

I would take her to the ped to allay my fears. The ped's office is used to new parents calling and visiting all the time. Heck, we even called when dd spat up for the first time. For something like a cough and congestion that has been bothering her for 2 weeks, I would definitely go to the ped. Especially since you are worried that it is an infection.
As for your wife, tell her you called the ped and they asked to bring your dd in...they might actually do that and even if they don't, sometimes a white lie is better than a conflict and explanation. You can tell her the truth a month from now.

[egoldber]

I would definitely call the ped's office again, and I am not one who calls the ped at every little thing. A cough for two weeks could eb nothing, but it could also be a sign of something else, like an ear infection or a secondary bacterial infection. IMO, a responsible ped would want to look at your DD and check her out.

For nighttime, you may also want to try Delsym. Its a longer acting cough suppressant, with a little different medication in it then Triaminic or Pedicare.

HTH,

[starrynight]

What kind of cough is it? Barky like a seal, a whoop, a 'wet' or wheeze type cough?

Is there any flem or mucus coming up? Clear, green or otherwise?

Fever?

Could be nothing but could be croup or an infection. If you take her out in the night air and it seems to settle down the cough it might be croup. Take her to the doc if it will make you feel better and I hope she feels better soon!

[cinrein]

Well, I don't want to get in the middle of anything between you and your wife. :) BUT, I would take your DD to the ped if she's had the cough for 2 weeks and it's no better. I would probably take myself to a DR if I had a cought for 2 weeks that wasn't improving and I knew it wasn't allergies. I would also tell the ped that you aren't using the medication he/she advised because it upsets DD.

I'm sure more parents call the ped on day 1 of a cough rather than day 14! Plus, who cares what they think. I'd hate to go into a weekend with a sick baby and no ped that's easily accessible. Good luck.

Cindy and Anna 2/11/03

[Momof3Labs]

Does your wife actually put her fear of being "embarrassed" before the health and comfort of her child? Or is your ped office that degrading to mothers who "overreact" (which is not the case here, IMO)? Either way, I agree with you and don't think that you are being a freak about anything.

Sorry, that's what really caught my attention in your post. I think that your instincts are spot-on and your DD needs to see her ped. It sounds like she needs some extra help getting over this bug, and the ped is the person to help her.

[Virginia Dad]

She doesn't have a fever, but last week the cough was making her spit up a little while eating. The spit up would have formula mixed with a slightly yellowish mucous. I think she has decided now that she would just rather swallow the mucous when it comes up. I wish she knew how to spit it out.

And I am sorry if I made it sound like DW was putting her embarrassment in front of DD's health. That is not the case at all. I think part of it is that the last two times she took her in for non-appt. visits, she saw a doctor other than our normal ped. who made her feel a little silly about being concerned. I tried to explain that I bet they get a lot of new parents who are the same way and not to worry about it. I was trying to see if I was the one being silly, but I am definitely the overly cautious, overly protective, worry wort of the family.

I am going to call the ped's office right now and see what they say. If they don't suggest we bring her in, I am going to say that I would like to bring her in tomorrow.

Thanks for all the responses.

[Sarah1]

Just wanted to add my two cents--similar thing--DD had a lingering cough, no other symptoms, not fussy, seemed fine over all, and I was hesitant to take her to the ped because I thought maybe I was overreacting...but as it turned out, she had an ear infection. So, I'd take her in and see!

[kfcboston]

Sounds like exactly what we went through with DS and it wasd a sinus infection. 10 days of antibiotics cleared it up no problem.

Good luck!

ETA - We didn't have to deal with embarassment issues - just ignorance! I just kept thinking it would go away and wasn't that bad - DOH.

[Momof3Labs]

If your ped's office EVER makes your wife feel silly for bringing your baby in, it is time to find a new pediatrician. They get paid whether it is silly or not, so why do they care??