DS won't stop coughing

[SammyeGail]

We've all had this crappy virus, DH had it first, he is on day 14! It just keeps changing, you'll feel better then get worse again. Right now Noah and I feel ok, but DH and Jonas are both having coughing fits.

I finally have Jonas some Pedi-Care about an hour or so after he woke up since the coughing didn't stop, it didn't do anything. Jo went to the pedi last week, I called the them and he recommended an OTC medicine, can't remember the name, something like d_syl, DH is at the store getting it.

Jonas has autism, I posted last week (I think, lol) about how to get tylenol in him when he's irritated. The Pedi-Care was a nightmare this AM!!

Any recommendations for toddlers cough? I know he feels bad, pedi said his throat was red, no strep, DH describes his like a bad catch in his throat and very painful.

Thanks!

Samantha

[Gena]

The medicine is probably Delsym. In my experience this is a great cough medicine for both kids and adults. FYI - there's only one formula, so the only difference between the adult and pediatric boxes is only in the dosing info.

Delsym works well for us. It has a better taste than most medicines. Hopefully you'll have good luck with it.

I hope you all feel better soon.

[rwiklendt]

We always run a humidifier; Vics Vapor rub on the chest; warm weak tea with some honey depending on age.

[s7714]

We've all had this as well. My older DD was coughing 24/7 for a couple days in a row and not getting any sleep. I finally got some of the Delsym and it helped more than anything else we tried. (Our Dr. office recommended two other cough meds, but neither helped.) For my DD the magic combination was Delsym, a warm mist humidifier and occasionally some Advil.

[MartiesMom2B]

Delsym works great. We also make the kids drink when they start coughing. It helps.

[SammyeGail]

Thanks, DH just got home so we are about to shove some down his throat, lol!!

Sam

[MartiesMom2B]

It apparently tastes really good b/c my daughter will start fake coughing if she sees it. Delsym is kept high and way back on the shelf.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I have some Delsym and maybe it is adult only formula but it says not to use for kids under 12.

We do a tablespoon of honey plus the humidifier plus lots of fluids and it seems to help.

Beth

[sidmand]

Yeah, DS had an AWFUL cough that was keeping him up all night. The pediatrician told me I couldn't give him any medicine because he was under 6 (he'll be 4 in June). He is also on the spectrum and we have to sneak anything into his juice because he just tells us, "I don't like medicine." He wouldn't even take the honey unless we disguised it, so I put honey and Delsym (and yes, I gave him the Delsym even if I wasn't supposed to!) into his juice and gave him the juice whenever he was coughing too to help.

And the vaporizer seemed to help although we also might have been hitting the end of the coughing but I wasn't sure why I didn't remember that from before.

[Melbel]

My DS and DD1 get terrible coughs. In addition to there asthma breathing treatments, we have had luck putting the Vick's vapor rub on the feet, w/ socks on top. It makes no sense to me, but hey it worked FAST.

[SammyeGail]

It didn't really help, but he did suck it down, lol. By now it has subsided some and he did take his tylenol ok.

It was childrens formula and said 1/2 teaspoon for age 4-6. Jonas is 3.5 but the size of a 4.5 year old, at the pedi he weighed 37lbs. I gave him slightly below 1/2. My great niece will be 5 in a few months and is smaller than Jonas, so if the bottle says she can take it.....Also DH knows alot about dosing and such, he remembers everything he hears/reads and worked in the medical field.

I made some decaf hot tea with sugar and honey, let it cool to lukewarm but he wasn't interested. We live in the south so they've had decaf iced sweet tea.

Thanks everyone, we'll see how the night goes with the humidifier.

Samantha

[fauve01]

DD takes singulair and nasonex daily. When DD coughs at night it is because her allergies are getting worse (the ped called it "Temporary asthsma"). when the nighttime coughing gets bad (enough to keep her from falling asleep or enough to wake her in the middle of the night) we start the nebulizer treatments til the nighttime coughing is done.

and when all THAT isn't enough, the only cough syrup that works for dd is the kind with codeine in it.

A + DD 10-03

[DrSally]

DD takes singulair and nasonex daily. When DD coughs at night it is because her allergies are getting worse (the ped called it "Temporary asthsma"). when the nighttime coughing gets bad (enough to keep her from falling asleep or enough to wake her in the middle of the night) we start the nebulizer treatments til the nighttime coughing is done.

and when all THAT isn't enough, the only cough syrup that works for dd is the kind with codeine in it.

A + DD 10-03

That's interesting. DS just developed seasonal allergies recently. I had an appt. for strep, and the ped said his other sx--tearing, runny itchy nose, swollen eyes--were most likely allergies to the pollen. He's been coughing at night for a week (and sometimes during the day), and I never connected it to allergies. I thought he had a virus.

Sorry to hijack. I've had problems getting DS to take his abx this time too. I tried the "shoving down the throat" technique, but it didn't work too well. It's so frustrating. I think he really didn't like the taste of this one (apple). He did very well in the past with the orange. So, hopefully this cough medicine tastes as good as everyone says and your son is able to take it well!

[fauve01]

That's interesting. DS just developed seasonal allergies recently. I had an appt. for strep, and the ped said his other sx--tearing, runny itchy nose, swollen eyes--were most likely allergies to the pollen. He's been coughing at night for a week (and sometimes during the day), and I never connected it to allergies. I thought he had a virus.

Sorry to hijack. I've had problems getting DS to take his abx this time too. I tried the "shoving down the throat" technique, but it didn't work too well. It's so frustrating. I think he really didn't like the taste of this one (apple). He did very well in the past with the orange. So, hopefully this cough medicine tastes as good as everyone says and your son is able to take it well!

I never connected the nighttime cough to allergies either, until we were out of town last year and ran out of singulair. Well it wasn't allergy season and DD wasn't drippy or anything, so i figured no problem, i'll refill when it's allergy season. Well after more than a week of nighttime coughing, i took her in and the ped said get back on singulair. she said that one thing singulair is really good for is night coughing. sure enough, after a few days on it, dd quit coughing at night. Fast forward to this year, DD's allergies got worse and we get to nebulize when the coughing is bad.

sorry about your abx problem. the only way i can get dd to take the nasty stuff is to mix with ice cream! i figured it wouldn't kill her for 10 days.

Good luck!
Anne

[graciebellesmomma]

Vicks Vaporub on the soles of their feet, lots of it and then slap some socks on.
My dd and I have had a cough for a week, now. We have been doing it the last
couple of nights and been sleeping much better.
We have done it before and it always works.

Good luck with the cough, there is nothing worse.