Benylin for hayfever???

[nobodysfool]

thanks for reading, i have also put this question in the allergy section.
My ds (6) has had a non productive cough for about 8 weeks which had followed a bad viral infection.He coughs all day but it doesnt wake him up at night.
He is well in himself.He takes loratine for hayfever.
I took him to my doctors on Fri and she listened to his cough and suggested we try a ventolin spray as it may be asthmatic cough.The spray has done nothing for his cough and in desparation i started searching online for any other ideas.I stumbled across a site that suggested using Benylin night time cough mixture as the ingredients help with hayfever (checked on the Benylin site and they say the same).Gave him a dose of it this evening an hour before bedtime and he coughed once then fell asleep!
Has anybody had and experience with this and what can i ask the doc for with the same ingredients that will help him without making him drowsy?
Any ideas?

[WeeKirkie]

No no no no no, regular benylin use can cause lots of problems and is just not good for the wee guy. Maybe your son has the same as mine which is seasonal asthma? As a child his started after a bad dose of the flu and we know come summer his is hayfever related and he needs an inhaler day and night. It doesnt work straight away but after about a week we get the same results a child that falls asleep not coughing all through the night! Persevere with your asthma medicine and I think you will see an improvement after about a week. Benylin can cause young healthy woman to have heart attacks is addictive and causes far more problems than I can even imagine! Dont use it as a substitute for medicines that are prescribed. Dont mean to scare you, just know that cough medicines are far more dangerous than we are normally told!

[nobodysfool]

thanks for your reply and im not one of those kind of mums that gives a child medicine just 'incase'. I am very carefull with doses etc and follow my doctors advice to the letter.I am not substituting just using it alongside althoug he has been given the blue inhaler it has done NOTHING for the cough.Whereas the benylin has stopped the cough at night????
His doc possibly seasonal asthma but so far the cough isnt responding, he has no shortness of breath of wheezyness.Hust at a loss what to do to help him.

[sneezecakesmum]

The benylins you list does not contain anything significant for the actual cough, but contains Diphenhydramine hydrochloride 7mg, which is the same old fashioned anti histimine used in Nytol tablets as it also has seditive qualities. I would imagine your DS is sleeping well because of the seditive effect! There is actually nothing wrong with that but it can only be used as a short term solution to his sleeplessness.

Look at physical measures. Asthma doesnt seem to be the problem if the doc cant hear any wheezing and he coughs through the day and the inhaler is not working. Start by getting him to sleep a bit propped up, pillows or raising the head of the mattress. Get a humidifyer (argos sell them) the dry night air irritates his already inflamed airways. Give the benylin for a week to give him a few good nights so his body can start to heal itself. Viral inflammation of the lungs can drag on forever! If its still not easing after a week or so ask your GP about a brown steroid inhaler to damp down the inflammation in his chest.

[sneezecakesmum]

sedative no seditive

[FannyFifer]

Sorry totally disagree that no wheeze equals no asthma. Not the case at all, particularly in children.
How often are you giving blue inhaler? Have you a spacer?

[DaphneHeartsFred]

Have you tried Manuka Honey? My SiL gives my DN a spoonful every day and her cough has virtually disappeared.

[nobodysfool]

The odd thing is that he coughs all day the when he goes to bed he coughs till he falls asleep then nothing.........not one cough....till he wakes up then it all starts again.
Used the blue inhaler every few hours with the spacer for4 days with no affect what so ever on the cough.I am going back tothe doc to see her again as im not even sure it is astham to be honest as i have seasonal asthma (recently diagnosed) and without my blue and brown pumps i cough all though the night.
A friend of mine has a son who was diagnosed with asthma that didnt respond to the pumps, they then said it was allergies, now they have found he has enlarged adenoids which is causing the cough!Im going to get ds checked out for this as well as he has no other symptoms of astham ( and yes i am aware the cough may be the only symptom).
I will try Manuka honey....any idea why/how it works?

[sneezecakesmum]

fanny.. I did not say Ds didnt categorically have asthma but that it doesnt seem to be the problem as a) no wheeze b) not short of breath c) coughs regardless of the inhaler e) coughing is just as bad if not worse in the day!

It seems daft to get hung up on asthma when there are no signs at present and to look at other options such as allergies. Maybe that is why benylin is working because it contains and old fashioned sedating anti histimine. Would an air purifier work maybe? Expensive though.

[nobodysfool]

Just got back from doctors and she has ruled out asthma on the grounds that the the pump hasnt helped the cough.She has referred him to ENT so get his adenoids checked.Upped the hayfever stuff as well.so fingers crossed we will get it sorted for him soon.