Habitual cough

[Annecyblue]

At the end of February 2016, our son then aged 11 developed a loud barking cough. This was initially diagnosed as Pharyngitis by a GP and treated with antibiotics. However the cough did not stop. He sounded like a dog barking and coughed all day unless he was a sleep. He was then seen by a series of GPs who tried to find out the cause and treated him for Asthma, Croup and Whooping cough . Finally 3 and half weeks after it all started he was seen on the Childrens ward and diagnosed with a habitual cough. We were told to distract him and the cough would stop. It was a really tough time, that effected us all. The cough was so loud you could hear him from one end of the supermarket to the other. It was hard to go out without people starring or offering us advice and this effected his confidence. School were really supportive giving him a safe space to use and making special arrangements to allow him to continue in lessons. Through a family member we had a refferal to a respiratory phyiotherapy and she taught him breathing exercises, which our son really took on board and did every day. We continued to ensure he was always distracted, chewing gum helped. The hardest part was getting him to sleep this we used piriton, cough medicines that warned of drowsiness, radio 4, audio books, gum, fresh air and anything we could think of. Gradually over time he became better, coughing less and less. Now just over 5 months from the start, he has not coughed for two weeks. I have never posted anything before but wanted to share our experience and show it did get better in his case. I hope someone will find this useful.

[Patterkiller]

Goodness you have all been through quite a roller coaster. It's not something I have ever heard off. It must be a huge relief to see the light at the end of the tunnel.