Parents of asthmatics/night coughers please talk to me

[BabyHaribo]

Both DS (4) and DD (2) are asthmatic/toddler wheezes but the thing that drives is all crazy is the night coughing.

On and on and on

Both have ventolin and clenil. We try to raise them up with pillows and are tonight trying a humidifier.

Anything else that helps? They are not that poorly just cough so much which affects sleep.

DS has just started school and I'm worried about him missing school due to being shattered from coughing ALL night

Ideas please

[7to25]

Is the room warm enough? This is often triggered by a fall in temperature.

[LucyLocketLostHerPocket]

Menthol vapour rub (Vicks etc) liberally applied to soles of feet and a pair of socks on.

Don't know why or how but it works on my asthmatic night coughers!

[Imnotaslimjim]

How much Clenil are they on? DD was a night cougher every year for 5 years but they refused to diagnose her with anything. She was put on Clenil after failing to throw off a chest infection. We started on 2 puffs morning and night but we had to increase it to 2 puffs 4 times a day before it actually settled. Once we got it under control, we reduced it to twice a day again.

Are they under the asthma nurse? If so, ask for an early review. If the increased Clenil doesn't work they may offer a short course of Prednisolone to boost them.

[ScarletForYa]

Warm the room. Works like a charm. Also try an antihistamine.

[BabyHaribo]

Yes under asthma nurse.

Room is warm but if it's too hot that's worse, Vicks on feet does nothing.

Just fed up by the lack of sleep!

[FannyFifer]

I had a nighttime cougher, it was honestly horrendous, from now till march every year, you have my sympathies.
What worked for us was a steroid nose spray as post nasal drip seemed to trigger the cough & give asthma symptoms.
Weight was also an issue, things improved when DS slimmed down a bit.
We also used a plasmacluster/humidifier which I actually got as a product test through mumsnet.
No heating in bedroom, Hoover & damp dust & anti allergy bedding if possible.
We also at one point tried Singulair tablets, which had horrific side effects for my wee boy, depression, weird thoughts, night terrors etc.
Just a few things that worked for us, thankfully he grew out of it by around age 7.

[Oly5]

My dc was also a nighttime cougher and also on clenil and ventolin.
We needed to up the dose of
Clenil and now it's solved.
Sometimes they are on a too low dose.
The night-time coughing in our case was asthma

[eatpraylive]

We used Vicks Warm Steam Vapouriser every night during winter along with few drops of Olbas Oil on pyjamas , this always worked for us , hope your children get better soon x

[FannyFifer]

Sorry meant to say we also used clenil & ventolin & sometimes an antihistamine as well..

[sentia]

Do you know if they have any allergic asthma triggers? I have to keep under my bed absolutely dust free and use low-allergen bedding/mattress otherwise I cough all night and my asthma flares up. I've also found that an air filter in my bedroom helps.

[Sunnydawn]

Turn your heating on at bedtime. Hot water bottle/microwave bear etc. Honestly, works every time.

[CremeBrulee]

DS was also a nighttime cougher and Clenil didn't do the trick for us. He was changed to a Seretide inhaler 18 months ago and the cough disappeared. Our quality of sleep has greatly improved.

[Thebookswereherfriends]

My dd hasn't been diagnosed, but has vermilion to use if needed as she seems to have an allergic cough. This means that sometimes pollen or whatever sets her off. The only reaction is a really persistent cough, often at night. I give piriton and a couple of puffs and this usually stops the coughing. Have you ever tried giving piriton?

[MigGril]

Night time coughing still means the asthma isn't under control you need to go back and see the nurse. I would even suggest the 2 year old should be under consultant led care really. Our GP though all under 5's should see a consultant. DS was 3 when he was finally diagnosed, best thing was seeing the consultant she really got things under control.

The nighttime coughing kept me awake nor then anyone I think but it did make DS tired and I'm glad we got it sorted before he started school. It took for him singular, antihistamines and putting him on a seretide inhaler. He also sometimes has the nasal spray nose steroid if he gets bad, but this is really hard for little ones to take effectively and he's only just got the hang of it this year at 5.

But please do take them back.

[Ditsy4]

No feathers.
Raise the bed instead of extra pillows. No pets on the bed.if heating is on put a bowl of water in the room( GP told me this) sometimes removing dairy from the diet can help.

[stealtheatingtunnocks]

old hand with the wheezer Tunnocks...

night time coughing is a symptom which needs to be controlled. It means the lungs are twitchy.

Dust mites could be a problem. Steam cleaning, open windows, wet dusting, disposable pillows and 90C washing does the trick.

But, if you have an asthma nurse - have a chat. They are bloody marvellous people.

[Sirzy]

I have seen a few people suggesting Vicks and similar - be careful because they are a known trigger for a lot of asthmatics

[DellaPorter]

I think allergy to dust mites is common
Singulaire/montelukast helped
My daughter

[Ditsy4]

Yeah, dust mites are a problem. Vacuum matresses regularly (every week) or steam clean.

[ZippyNeedsFeeding]

My son hasn't been nearly so bad at night since we replaced his old mattress with a memory foam one. Apparently it doesn't attract/collect dust mites as much as standard mattresses.

[Runningtokeepstill]

Ds1 had this problem as a child. He needed to have different medication which then controlled it. He had consultant care. I also used to talk to asthma nurses on the Asthma Uk helpline. They were a life saver. See asthma.org.uk for details.

[IkaBaar]

I was going to ask a similar question! Has anyone had similar nighttime coughing issues with a baby? Her sleep/ cough has been an issue since she had bronchiolitis. We have a family history of asthma, so I guess she is likely to develop it.

She sleeps in a raised cot, towels on the radiator etc....

What age did your dc get treated from- as apparently there's not much evidence ventolin works at her age?

[Runningtokeepstill]

You don't say your daughter's age.

Ds1 was symptomatic from around the age of 10 months - night coughing and then wheezing.

He was provisionally diagnosed with asthma by the GP as at the time the general guidance was, I believe, to not give a definite diagnosis for under 1's. He was given Ventolin syrup which had no noticeable effect. I don't know if this is still prescribed as it was some time ago.

At 11 months he was admitted to hospital and had soluble steroid tablets plus 2-hourly nebulisers, with Ventolin or similar which was effective. The hospital gave him the asthma diagnosis. He was then discharged with steroid and Ventolin inhalers. He ended up on more medication as the night time coughing kept coming back. He grew your of the asthma (doesn't need regular medication) around puberty.

[IkaBaar]

Thanks, she is only 6 months. My asthma consultant said my dc would have about a 75% chance of having asthma - I was just hoping it wouldn't be yet!

[Flisspaps]

The only thing that stopped DS coughing was Montelukast and Clenil - he's just been upped to a higher dose of Clenil as it wasn't enough.

He has been on that for about 18 months now and it's made a HUGE difference to his sleep.