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Original poster

Please help, DS2 just won't stop coughing

67 replies

plhk · 23/10/2024 00:16

He's been poorly for a few days but the cough has now taken on epic proportions.

He's prone to coughs, but I've never seen one as bad as this.

I don't mean to sound selfish but I'm absolutely shattered. I can't even imagine how he's feeling. Last night was bad, he coughed all night.

Tonight is unbearable. He's been sick a couple of times from his coughing fits and he just can not stop coughing. It's almost entirely continuous.

He has 5-10 minute spells where he just won't stop coughing at all. I'm not sure how he manages to catch a breath during that time. He's not gone blue or anything.

I have a humidifier in his room. The only thing that seems to help is Vicks. I've used his inhaler and it's done nothing.

My husband seems very worried too. What else can I do ?

OP posts:
McGregor33 · 23/10/2024 12:01

Mischance · 23/10/2024 10:30

Ah - that's good. Whooping cough is included in the standard ones given. My DD had whooping cough and sounded just like your son.

Show quote history

Same with my girl, except we were fobbed off as viral infection for over a month 🙈 By both GP and Hospital. Even with video evidence of the clear ‘whoop’ was a very frustrating time!

SendHelp999 · 23/10/2024 11:13

Get a nebuliser off Amazon with the saline capsules. It really does help. My dd has suffered with a bad chest since birth and it hits her like a ton of bricks every winter the whole winter

Original poster
plhk · 23/10/2024 11:11

gcsedilemma · 23/10/2024 10:56

Could you have the heating on to keep the air "soft"?

We tend to have the heating on in the sense that it's set at a certain temperature and then goes off when it's at that temperature. It never gets cold in our house, as it's a new build. I also use a steamer or whatever they're called, to keep the air moist. I also use a calpol plug in. The only thing that calmed him last night, was continuously slathering Vicks on his chest and when on his top. That's how we stopped his attacks.

The other night I kept putting him by the freezer, when he was having croup attacks.

OP posts:
Original poster
plhk · 23/10/2024 11:08

Thank you. I would love to speak to the asthma nurse, but can imagine I'll be denied. I will ask though.

He takes multivitamins, but I'll make sure to get probiotics too. He definitely gets sick A LOT !

In the winter, it's probably at least once a month. Maybe twice.

He was only just sick towards the beginning of this month where he had a temp for 5 days from an ear infection.

OP posts:
Itsmahoneybaloney · 23/10/2024 10:58

plhk · 23/10/2024 10:55

He's never had a chest infection or been on antibiotics for his cough. Like I said, ' lungs always clear ':

He's had antibiotics for ear infections and tonsillitis a lot, but never for coughs.

As I said its up to you, at a minimum I'd ask to speak to the asthma nurse and get on a good course of probiotics and vitamins as I said.

Itsmahoneybaloney · 23/10/2024 10:56

plhk · 23/10/2024 10:54

@Itsmahoneybaloney I went a lot last winter to the GP and they refused to take any further action for him. I guess he's never been admitted to hospital or had low oxygen stats, thankfully.

I saw the same doc a few times and complained about the relentless vomiting from coughing and she basically said that she can't do anything for him and it's normal. Just to use the blue inhaler and she doesn't want to give him steroids and surely I don't want him to be a couple of inches shorter than he would otherwise be, because he's had steroids ? Then he stopped having coughs as it was summer and I thought he'd maybe grown out of the pattern, but it seems he hasn't. So I'm not sure what to do.

I came to the conclusion that there's nothing else they can do for him.

You need to speak to the asthma nurse not the GP. They are amazing people. It doesn't stunt their growth, its quite a low dose and to be honest I was happy to take that risk to save running off to the docs or hospital every 2 minutes with wheezing/chest infections etc etc it wasn't all that it was asthma. A lot of children have childhood asthma it doesn't then effect them into adulthood. At the very minimum I'd get your child and yourselves on a decent Probiotic (boots do amazing ones) and multi vits and all take them religiously everyday. Good luck.

gcsedilemma · 23/10/2024 10:56

Could you have the heating on to keep the air "soft"?

Original poster
plhk · 23/10/2024 10:55

He's never had a chest infection or been on antibiotics for his cough. Like I said, ' lungs always clear ':

He's had antibiotics for ear infections and tonsillitis a lot, but never for coughs.

OP posts:
Original poster
plhk · 23/10/2024 10:54

@Itsmahoneybaloney I went a lot last winter to the GP and they refused to take any further action for him. I guess he's never been admitted to hospital or had low oxygen stats, thankfully.

I saw the same doc a few times and complained about the relentless vomiting from coughing and she basically said that she can't do anything for him and it's normal. Just to use the blue inhaler and she doesn't want to give him steroids and surely I don't want him to be a couple of inches shorter than he would otherwise be, because he's had steroids ? Then he stopped having coughs as it was summer and I thought he'd maybe grown out of the pattern, but it seems he hasn't. So I'm not sure what to do.

I came to the conclusion that there's nothing else they can do for him.

OP posts:
Hoppinggreen · 23/10/2024 10:45

Sorry, seen your update but too late to edit

Hoppinggreen · 23/10/2024 10:44

plhk · 23/10/2024 00:45

But I can just imagine he's going to stop coughing in hospital and they'll tell me he has a virus / won't do anything to help and send us home again.

DD used to cough a lot and was diagnosed with asthma age 4, she is 19 now and her lungs are still not great
If you do go to A&E they can at least check his oxygen levels. We went once expecting to be told we were being daft and to go home but she ended up being admitted for 2 days!
I really feel for you, its exhausting for everyone

Itsmahoneybaloney · 23/10/2024 10:38

plhk · 23/10/2024 10:17

Well here is the update.

We were seen by the triage nurse and stats were all good. About 15 minutes later, the doctor did a quick check. They tend to do this for breathing and cough issues at our children's a and e.

The doctor checked his lungs with his t shirt on, to see if there was a wheeze or anything else untoward.

The doc said that his lungs are clear and that he's just severely congested with an upper respiratory tract infection and that there's nothing he can do for him.

He doesn't need steroids or antibiotics. So I said, ok I will just take him home then. Which is what I did.

Little one then went to sleep, had a few more fits, but we go through the night.

He's just got a really bad cold.

The positive thing was that I didn't need to wait around in a and e really and it was a quick in and out.

It seems maybe it was a waste of time to even go. But the cough was so severe. The worst I have ever seen it. It was scary and even my husband was scared he would stop breathing.

Can anyone advise on what else I can do next time? this happens frequently in winter. But the docs almost always say his chest is clear. Only once did they say there was a small wheeze and based on that and his history, they gave him an inhaler. He has had these severe coughs with vomiting since he was 6 weeks old, yet his chest is always clear.

Does he only have a blue inhaler? Make an appointment with the asthma nurse at the GP to discuss and likely trial a brown preventer inhaler.
They can't be fully diagnosed with asthma til age 5ish but they can be treated as potentially asthmatic before then.
My daughter was 2 and they started the brown inhaler trial after multiple instances of coughs and chest infections since birth - she stayed on it and She was diagnosed at age 5 as asthmatic and has now come off her inhalers age nearly 8 with 'asthma dormant' now on her records. It may come back again as asthma often does 7 year cycles but we'll always have Inhalers to hand if needed.

Mischance · 23/10/2024 10:30

plhk · 23/10/2024 10:21

He's up to date with all his vaccines, is the whooping cough one offered as standard ? I had it during pregnancy.

Show quote history

Ah - that's good. Whooping cough is included in the standard ones given. My DD had whooping cough and sounded just like your son.

thunderbox · 23/10/2024 10:27

I'm asthmatic and used to suffer terribly from coughs as a child before I was diagnosed and given inhalers. The two things that helped were steam (dm would run a hot bath and we would sit in the bathroom with doors/windows shut, taking deep breaths) and sleeping more upright on a pile of pillows.

Original poster
plhk · 23/10/2024 10:21

Mischance · 23/10/2024 10:20

Did he have the whooping cough vaccination?

He's up to date with all his vaccines, is the whooping cough one offered as standard ? I had it during pregnancy.

OP posts:
Mischance · 23/10/2024 10:20

Did he have the whooping cough vaccination?

Original poster
plhk · 23/10/2024 10:17

Well here is the update.

We were seen by the triage nurse and stats were all good. About 15 minutes later, the doctor did a quick check. They tend to do this for breathing and cough issues at our children's a and e.

The doctor checked his lungs with his t shirt on, to see if there was a wheeze or anything else untoward.

The doc said that his lungs are clear and that he's just severely congested with an upper respiratory tract infection and that there's nothing he can do for him.

He doesn't need steroids or antibiotics. So I said, ok I will just take him home then. Which is what I did.

Little one then went to sleep, had a few more fits, but we go through the night.

He's just got a really bad cold.

The positive thing was that I didn't need to wait around in a and e really and it was a quick in and out.

It seems maybe it was a waste of time to even go. But the cough was so severe. The worst I have ever seen it. It was scary and even my husband was scared he would stop breathing.

Can anyone advise on what else I can do next time? this happens frequently in winter. But the docs almost always say his chest is clear. Only once did they say there was a small wheeze and based on that and his history, they gave him an inhaler. He has had these severe coughs with vomiting since he was 6 weeks old, yet his chest is always clear.

OP posts:
BusyMum47 · 23/10/2024 08:33

@plhk

Hope your little one is OK? 🤞

Our son suffered with viral induced asthma & croup from 18mths or so, till around 7yrs, when he finally seemed to grow out of it. Every cold brought with it the cough from hell, A&E visits, inhalers, steroids, antibiotics, no sleep & a whole lot of worry!! Turns out it's quite common but if you're vigilant enough & have a supportive GP, you can usually manage it with minimal hospital admissions. It's bloody hard, though.

NobodyGivesADamn · 23/10/2024 03:32

They are at the HOSPITAL

mrssunshinexxx · 23/10/2024 03:23

@plhk strider is mega dangerous I can't believe they didn't give steroids !

mrssunshinexxx · 23/10/2024 03:22

The steam is outdated advise for croup - don't do that the advise is now cold air when mine get it I go to the window or front door and just sit there for ages with them nicely wrapped up warm

mrssunshinexxx · 23/10/2024 03:21

Isit croup?
Open window cold air helps
Vix on chest nostrils soles of feet . Get him sleeping propped up my kids always better on their tummies with knees upto chest like a baby pose / bum in air than flat on their backs
The obvious one - cough syrup
Regular warm drinks / milk regular pain relief

Quitelikeit · 23/10/2024 03:11

Do you have pets? Close his windows in case of allergies

give an antihistamine maybe to see if that helps

give him multiple pillows so he is not lying flat

NobodyGivesADamn · 23/10/2024 03:05

Hope he gets some treatment

Ellepff · 23/10/2024 03:00

Both of mine are prone to this. Hospital hospital hospital. Ask them if there’s anything else you can do, but at that age bring them in. Our intuition has been totally wrong for it. When we think they’ll get a nebulizer and be home, they end up staying 2 nights. When we’re super scared they nebulize, give a steroid and perk right up. They’ve never ever dismissed our worries for a young kid with stridor

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