Toddler coughing every night

[Aftereights91]

He's had a cough for the past six months. He'll cough for hours at a time. Doctor thought asthma but inhaler isn't helping, was given steroid tablets to try, that's not helping either
He doesn't get out of breath or wheeze, it's just this persistent cough.
Could it be an allergy?
I can't listen to anymore of his coughing, it's killing me that I can't fix it and the poor sod just wants to get a good night's sleep

No advice but we are just starting a steroid inhaler for similar

Same here. Inhaler hasn’t helped either. Have been told it’s a post viral wheeze that will go eventually. I wish there was something I could do.

Is it just at night?

Have you tried antiallergy bedding and ventilating the room better?

Same here!

I’m thinking it’s got to be an allergy. So we’re going to have a look what allergens there could be in the room as she is fine during the day.

Does he drink milk.at night? If mine have even hint of a cold, milk makes them.mucosy and they cough.

Oh god there's so many of you, im glad I have someone to discuss this with. Not only at night it's in the day too but mainly at night, and I've noticed it's worst when he's in his room, so wondering if it could be a dust allergy? There's a wardrobe wedged in the alcove what's quite hard to get out to clean behind and obviously he has lots of toys etc, so dust seems most likely allergy culprit. No doesn't drink milk on a night only on a morning

I'd be quite open to the asthma idea but inhaler and steroids don't make the slightest bit of difference. I keep loading him up with cough medicine too which doesn't help

Will definitely get an antiallergy duvet and pillows, I forgot they did those

Could be a question of finding the right inhaler. I'd go back to the Dr and ask for a review with oxygen level and peak flow reading. What type of inhaler have you got? GPs often prescribe the blue (reliever) one but all that does is open the airways temporarily to relieve a crisis, so taking it every day won't help. Most asthma sufferers need a preventer as well which is the one to take every day. Steroid tablets are for use in a longer lasting crisis really eg if lung function is compromised by viral infection so again might not be a lot of use in your son's case, as he seems to be more chronic than acute.

Give asthma UK a ring for a bit of advice I reckon. Their helpline is staffed by asthma nurses so they can give you some pointers.

@Handay it's a blue inhaler he's got. He can't do the peak flow thing because he's only two so can't blow in the thing properly the doctor said. The blue ones not even helping immediately that's what I don't understand, he'll be in the middle of a coughing fit so I'll give it and he just carries right on coughing. It doesn't ease it in the slightest. He always has at least one main coughing fit per day, usually at night, which lasts about two hours and it's a pattern of cough cough, ten second pause, cough cough, repeat. Sometimes he coughs that much he's sick. And after a few hours he stops. Like tonight he was coughing for about two hours, I didn't try the inhaler tonight because it's not helping and he's terrified of it. After two hours it stopped same as always

Following with interest. My DD is 10 months old and has had a horrible cough for the past three months. Went to docs after one month and again today but have basically been told that it’s normal and I shouldn’t have taken her.

It’s horrible as she coughs and coughs until she’s sick.

This is the same as my DD. She's had a cough for 18 months and we've been back & forth to the GP. Have heard "post viral wheeze" far too much. She has the blue inhaler which doesn't do a thing!

We finally got a referral to paeds ... because I demanded it!

Have you tried an antihistamines yet? You can use the piriton syrup i think from 1 year old

@Aftereights91 my ds wasn't helped at all by the blue one either to begin with. Like your ds he'd been coughing for months. When we finally saw the asthma nurse she explained that because he was chronic he needed the preventer because it has a different physical effect on the airways - it actually works in a different way. Then once it's under control, when he gets an acute cough the blue will work. This has proved to be the case. There are other diagnostic tests they can do apart from peak flow - there's spirometry, although that doesn't always show up anything with cough variant asthma (ie where the only symptom is a cough) and another one beginning with m that I uselessly forget the name of but it involves basically getting them to breathe something in at a really low dose that for people without cough variant asthma doesn't make them cough but for people with cough variant asthma they will cough. It doesn't have lasting harmful effects though.

@Nousernameforme I was going to does him on piriton all day today but gave the first dose and then realised I wasn't sure if he could have it while he's having the steroid tablets, but am definitely going to try that. I've just realised today that he seems to cough more in the house mainly in his room, he barely coughs when we're out, just normal coughing

Also, are you using the big two-cone spacer with the inhaler? Because at two he won't be able to use the inhaler or indeed the standard spacer properly.

@Handay ah that's interesting thankyou I'll definitely be going back

Does he do this in other places too? Have you tried taking him somewhere very different, so to the seaside, or countryside, or mountains, or on holiday somewhere warm? Could it be reacting to pollution?

No it's a normal spacer with the face masks bit they gave us. He's scared of it though so I have to basically pin it on his face while he's fighting me

My toddler was given a teddy bear spacer, which has a face mask on the end. Very easy to use. We call it the elephant

@Solasum we live across the road from the sea literally so he gets plenty of fresh sea air. It mainly seems to be in the house, I know he doesn't have the big coughing fits at nursery because I told them to ring me if he does

Try making it into a game. Pretend it is your trunk and make elephant noises at a time when he doesn’t need it

Tbh whatever the trigger is, his airways have already been irritated by it so really it's that response to the irritation that needs to be treated anyway. They're often worse at night - tired, lying down etc none of which helps so he'll be worse at home. I'd focus on getting him treated and then try to figure out the trigger. It could have been something simple like a mild cold he had ages ago.

@Solasum that's the one we've got :) he named the teddy bear aero and said it's aero's medicine but still freaks out if you try and get him to use it. I've resorted togiving him a toy train when he's done it with minimal fight 😂😂

Might be a response to cleaning products, or fibres in his carpet or bedding. Does he still cough if he sleeps in your room? If not, is there anything in his room that isn’t in yours?