Need advice- 2 year old has not stopped coughing all night

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I’m really hoping someone can offer some advice. DD (2) was fine yesterday, slightly snotty perhaps but barely noticeable. Put her to bed at 7.30pm and by 9pm noticed she seemed to be coughing every 15 minutes or so. By 10pm she had woke up coughing with a really persistent, dry cough in her throat. She was managing maybe a 30 seconds to a minute between coughing episodes. No temp, seemed fine otherwise. I gave calpol, put vicks on the chest and feet, aired the room and tried steam but nothing was stopping it. Gave honey and warm water at 2.30am and we must have both fell asleep sometime after 3am (so 5 hours of non stop coughing)

Shes woken again an hour later by the cough and it is now relentless. She’s only managing about 5-7 seconds max between coughing, it is constant now and she is absolutely exhausted Still no temperature or anything else. I’ve given her some honey and lemon again which has eased it very slightly and I’ve no idea what I’m supposed to do?

I’ve never heard a coughing episode go on as long as this with no break

Poor thing, that sounds horrid. You've done all the right things, steam and warm drinks are the best things for a cough. Is she propped up as lying flat tends to make it worse? If I were you I'd phone 111 for advice as it's gone on all night. Hope she feels better soon.

I'd get a covid swab ASAP. X

It seems to make no difference whether she’s upright or not,I’ve been holding her on my chest and sitting her up. The honey and lemon seems to have helped again as she’s now stretching to around a minute again between coughing fits.

And I know she’s going to need a COVID test it’s just that doesn’t stop her coughing and because it’s a persistent cough I know no one will see her. She had a COVID test 3 weeks ago because of a high temp and persistent cough which was negative, but this cough is on another level.

Call 111, she can be seen. There will be a segregated route into hospitals where they can see people with covid symptoms.
Really hope you all get some rest soon.

Thank you everyone. She’s fallen asleep again now but is still coughing in her sleep but thankfully less frequently (every couple of minutes) I’ll see how she is when she wakes again.

I’d just got myself in a flap as it’s was constant and I felt I had no where to turn with it being a cough

I have 2 sons, adults now and one of them when ill would cough all night. We tried all the cough medicines as his was a dry cough, to find one that would give him relief for a while, daytime wasn’t too bad, but I dreaded nights as it usually went on for 2/3 nights before getting better.

I would call 111 anyway because if she wakes up and she starts coughing loads again, you'll want a plan. I'm sorry, I know I worrying that kind of intense cough is.

Totally understand you being worried, it's so hard when our little ones are ill at the best of times but covid makes everything harder. As a previous poster says she can be seen in hospital if needed as there will be a separate area, so do call if she's still struggling or you're concerned when she wakes again.

Is it croup?

Definitely not croup as my older dc used to suffer from that. She’s still coughing but maybe only every 10 minutes. Seems absolutely fine in herself. I’ve booked her in for a walk through COVID test after lunch so looks like we’re back to self isolating again (the 3rd occasion is the last 6 weeks)

does it sound like shes coughing to catch her breath? do her lips look blue at all? id be concerned its an asthma cough, please ring 111 for advice.

How’s her breathing OP? Check for sucking in under the ribs, is she using her stomach to breathe in and out or her chest? My son had these symptoms years ago and it was pneumonia. Not to frighten just worth considering when deciding to seek further help.

Thank you for the replies. Her breathing is fine, no laboured effort and no sucking in on her ribs. She’s playing and acting normally. It sounds like it’s coming from her throat,like something is irritating it, it’s not a chesty cough at all. The only thing that has helped is honey and lemon which makes me think it is her throat.

Obviously is COVID times you have to be careful as it literally is a dry, persistent cough. I’m keeping a very close eye on her and it seems manageable at the moment but if it goes back to how it was last night where she was coughing constantly with barely a break then I will be calling 111.

Hope she feels better soon poor thing, persistent coughs are no fun at all.

Oh bless you OP. We’ve been in this situation with both twins - one as a small baby (it was whooping cough), and the other had a shocking night cough through most of last autumn, winter and spring which seems to be due to breathing issues (possibly enlarged adenoids and some drops in o2 but have only had sleep study and not seen the ENT in person yet due to COVID).

It’s so distressing hearing them cough like that. I remember when DT2 was in hospital with whooping cough he had coughing attacks that would last 20 minutes, almost non stop. Absolutely heartbreaking.

With DT1 I found that the lemsip honey and lemon cough medicine (no drugs in there, just glycerine IIRC) helped somewhat. If it’s bad again today or tonight I would definitely call 111. Night coughs can be asthma related so an inhaler could help if so.

Maybe an inhaler would Help her. My 3 he old got prescriber one for a persistent night cough before covid times hit.

My son had a cough like this recently, it was mainly caused by post nasal drip so it was worse when he was lying down.

The only thing you can do is provide warmth, comfort, lots to drink, steam (or cold water humidifier), Vicks, etc.

I was once told a melty piece of chocolate can help as it coats a sore throat and stops the inflamed cilli from being so irritable.

Also, I give paracetomol or ibuprofen as when you cough for so long, you can get a banging headache, which the little ones can't really complain about.

Before my DS was diagnosed with asthma he’d cough and cough. Thankfully now he has inhalers to help.

A couple of times the doctor also said it was most likely a throat irritation from post nasal drip and recommended antihistamine before bed to help dry it up (and help sleep) as well as the usual honey lemon soothers, humidifier etc

Thank you for all the advice. I am going to take her to the GP I think as she keeps getting a cough but it’s never been like that. I have a feeling it may have been mucus in her throat that she couldn’t clear. Strangely the cough disappeared as soon as it started so was a 24 hour thing. She’s also had her COVID test back which was thankfully negative.

An old indian remedy that’s works amazingly on coughs is warm milk with turmeric and honey. Takes about 3 days but it’s brilliant.