Can anyone help? Cough variant asthma in toddler?

[Reesewithafork]

DS 2.5 years has had a chronic cough since February. He got Covid but didn’t have a cough then the cough started after he had recovered. He started nursery in April and has had the back to back infections since then, cough always comes with it. It gets a bit better after antibiotics but always lingers and then comes back.

it does seem to link with the pollen count being high, although when we went to the coast the cough wasn’t much better.

He’s recently recovered from another upper respiratory infection, another course of antibiotics and was given ventolin for the cough. This seemed to really help and the cough was almost gone. The last three or four days though it’s come back again. Sounds very mucousy, comes in fits, worse when he’s laying down. I know the pollen count is really high here, could that really be it?

I’ve given him his inhaler but it doesn’t seem to have made a massive difference to when he’s sleeping, or trying to sleep. I think he improves with it during the day though.

Piriton alone doesn’t do anything. A humidifier at night does seem to help and I’ve propped up the mattress.

im just at a loss as what to do next for him. He never seems to be able to shift it and whenever I take him to the doctors they just say his chest is clear.

im wondering whether it is in fact cough variant asthma and he needs a brown inhaler. Does anyone have any experience of this?

@nameisnotimportant thanks that’s interesting. I think it only properly went away when he had antibiotics and ventolin last time. Then it started to come back about a week and a bit later. It’s so tricky as it’s coincided with the pollen count being so high - I’m really affected by it too but eyes and sneezing mainly. With protracted bronchitis would he still exhibit other symptoms of cold etc as he’s sneezing etc so it’s not just the cough on its own IYSWIM. I think it lingers because he can’t clear it as he can’t spit out the mucuous

@cardboardbox24 thanks for the tip I’ve just gone and opened his door as it’s always closed. Glad you sorted it. I’m hopeful the asthma nurse will agree to trying a brown inhaler but I dont know if they will as he hasn’t been properly diagnosed

@Reesewithafork
With my little one the cough flared up with everything. Running around, when she hit the cold air, during high pollen counts, every single virus took so much longer especially compared to friends kids when they got illnesses.

Your child could also have hay fever on top of it. He could have asthma as well.

It's more that it improves after a week of antibiotics for just a short amount of time and then returns.
My little one benefited from the ventolin when unwell as it does help open the airways when they're unwell.

The main thing that made me think it wasn't asthma with my little one is that when the cough was gone, there was no cough, she could exercise and run around constantly without a cough, the usual things that would make it flare, didn't make it start. The cough was never dry and she never had a wheeze even at her most unwell.

The respiratory specialist said that due to this and the cough being wet, is what made him think it wasn't asthma. By this point I felt like I had researched to the point of insanity and figured what's another 3-4 weeks of antibiotics. At the end of the two weeks of antibiotics, the cough was so much better but still slightly there and so we did another two weeks and then it was completely gone.

Obviously it could be asthma and he could just constantly have viruses which are making the asthma worse especially now things have opened up after covid but I just thought I would share my experience as I was also fobbed off multiple times just being told it was a cough and it's so frustrating.

We had this issue. Were initially (after lots of back and forth) given a blue inhaller to try, which helped a little. We then pushed for a brown one on a 'trial basis'. DD is now much better (although not perfect) and has them both permanently

@Bzzz i think this is what I’m going to do. And if it doesn’t help query the protracted bronchitis @nameisnotimportant has suggested.

just had another night of no sleep because he kept having coughing fits and waking up, I feel like I’m going insane!

For those of you who got a brown inhaler to help with the coughing how quickly did you see an improvement?

Do you have the money to see a private pediatric respiratory consultant?

they could see you for that one appointment and then hopefully get you into an NHS clinic?

you both need help urgently.

Consultant respiratory specialists are hard to come by. Not many of them around. I’ll assume they’ll be even less for children but hopefully I’m wrong. What I’m trying to say is it may be hard to find the right person but Google search I’m sure will eventually help you locate someone.

For brown asthma puffer it took about 3 to 4 days to a week to notice a change in my daughter’s uncontrolled asthma. Using the chamber helped a lot.

wash mouth with water after to avoid thrush in mouth developing.

And yes it could either be 1. Prolonged irritation or 2. A chronic infection that’s not properly cleared with antibiotics. Longer course and microbiology test needed to find organism and get a better match

Hi did you get anywhere with this. My son is 5. He first showed signs almost 3 years ago. Constant cough. Every few weeks/months. I had to beg for something for him in the end I said I want him trialed on an inhaler. They don’t like to diagnose kids with asthma especially young. Inhaler helped so much. Eventually he was given the brown one (preventer) which changed his life honestly he still gets his cough esp when has a viral which is most months. Asthma and hayfever are also connected. My son has bad allergies so when something has irritated him he coughs. I bought a air purifier which has helped massively. It’s all trial and error but don’t stop and be firm with doctor. Hope you get sorted.

My boy ended up in hospital overnight nurses could see how bad it was. Consultant diagnosed asthma. Allergic rhinitis too. We had ventolin syrup then and a nebuliser used a couple of times by the ambulance crew. He did out grow it