Can reflux cause a chronic cough in older toddlers?

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DS is nearly three and had silent reflux as a baby. We had to give him thickened formula but he sicked up on and off as he was weaning and after he was one.
he did seem to outgrow it. He used to get hiccups a lot as well and choke/splutter on food and liquids.

he’s a brilliant eater but this year we’ve had issues with a chronic cough.
everything seems to set it off. He’s had inhalers and montelukast and I’m not sure if they’re helping tbh sometimes they seem to but other times not so much.

he had steroids recently - really short course - to try to kill a lingering cough from a virus, definitely reduced it a lot to barely anything but then we all came down with another virus so the cough is back.

I was wondering if chronic cough problems could be linked to reflux? He coughs at night, has a largely dry cough but also produces a lot of mucus when he’s snotty.

im wondering whether to try him on some toddler gaviscon to see if it helps at all but am wondering if I’m clutching at straws!

Anyone?

yes

dd had this among many other things and non related surgery confirmed scarring to oseophegus from years of reflux :(

coughing/ wind pain was a big discomfort

is he regular and eating well or do you suspect slow moving gut?

Peppermint tea helps also make sure fibre in diet is high and plenty fluids etc all help slow gut motility

some kids just need regular movicol to keep everything comfortable

Yes it can but, from your description, I'd consider the possibility of post nasal drip first.

@Untitledsquatboulder what would treat post nasal drip?

@BananaBan he eats really well, always has done even when he was suffering when he was tiny. He used to get very bad wind pain when he was small and sometimes dows
now (says his back hurts then let’s out lots of wind). It’s hard to tell gut wise as he’s on an iron supplement so it tends to make it more solid and hard than it would be but it actually ends up being hard then very soft, hard then very soft so I’m not sure re slow moving

is gaviscon likely to make a difference if it is reflux does anyone know? I know he has a virus at the moment as we all have it so potentially won’t help now but I was thinking it might reduce it or help going forwarss

we do have a referral to the hospital but they said it could take 6-8 months because of current wait times

There is an iron supplement that is easier on digestion (supposedly), does sound uncomfortable - did the GP recommend that? Are you seeing dietician or gastro? Constipated to very loose bowels needs sorting.

Post nasal drip is really common and can cause tummy issues too so it's probably worth taking a methodical approach and trying one thing at a time and recording the results to see what has an effect. This would give you a record to show the hospital when you do get there.

Thank you that’s really helpful. Oh gosh I didn’t realise that was unusual I just figured it was the iron doses making his stools harder and then the rest of the time being a bit softer (it’s not upset tummy level usually, unless like at the moment he’s sick already).

the iron was recommended as he had an iron supplement when he had a heart check when he was much younger due to family history and all was clear but they found the low iron as a byproduct.

Oh and our referral is under respiratory not gastro as I’ve never highlighted that as being a problem. I have blood tests booked for him in January and then his medication review so I will bring it up then I feel terrible now as it didn’t occur to me it was a problem, the medication lists harder very dark coloured stools as a side effect

I only know about the iron because I take it and it upsets my system, it also needs taken with vit c to help it work so I drink water with dissolving vit c in.

Don't feel bad, you are doing your best to get to the bottom of this and wee ones are so little it's hard for them to explain how they feel. You are doing a good job advocating for him and will keep going until you find the answer. Asking your GP to make referrals to the other disciplines as well won't slow anything down, you'll go on the waiting list and you can always cancel if you find it's not needed.

What does your son’s cough sound like? I have read that a reflux cough sounds a bit like a seal bark sound.

It’s definitely true for my son. My son gets reflux and although not as much anymore, it comes at nighttime if he has a cold with all the mucus setting it off. It’s a very different, harsh sounding cough.

Not sure if this is just the sound for silent reflux or normal reflux too.

Hope you manage to get to the bottom of it soon x

It’s a very harsh sounding cough too - it’s quite hard to describe. And it changes depending on whether he’s unwell at the time or not. At the moment it sounds more congested because he’s snotty so there’s lots of mucus and I’ve got the same cough it’s very tickly.

but generally it’s very harsh sounding. He gets it when jumping around sometimes but you can hear it’s because of mucus. He also drools a lot and has his hands in his mouth a lot - like he’s teething even though he has his teeth now!

Yeah, DD is 3 and she is constantly coughing. Worse at night and she tends to seem to have a cold which isn't always. She's on omeprazole and gaviscon and awaiting a appointment for further testing

DD normally wakes up and says she's been sick in her mouth and has a horrible breath

@BananaBan aw thanks sorry I missed your message.

@HiKelsey interestingly he often has bad breath especially in the morning. I can see he sometimes brings a bit of something up and he’s sometimes sick when he coughs and it’s quite mucus-y. But he largely had silent reflux as a baby. Did the gaviscon make any difference? His inhalers sort of seemed to help but it was also a period where he was quite well in himself so could be coincidental.

Hers is still classed as silent reflux. She had projectile vomiting as a baby, but that was due to a milk allergy. She's had a barium swallow at the hospital that highlighted reflux as they could see the acid coming up. Her gaviscon alone doesn't do much but the omeprozole and gaviscon seems to help. I also found giving her supper like cereal, toast or porridge just before bed helps settle her during the night. Otherwise she's always waking up

@HiKelsey thanks for the info. He’s actually a good sleeper - he’s got used to the cough for the most part except when he’s poorly with it. I was going to try gaviscon but not sure if it’s worth it

She has the lowest dose of gavison but she can have up to 3 times what she does. She's old enough to have prescribed liquid gaviscon which seems to have helped better than the powder that she had as a baby to thicken her milk

Yes. In a word allergies.

DS1 is 9YO and has asthma. He is very fair, red haired and that child who reacts to everything. Came up in a bad rash with chicken pox etc.

He was diagnosed with asthma when he was 3. He had constant coughs in the winter and was hospitalised at 3 after a particularly bad one. When he went to see the paediatrician about his asthma we were asked about how he was as a baby etc. He had awful silent reflux that magically disappeared when he was weaned at 16 weeks. We will never fully know but the paediatrician was of the opinion he probably actually had CMPA as a baby based on what we described.

My son is now an adult and he had silent reflux as a baby and was under the care of the Brompton Hospital because the reflux caused respiratory problems.
As a child he had a regular barking cough which was worse if he was becoming ill with URTI .
Now as an adult the cough is less regular but he still coughs if unwell .

This is all really interesting. I thought the reflux had gone when we weaned but thinking about it, it would make sense if it was reflux. He ended up in a&e as a baby with breathing issues which turned out to be reflux. I’m wondering if he does infact have asthma as they think (cough variant) but also reflux which is why the inhalers sort of work but don’t completely get rid of it. But I could just be desperately looking for a solution!

Yes my son was admitting to hospital with coughing at night, sounds like a bark as someone has said. It was silent reflux causing it. He was on medication for 3 years for it. Travels up and irritates the Larynx.

He also had laryngomalacia and when they have that the valve on top of stomach can be floppy kind of too and prone to reflux. He was under respiratory care for 3 years for regular check ups.

He is 6 now and fine.

@Ricco12 oh wow it must have been bad to have been admitted to hospital?

Yes he was only 6 months old and having coughing and breathing issues at night, he was in hospital for 4 days monitoring oxygen levels during sleep. This is when they found the laryngomalacia too.

Hello,

I hope your son is better now! May I ask did you find a solution? I’m desperate too.. this sounds exactly like my 2.5 year old!
every 2 months this is happening and I just don’t know what I’m doing wrong.

currently lying awake in bed, anxious as he had the horrible barky sounding cough this morning early hours and he’s just coughed in his sleep and sounded the same again.

he’s had it where it also makes him wheezy and sucks in at the ribs. Needing steroids:(

once it’s calmed down, you honestly wouldn’t know any different and he’s fine. He’s been fine in himself all day! I’m convinced it’s reflux.
I feel like it’s my fault as his diet isn’t always the best. He’s a fussy eater so I end up giving up what I know he will eat! :(