Persistent cough HELP!

[Otherthinkingmommy]

So my daughter is 3 next month. Past few months shes been suffering with a cough sometimes wet but mostly dry like she has a frog in her throat or its irritating her. Coughing fits at night, coughs through the day etc. I have tried everything! I've tried piriton because surely if it was an allergy cough it would of helped? But it hasn't so maybe no allergy. She has blue inhaler which isn't really a help, feel like docs arent listening. Something isn't right or do I need to accept this is a toddler thing? Had anyone been through this? Please tell me we arent alone. I'm down I'm frustrated I'm at my wits end... nothing works.

Take her to your GP.

I have a dry persistent cough caused by allergies (due to post nasal drip) that makes me very wheezy despite good blood oxygen levels and a clear chest.

Antihistamines made no difference to it, a steroid nasal spray seems to be clearing it up at long last, so I wouldn't necessarily rule out that it is an allergy issue.

I've seen so many docs and a consultant about the cough caused by the post nasal drip and suddenly a new GP with a fresh set of eyes suggested the nasal spray. Frustrating s it is, it seems sometimes you just have to keep going back until you get a solution, this has taken over 5 years, with one GP helpfully suggested always having warm water to sip at hand (practical) and trying not to cough (impossible). I hope you can get a resolution soon.

Hi: I sympathise as my DD (now 9) has asthma and it is mainly characterised by a relentless dry cough. In untreated it can be so bad she ends up almost choking.

Doctors won't diagnose asthma in children under the age of about 5 or 6 but they can treat in an asthma-like way if the symptoms are similar.

My only advice to you is that you need to stay on the case with the GP. Don't be fobbed off with "its just viral wheeze" which is what they say to 99% of all parents whose children present with cough. I am not one for conspiracies, nor a medic but I do think that a combination of NHS treatment recommendations and busy doctors leads them to underplay asthma. It took me years to get a referral to a specialist for my DD and basically involved several hospitalisation incidents.

Hopefully this won't be the case for your DD and many children do grow out of this but unfortunately the onus is on you to push for the treatment you need and not take this "viral wheeze" stuff at face value.

GP is a good call. You could also try a humidifier to add some moisture to the air, might relieve her coughing a bit.

Thanks both. She doesnt have a wheeze. And we are back and forth to the doctors. We are at the asthma clinic next Monday. She started nursery in september also so maybe the constant cough is normal? I just need to know it will get better as I'm such a worrier!!! And I'm persuading myself shes allergic to everything

I have. We are back and forth from the gp. I haven't just left it @IcedMatchaLatte

My son has asthma - no wheezing (which surprised me because my brothers both had asthma as kids and they weezed all the time) but he coughs a lot. The doctor prescribed us a preventative inhaler which has been amazing, we have to remember to keep using it or his cough comes back but when we are taking it regularly it keeps the cough well under control

@Boom45 does he cough a lot in the day?

DC2 sounds very similar. The last two winters have been almost wall to wall coughing, with many nights coughing themselves sick. Inhalers, antibiotics, calpol infusers, humidifiers, nothing seems to stop it and the GP/asthma nurse/OOH on a couple of awful occasions don't have any real advice.

DC2 is 2.5yo and, touch wood, isn't coughing this week. I hope that's it for this winter.

Good luck with your DD - I hope there's an answer for you soon

@DuggeeHugs thank you. Nice to know it's a normal thing. She started nursery September. So hopefully it's just virus after virus

Reflux?

How did you get on I wonder? My son is similar this winter, coughing for the past two months, specially during the night. GPS, A&Es etc and we still don’t have a solution to it.

Sounds like you've done the right things seeing the GP, referral to asthma nurse. Presumably well other than the cough - no weight loss, unusual tiredness or difficulty swallowing which would have been things GP would have thought about... so unlikely to be anything sinister. If you notice it's much worse after meals or in the mornings/brushing teeth this can point towards reflux as a cause. Some children do just cough a lot, never really pinpointing a cause then they grow out of it as their airways enlarge with growth/immune systems develop.

See how the asthma review goes, they won't diagnose since someone so young can't use the peak flows etc properly to measure lung function but as others have said they may recommend trial treatments to see if any improvement.