Doctors won't prescribe medicine for 2 year olds cough

[lboogy]

We've been for a covid rest, to get that out of the way.

My D.C. has had a cough for the last 5 weeks. It was most severe 4 weeks ago for 2 days. After that D.C. coughs only at night and wakes them up. So for the last 5 weeks we've had interrupted sleep because D.C. will take 2 hours to settle back down.

Spoke to the doctor 3 times and been in once. Each time I'm told wait and see it's likely an infection and dc needs time to fight it off.

It's 4am and D.C. has again woken up from
Coughing and has been awake since 1.30am. I'm at my whits end extremely pissed off at the doctors reluctance to prescribe antibiotics.

Would I be in my rights to ring up and demand they prescribe something to make the cough go away?

3/5 of asthma is hereditary. That means 2/5 isn’t - that’s quite a lot. Smoking doesn’t help, but it’s also triggered by other things - low level pollution, allergies. It’s worth asking your gp about it if this goes on.

It’s really hard to cope when you’re not getting enough sleep, isn’t it? Hang in there, it will get better.

An inhaler would be better. I find steaming the room helps lots once they're asleep or in a bath, tilt the pillow too.
My DS has a horrible cough every winter.

Its good they're not prescribing antibiotics, doctors went through a phase of giving antibiotics for the slightest thing and now we have a myriad of resistant bacteria that cause much worse things than a persistent cough.

What type of cough is it? You need to treat for the type of cough. If it's a dry cough and you're treating a flemmy cough you'll make it worse. Give him water to sip in the night when he wants to cough as it's often a bitter cycle, the more you cough, the more you need to cough.
I wouldn't push for an inhaler yet either, you dont want to treat something that isn't there. Focus on soothing his throat and give it time to pass. Go back if it gets worse.

@lboogy

D.C. finally went to sleep at 5am.

I have tried bronchostop thanks to everyone who suggested it. Also tried calpol, honey, nasal drops and steamed bathroom. Though I'll confess not all three every night. I might have to do that tonight.

I'm doubtful of asthma diagnosis since we don't have a history of it or have smokers in our immediate family. But you never know dc could be the first.

I only suggested antibiotics because it's the doctor who said they think it's an infection and it it doesn't go away they will prescribe antibiotics. 5 weeks later and they are telling me to take the wait and see approach. 5 weeks of interrupted sleep is starting to wear

40% ish of asthma is non hereditary.

Have they physically checked him to see if he doesn't have chest congestion? What is his cough like? Is it wheezing or just normal cough? It would be better to get an appointment to get him physically checked. In the mean time give him warm broth and add black peppers, garlic, ginger, bay leaf and cinnamon/cassia bark stick to it. Also give him warm milk with honey. For me what used to work best was take a spoon of honey and drink warm milk on top of it. You can look up how to make ginger tea as that has a warming affect. These are natural remedies for normal cough and colds.

Anitbiotics are not the answer to normal cold and coughs. I can see why the doctors are reluctant to give them. Some times home remedies are the best to recover and give strength.

@SquishSquashSqueeze

Ask about asthma. A night time cough is a very common symptom in children

This. This is how my DDs asthma started. She was coughing for hours e very night. She was the same age too.

Try piriton syrup. Lifesaver for coughs in kids

When my DS was around 2 he had a cough that was worse at night and went on for weeks..The doctor thought it could be asthma and prescribed an inhaler which helped .
Antibiotics will only help if it’s a bacterial infection,they’re no good if it’s viral.

I used to have terrible coughs as a child, and nothing the GP prescribed ever helped - including antibiotics on several occasions.

Today, we understand more about why you shouldn't get antibiotics when you don't need them, so your GP is probably doing more good than you think by refusing this.

I'm not sure why you think you know better than a professional who's trained and practiced for years.

I went to the doctors with a bad cough during adulthood once, and she explained to me that coughs are something that they've never got very good at treating, if there's no underlying reason (like asthma or for example lung cancer in older patients) that can be treated as a separate issue.

She told me that nothing she could offer me would be any more effective than an OTC cough mixture, and that the best thing to do would be to rest, drink plenty of water and wait for it to pass.

It's the only thing you can do.

It's frustrating when it's your child, I know, but GPs aren't magic, and nor are they irresponsible enough to prescribe things that won't work.

Has your DC got a runny nose?

If so it could be post- nasal drip when he's laying flat.

See if you can raise one end of the mattress of find a way to prop them up so they're in a more sitting position when sleeping. It helps to stop the cough.

Depends if it’s bacterial or viral with regards to the infection. Coughs can last a very long time. I’d only be worried if it’s getting worse, but if it’s more of an inconvenience you might need to just ride it out. As others have said an inhaler might help, or filling your shower/bath with steam.

The only time any of my DCs have been medicated is when they had croup.

If your really concerned push for another Dr to assess him x

It's a viral infection by the sounds of it. Antibiotics won't touch it unless it's bacterial. Antibiotics aren't the answer to a cough. Try a calpol plug in, vicks on the soles of the feet with socks on top, and raise the head of the bed/cot slightly.

As long as he doesn't have a fever and is generally okay during the day (not sleepy and can't be woken up, etc.), it's just one of those things that has to run it's course. Calpol and steam help. But yes, completely normal for coughs to linger for weeks after an infection. When mine were in nursery, literally they had a cough from November to May.

If a doctor is in no hurry to prescribe meds, you shouldn't be.

Our thirst for antibiotics is exactly what is driving superbugs.

You’ve got no idea what antibiotics treat but you’re extremely pissed off they haven’t been prescribed.....

It’s actually unbelievable.

Thanks to those of you who've been kind and understanding and for your suggestion. I'll try Piriton as well. It's a dry cough for those who asked. Chest sounds fine as well. This was checked by the doctor.

It was the doctor who first suggested antibiotics. When I rang about the cough I had no clue what the problem could be since it was a cough that started with a runny nose then carried on once the runny nose went. Its hardly surprising that having had the suggestion put before me that I find it weird that there's no suggestion of providing it now.

Buy some liquid phenergan it’s an antihistamine and will help your child sleep.

It was the doctor who first suggested antibiotics
Yes, that's usually (if my experience with DC and doctors and coughs/colds are anything to go by) because the doctors tend to present a range of options and the scenarios where they might consider it.

Eg The last time I took a child to the GP for a persistent coughing issue, the doctor said "we could try antibiotics but that will only resolve the issue if the bug is bacterial". I could have left saying 'but the Dr suggested antibiotics', but that's not actually what happened. They outlined a situation where antibiotics could be an appropriate response; it doesn't mean that antibiotics are the required treatment or that it's weird if they don't offer antibiotics in a week's time.

Did he ever have bronchiolitis or similar as a baby? DD did, and now basically whenever she has a cold, or is cold, she gets an awful cough. Apparently that's very common.

Nighttime coughing at this time of year is common in asthma. I don’t think they diagnose quite so young though. They could give you an inhaler for before bed.

Doctors prescribe antibiotics if they are necessary. The qualified person should be the one to make that decision.

I presume you are so angry due to the lack of sleep? You don’t mention your child’s wellbeing in your post just that your sleep is disturbed.

@lboogy antibiotics arent for all infections. If its vital, they wont work.

If dc is coughing at night time you need to see whether or not its asthma.

Things you can do in the meantime.

Steam.
Close up all the doors and windows in your bathroom and get as much steam going as you can. The amount of time I spent with my severely astmatic DD - I have no pores.

Raise.
Raise the top part of their bed so their at an angle.

See if your DC is recessing. Or flairing their nostrils. Recessing is where there is sucking in under their rib cage or at/in their neck. They may need a neb.

Personally, Id ask to see another doctor. Youre concerned and yiu shouldnt be being fobbed off.

^viral

Its very common for young children to have a persistent cough after a viral infection.

Cough medicines don’t work, they just taste funny and cost a lot.

My son has a night cough due to his asthma, if his is bad due to having a cold I find that laying him on his front in bed helps. As does being well hydrated.

What LolaSmiles said.