DS vomiting from coughing is just a normal thing according to GP

[coughinfitter]

Can anyone help me please and share experiences.

Ever since my son, who will be 2 in April was around 8 weeks old, he's suffered from recurring coughs that end up in him being sick from coughing several times a day and several times at night too. I mean like 5 times a day and 2-3 times at night if it's very bad.

The doctors always say his Chest sounds clear. Apart from once, where they heard a slight wheeze and prescribed an inhaler.

The inhaler ( blue ) doesn't really help and basically any time he comes down with a cold, his cough gets really bad and he starts throwing up from it, several times a day and also at night. It's really stressful but the GP says there's nothing else that can be done to help.

I've seen several different ones and they say that his chest always sounds clear and he's fine and the throwing up is just normal.

Sometimes at night he also has laboured breathing, but again - not with the GP.

Is this really normal ? My Older DD doesn't have that kind of problem. Grandparents and extended family are horrified when they see it happen. They keep saying we should go private, which we are considering tbh. But I don't know if a private doctor could help us or if it just us what it is. Thank you

I'm sometimes sick when I cough too, and when I cry.

I did have a really bad cough one time, and started vomiting, it ended up being whooping cough! I did feel really really rough though for months

My DD3 vomits as a result of coughing fairly often. Not as much as yours, but she also has an incredibly sensitive gag reflex. She vomited at the sight of milk on her sister's chin.

I am in my mid-thirties and I'm the same. Too much coughing results in vomiting.

My son did this for about 2 years from 1-3, eventually his gag reflex obvs sorted itself out.

When my kids get bad colds they tend to do this. Not as much as five times a day, though. Poor thing!

Oh god the dribble rash around the mouth! Forgot all about that. Remember trying to put Vaseline under poor old DS2's lower lip and how sore it used to get. He used to chew the neckline of his tops too.

@coughinfitter

*He's probably had the cough at least once a month since September. Not sure if that's that often or just the normal amount.
*
When my son was 3 I had to take him to hospital. It so happened he had a heavy cold at the time and it felt constant for months. I asked the consultant about it and he said a 3 year old in nursery (he attends 3 days) should expect a viral illness once a fortnight in winter and once a month in summer. I was shocked but he said he'd fire out of it. He's 4.5 now and they're defo not as frequent.

Ask for (Demand) a Brown inhaler. My DS was exactly the same, a brown inhaler as reduced the coughs massively and also he doesn't get sick anymore when he coughs. Blue inhaler did nothing for him either.

Demanding specific medicines just marks you out as a twat. An inhaled steroid (brown inhaler) is useful if you have asthma, not if you don't.

That only works if you're asthmatic. I was misdiagnosed for many years I know now that its GERD that makes me cough and I have a gag reflex that makes me sick when I cough too much

I had plenty of different inhalers over the time, not very effective

But they won't diagnose asthma until they're a lot older, so before then it really is a case of trial and error.

We went 8 months backward and forward to the dr, with no improvements and a CONSTANT cough, especially at night that meant none of us got any sleep for months on end. We were told just to persevere with the blue inhaler (why? If it's not working, it's not working)

I asked for a brown inhaler, for them to dismiss it and say he didn't need one. So yes, after being up all night AGAIN and getting no sleep due to him constantly coughing and vomiting, I went to the dr and said it had been 8 months, I'd tried everything they had suggested but it hadn't worked and could they PLEASE prescribe a brown inhaler, if I have to go private and get a private prescription then I will. Dr finally agreed.

Within 2 days he was like a different child and it's now been nearly 3 months and the constant coughs and vomiting like I said, have pretty much ceased.

That doesn't make me a twat, it means I had to be assertive to get what was needed for my son because as we all know with the NHS, sometimes you DO have to be assertive and push for what you want.

It MIGHT help OP's son, it's worth a try.

You can diagnose asthma in a young child - I do it all the time.

Well we were told by 2 GP's at our surgery and a nurse that they wouldn't be able to formally diagnose DS with asthma as he is so young (15 months) they said they don't generally diagnose it until they're 3/4. Ultimately if the GP doesn't know for certain that OP's son isn't suffering with asthma then they shouldn't need to refuse a brown inhaler for a trial (after all, they gave a blue one, just like they did with my son)

this is quite common. I wouldn't worry

DD had this at a similar age. Every time she gor a virus, it went to her chest and she would cough until she vomited. Some days she would vomit 5-6 times after coughing bouts. She grew out of it thankfully!

Sorry not read whole thread but wondered if he may have issues with his tonsils? My 3yr old had extremely large tonsils that almost touched, this caused him to cough a lot and struggle with swallowing. He would cough/choke/vomit frequently during the day and it was even worse at night. He was diagnosed with sleep apnoea and had his tonsils and adenoids removed in July. Since then he's not had any excess saliva build up which has reduced the coughing and choking/vomiting. Obviously it may not be the same for your DC but thought I'd mention it

My kids is the same when congested and our doctor said some kids have stronger gag reflex and eventually outgrow it. We are with a private clinic.

My son is a cough cough vomit kid. Touch wood we have had a few months off. But its unfortunately one of those things 😔

Hi OP. We are in similar position and it is awful, can fully empathise with you. He is just turned 3 years old has a horrific recurring cough every time he even gets the slightest cold. Chest always clear except for once. The frequency and intensity of the cough have causes him to vomit and he can barely talk or eat during bad spells. He was given brown and blue inhalers for suspected asthma and sometimes oral steroids as a last resort after GP examination. We weren't happy with this tbh (frequent steroids) and were fortunate to have private healthcare through DH's work. Interestingly, the consultant management plan differs from GP: no steroids unless chest wheeze. Daily antihistamine even when well and continue with twice daily brown inhaler. No blue inhaler - he thinks this probably aggravates a cough. We began the antihistamines at halloween...i was sceptical but so far so good...

My daughter did this as a baby/ toddler too. Eventually grew out of it. It actually helped her a bit as it cleared out the mucus for a while.

I think that sounds a lot. I’ve definitely had doctors try to say all children get ill a lot (true, but often there’s an underlying issue when it’s an extreme level and the same symptoms repeatedly) and then look into it further when provided with diary evidence of just how often it happens. For DS’ sickness, I wrote the details down but also coloured in the days so it was a really clear representation of how many times it occurred. I think it sounds worth pushing them to investigate and to treat the symptoms when it’s happening monthly.

My daughter is 7yo and still vomits when she coughs. Doesn't even have to be a big coughing fit, just if it tickles her throat in the wrong way and triggers her gag reflex.

This is such a reassuring thread to read. DS2 has done this with every cough he's had and is only 5. The drs won't even look at him for asthma despite DH having asthma as it doesn't seem to meet whatever criteria they have for it.

We put blankets under his bed to prop up the mattress, have a humidifier or the window open (even at the moment when it's cold), use saline nasal spray as often as we can.

It's so frustrating, DH doesn't believe me when I tell him there is nothing more to be done.

We have the extra fun of DS1 has a complete phobia of people being sick so it often means trying to calm him down as well as deal with DS2.