DS coughing so much he has been sick

[CadleCrap]

DS (3.9) has a really horrid cough - no other cold like symptoms eg temperature, runny nose etc. He has just woken up and been sick through coughing.

He has had this before and the Dr said it was a virus and nothing could be done - but surely there is SOMETHING I can give him to stop/relieve the cough!

Any suggestions welcome

PS Have tried steam (carefully) and he's having a cup of warm milk and honey at the moment (way past his bed time)

I can't give you any advice - my DS1 goes through this pretty much every time he has a cough and has done for as long as I can remember.

It rarely happens at day but is a regular occurrence at night when he has a cold - I have lost count of the number of times we have had to change bedsheets over the years

He did have a temp last night but was right as rain today (except cough) so I sent him to pre - school.

Sounds exactly the same as DS1 - the fact he has a cold rarely seems to bother him and he never seems to be 'ill' - just has a sniffly/snotty nose and coughs a lot but still seems to have the energy to run around like a headless chicken

I have never yet kept him off nursery/school for it as he has never been ill enough!

Oh dear, I hate to say this but milk is not a good idea. Dairy products make you more mucousy, mucous irritating his throat is what is making him gag.

Prop him up on lots of pillows, so he is almost upright to sleep. Encourage him to drink little sips of water when the cough tickles his throat. A karvol capsule on a tissue inside his pillowcase and Vicks Vapour Rub on his chest and the soles of his feet will probably help. Steam in the room is great, but hard to achieve when central heating isn't on.

Don't rule out the possibility that he has a vomiting virus immediately after a cough/cold. Same has happened before, more than once, to my dc .

I use big bowls of steam next to the bed with a shake of olbas oil. Regular sips of water if he is awake. It's vile, your poor DS

Don't have any karvol or orbus oil to hand but will put some vicks on him.

Thanks for the tip about milk bibbity I never knew that.

I can't give him to much to drink as he just brings it up again with teh next bout of coughing

Tbh I would keep him off preschool tomorrow if possible. Could it be bronchitis? Did he have a cold recently?

Oh, and for dry cough slice an onion, add few tablespoons of sugar, cover and let stand in a room temperature for a few hours. Give him 2 tablespoons of the syrup every couple of hours. Sounds horrible, but actually tastes fine and it works.

you can put a fingerful of vicks rub in boiling water, works in the same way as olbas oil. Alternating between steam and cold will help reduce the swelling and irritation in the throat

Imnotaslimjim - have done the steam thing - I had to put his swimming goggles on as he didn't like it

Winnybella - do I put water on the onion/water mix?