coughing coughing coughing

[flute123]

DD2 is six and has been coughing on and off for about 5 months! We've been to the GP and each time he says it's viral and suggests hot steamy showers, honey etc. It's a really dry tickly cough with no "gunk" and she seems well in herself, but occasionally gets quite out of breath which I assume is related to this darn cough. Does anyone know when this sort of thing will resolve? Any miracle cures or tips? I'm thinking I'll take her back to the GP next week as we're all getting fed up!!

Some cough more than others I think - we all have different weaknesses. Presumably no wheeze? My son does get occasional wheeze which sometimes presents as a cough, and has pre-asthma diagnosis (can't truly diagnose until lungs fully developed at age 7). He now has inhalers which I wasn't happy about at first, but they have been lifesavers literally, so now we accept them as part of life. What helps him is keeping on top of the vacuuming in his room, under the bed, mattress, and dusting regularly. Washing sheets at 60. But I don't bother much in the rest of the house as I think it is good that they are exposed to dust and dirt generally. If he has a cold he coughs and wheezes through the night - unless I use a Karvol plug in which does keep him clear. We also elevate the bed head slightly. I also think that in some people air fresheners can cause irritation in the throat so we don't use those either. Lots of fresh air by opening the windows.

As far as I know she isn't wheezing - I'm thinking I would be able to hear if she was? Is there another way to tell? And touch wood she hasn't had any colds for a good few months so I'm baffled really as to why she is coughing so much. I've made sure her room is well ventilated with windows open, and she has a wooden floor so no dust issues there. Thanks for the tips about propping up the bed a bit and the Karvol - I've tried giving her Vics rub before and it made it worse but I'll give the bed a try!

I would insist on having her tested for asthma, especially as you say that it is a dry tickly cough and been such a persistent cough.

Does she cough more indoors or outdoors? More during/after exercise/running around? More when she has a cold? More during night/early morning when she gets up? Do you have pets/carpets/smokers in house (eg. possible allergy triggers)?

I would try to write down as much as information as possible, including when she coughs and for how long to see if there is a pattern.

Sorry x-post

How old is she? I get post nasal drip and Beconase is brilliant for that. Not sure if it is suitable for children or whether there is an alternative for children. Then again, you say she hasn't got a cold and usually it is a cold which causes post nasal drip. So it is probably something different.

I would look into asthma/allergies direction.

My dd 7 is the same - I took her to the doctors and she gave us an inhaler to try , but tbh it hasn't made any difference. She is definitely worse at night and propping her up doesn't seem to make a difference

I find that if the coughing wakes them up a warm drink helps, e.g. chamomile tea or a little normal tea with lots of milk and optional some honey/sugar.

Oddly enough, for some coughs mini Mars seems to help (no idea why this is though????)

You can't really hear a wheeze. Things to look for is if they are working hard at breathing, if the chest goes concave when they breathe in, and blue lips. They are the serious stages, and not likely what you are describing. I only know he is wheezy when the doctor listens to his chest.

Have you got a humidifier for the bedroom at night? I have one for dd1 who gets bad tickly coughs that then go to her chest and it's just brilliant to ease the coughing at night so everyone can get some sleep.

Probiotics have a great affinity for the lungs. A really good one is udos choice junior blend. I would open and add 2-3 capsules daily to yoghurt for a month and see if this helps.

Onions are a rich source of quercetin, an anti inflammatory. If you can get plenty of both red and white onions into the diet.

Thanks everyone, much appreciated.
I hadn't really thought about it being asthma, but I'll be ringing for an appointment first thing tomorrow to get her checked out. Will ask to see a different doctor as well to ensure we aren't being fobbed off! How do I go about getting her tested for asthma? We really need to get this sorted for her.

dikkertjedap - she does cough noticeably more when running around etc and sometimes has to stop to get her breath back, but I'm not sure if that's just normal or if I'm being paranoid now! My other DCs get out of breath too? No pets/smokers/carpets etc or anything obvious for an allergy trigger, and no stuffy nose etc. She quite often wakes up in the night with her cough and I've been giving her warm squash which seems to help. The cough is pretty persistent throughout the day, I can't say I've noticed it being worse in the morning but it does wake her (and us!) in the night. She's had several episodes where she just can't seem to stop coughing and is short of breath from coughing so much and each time I've taken her to the GP who have said it was a virus? The appointments have invariably been a few hours or a day after though. The rest of the time the cough doesn't bother her too much so I was inclined to wait and see if it just went away - but it hasn't!

The problem is that (depending on how old she is) some GPs will diagnose almost everything as asthma and some will say that they don't diagnose children under a certain age (could be five, could be eight) with asthma.

Asthma is often aggravated by exercise, changes in temperature, colds, etc.
Often there is a marked improvement after a course of oral steroids, however, depending on her age, GP might not want to prescribe that. Inhalers only work if properly taken and steroid inhalers take a while to kick in (could be several weeks). It is not easy to use inhalers properly, especially not for a child.

I would insist on referral to paediatrician TBH. You may also want to ask for a chest X-ray. In some cases (probably rare), the chronic cough can be caused by untreated pneumonia. Pneumonia is often not recognised/diagnosed by GPs and it is not always life threatening. It is also not always accompanied by fever, so it can be quite difficult to diagnose except through X-ray.

I would really pursue it this time round so you can get to the bottom of it and get her appropriate treatment if necessary. Asthma (IF it is asthma and it may not) can be a killer if not controlled, so never underestimate asthma. I know somebody who died because he ran out of his blue inhaler and the GP out of hours refused to give a prescription as it was his job to ensure he had sufficient medication. He died on the Sunday of an asthma attack. I will never forget this all my life, if he had been at work he could have used my inhaler. He was at home and his wife just did not grasp how serious it was.