Can anyone help with dds cough?

[slowlygoingbonkers]

She has had a cough for two weeks now. Took her to the docs last week and they said because her chest was clear they couldn't do anything. It is getting worse. She isn't sleeping because of it and I had to get her from school today as she was coughing so much that she made herself sick. She says her ribs hurt from coughing. I have been giving her OTC medicine and lozenges but nothing is giving her any relief. She just looks so drained from it. She is 8.

Tia

Have you tried using a humidifier in her room? We got the Vicks one (about £50) last year, and it helped our (then) 2 yr old, and also helped me when I had an uncontrollable cough. Good for colds and sinusey things too. Bit prices but really does seem to work. Have a look at reviews on amazon and Argos. Hope your DD gets better soon.

Ask GP if an inhaler might help?

Ask GP if an inhaler might help?

Not sure if same as my ds 3. However he had shocking cough [still lingering] which made eating difficult/ breathing etc. He was given 'one off' steroid tablets. Did help.
[Still coughing badly in the cold but not so frighteningly].
Lost weight.
Hope you get it sorted.

Thanks, i'm going to get her back to the docs tomorrow. Never thought of an humidifier. Would it help if I sat her in the bathroom with the shower on for the steam?

DS2 11 months, had terrible cough for 6 weeks and doctor said the same thing to me. She was regularly puking from coughing so much. The Vicks warm mist humidifier really helped at night, although beware - it made my wallpaper peel off

Yes to steaming, it might help her.

Could u use spare pillows and duvets to create away to have her sleep a bit more upright. It's easier to breathe at night if your not lying flat.

We are in rented with painted walls so should be ok
I've got a couple of extra pillows so will put them on her bed tonight. Hopefully she will be able to get a decent sleep then

Not sure whether to mention this, but as Doc has already checked her over, maybe worth a try. On the top tips thread today, there were two separate posts recommending Vick on the feet for a cough....

Even if it has a bit of a placebo effect and is enough to get her off to sleep, might help? I've never tried it personally, but will do so the next time anyone here has an annoying cough

Has GP taken a swab for whooping cough? There are still a number of outbreaks.

If she also has high fever I would take her to A&E for chest X-ray as many GPs are not good at spotting pneumonia, even when very very severe.

If it is whooping cough then there is unfortunately not much you can do apart from being on-guard for pneumonia as complication.

I will see if I can find the link to the whooping cough website from a UK doctor.

This website

No, all they did was listen to her chest with a stethoscope and look at her throat and ears. She seemed more concerned with her teeth ( went flying a few weeks ago and chipped her top two front ones. Have to wait until January to get them fixed as they are unstable). Off to look at that link now.

If it's Whooping Cough she should get antibiotics to reduce the time she is infectious and keep away from babies. If she's been near any babies with the cough they should be taken to the GP for antibiotic cover.

It also won't improve with linctus, vapour rubs or oils. Time is pretty much all that heals it.

If she finds it hard to start breathing again at the end of a bout of coughing keep her calm and get her to close her mouth and breathe in gently through her nose. It is a very scary feeling but it does pass.

I do hope for her sake that hope it isn't Whooping Cough. it's not at all nice.

I'm going to take her to the docs tomorrow and ask for a swab just to be safe. Have also got a 7 year old and 2 year old who are starting with it. Not as severe yet luckily and I'm hoping it doesn't develop as my two year old seems to think he can live on thin air so if he goes of his food it will be hell
I thought whooping cough had died out

If the GP refuses to cooperate you can contact your local Health Protection Agency.

Whooping cough is a big problem this year with the biggest outbreak since 20 years. Especially babies are at great risk.

And if you are prescribed antibiotics to reduce contagiousness, then I would insist on clarithromycin and reject erythromycin. Erythromycin is very effective but has very nasty side effects (makes you really really sick) and needs to be taken every six hours. The newer, more expensive clarithromycin only needs to be taken every 12 hours, is much better tolerated and as (if not better) effective.

Try humidifer that works well and rubbing Vicks menthol in the soles of their feet and bedtime then put socks on!! Honestly :)

DS had a cough from 2 weeks to 6 months recently that no one could do anything about. He occasionally had a wheeze, but mainly his chest was clear. He was throwing lots of his feeds because of it.

My appointment with a paed consultant came through last week - he said he'd most likely had whooping cough, and that we'd been very lucky with such a little baby.

I'm so annoyed that no one spotted it. He was taken to hospital and put on a nebuliser twice, had a chest xray, a sweat test, 4 types of antiB and omeprazole. Even the paed reg who saw him in September said it wasn't whooping cough because she heard him cough in the room and he didn't whoop. 5 months after he first caught it you'd hope he'd shifted the whoop. Consultant was not impressed.

Anyway, all that to say try to be more forceful with the doctor tomorrow. The consultant told me there's an epidemic. At least 10 babies have died this year from whooping cough and it's a notifiable illness, they should really be on the ball with it.

It only really seems to be younger children that do the characteristic whoop sound fairly reliably. I've heard lots of comments about babies not doing it (surely a paed should know that FGS) and adults don't either.

I caught it at Easter and still have a couple of coughing fits a day. It's a vile disease and anything which can be done to prevent it being spread is really important. Impy I am so glad you're little one has recovered.

Well she's just had another coughing fit, then come downstairs wobbling. I thought she was going to pass out. She said she was dizzy then proceeded to vomit

It really sounds like whooping cough. Do get her tested.

Yes, insist on getting her tested and otherwise call your local Health Protection Agency. It is a notifiable disease, and I have the feeling that some GPs like to duck out of having to report things (same with scarlet fever BTW).

It is a simple swab.

DD aged 14 has had 2 confirmed cases of whooping cough at her school, and started to present with some of the symptoms over the last week.

Took her to the emergency GP on Tuesday night, who was pregnant and examined dd wearing a mask, so they are taking it seriously. It was late when we saw GP, and she said the test for WC had to be in the lab within an hour of taking it, so we went up to the Paed A&E the next morning (yesterday), who took a blood test,which freaked out dd as she was expecting a swab.

GP put us both on 5 day course of ABs, no school for dd until finished course, and as I work in a clinical setting in a hospital, I can't go to work until I finish mine...so bang goes my clear sickness record!

But I totally understand all the precaution.

Worth checking,OP

I hope you've had better luck with the GP today bonkers. Your poor DD :( I hope they find out what's wrong with her, whatever it is, and she gets better soon.

Thank you Goldmandra - although he's now developed another really bad cough :( I think it must have left him less resistant.

Whooping cough for adults is hell. I had it when I was 20 (caught it travelling in Eastern Europe), it lasted for months, and then I had post viral fatigue for another 18 months. I really hope you feel better soon