Top tips to stop them coughing..

[summerlovingliz]

Just that really please! Ds age 3 got an awful cough, quite a dry cough. Keeps us all awake at night and makes him sick he is coughing so much.. Anyone got any words of wisdom please?

Have you tried putting Vicks on the soles of his feet ?

Ohh thanks George I'll try it! Anyone else?

Perhaps increasing the humidity in the room by letting damp flannels with a drop of olbas oil dry on radiators?
Lavender oil- few drops on a small cloth tucked in a pillow. I think lavender is anti- spasmodic so helps with coughing.
Lemon/ Manuka honey drink simple but effective (get the honey from holland and Barratt on offer )
Warm baths help to loosen mucous. And lots of garlic in meals when you can.

I had exactly the same with my DD, age 4, turns out she has asthma. She didn't cough much in the day but terrible coughing at night, also to the point of sickness. She's been using an inhaler for 3 days....no coughing at all from the first time she used it.

Thanks Truly, will certainly be trying some of those! That's interesting about ur dd Tedder.. How did they test for it? It is a nightmare, he's been in bed since 6.45 and u have been up about 6 times since, just been sick and still coughing..gonna be a long nite

Doctor didn't do any tests, based on what I told her and also the fact that there is asthma and eczema in the family, she prescribed an inhaler to try for 2 months. It's worked! Apparently night-time coughing is a classic sign of asthma in children.

Thank you, have just done some googling and does seem like a possibility, think I will get him to doctors tomorrow!

I 2nd the Vicks on sole of feet! Run it on, and put socks on over.
I don't know how but it works.

I would also try and get an appt with your GP to discuss asthma, my DS has asthma, this night time coughing is a sure sign if it's been going on for a while

Rub it on not run it on

Vicks on the feet didn't work here, in fact we had the worst night ever! Benylin do a kids cough mixture, it's apple flavoured glycerol, it's helped a bit.

Half an onion, squeezed until the juice run, next to his bed. Or feed him small amounts of butter nd sugar mixed together.

Trying to reduce or suppress coughing may actually be dangerous unless you are 100 per cent sure it is a non-productive cough. If there is something what needs to be coughed up then it is really important to make that as easy as possible, eg raising head end of bed or extra but firm pillows.
Coughing may be caused by a virus, but you may also want to look at whooping cough and if it doesn't improve have his lungs checked to exclude pneumonia (you can have pneumonia without fever, happened twice to me).
Sometimes giving sips of luke warm chamomile tra can give some relief. You can prepare a thermosflask for during the night.
If unsure, i would ask GP for advice.

propping the pillows up so they finally fall asleep almost sitting up.
I found that once they got a better nights sleep they were fit and able to improve.

A word of caution.

I had chronic asthma as a child, vicks made me wheeze terribly and as an older person the doctor said not to take Benylin if you have asthma, also not to suppress a cough in children.
I would ask the doctor for advice tbh.

Raise cot/bed
Turn them on side, off back so easier to cough
I put DD on pillows to raise her up even more.
Essential oils in room
Vicks on chest
I go easy on dairy - makes mine more mucusy

asthma was my first thought as well.
ventilate the room well before bedtime and let dc sleepwith a raised upper body.
good luck with the gp appointment.

Thankyou so much everyone! Really appreciate all your advice.. He was quite wheezy last night, am definitely off to the doctors!

With dd2 it was a sign of hay fever (obviously it's unlikely to be that in January but it might be another allergy), she was fine through the day but as soon as she lay down the coughing started. Post nasal drip, basically. An antihistamine stopped the cough completely. She's grown out of it now.

Propping them up is best,
Menthol crystals in boiling water in a bowl (out of reach) in their room

Doc told me not to use cough mixture for under six as it suppressed cough into lungs. Better to cough it up.
Also Vicks can cause irritation so put it on a hankie and tie to cot bars or under pillow x

Dd gets like this, we do

Vicks / olbas oil on tissue
Raised bed end
Steam in bathroom before bed
Lots and lots and lots and lots to drink (not milk)
Avoid dairy near bedtime
Lots of vitamin C

Any old honey works for our DAy. No Maluka here just good Shropshire honey. Still a fiver a jar mind you!