Hi all,
just looking for some advice/insight on this. DS is almost 4, and pretty much since he was born he's has a cough which comes around pretty much one week in every month. After about 18 months of him coughing and coughing every month or so, and being told it was a virus, we eventually got the GP to refer us to the hospital. Tests were done and X-rays taken and conclusion was made that it was likely a form of asthma because it responded reasonably well to trials of inhalers, and also because my husband is a lifelong asthmatic.
Fast forward a couple of years and DS has been discharged by the hospital, but the cough has persisted, recurring probably one week in every four, pretty much every month. At a visit to the GPs asthma clinic last October, we were advised by the practice nurse to ensure he had his preventer inhalers every day to try to eradicate the monthly cough. If this didn't work, we should then ask the GP for a stronger dose of inhaler. We did this as the cough remained, and went back one month later as it had still not disappeared, and were given a stronger dose, and told to return in one month and if the cough still persisted, it may be that we needed to start DS on some additional oral medication. A Month later the cough was still there, as ever, so DH took DS to GP (I usually take him, but couldn't that day) and the GP they saw, not our usual GP, said it categorically wasn't asthma if inhalers weren't making a difference and that we should reduce his inhalers down and bring him back next time he was coughing for him to be examined.
It's rare that DS has much wheeze with the cough, but he coughs and coughs and it's just not very nice for him. And I'm a bit peeved that after 3 years or so of following a particular course of action we are now being told that's likely to have been wrong.
I'm going to make an appointment for the next time I think it's likely he'll have the cough, hopefully to see our regular GP, but am looking for advice really. Has anyone else been in a similar situation? TIA.