DD coughing every night and after physical activity persistently.

[Modestly]

DD is Covid negative. It’s been around 2 weeks since she’s been continuously coughing throughout the night and after any physical activity. I’ve been going back and fourth with the GP just to get her examined in person. They told me it’s most likely asthma but have no way of confirming this. They gave her a blue pump (which doesn’t seem to help) and some chewable tables (Montelukast) which i later realised has serious side affects (depression anxiety to name some). It also has an article on the serious side effects and in just so furious how the doctors are not confirming a diagnosis and assuming it’s asthma or irritation and prescribing her such a serious medication. She’s suffering every night and with the treatment I haven’t been able to see any improvement. Her cough has just gotten deeper and has now turned into a Phlegm cough. The GP who did see said it doesn’t sound like a chest infection and do continue giving the treatment. See I’m just so helpless I can’t bear seeing her like this Especially when my instinct tells me it’s not asthma and something else . It doesn’t seem to go away rather it’s just getting worse. To top it up she also told me it can last for years (her assumption is that it’s asthma) but I’m sorry what ? I know a lot of people around me who have asthma. It does not sound like this and neither does the cough continue EVERY night continuously. We are tired and just so desperate. I’m just so worn out :( any advice would be appreciated. Do you think it’s worth going privately ? Do I watch her suffer for a year or so

@Einszwei I like your username as I speak German too lol but in regards to the oeak flow I was told she’s too “young” to carry it on her. She’s 3 turning 4

@Foamee oh my goodness how much I can relate to that. The looks I got and I’m just thinking to say it out loud NO ITS NOT COVID. And I could just see my DD struggling to enjoy the basic stuff like sliding down the slide with her persistent cough and the looks 🙄

I have the same issue with dd6 but it’s intermittent throughout the year and always triggered by a virus. However it will last for weeks sometimes and she has needed several a&e trips for wheeze. Gp says that viral wheeze is very common in younger children and they won’t diagnose asthma until they’re older (not sure how old they have to be). We have a blue inhaler. I 2nd the op who said technique is everything! I’d been using it wrong for ages. You have to wait between pumps and get them to take quite a lot of breaths. I remember one GP saying that the blue inhaler won’t actually stop the cough, but will enable them to breathe deeper. We have an asthma nurse at our drs surgery, maybe worth booking to see one if you have the same?

Given that it’s only been 2 weeks, I wouldn’t panic. Dd had coughs that went on for about 8 weeks at that age after a virus (only after exercise and night time) but they are definitely reducing in length and number as she gets older.

I think because so many small children can have symptoms that could be asthma following a chest infection it can take repeated visits to the doctor (or A&E in our case, DS was a 'happy wheezer' so initially would get quite bad before we realised he was poorly) before they will formally diagnose asthma. DS was repeatedly in hospital as a small child (we had a permanent hospital bag for a few years), being given the oral steroids and nebuliser and oxygen before we eventually were given a brown inhaler just before his 5th birthday. In hindsight I don't think DH and I really understood how bad his symptoms were, we were giving him loads of blue inhaler and our GP surgery were shit so they didn't pick up on how quickly we were using them. It was only after we were in hospital after a massive atopic flare up when we saw the asthma nurse and got the brown inhaler that things improved. She told us to watch out for coughs and he now always gets the blue inhaler if he has a cold to stop coughing.

Assuming she has had all her vaccinations and it is not whooping cough. I was treated for asthma for 5 weeks before my Mum mentioned that I had not been vaccinated as a baby.

You say you've moved in recently, did the previous owners have pets? Do you still have the same carpet in her room?

I always use my blue inhaler before doing exercise. That might help her open her airways first.

You could also try antihistamines. Liquid piriton for kids (or cheaper supermarket equivalent)
There are a few starting early with hayfever this year. Or something else might kick it off. Either way I use antihistamines regularly as a preventive measure when I know I will be exposed to the allergens that kick off my asthma.

We also moved into a house with mould when DD was little and it caused this. We had to move again and she was fine after about 6 months but it was getting serious. Some moulds are really bad for young lungs. Can you move her to a less mouldy room?

DD coughed at night for about a year before getting her preventer inhaler, and within a few days of starting on it the cough had gone.

We were also living in a damp, mouldy flat when it started. I didn’t realise how bad her bedroom was until we moved out and moved the furniture, and saw all the black patches on the wall! Our new place is fine thankfully, but I’ll always feel guilty. We also live in central London, and the GP is convinced the pollution exacerbates lung conditions in young children.

Anyway, after 18 months on a 100mg Clenil preventer inhaler with hardly any coughing and no need for her blue inhaler, DD’s dose has been lowered to 50mg, so we’re hoping she’s outgrowing it.

I hope you get to the bottom of it OP, and your DD gets some relief. I used to lie awake at night listening to DD hacking away in the next room and it was horrible!

@Dinocan how did you manage with the nights? I have auto immunity which means if I don’t get sleep for a prolonged time I start to feel worse and it increases my Inflammation 😩😭. It’s been 2 weeks of sleep deprivation can’t imagine another 2 weeks. I wish I was more informed in this. I had no clue you are supposed to carry on with sleep deprivation and continuous coughs at night. But at the same time I can see many mums here asking to request for a brown inhaler. I just don’t think it’s normal to wait for the blue inhaler to work which it currently isn’t.

@Whatsnewpussyhat so the previous owners told us “our daughter got asthma as we had carpets so we removed them” whcih now I believe was absolute lie. She most definitely got it because of the dampness and they were too lazy to replace the windows and the old roof which probably is making things worse. The blue inhaler doesn’t help at all at nights. I’ve slept with all the windows open it was a freezer the room . Yet we still didn’t see a difference. She’s still coughing As we speak and I’m trying to get hold of the GP which don’t pick up and when they do the appointments are fine. Furious and helpless right now.

Sorry, I missed if you have already said but does she have a spacer device with her inhaler?

@bloodywhitecat yes she does have a spacer

Is she wheezing? Is she struggling to talk due to coughing?

Look up asthma uk, night cough, and action plans, then get back to GP armed with the ways her breathing issues are not under control. We waited too long with our daughter and she ended up with a severe asthma attack when she was 5. We had no idea what was going on.

The brown steroid inhaler takes a few weeks to get in the system and start being effective. Once working properly the blue one shouldn't be needed often.

As a PP said, could you put her in another room that isn't damp?
Get a decent dehumidifier and get the excess moisture out of the air and clean any visible mould asap.

It does sound like it would be worth going back to the gp. In the mean time I'd say it would be worth trying a daily antihistamine incase it has anything to do with allergy. Its coming into the time when tree blossom can set off allergy for a lot of people. The mould from the damp can be a cause of allergy as well. Does she have a lot of soft toys on the bed? Dust mite allergy can also be a trigger, and cuddly toys hold a lot of dust so minimising them on the bed and making sure they're washed frequently can help.

Its great she has a spacer but just want to check that they've told you how to use it properly? Shake the inhaler first, make sure you have a good seal with the spacer mask on her face and then press the pump once and cound to 10 while she breathes normally, then shake and press again and count to 10 again. This makes sure they inhale the maximum amount for each press.

Montelukast does have nasty side effects, but they are rare.

But I agree that if she isn't improving, or is getting worse, she needs to be seen again. Its not on for the gp to ignore a sick child because covid is in existence!

While you are waiting and following up with the doctor... (ie I am not suggesting these will cure but they might help improve the symptoms)

Do what you can about the damp... clean the surfaces with vinegar to kill the spores. Ventilate the house, for at least 15 minutes twice a day.

Give her high doses of vitamin C and Vitamin D.

Look up Patrick McKeown and Butekyo breathing for children. It helped for my 2 year old. Seeing and osteopath also helped.

Reduce foods that cause mucus and inflammation, I am sure you are already aware of these as you have an autoimmune disease yourself.

Sleep deprivation is really tough, I am sorry you are both suffering.

@Modestly luckily for me once she was asleep my dd was a very deep sleeper so the coughing fits didn’t affect her all the night long (at least she managed to mostly sleep through them). When she had episodes of terrible wheezing through the night she would wake up unable to breathe and we just relied on the blue inhaler which luckily relieved it. The only things I found to cope with the actual cough was spoonfuls of honey which helped a bit with throat irritation, and little sips of water. Maybe she needs more pumps of the blue inhaler? Until our last a&e trip, I was only giving 2 pumps and they told me that this wasn’t enough for a bad case. At one point dd was having 8-10 puffs, then reduced to 4-6 and so on, until symptoms stop. And you must make sure she is breathing each puff in for about 10 breaths. I hope you get somewhere. It could well be the mould exacerbating it too.

Montelucast will need a bit of time to get in her system, my gp always used to advice me to use the reliever a couple of puffs through the day to keep it in my system however ive never got much use from the blue one ( yet my friend is never without hers, different people different things), i also do not wheeze.
I take 2 diff inhalers and 2 tablets, plus a blue inhaler occasionally.
Cold weather is a big cause for asthma.