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Children's health

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3 year old weeks of a hacking cough?

3 replies

HolmeH · 04/04/2021 22:59

My 3 year old has always been extremely prone to getting bags coughs. We’ve lost a hell of a lot of sleep with it over the years. When I say she coughs all night, it is literally for hours & hours. How she is not sick, I’ve no idea! It’s usually triggered by a cold but then carries on for another couple weeks.. as a baby we had a few rounds of steroids which were brilliant, calmed it all right down significantly, but docs have since been very reluctant to give her anything to help..

This is the first year she’s been able to fully explain how it feels. She had a cold 4/5weeks ago & had a negative covid test at the time. She finds the tests traumatising (we have to pin her hands, legs & head 😣) & so we have also done a 10 day period of isolation when her cough seemed to get worse after a couple weeks instead of testing. We tested ourselves & younger daughter during this time & all negative. 5 weeks later, she is still hacking away. She tells us it’s really sore & hurts to breathe in ☹️ She’s awake 3/4 hours a night coughing & is pale and exhausted a lot of the time. Our GP is saying we need to test her before they’ll see her.. I do understand the ‘risk’ but it’s been 5 weeks, we had a negative test at the start & we’ve isolated to rule out any further spread.. I just don’t feel like it’s reasonable to have to physically restrain my frightened 3 year old in order to get medically checked out. I know people will say not to be daft, it’s only a swab, it won’t kill her, she’ll get over it etc but for some reason, she is that scared. I don’t know why. She’s 3. And yes, I can do one. But it involves something that makes her hysterically upset & something she asks me every morning if I’m going to do another one 😢😢😢

Do I just hope it runs it’s course? I guess maybe that’s the only option I have?

OP posts:
queenofthelamas · 04/04/2021 23:01

I would just do the swab and then seek medical advice. It could be a wide range of things and needs to be seen too

bloodywhitecat · 04/04/2021 23:01

With her history I would be asking if she has asthma. I hope you can get her seen.

peanutbutterandbananas · 04/04/2021 23:07

I really sympathise on the testing, it was the same reaction from my 5 year old! I was told at the testing centre that children under 5 could "just" have the nasal swab.
Have you recorded her coughing and shown it to the GP?
I would try so the Covid test nasal-only swab if she can bear it, and just keep being persistent about going back again and again to the GP to get to the bottom of it.
I found humidifiers (with a few drops of Albas oil) really helped when mine had bad coughs.
Lots of luck to you all, poor little thing. I hope you get to the bottom of it soon.

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