9 year old barking cough - should we be concerned?

[Bohemond23]

My 9 year old boy has had a barking cough for 5-6 weeks. It’s not constant or even regular; sometimes we only hear it once or twice a day. It’s not productive, nor does it seem to bother him.

We think it started on holiday the day after he had spent some time in (the warm) sea. It got worse over the final week of the holiday which we put down to air con. After we got back he caught the inevitable summer cold which lasted about 10 days so we had the usual sore throat, snot, cough etc.

Three weeks later we still have the cough. He usually coughs in bed before he gets up and sometimes in the evening. He says not at school. It really is a bark - sounds like a seal! It has improved in those three weeks and adult cough medicine did make a dent in it but I am loathe to continue giving it to him.

I am not at all worried about it and am sure he will get better in due course. DH is more worried and has asked me to ask for advice/insight on here and whether we should go to the GP.

Thank you!

Barking cough is a sign of croup.

I'd pop to the GP personally. Video the cough if you can to show them. I'd want to rule out asthma as that can present with just a persistent cough.

Coughing at bedtime/night time/first thing is often associated with wheeze related illness and asthma. It’s quite a key point you should tell the GP.

My son has this - his is likely his asthma making a comeback. Did your son have asthma when he was little? I would speak to the GP and ask them to check him. My son had quite bad asthma when he was small and, back in January he started with a cough and it was only ever a couple of coughs in the morning. Saw a GP in March who wasn’t concerned but a GP in June re-prescribed more asthma meds. He’s still coughing in the morning now, but it’s only once or twice and not during the day.

Thank you all. He has never had asthma but we have worried about lingering coughs in the past. I will take your recommendations to video the cough and take him to the GP.

You can develop asthma at any age, and it can be asymptomatic but then triggered by respiratory infections, so definitely worth checking out.