chesty cough in 18mth old, given inhaler, anything else we can try?

[Jen1978]

Hi
DS1 has a nasty chesty cough (sounds really rattley and wheezes). Dr said he needed a ventolin inhaler to help with the wheeze but tbh it has not really helped. Anybody know of anything we can do to help shift all the mucus off his chest? He is worse at night and when he wakes first thing in the morning, but also wheezes during the day after crying or coughing. Dr said he didn't need antibiotics, and I would be reluctant for him to have them unless really needed them - he seems pretty well in himself.

When DS was recovering from bronchiolitis we would sit with him in the bathroom with the shower running. Also raising the head of the cot can help.

IIRC a good tip is to keep the bedroom humid at night. We had a humidifier (you can get them cheap from Argos) or you can put damp towels over a warm radiator.

I second the shower idea. I was recommended this by a good dr. The idea is to get the bathroom as steamy as possible and sit in there for about 20 minutes.

Nice long steamy baths, a karvol diffuser in the bedroom, and making sure that its not too cold in the bedroom at night all help. Going swimming also helps as its so humid it really helps to shift things