Spent all weekend in A&E to no avail - desparately need advice

[emmywoo]

I have a 2.5 dd who for 3 weeks has had a really bad cough. She is coughing so much that she is brining up handfuls of mucas/phelgm and on occasions is bringing up what she has recently eaten. When to a&e on Saturday and saw horrid doctor who said nothing wrong with her adn sent us home!!! Got worse yesterday so went back and saw another doctor who advised that she has a virus and a build up of mucas at back of throat, no sign of chest infection which is good but advised only thing that will assist is steam. Put her in steam filled bathroom for an hour last night which seemed to help, no coughing but today is back to square 1. Can you please advise if you know of any other remedies that might help, she is not eating anything as keeps bringing it back and she keeps getting really upset everytime she coughts. (sorry for long thread) xx

my nephew used to get horrendous croup and steam was the thing that really helped. I'd keep that up but also make a GP appointment.

Nephew ended up having tonsils and adenoids removed and hasn't had croup since.

Place a wet towel over the radiotor at night (or a pan with streaming hot water but make sure she cant pull it down) this should help with coughing.

DS has/used to have these coughing fits too and the steaming in bathroom and towel in room was good for relieving

There is really nothing you can do for a virus other than steam, you just have to ride it out, i imagine it gets worse at night and you are not getting much sleep? have you tried medised?

If you are worried, ring nhs direct, they will advise you if you need to go to a&e or go to gp, the phone call will save you the trips out if there is no need to go

It doesn't sound like croup to me. In over 4 years of croup DS's has never been phlegm-y.

Steam doesn't work for coughs in our house though I'd give it a try if I were you. I always leave the window open though - cold air seems to help. People also recommend manuka honey.

Have you tried propping her up? I usually put a blanket under the mattress.

My DS has been coughing for 5 weeks now. I know how stressful it is and how exhausting lack of sleep is. We've been given inhalers but they don't seem to be helping either .

Good luck

thanks for your messages, cant give honey as we think she may be alergic as she went into anaphalatic shock last year and docs say either allergic to honey or a virus. we have been given inhalers but like you don't do anything. I have got her sleeping with me at the moment propped up on loads of pillows, i have been smothering her with baby vicks on her chest and back - it is just a pain that there is nothing out there that can break down the pheglm. We are all so tired and she is so miserable bless her, i just want my little girl back to normal.

What about your own GP?

been back to GP twice now and they said no chest infection and prescribed inhalers and said that if they didn't work we would have to ride it out!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Typical

Have you tried adult Vick? I too do wet towels on radiator but I put Olbas oil on them too. Keep air moist room well ventilated but not cold.

Both mine seem to have horrible coughs for about 9 months of the year. I find fresh air and sunshine (If you can fiond it) helps a good deal too.

Is there an asthma clinic that you can go to?

Better than pillows, which they can slide down, put a few thick books under the legs of the head end of the bed.

No consolation, but I have 2 that vomit with coughs (one has finally grown out of it aged 9)- it's just the way the cookie crumbles.

Steam/wet towels on the rad = only way to go, oh and a waterproof mattress cover.

DS is full of mucus, and normally gets very bad coughing at night. GP prescribed him Sudafed liquid to take at night to dry it up - totally amazing, he hardly coughs at all now, and gets a much better sleep.

Sudafed is OTC, but I think may have been affected by the changes in cold medicines for under 6's to prescription only. That said, DH just went and bought another bottle with no problems, so I'm not sure

Ok, do a good clean of her room. Take out her mattress and air it outside. Ditto with her quilt and pillows.

Make sure there are no mildew spots on the windowsill, behind her bed, etc.

Put on clean sheets. Raise the bed like others have said. She will probably slide down the bottom, no matter. Just try to ensure her head is propped up. That will stop the phlegm collecting in her throat.

Have you any eucalypus oil? If not then Vicks. Tonight give her a nice hot steamy bath with Vicks or 2/3 drops of eucalyptus oil. In her room, leave the window open a fraction. Put a steaming bowl of hot water with drops of oil/Vicks in it, just by her head so that she breathes it in.

If you get cough medicine, get a drowsy one that'll help her off to sleep. I know they don't work for the cough but they are useful in getting them to sleep.

Follow this routine for 3 days and you should see a marked improvement.

Also, get her some tonic to give her immunity a boost.

scrambledhead - I agree. Does not sound like croup as my sister had that very badly.

emmywoo - I am slightly concerned about the amount of phlegm and the time it has gone on. Our really excellent family GP always said if a really phlegmy cough does not disappear after 2 weeks there probably is a risk of secondary bacterial infection setting in and he usually gave antibiotics.

Sitting in an upright position while sleeping is certainly a good idea as is sitting in a steamy shower cubicle or bathroom for a while - both of which we do with our DSs.

I would go to the GP and tell him/her how long this has been going on for. Stuff like this should be visibly clearing up and not just dragging on and on without really getting better.

... sorry just to clarify I know the OP has been to the GP already but I think it worth going back and trying again, perhaps with a different GP in the practice.

You can buy humidifiers which I use with my kids - Argos sells sonic ones which pump little droplets of water into the air - they are really good at stopping the coughing.

I dunno ABetaDad. I've had the coughy phlegmy thing since Christmas on and off. It's going round, esp the cough. Parents at the school have been discussing it, saying how, after 5 or 6 weeks, their kids have STILL got a night-time cough.

But for peace of mind, you could get a second opinion from NHS Direct?

Sounds a bit like it could be whooping cough (often does the rounds these days without the whoop- but otherwise the same with vomiting etc - new strain so not protected against by vaccination). Ds2 had it and it took months to clear. I just used to give him a lot of water at night when he coughed. Was up every night with him from October to March when he finally managed to clear it. Drosera is the usual homeopathic remedy for whooping cough if you're into that sort of stuff, and it won't do any harm anyway.

here look a bit from the new scientist on the new strains of whooping cough.

Someone posted a link re whooping cough recently where you could listen to soundbites of typical coughs: does anyone know it? Might help the OP??

Sorry I can't remember what it was, would Google if I had time

dd2 also coughing and occasionally vomiting - ex refluxer, has very sensitive gag reflex now. Its horrid, sympathies. We use humidifier (helps a lot) and Medised.

abetadad, she has been to GP twice and seen 2 different A&E consultants.

She has 2 options a) accept that they are all correct in DX a virus, some coughs can last for weeks and weeks. or b) continue going until a different GP agrees with her.

She has stated that she has inhalers for her DD, but says they don't do anything - she doesn't say if she is using them regularly/correctly.

I think sometimes we have to accept that DC get sick, they sometimes take a while to get better. My asthmatic 4 year old had a really 'wet' cough for weeks, I took him to the GP twice at 1 week and 3 weeks in. He just got better, he didn't have a chest infection therefore he didn't need antibiotics.

Expectorant cough medicines can often make DC vomit according to my GP, whom I respect as a GP and parent.

I do hope your DD is feeling better soon.

I hope she feels better soon. Dd2 had a bad cough last week which started as bad croup, i posted on here as i thought dd2 had whooping cough, dd2 sounded like a sea lion, i spoke to her GP on the phone who told me it was croup. After a few days it became a lot looser but was still keeping her awake at night, i found medised helped her get to sleep and a lot of steam. In the end our GP gave her some antibiotics (not sure if the helped), she still has a slight cough but is now eating (she was off her food for a week).

whooping cough sounds

You need to keep your DD at home in a constant, warm temperature and giver her at least two long hot steamy baths every day to clear the mucus.

I would agree that coughs can go on for ages- whether whooping or just bog standard viral cough. I found giving ds2 lots of water to drink to help clear the mucus helped. And keeping him warm (and inside), and not too much running around in cold weather which would always set him off.

If you think something is wrong, you need to see a Paediatrician.

Is it a Children's Hospital?

A & E doctors are great at treating symptoms, but it may be an idea to ask for a 2nd opinion.