cough

[Kookie1]

My dd2 (2.5) has had a persistent cough for ages. Just as we thought it was going away - she's been OK for the last week or so - it reappeared with a vengeance. Non stop coughing all day. It got so bad we took her to A & E and she was given piriton and a nebuliser - but they had little or no effect. Her chest was apparently clear so no antibiotics were given. We just got sent home and told to keep giving her piriton for a further week. But how could it be an allergy if anti-allergy medication doesn't work? This doesn't make sense. If anyone can make sense of this for me I would be grateful

I assume no-one in the house smokes?

Do you have any pets?

I would suggest seeing your GP and asking for a referral to a paediatician with an interest in chest problems, esp. asthma.

Did anything in the house/environment coincide with the recurrence of the cough?

No, nobody smokes and we don't have pets. We have wooden floors and I vacuum and wet mop often. What I don't understand is how it could be asthma if neither piriton (an antihistamine) nor an inhaler worked. Is it possible that it could be allergy-related despite the above?

Kookie, my dd1 and dd2 did this as a reaction to milk. With dd1 I could not figure out what was causing it by the time I had worked it out she was deaf ( not permanently - don't start panicking!!) We cut out all milk and convinced gp to put her on a 1 week course of childrens sudafed. By the end of that week the coughing had stopped and she could hear. We had her retested and her hearing had gone from 60-80 decibels to 20 which is amazing. She stayed almost entirely off milk for just over 2 years. We are now reintroducing and she is 5yrs old. DD2 had a less severe reaction, but as soon as the coughing started we took her off milk and at 3.5 she is mainly back on it.

Obviously this may have nothing to do with your dd, but piriton & inhalers didn't work for mine either. I think I would be tempted to cut out milk for a couple of weeks to see if it had an effect, but I would chat with your gp / hv 1st to check any health implications as I don't know your daughter.

In answer to your last question, Yes it can be allergy related in spite of the above.