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Original poster

12MTH OLD COUGHING THEN SICK-HELP!!

20 replies

FimboCLAUS · 06/12/2004 10:06

Took ds to gp Friday as he has had a slight cold but the most horrendous cough. He gave him Otrivine Nasal Drops to dry up the cold and said his chest is clear. Now he has coughing fits which are so bad he is being sick. Anyone got any advice PLEASE?

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Original poster

FimboCLAUS · 06/12/2004 10:28

anyone please?

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TheHollyAndTheTwiglett · 06/12/2004 10:31

try to calm down

the act of coughing violently can still make my DS (3.9) vomit ... it's just an unfortunate reaction

however .. does he sound chesty to you? can you feel his chest vibrate when he breathes? .. you can take him back to GP to check chest again as even if there wasn't a problem to begin with, a chest infectin can develop

HTH

OnZephyrstdayofXmas · 06/12/2004 10:33

dd gets this everytime she gets a cold. The doc always says her chest is clear and theres nothing wrong but she coughs to the point of almost being sick because she cant get the horrible 'stuff' out of her chest/lungs. Take him back to the doc today if you can and get some anti-biotics for him

Hope he's ok :)

Gobbledigoose · 06/12/2004 10:37

I'm afraid it's just one of those things. DS3 who is 4 months was doing it all last week and DS1 who is 3.5 did it a couple of times last week too.

Don't think there's much you can do about that except give cough mixture and tons of water to help with the cough.

Original poster

FimboCLAUS · 06/12/2004 10:37

Thanks I am calm! Just feel so sorry for ds tho. Doesn't sound chesty at the moment but will obviously go to gp again if I think it is.

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Original poster

FimboCLAUS · 06/12/2004 10:42

Thanks Zephyr and Gobbledigoose-have tried various cough mixtures over the years with dd (6) but have never found one that actually works - she seemed to just get better with water and calpol. Unfortunately ds is not that keen on water and it is a real battle to get him to take it. Anyone any cough mixture recommendations?

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Gobbledigoose · 06/12/2004 10:44

FC - you are right - cough mixtures are rubbish so no, no suggestions. Like you, I just gave Calpol and tried to get them to drink lots of water. Mine don't like water either so I put a dash of squash in but just a little so it's really, really watery.

Oh, someone at nursery told me Benilyn is good but tbh, I don't think any of them actually shift the cough - just line the airways with goo!

tinyganghq · 06/12/2004 10:54

My ds (3yrs) has this too just now. He was 'sick' this morning upon waking. At first I thought he probably had a tummy bug, but it's really a nasty chesty cough thats making him gag I think.

Gravity seems to help, now he's up and about he's much happier. Could you raise the bed or cot up at one end to tilt your ds into a better position at night for sleeping (easier said than done, I know!)

I've never found any cough mixture to do much at all really; if it's very persistant then better let the doctor prescribe something.

MaryChristmas · 06/12/2004 11:01

My boy has a cough and cold at the mo and he seems to do well on Calpol and water and olbas on a tissue in his room at night with mattress raised.
We have tixylix, but to be honest I don't see how that helps. I think to a certain extent these things seem to supress it and not really tackle it, head on.
I'm also not keen on antibiotics, however if his cough does worsen I suppose a visit to the gp will have to be.

frogs · 06/12/2004 11:21

There's a tummy bug doing the rounds as well atm. 11-mo dd2 was copiously sick on Friday night, though must have gone back to sleep by herself, leaving it to fester till morning. Nice.

Unless he's being so constantly and violently sick that he could be getting dehydrated, don't worry. To make cot cleaning easier, make the bed up with alternate layers of sheets and old towels, so that you can just strip the messy layer off and find a clean one underneath. Putting a couple of thick books under the legs of the cot at the head end, and/or a folded towel under the mattress to keep his head raised can help too.

MrsBigDrumsADrumming · 06/12/2004 11:23

glad to have found this thread. was jsut about to start my own...

ds, 12 weeks, just redecorated my t-shirt again... I'm on shirt no. 5 for today already! He seems to have a bit of the snuffles with a light cough. Didn't think though it would be violent enough to make him throw up constantly.

Also noticed that he's producing an awful lot of slobber and bubbles. This has started since he's had his second lot of imms. Don't know whether it's related so would appreciate some input from all you wonderful mn's as I don't hold much on my GP or HV's oppinions... sorry to hyjack your thread FimboClaus

Had the experience with DD when I kept taking her to the GP because I thought she 'rattled' when breathing only to be told everything's clear... but THEN when she failed to put on weight and grow they put her through all sorts of tests, including Cystic Fybrosis because she's been so rattly!!! Thankfully she's just too bl**dy active that she burns off anything she eats (I wish I was like that!)

If your kid doesn't like water how about trying some camomille tea or sage tea? Gives the water some flavour and camo is good for inflamations and sage for sore throat... well at least it works for me

Original poster

FimboCLAUS · 06/12/2004 13:11

Hi Mrs BDAD-Thanks for camomile tea tip. Don't mind you hi-jacking thread at all. I have a dd (6) so you would have thought I would have all the answers, but sometimes it feels like I am a first time mum all over again as ds is so different to her from personality to sleeping habits to food to illnesses!!

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ItllBeLonelymumThisChristmas · 06/12/2004 13:37

FimboCLAUS - you could try Tixilix (not the right spelling but I can't think what it should be) for coughs. There are all sorts, for chesty coughs, dry coughs, night-time coughs etc. Cough medicines aren't really any good, and a chesty cough really needs to do it's job which is to remove the phlegm, but they do provide some relief sometimes and if you want to give your son a break from being sick, it might be worth a try. Otherwise, I would recommend keeping him upright as much as possible as when he lies down, the phlegm trickles into the back of his throat and makes the coughing worse.
Is he being sick all the time or only once or twice a day? The only consolation I can offer is that when he is sick, he should be bringing up lots of the phlegm, which you really want to clear from his system.
Sorry, he is going through this right now. Hope he is better soon.

Dior · 06/12/2004 14:29

Mine was doing this two weeks ago. He has an inhaler for asthma, and this helps him calm his breathing (he gets chesty with a cold). We also gave him the Tixylix for chesty coughs, as someone else suggested, which actually did seem to help, surprisingly enough.

It is horrible for them, poor little mites.

Original poster

FimboCLAUS · 06/12/2004 14:34

Thanks for suggestions. He is only doing it once or twice a day (on the way home this morning in the pram after DD to school so that was nice!) He has massive blue eyes and he keeps looking at me as if to say "what is happening to me mum stop it!" I just feel so sorry for him and wish it was me instead.

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ItllBeLonelymumThisChristmas · 06/12/2004 18:16

I've definitely noticed the cold air in the morning makes a cough worse. Perhaps someone else could take your dd to school tomorrow to give your ds a break?

Millie1 · 06/12/2004 21:00

My 12mth old had this a few weeks back (and again now) and GP prescribed Dimotane 2.5ml x 2 per day and a medicine called Calm 2.5ml x 2 per day (apparently it 'opens the airways) .... his chest sounded a bit rattley but he didn't have an actual chest infection. Both these really helped - especially the Calm which I was a bit skeptical about. Might be worth asking about. Hope he feels better soon.

singersgirl · 06/12/2004 23:42

Hi, Can't really add much except to say my now 6 yr old DS1 was always sick from coughing with every cold until he was about 4...He has finally grown out of it. I did take him to the doctor about it a couple of times and they said there really wasn't much we could do. DS2 (3) has been sick twice this week from an awful cough (very rare for him) and has now come down with a diarrhoea bug too, so there is a lot of nasty stuff out there right now. Commiserations and hope your DS feels better soon.

dancer77 · 07/12/2004 00:01

My ds (11months) has just got over cough and cold he had it for nearly 3 weeks. I thought he had a chest infection because he sounded rattly but he didn't although his throat was very swollen.Doctor gave him antibiotics and told me to give calpol if he had a temperature. His nose ran for nearly 3 weeks constantly and he coughed so much he would make himself sick 3 or 4 times a day, and wouldn't eat (which you wouldn't if you had a soar throat!) it's very scary. In the end he slept with me and dh for about a week because I was too worried to let him sleep alone. Every time he coughed he needed to sit up and couldn't do this himself. When he was 3 or 4 months old he had a really bad cough and cold I was convinced he had a chest infection and took him to the doctors 4 times, but he didn't and it eventually cleared up. The doctor told me if the stuff he is bringing up is clear his chest is clear apparently, but I would still take him back if it is because I panick!

Original poster

FimboCLAUS · 07/12/2004 11:01

Thanks for all your help. He is still coughing but slightly better today. I hope his is ok by Thursday as it is his first birthday!

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