Persistent hacking cough in four year old

[staranise]

DD1 has often had a cough off and on for a couple of years - not on her chest not wheezing, but quite hacking. Apart from that she's rarely ill, lots of energy etc. But the cough has been getting worse over the last couple of weeks and is particularly bad at night where she coughs to the point of throwing up. We give her water, honey, calpol etc but nothing works.
Went to GP alst week who said it's not asthma but gave us a ventolin inhaler to help open her airways, plus amoxycillin (sp?) in case it's a chest infection (she thought not but DD had had temperature last week so it was jsut in case).

Coughing is continuing, at least one bad attack every night and sporadically thoughout the day.

Friend recommends removing the carpet from her room, ventilating the room. Any other tips or experience? I know it sounds minor for the sleep disruption is awful plus DD is really wracked with the coughs and looks so consumptive.

many thanks

sounds like asthma that is often worse on a night and is not always accompanied by wheezing. mine only bothers me on a night. ask for her doctors to give her a peak flow test. thats how they diagnose. im sure at four she will be old enough.

carpest are bad for asthma as it can be caused by an allergy to dust also steam helps to open the airways and clear the chest, leave her window open during the night, even in winter.

Dd had something like this a few years ago - the GP said it could be a symptom of asthma. He put her on an inhaler for a few weeks, with the idea that if it cleared up but started again when she stopped using the inhaler, it would be an indication that it was asthma related.

We did that and the cough did clear up, but didn't return when she stopped using the inhaler!

In your case I would take her back to the gp if it hasn't improved after the ABs and using the inhaler for a couple of weeks. I think it's normal for coughs to last for a month or so (mine always do, much to dh's irritation) but not longer than that.

would a humidifier help? I know nothing about asthma, there is no family hisotry etc of it!
Also, our road is not that busy but we are in London, it does have buses going up it and there is generally lots of traffic about. DD's room is at the front of the house on the road, could this be a factor?

Thanks again

yes humidifiers have been shown to help in asthma. if it is asthma you really need it diagnosing so that she can be allergy tested and you can work out the triggers.

the most common are dust, grass, pets, feathers and pollen. dry air irritates it as does stuffy rooms on an evening.

My dd is the same at the moment. She had a cough which was worse at night for about 4 weeks. It seemed to clear up for a couple of weeks and she now has it again. She is also coughing in the day as well now.

We have also tried steam in her room, ventilation, honey and olbas oil in hot water in her room.

I took her to the doctors this morning to listen to her chest which seems clear. He also think s it could be asthma or hayfever so we have come away with an inhaler too. I may just leave it for w ahile (she isn't particularly bothered by the cough but it can sometimes keep her awake for a while in the night)and see if it clears up on its own.