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Original poster

miracle cures for night time coughing?

81 replies

mummylonglegs · 11/02/2005 14:09

Dd's got a horrible cough that's keeping us all up at night at the moment. She's 2.4 and although she's had this before this is the worst and has gone on the longest. I've tried lots of things: We've raised the cot at one end, she's got a humidifier to make the air moist, we've got a massive range of cough medicines (none of which do a damn thing), she's got an inhaler from the GP in case it's asthmatic, her room's well aired in the day.

Last night she started coughing at 11.30pm and didn't stop until 2am. Then she coughed again from 6am until she got up at 7.30am. Needless to say we're all knackered. In the day she's not coughing much at all. She's got no fever. This has gone on now for almost 5 weeks on and off but last night was the WORST. 'Normally' she sleeps through from 7.30pm - 7.00am so you can imagine how tired she is in the day. She also coughs during her afternoon nap so doesn't really manage to 'catch up' on sleep then.

Any ideas?

OP posts:

batters · 16/02/2005 09:16

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

mummylonglegs · 16/02/2005 09:41

Things have got even worse I'm afraid. Last night I got 3 hours sleep and little dd only got 6. She was coughing from midnight until almost 4am. I'm convinced now it's NOT asthma and am thinking of taking her to A&E and just forcing them to give her an x-ray. Do you think that's a bit of a mad idea? We're all SO exhausted now.

Schmauskin, we've been giving Medised at bedtimes now for almost a week. She goes off to sleep fine although coughs herself to sleep for the first hour or so. Then she starts coughing again after about 3 hours asleep and it goes on and on until she's usually sick and calls for us, then it continues well into the early hours. We've got the Karvol plug-in, a humidifier, raised the cot, got ventolin and steroid inhalers and every cough medicine in the book. Nothing's working.

OP posts:

foxinsocks · 16/02/2005 09:49

has she had this before mummylonglegs?

Maybe give the brown inhaler a week to work (so that you can't have the GP saying you didn't try it for long enough) and then go back and insist on an X-ray. I personally would also cut out all the other over the counter medicine as well just in case it's irritating her.

Sorry not to be more help. We found that dd responded better to the becotide without giving her the ventolin (which just seemed to irritate her more).

Dd has just stopped coughing at night after another period of about 2 months of constant coughing. I have no idea why it stopped but one night, she went to bed and didn't cough and that was the end of it! When she was coughing, it was horrendous. In fact, we had got so used to it that when our babysitter sat for us, she called us telling us that she was completely horrified by dd's cough and did she need to call a doctor!

Schmauskin · 16/02/2005 09:52

Im sorry I suggested stuff you have already tried. I wish you all the best, and hope you get that x-ray.

Original poster

mummylonglegs · 16/02/2005 09:52

Thanks foxinsocks. I also think the ventolin irritates her, or at least it makes her slightly manic so already thought to myself I'd cut it out today. The cough medicines we're barely giving as they don't do anything anyway so all she's been having is the Medised at bed times. I could switch that to Calpol again I guess because she's always been fine with that. I'm not a big medicine giver generally, we've just found ourselves trying things because we're at our wit's end.

OP posts:

Original poster

mummylonglegs · 16/02/2005 09:55

Thanks Schmauskin.

One of the strange things about this is that normally when she has a rough night she sleeps in a bit in the morning but she's also waking up way earlier than normal. She's worn out but strangely 'hyper'.

After talking to dp I think we're going to give it one more day and night and if tonight's as bad I'm going to take her to A&E just to get her checked over properly. They may say the same as the GP but you never know and if there's something we're missing that we could do I'd rather be doing it.

OP posts:

foxinsocks · 16/02/2005 10:08

good luck mummylonglegs, let us know how it goes. I know how awful it can be for the whole family when this happens so hopefully, it can be resolved.

bakedpotato · 16/02/2005 11:37

MLL, we also found that when DD's nights were disrupted by coughing and she was on all the inhalers, she was also much more irritable later in the afternoon and took longer to settle at bedtime and after waking in the night. it's awful isn't it, esp if you have a good sleeper to start with. oh i do sympathise.
in your shoes, i'd push your gp for x-ray appt anyway. i think there is a tendency to consign kids to the 'asthma' category and shove the inhalers at them and then assume that's it, problem is sorted, when it often isn't, because it's something else.

Original poster

mummylonglegs · 16/02/2005 15:40

I totally agree with you bp. Yes, the inhalers do make them manic and in dd's case the ventolin is having zero effect which I know as an asthmatic shouldn't be the case. And yes, dd's been diagnosed as 'asthmatic' about 3 times over the last 2 years, the first two being entirely innacurate - once turned out to be croup, once to be a chest infection. This isn't asthma I'm sure. I'm going to see how tonight goes and then take her to the hospital tomorrow. If I go via the GP it'll all just take an age to sort out and I do think this is a valid reason to take her to A&E, she's clearly not at all well and whatever it is that's happening is clearly becoming chronic.

OP posts:

suedonim · 16/02/2005 21:18

For anyone else whose children are hyper on ventolin - my dd was scooting round the ceilings on ventolin so the dr changed her to Bricanyl which I think is also called terbutaline. She doesn't get hyper at all with that.

Original poster

mummylonglegs · 16/02/2005 21:54

Thanks suedonim, I'll make a note of that!

Dd went to bed at 8pm and has been coughing ever since. Dp and I have been almost in tears listening to her, feeling hopeless, and dreading tonight. It's definitely to A&E tomorrow ...

OP posts:

misdee · 16/02/2005 21:55

ventolin increases the heart rate.

hope you getsoemthing sorted soon.

bakedpotato · 17/02/2005 10:03

any news?

Original poster

mummylonglegs · 17/02/2005 17:44

After a horrible night once again I took the plunge and took her to A&E which was a lengthy procedure as always but I'm so glad I went as they did a proper examination and an x-ray and she's got some inflammation on her left lung and an 'a-typical' infection in the top half of the same lung. So I'm home now armed with antibiotics and encouragement to keep up with the inhalers as apparently the lungs looked 'compromised' on the x-ray in the way asthmatic lungs would look.

Anyway, don't expect tonight will be much better, but the next few nights might be!

And let this be a lesson to all afraid of appearing neurotic by going to A&E, it is sometimes worth it. The doc we saw there said this would definitely not have cleared up on its own.

OP posts:

misdee · 17/02/2005 17:57

oh so glad your got seen at a+e. hope your dd goes on to make a quick and speedy recovery.

batters · 17/02/2005 18:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

bakedpotato · 17/02/2005 19:08

hope you're all feeling better soon. good on you for not waiting and seeing.

foxinsocks · 17/02/2005 19:14

Oh I'm so glad you got an X-ray. At least you now know what is causing the cough and have antibs which will hopefully work fairly quickly.

As for the inhalers, I really do rate that brown one. I know it will take a while to work, but once it does, it does seem to have a drastic impact. I too am fighting the asthma diagnosis (goodness knows why, but like you say, my dd's coughing doesn't seem like typical asthma to me) but I have to say, when she does have these coughing fits at night, if we up that brown inhaler, it does seem to eventually kick in.

Fingers crossed that the antibs work quickly. Glad you saw someone and I hope you all get a bit of peace and quiet now!.

Original poster

mummylonglegs · 17/02/2005 21:03

Thanks! I'll keep going with the becotide inhalers. Dd seems to find it an amusing thing to do anyway! She's utterly zonked tonight as missed her nap we were so long at A&E. So you never know ... I may be bright eyed and bushy tailed tomorrow morning!

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PrettyCandles · 18/02/2005 13:08

Crazy to say that it's great news that your dd has a lung infection! But it is good because now that you know what's causing the prob, you can also help her to get better. Good on you for going to A&E. Let's hope that the antibiotics and the inhaler do the trick.

Helsbels · 18/02/2005 13:52

so glad I read this my ds 6.5 months has had really bad cough since november. Exactly as you describe - racking, vomitting etc. Have been to gp twice, one lot of antibiotics before xmas seemed to clear it for a while but when I took him back (when cough returned) GP said chest was clear - will give it until Monday then its off to the hospital.

Original poster

mummylonglegs · 18/02/2005 15:21

Helsbels, I think there's a lot of chesty type viral things around and generally coughs are more likely to be viral than an infection. BUT when they go on and on in my opinion it's worth getting them checked out. Asthma isn't uncommon among very young children and does need to be watched.

OP posts:

suedonim · 18/02/2005 19:38

Glad you've got to the root of it at last. Sweet, undisturbed, dreams to you all!

Schmauskin · 18/02/2005 20:41

mummyloglegs you are a top mummy! So pleased you know what the problem is after that x-ray. Forgive me if this is something you've tried already, but I bought a Vicks Hot Steam Vapouriser yesterday (£24.99) and it has really helped my dd's cold and cough. It throws out loads of steam and the increased humidity seems to eased her enormously, just a thought...

Original poster

mummylonglegs · 18/02/2005 21:02

Oh, I do hope so, suedonim!

Schmauskin, we've had one of those humidifier (warm steam vaporiser) things for a couple of months. I think it does help but this time wasn't enough to really do anything.

OP posts:

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