Toddler who coughs every day and night

[BuildingBlocks1]

Just that really. Very dry, barking cough for several weeks now for DD (2.5) has a week off then starts again. Last night for the first time in over a month she didn't cough ONCE then tonight there's already been 6 occasions in 20 minutes. It really gets me down. Blue & brown inhalers have been being used the last 17 days, not really sure if they're doing anything. She's always been one to suffer with barking coughs that linger but if it's not responding to inhalers what on earth can it be. So bloody distressing. Doctors app booked but not for 2 weeks & I expect I'll just be told 'it's viral...'

Croop or asthma? Very distinctive sound…
I work with a child whose coughing is triggered by candles, air freshener, perfume, you name it!

Exercise triggers it, the slightest cold too.

They have scarring of the lungs due to covid!
Make sure they take their daily vitamin gummy or vitamin d.
Steam baths
No dust in house whatsoever, plenty fresh air too!

Hi.
You could try stripping down her sleeping environment and seeing if that makes a difference. My son is atopic so allergic to dust mites.
He had terrible eczema too.
I got rid of most of his cuddly toys freeze her favourites to kill the mites. Blinds instead of curtains. I had wooden floors , no carpets.
Hoover mattress, under bed and dust room frequently (with open windows)
Change bedding and PJs often.

It really helped my son.
Its a lot of faff but if it works, it works.

Good luck.

Chances are it is 'just viral' but that doesn't make it any less upsetting

Adding to the above poster too, making sure bedding is steamed and boiled-washed 60-90 degrees makes a huge difference to breathing in dust mites all night long!

@TheFirstMrsDV

Hi. You could try stripping down her sleeping environment and seeing if that makes a difference. My son is atopic so allergic to dust mites. He had terrible eczema too. I got rid of most of his cuddly toys freeze her favourites to kill the mites. Blinds instead of curtains. I had wooden floors , no carpets. Hoover mattress, under bed and dust room frequently (with open windows) Change bedding and PJs often.

It really helped my son.
Its a lot of faff but if it works, it works.

Good luck.

Chances are it is 'just viral' but that doesn't make it any less upsetting

Yes I did similar for my ds when he was young. I still do it occasionally when he’s ill.

Thanks all, sorry you've been through it.

I am leaving her window open a smidge all day. We live on a farm so plenty of fresh air. I'm hoovering her room before her bed time every night, taken all soft toys out (except for one Mr Fox who she will not be parted from) damp dusted her room. Will change her bedding tomorrow. I think the cold weather has made it worse unless it's coincidence. I just don't understand how she can go all of last night with no coughing then tonight it's back. I wonder if the inhalers are doing anything at all but also don't want to stop them.

It is a very distinctive cough, loud & barking, croup like in sound, but not croup. She's happy in herself & growing, eating etc it's just so distressing to hear day in day out, I can't take her to soft play as she'll just cough the minute she starts running/rolling about.

Thanks again.

Do you have pets? My Ds has had a terrible couple of years with breathing issues & a troublesome cough, needing several hospital visits & steroids. Eventually we had a blood test along with other tests. Turned out he was allergic to our cat, but symptom free until age 4. Carpets are terrible for trapping allergens.
Personally I would get her seen sooner than later if she's coughing this much. A&E If she vomits due to coughing & blue inhaler is not relieving it.
Try calling asthma UK for advice too.
You should have an asthma plan too, with advice on when to act if inhaler isn't helping.
Good luck, I feel your pain.

Yes, we had a allergy test quite early on.
The one where they scrape the arm and put allergens on it.
He reacted strongly to dust mites, animals and pollen.

It helped us manage his issues.

The cold weather is not likely to be a coincidence. It does make things worse. I agree that you need an asthma plan
I don't want to be alarmist but asthma in little ones can escalate quickly. My other son has had very quiet attacks. I picked him up from nursery once. He wasn't feeling well but looked ok. It wasn't until I was buckling him into his car seat with my ear near his chest that I realised he was wheezing really badly. He was on a neb in half an hour.

Has anyone checked her inhaler technique? Just to make sure you both have the hang of it, they can be useless if not used properly (it took us ages to get it right)

As a severe asthmatic yayou are describing how I have been for weeks.

Speak to the gp, explain it is urgent and uncontrolled asthma. Ask for montelukast. It doesn't work for everyone but I have gone from coughing like mad to barely coughing at all. Reduced all my asthma meds back to normal doses etc.

Hope it calms down for you

@TheFirstMrsDV How scary for you. Totally agree it can escalate, my brother suffered terribly when he was younger.

DD doesn't actually ever wheeze with this 'suspected' asthma. I spoke with the asthma nurse today who described it as 'cough variant asthma' (potentially) which is where the only symptom is a cough. I will look in to allergy testing, anything to make me feel less helpless.

I could have written your post. My 2 year old has an almost continuous cough all the time esp in winter. She has it last week then it seemed to get better and today has been worse again. Sounds like croup and barking but not croup. I can’t get anywhere with the doctors - managed to get her an appointment last week but they said it was viral. Otherwise when I’ve called before they’ve been quite dismissive telling me not to wrote you it’s normal for young children to have lingering coughs. Neither of my older children ever had a cough like this though. I also find it very distressing and it makes me feel anxious all the time.

@BuildingBlocks1 hopefully she will grow out of it. In the meantime it sounds like you are managing as best you can.
Its horrible though. That winter cough would make me want to cry whenever he started up with it.
Fingers cross for you and your DD.

My boy's cough is more chesty than what you are all describing, but moving from cow's milk to oat milk has, weirdly, made a huge difference. He's gone from almost hourly coughing at night to nothing at all. Might be worth a try

Sorry to hear that you've been going through this for so long. My daughter at 3 had a Continuous cough for 6months. Gp said it was viral too! I tried most of the things people have suggested. I found that steaming worked best for her. I sat her on my lap and did it together. Steam with Olbas oil or vicks morning and evening for a few minutes and gradually reduced it over time. It worked well for her and i still do it now when any of my 3 dc come down with a cold/cough.

@choochoomama sorry to sound a bit thick but how does steaming work? I've always heard of it but never tried & just relied on Olbas oil drops for unblocking noses but the steaming sounds much more efficient!

My DS had childhood asthma that he seems to have outgrown now. I found a wet towel on the radiator in bedroom really helped his cough

As I understand blood tests for allergies are the most accurate.
You said you live on a farm? If it's possibly something he's allergic to there then it's well worth getting thorough testing done. My Ds has a confirmed cat allergy, but farm visits cause him flare ups, though I don't know exactly what it is that he's reacting to.

You can add a few drops to a facial steamer that you can buy. Or i just sit over a bowl of hot water (be careful) with 3-4 drops of olbas oil and inhale. With my child on my lap i cover our heads with a large blanket for a few minutes. For my older kids, they sit on a footstool on the floor and do the same.