Toddler coughing for two months

[DR91]

My almost 3 year old has had the usual onslaught of nursery germs this winter, luckily mostly just mild colds but we’ve never seemed to fully get over one before the next arrives.

He has now had a cough on and off for around 2 months, I’d say pretty consistently for 1 month. I feel like the cough in the day has got better (as in still there but less frequent) but at nighttime we’re still totally stuck, he’ll be settled for a few hours and then once he starts coughing he will be up and down for hours having quite bad coughing sessions (to the point of wretching at times).

We’ve tried every trick in the book to help him.

We went to the docs last week who asked us to wait a few weeks to see if he improves by himself, otherwise she said they may refer him for a chest x ray, but I’m wondering why they’d offer this and what they’d be looking for. He displayed like this a few years ago when he had a chest infection and antibiotics sorted this out, so I’m wondering why this hasn’t been suggested this time.

Coughs can go on and on unfortunately as inflammation can take ages to go. I can only think the other markers of infection aren't there and they're trying to save costs. But you can ask for a referral to a paediatric respiratory consultant or pay privately to see one and they can check everything. GPs are notoriously ill informed about how to treat viral wheeze etc long term.

post viral wheeze

My son 3 and a half and has had on-and-off cough for a year and a half. He’s had ear infection, chest infection, tonsillitis which were sorted out with antibiotics but with his coughs, we can’t catch a break before the next cough arrives which usually takes no more than 3 days from the previous one. I’m exhausted and sleepless and feel crap I don’t know what to do or how to help him. GP is crap and even the hospitals are crap and I just cannot afford to see a private doctor it’s ridiculous.

When my DD started nursery she coughed non-stop for nine months. I'm only surprised you haven't seen this before!

Go to go. My child's asthma presented as a cough.

I've literally just got back from the GP about the same thing. I said I was concerned in case something was stuck in his throat etc. They acted as if I was a nutter, I wish I hadn't bothered.