Ticks/Habits

[Disney4us2]

This started Thanksgiving night. DD had a sore throat, then into a cold. Took a week to clear up. She has been coughing ever since. Took her to the doctor begining of Dec., then again last Monday and again this Monday. Last week she was given meds for allergy symptoms. Today was with her regular pediatrician. Her doctor said she is ok, that the cough is just a tick or habit. We got an Rx for antibiotics to clear up anything lingering as well as an Rx for Singular for allergy/asthma. DD is not wheezing, lungs are clear. It is just this irritating cough that sounds like a barking seal. The only time she does not cough is when she is sleeping.

The other thing her doctor recommended was chewing gum or hard candies at school. I guess the reasoning is that she will be aware of chewing and forget about the coughing. I asked at the school when I picked up her homework and that said all they need is a doctors note. Cool.

The Singular worked before when she had coughs like this. I put it into her mind saying that "this is the medicine that stops your cough". Hopefully that will work.

Has anyone else had this experience? I remember hearing in the news about the girl who couldn't stop sneezing. I'll take the cough over that anyday.

[princess mommy]

This sounds somewhat like what my daughter went through last year when she was 10. We tried several rounds of antibiotics too. She had Zyrtec-an over the counter med as well as Singulair and every night before bed, she sprayed her nose and blew it using a saline spray. We cleared a lot of stuffed animals out of her room and made sure her bedding was laundered frequently in very hot water. The cough persisted. She started snoring loudly and we finally took her to an ENT and her adenoids were very enlarged. She had an operation for removal or her tonsills and adenoids and has been off her meds since. She has not been sick, had a cough or snored once either for over a year now.

[RedSoxandPatsfan]

My Daughter (11.5) has had the same thing twice. '08 & '09 both in the late fall. Doctor had us try Claritan. That didn't seem to help. Both times she cleared up on her own after a while.

[Disney4us2]

This sounds somewhat like what my daughter went through last year when she was 10. We tried several rounds of antibiotics too. She had Zyrtec-an over the counter med as well as Singulair and every night before bed, she sprayed her nose and blew it using a saline spray. We cleared a lot of stuffed animals out of her room and made sure her bedding was laundered frequently in very hot water. The cough persisted. She started snoring loudly and we finally took her to an ENT and her adenoids were very enlarged. She had an operation for removal or her tonsills and adenoids and has been off her meds since. She has not been sick, had a cough or snored once either for over a year now.

First of all to Intercot

Jessica has tons of stuffed animals. They are mostly contained in the hefty big bags that seal. She has not been sleeping with any either.

She was on the singulair before for the same thing and it seemed to work back then. Thanks for the suggestions, I will try the saline and see if that helps.

[RockinRobin]

I have had the same cough off and on since Sept, mostly on. I have been to the Dr 3 times and I still have the cough. I am no kid I am 66 years old and am very sick of it. Right now it is mostly at night so I don't sleep well. It is a very dry cough and nothing else. I went for a chest x-ray yesterday but I don't feel there is any thing wrong with them. So who knows what it might be, maybe it will go away when the weather gets warmer.

[Dizneydreamin']

My DD6 has the same thing. When she was four, she had her adnoids removed and tubes put in both ears. She also has been diagnosed with asthma. Our ped said that the cough is her body's attempt to get more air in the lungs. She uses an inhaler at home, but not yet at school. She has also taken Singulair before, and during the Spring, Summer & Fall she takes Zyrtec. Currently, she is fighting an ear infection (tubes fell out) and bronchitis (sp?). The inhaler really seems to help her with the coughing (that and Musinex). I understand your frustration and hope that your DD gets well soon.

[brownie]

I had a cough that wouldn't go away a few years ago. I had it all during our trip to Disneyland which wasn't a lot of fun.

I saw my doctor and he put me on an anti-inflammatory which cleared it up. He said the cough was probably causing irritation which was causing some swelling which was causing me to continue to cough (vicious cycle, huh!) Another option to consider, though.

[Disney4us2]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I gave DD some motrin and will do more before bed. The cough is the same today.

I went to school to pick up her homework. Her teacher was there, so I asked her (being a concerned parent) if everything was ok at school. Her teacher said that my DD feels lost after being absent and that she needs to be in school. She also said that she may have to hold her back.....WHAT!!!! My DD does ok at school. I won't let that happen. The teacher kept saying that DD needs to be in school, and that she doesn't mind her coughing. I was just looking to see if there was an emotional cause at school for her coughing.

I was just so stunned by what I was told. I guess the next time Jessica is sick, I will just send her to school with a note saying that I didn't want her missing any more school.

I may look into home schooling if there are going to be any problems. In the mean time she goes back to school tomorrow.

[pink]

I will never understand; the schools say to keep children home if they're sick and the whole country (or world rather) is in uproar about the swine flu and yet a teacher would rather have a sick child go into a school and contiminate everyone else and even threaten to hold a child back because they were sick for awhile? WHAT?

I don't understand.

As for the cough, my brother (13) last year had this cough after having a little cold and it went on for 2 months. Like your child, he would never cough in his sleep. We started to notice that he would only do it in situations where he was stressed or nervous. We started giving him medicien to cure the cough and would always tell him this will make it go away just like you did with your child, it worked.

It will go away eventually.

[Tinkermom]

I have had the same cough off and on since Sept, mostly on. I have been to the Dr 3 times and I still have the cough. I am no kid I am 66 years old and am very sick of it. Right now it is mostly at night so I don't sleep well. It is a very dry cough and nothing else. I went for a chest x-ray yesterday but I don't feel there is any thing wrong with them. So who knows what it might be, maybe it will go away when the weather gets warmer.

I am a former RN and I was just wondering if you have been checked for acid reflux? Sometimes a mild case of acid reflux can cause a cough like you describe. It usually does tend to be worse at night since you are lying down. If this is the cause taking something like Pepcid or a prescription reflux med can help a lot. Just a thought - might want to ask your doctor.

[Stitchahula]

My son has had this for years. It comes and goes. We believe it's a post nasal drip cough. From cold, allergies whatever it is he drips for what can be a month or so at a time then it clears up. He sounds like a cat coughing up a furball. His pulmonologist has suggested allergy meds for when this happens to try to "dry" up the drips.

[mdhiggin]

DD5 had a similar situation. Our whole family is allergy-prone. She started Pre-K this year and kept getting sick. Of course, I knew there would be some adjustment to the germs. She does have an older brother and sister who bring some home to her, but she has always been home with me until school. She kept her hands in her mouth with finger sucking. We finally had to put in an appliance to stop it because of all the sickness. She missed 10 days of school before Christmas due to sickness. It was crazy. She couldn't ever quite get rid of the cough. Docs said it was wheezing, and she had to use a nebulizer routinely and take singulair and flonase. The doctors didn't know how to make the coughing stop, so I asked my pharmacist who also sells herbal medicines. Due to my husbands B12 deficiency, I have been thoroughly educated on the benefits of vitamin and herbal remedies. Anyway, pharmacist recommended Children's ACF. It is only to be taken for about two weeks which is enough time to finish off the bottle. DD's cough was gone completely in a week and a half. Now, if she or my other children start to get a sniffle, I give them some Sambuactin (elderberry) and echinacea lollipops for a couple of days and that clears it right up. I used to be really skeptical about these types of things, but I've seen them work. It also makes me more comfortable that a pharmacist with her science background can help me out and I don't have to worry about mixing my herbals with Rxs the wrong way. We do still use the singulair and flonase but no more nebulizer, and she stays perfectly healthy.