My 5 year old has had an irritating dry cough for about 2 weeks now. For the past couple of nights he has coughed right through so in in understandable bad form in the mornings
The GP prescribed him an antihistamine but it isnt doing anything and there is nothing else the GP will do. Has anyone got any tips for things to sooth his throat and ease the cough? I have tried local honey which helped for the first few times but not now. Riley has just started school and I dont want him to have problems due to lack of sleep the night before...
My dh has been doing the same thing for about a month and nothing is working on the cough. We have tried benedryl and that helped a little at least it made him sleepy. My lemon honey cough drops seem to help some.
Get him checked for asthma especially if the season is changing.
We went on holidays (he was 2.5yr) down south in the winter (colder states here) and ds2 did this constantly for the 2 weeks we were away, when we got home it petered out, we did the cough syrup that only worked for a small time each night. The next winter year it came back but not nearly so bad, when I mentioned this to the Doc he said seasonal asthma, put him on ventolin and all is well.
Now ds2 takes his ventiolin mostly first thing in the morning and last thing at night when it's the coolest and that seems enough for him, just going in to and out of the colder air and temps. He does get hayfever but an anti histamine helps that.
Asthma is not only sport related and triggered by exercise, he just sat there, with a cough that had no mucus.
Another alternative is to put moisture in the air, as the room may be to dry?
Bilby was right to suggest to get him checked for Asthma. My son had the same problem. I took him to an Allergy Specialist who tested him & diagnosed him not only with Asthma but he is also allergic to mold & orris root ( found in perfumes,cleaning supplies,air freshner sprays,etc. ) Taking him to that doctor was the best thing I ever did for him!!! He had to go for allergy shots every week eventually down to once a month for about 3yrs. The Great news is he now no longer has to use an inhaler,nebulizer or get shots any more!!! The shots built his immunity up & it got his asthma under control! His asthma was allergy related. We still have the nebulizer & carry an inhaler in case of an emergency. We've been very fortunate that his Asthma has only acted up a few times when he was sick.
Also, Yes you need to keep the air in the bedroom moist!!! If it's dry it will irritate the throat!
Another thing could be whooping cough? My other son had it a couple years ago. It was a dry cough that didn't go away. You will know if that's it as it will get so loud & hoarse.
Good Luck & I hope the little guy feels better!
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Kathy, aka Bilby, is probably correct. My DGS is 4 and having the same problem. I haven't taken him to the doctor because a cough is the only problem he is having. When he awakens me in the middle of the night from coughing, I give him some Dimetapp, and Viola, he is fine. I would also suggest you give him/her some Mucinex to get rid of the phlem. That would also help. But, give plenty of water with it.
Along with having them checked for Asthma, get a humidifier in your house. My DH and I usually have ours running by the end of Sept. I suffer from year round allergies, was diagnosed in my early teens w/chronic bronchitis (my maternal granddad had Asthma) "after" we moved from a moist state to a dry state. My allergies are more severe when the moisture level drops and the dryer the air the more severe the cough and nose bleeds would occur - DH gets severe nose bleeds and sinus head aches... Since we moved back to a moister climate we really only use the humidifier during mid fall and winter. One of the reasons I agree with having the children checked for Asthma is that with dryer air children can have shallower breathing, esp. if they lay on their backs most of the night - this can also assist with children having their sinus clogged which can cause snoring or worse open mouth breathing - dry throats, and tighter airways.
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OK this is all making a lot of sense - I have Asthma and have had for 30 years I'm just so used to it that I didnt even think of that doh! I will definatley look into getting a humidifier, and i read that keeping a bowl of water in the room helps too? Riley was prescribed ceterezine for a while before we relocated to cyprus for congestion so it may be worth a try too...
KSJEn6891 - what you said rung true also , Riley has always gotten nosebleeds but I hadnt linked the two together. I have been having sinus problems again for about the same length of time riley's cough has appeared...
Does this mean I shouldnt keep windows open in the house at night time then? The weather is changing - mornings are fairley cool but late evening can still be quite stuffy with the windows closed. I wonder does this make a difference? We dont have AC...
Thank you for the support - we are all being affected by these sleepless nights
I have severe allergies and my grandson, who also has severe allergies and he has asthma, lives with me right now. He is the one who has the dry cough and sometimes nose bleeds. I treated his nose bleeds with Neosporin and cured it the minute he came to live with me. Now I know to get a humidifier. We live in a super dry climate. But, no matter what, I am not moving to a place that has lots of humidity and snow. lol
Oh I know what you mean! It is great now that we are in Cyprus because we can be up in the Troodos mountains in 20 mins and the air is so much fresher and seems to have more oxygen in it! We are thinking of moving up there when it is hottest next summer if we can do it. It is so much easier to breathe.
Stephanie, Neosporin is a triple antibiotic. When one gets a boo-boo, it helps it heal. You can get it in creamy or greasy, which is what I get. The oily one stays on better, in my opinion, and keeps the injury from getting dry.
Constant Dry Cough 
:pumpki nsg 
