Being driven crazy here...!

[suze]

It's the middle of the night in the UK...I've been awake the past two hours with my daughter who has the most persistent annoying cough ever! It's been going on 3 nights, I'm separated from her dad, work full-time and I'm soooo exhausted.


Does anyone have any ideas how to relieve the cough? Tried the cough medicine, propping her up on pillows, drinks etc. She's not unwell as such, just won't stop coughing. She's in bed with me cos she'll often v* thru coughing (i can deal with this, not contagious!!).


I've been awake for the past two hours, there's no let up. Need to be up in three hours for work. It's driving me crazy...I feel sorry for her of course but i'm getting desperate here. Any advice? Thanks.

[brina85]

try var rusa vicks or a vaporizer

[californiagirl]

The vaporizer is a good idea, my daughter has one in her room becaus of her asthma. Also, the only cough med I found to be effective is VICK'S formula 44 CF. Hope she gets better soon!!!!

[lizzo]

did you try a hot drink?



sorry thats the only thing i can think of that people haven't reccomended

[icicledreamz]

Halls maybe?

[crimgoddess]

suze- has she been checked for asthma?


I know that my brother and I both had it as kids (my brother's being so severe that he was put on steroids for awhile), and the way it first manifested itself was through a cough that once you start, is very hard to stop and catch a breath, to the point that it occasionally caused vomitting. We wer both given inhalers, and my brother was made to sit over a humidifier with a towel over his head. We thankfully both outgrew it (my last attack was when I was fourteen, and now I'm twenty-four).


I would bring her in to get it checked out if you haven't already...an inhaler may do the trick.


In the meantime, have you tried having her sit over a pot of hot water with a towel over her so she can inhale the steam? When I have a bad cough, I boil up some water with a little bit of lemon juice in it, and cover my head with a towel so I can breathe that in...it always calms it enough so that I can at least have a few hours of cough-free sleep.


*amber*

[suze]

Thanks for all your help here. I really appreciate it knowing there are people out there. Things calmed down in the end and we both got a bit more sleep thankfully.


You know, I do have a vaporiser, and usually have all the Vicks stuff in the house, but typical that the Vicks had run out and I also didn't have any of the pellet things for the vaporiser! I do have to get more organised!


I've tried the head over bowl, but she's four and as all you parents know, tyring to get a four year old to keep her head over a bowl of steam is not easy! Perhaps I'll try that before she goes to bed at night though.


The asthma thing is interesting...my son's asthmatic and he used to get a night-time cough. When the doctor listened to his chest, he could hear a wheeze. When he listens to my daughter's it's clear...does that mean she doesn't have asthma? She's like this off and on throughout the winter, every couple of weeks.


Anyway, thanks so much for all your comments. She's staying over at her dad's tonight so I intend to sleep, sleep and sleeps some more. My friend is covering my class this morning (I'm a Uni lecturer) so at least I can chill at home for an extra hour, then I plan to go shopping to stock up on vicks/vaporiser pellets/anything menthol...and ear plugs!


Thanks again!

[madisonsmom]

My son gets like that. When it gets to the point that I cannot control his cough I call his pediatrician. He usually needs a prescription cough medicine so he can sleep.


A cool mist vaporizer is a good idea to keep the airways moist but sometimes is not enough for that "tickle" in the throat!


Good luck!

[gubba]

My son has it now too and he too coughs till he V*'s. I was not up all night yet, but we wereback in October and we went to the Dr. finally and he told me to just let it takes its course. The cough he has today and yesterday is enough to make him feel sluggish and he has a little fever, so i gave him motrin and he seems better. I wish I had some great words of wisdom, but the vaporizer and keeping her propped up so the junk doesn't drain down and also if she can take cough meds it does work...my son V*'s those up, so I don't even try them anymore.


I am sorry for you and I hope this gets better soon. Kids get better faster than we do, so just know it will be over in a few days.

[aguerra29]

Your daughter may have mild asthma. Cold weather tends to exasberate the symptoms of asthma. She may also be allergic to something. I don't know how your heat it there i nthe U.K., but maybe there is dust being pushed through the vents causing her throat to get irritated. When I lived with my parents, I would cough all of the time. We had a cat. I am horribly allergic to cats. The true test for asthma is more than listening to the lungs. They need to do a air meter test to see how much air she can push out of her lungs. I don't wheeze, but when they did the test, the dr could tell I was not breathing properly and put me on asthma medication. Just some thoughts...

[x hannah x]

I remember having a cough like that on the plane from America - 9 hours non stop, lucky fliers... Anyway I had the flu at the time could that be what your daughter has? I found that honey helped alot, just a spoonful or twoon it's own and it kind of cools down your throat, so you cough with less pain and less frequency

[suze]

Thanks for the continued support and advice. In the UK, the doctors seem quite reluctant to prescribe anything for a cough, which can be annoying at times when both you and the child are desperate for sleep.


It's a weird thing really, she has no fever, or any other symptoms, just this damn cough. You hardly notice it during the day, but at night - ouch!! I think asthma could be a possibility and I think I'll investigate this. She's missing around two days school a week at the moment because she is so exhausted - I'm not one of these mums who chucks their kids into school if they're not 100% - and so something needs to be sorted. It's interesting that this usually runs with her from November to April - when the heating is on - maybe the air is too dry. I think I'll trya humidifier to see if that helps.


Anyway, she's at her dad's tonight so at least I can sleep! Mind you I keep looking at Hannah's avatar and it's making me hungry!! What does the word avatar mean anyway? Don't think it's in common usage in the UK!!


I'm rambling, exhaustion induced delirium. Thanks again for everything. I've only been a member here for a few weeks but already feel like I've got a whole new family of friends.[img]smileys/smilies_04.gif[/img]Hope everyone's day has been anxiety free. Suze xx