# 3-year old who can't stop coughing



## TwinMom (Dec 27, 2001)

My 3-year old literally can't stop coughing. He gets about 2 seconds between coughs and is crying that his throat hurts. He's congested as well, so I guess it's a cold. I don't know what to do to help the cough. I've actually resorted to OTC medicines--I gave him Delsym for the cough and Motrin Cold for the congestion.

he just climbed inti my lap so now i'm nak. What are some good ways to relieve his cough?

Oh, I just gave him a spoonful of raw honey thinking that might help. He doesn't even want to nurse more than a few seconds. I feel so bad for him!


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## TwinMom (Dec 27, 2001)

I put Alec in the shower, thinking the steam would help, and while he was in there I noticed that his breathing looked really weird. His ribs were all showing when he breathed in, but his belly wasn't moving at all like it normally does. So I ended up taking him in to the doctor where he had a breathing treatment and started perking up. The cough medicine kicked in so he's coughing less. He took a bath when he got home (the kid loves water!) and is hopefully going to fall asleep soon.

If anyone sees this thread and has suggestions for the cough, I will welcome anything! I would much rather do something natural than the Delsym, but he does need some relief.


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## oceanbaby (Nov 19, 2001)

My ped recommended the homeopathic treatment of Pulsatilla for my kid's coughs, and it did help.

How about some throat coat tea? I personally can't stand the stuff, but ds likes it.

I know that sometimes natural black licorice, like the Panda brand, soothes my sore throat.

Have you had him tested for pneumonia? My ped was watching the baby breath, looking for the rib thing, as one of the signs of pneumonia, and it made me thing of that when you mentioned it.


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## TwinMom (Dec 27, 2001)

He ended up at the emergency room last night because the inhaler we had from the doctor wasn't working. He had two one-hour breathing treatments there and some oral steroids then came home with prescriptions for antibiotics and more oral steroids. I really hate to use medicines like that, but he needed it. When he went into the ER he was breathing 193 breaths per minute--that has to be incredibly hard on the lungs. They did a chest x-ray and found blockages in his lungs which could be where infection was settling in. Ugh.


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## surf mama (Jan 8, 2005)

My dd is getting over croup so I am reading for ideas too.

So far the things that help her are:
*steam in the bathroom
*sips of lukewarm herbal tea
*she perks up after eating protein meals like fish or boiled eggs
*I also bundle her up before bed and take her outside for a short walk around the yard (10min). It isn't super cold here and I read that the misty night air is good for helping them breathe....and my dd loves being outside so it cheers her up too.
*and I give her Tylenol at bedtime that helps her get to sleep. I tried going without it and she is just miserable and unable to get to sleep and stay asleep
*dd also needs me to sleep with her (she had been sleeping well alone in her bed until she got sick)

Hope ds gets better real soon! Wow, you have been thru a lot!


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## klstomi (Aug 17, 2003)

TwinMom said:


> My 3-year old literally can't stop coughing. He gets about 2 seconds between coughs and is crying that his throat hurts. He's congested as well, so I guess it's a cold. I don't know what to do to help the cough. I've actually resorted to OTC medicines--I gave him Delsym for the cough and Motrin Cold for the congestion.
> /QUOTE]
> 
> My 23 month old had a cough & runny nose for three months. After his ped practice put him on three diff courses of antibtiotics I got a second opinion. The new ped allergy tested him & turns out he has an allergy to the proteins in milk & egg whites. A little diet tweaking & cough gone! Your story just reminded me so much of mine because I had to resort to OTC every night to get him adequate sleep in the night. You might ask your ped. Good luck!!


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## kavamamakava (Aug 25, 2004)

To help speed his healing, you can use a humidifier or aromatherapy diffuser in his room at night with thyme and eucalyptus oil Lavender will help it smell nice and help him sleep too. Thyme is good for the lungs and respiratory system.


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## momsgotmilk4two (Sep 24, 2002)

Yuck, I'm sorry it turned out to be that







I thought "asthma" as soon as I saw this post because that is what happens to my three yr old and then I read that his chest was caving in and held my breath until I saw that you had already taken him in! I hope that it turns out to be a one time thing and not asthma. We struggle with ds's asthma and nothing natural has worked to relieve his symptoms, we are stuck doing breathing treatments during colds and now we are on Flovent as a maintenence med because his coughing became excersize induced as well as cold induced. In our case the cough wasn't like a normal cough that would get better with cough medicine and of course, you cannot use otc cough medicine everyday to treat a chronic, asthma induced cough. I do second the humidifier idea







We were told to do that along with our other regimen. In our case I know that it is not diet induced as he was receiving nothing but breastmilk when the asthma started. Good luck mama!


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## PikkuMyy (Mar 26, 2004)

Like Kari, I also thought asthma as soon as I saw your thread title. I've had asthma every since I was 3 and I've seen it in other children who cough to try to breath better. I did too. I'm sorry you ended up in the ER but I hope that good treatment will come of it and if that happens again, please have him evaluated for asthma. The ribs going in is a sign of his chest muscles pulling too hard to get the air in and is a sign of severe asthma (even if only temporary). When I can see my ribs pull in when I breath and I've been sick, I know it's time to pull out my nebulizer.

Good luck~!


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