Chronic Cough at Nite What to Do?

Have they considered the possibility of reflux? She might be too young, but I was going to recommend a wedge pillow that would elevate her head.

Any chance it's reflux?

We've had a lot of coughs at night for varying reasons.

One of my children had acid reflux. She had a cough that would wake her at night. She had in the day too, but no where near as bad. She didn't show any other signs really. We were given meds to see if it helped, and it did so that's kind of how they diagnosed her. We also propped up her head at night.

Two of my kids had asthmatic night time cough. Not full asthma, no wheezing or anything. Just a dry cough at night. Inhalers helped and they outgrew it by school age.

Post nasal drip is a big one for us. Well after a cold has gone, post nasal drip will cause them to cough at night primarily. They can see totally well otherwise. My older kids get decongestant/antihistamines to dry it up from our doctor for this, but they won't prescribe them to our younger children.

For little ones, we do plenty of warm liquids, drink lots of water, moist air and propping up the front of the bed.

We've only been prescribed antibiotics for coughs if they had bronchitis or possible pneumonia. They were showing other signs though - fever, chills, very tired and lethargic. They weren't going to school or anything like that and they were coughing up mucus.

Good luck - I hope your little one is well soon

Chronic cough at night is sometimes asthma or chronic sinusitis. I went through this for months with my son years ago. Ask your doctor about these. Good luck

My first thought was reflux, as I read this.

Record her coughing at night. If it is croup, it usually only happens at night and the child will appear okay during the day at the doctor's office.

We put a vicks plug in in my son's room, he's 8 months old and has RSV, and it is amazing how much it helps him sleep at night!

First off, it's "night."

Secondly, after this amount of time, I would begin to rule out more common infections and look for simple causes. Don't immediately jump to the most unlikely diagnosis. Especially related to a dry cough.
Enterovirus 68 is going around. It does stick around for a long while, and seems to worsen at night. Your child's doctor can test for it. Allergic rhinitis related post-nasal drip can also cause coughing and throat irritation while baby is laying down. And while reflux could be a culprit, I'd find that unlikely, since it has only recently maifested symptoms.

A few ideas to troubleshoot:
When is the last time you changed your furnace filter?
What is the sleeping/night temperature in your house? Optimal sleeping temperature is 65'F and below. Too warm and the air is dry and causes irritation.
Don't overdo the Vicks. It's mainly for clearing congestion, but your baby isn't congested. A dry cough indicates irritation.
Is your home very dry? Furnace or woodstove going? Put a pot or two of water on to boil and add some humidity to your home overall.

Hylands is quackery. There's no medicine in it.
I don't usually agree with Gamma on anything medically related, but a nice steamy shower before bedtime is a great idea.
Only do Albuterol nebulizer treatments under the supervision of a prescribing physician.

Coughs can be caused by a lot of things, not just bacterial infections as someone suggested. Probiotics can have some benefit for bacterial imbalances in the digestive system, but many of them are in dairy products, which can cause more digestive upset and mucus secretions, which themselves can cause coughs.

I used to have chronic bronchitis, and even if there are not a lot of secretions (phlegm etc.) being coughed up, there is a cough spasm that occurs especially at night and when lying down. I used to have this for 3-4 weeks at a time, often 4 times a year. I finally figured out how to get rid of it, but it's miserable when it's occurring.

Sinus infections can cause post-nasal drip, and they often are present when there is no nasal congestion, so a clear nose doesn't necessarily mean anything. The mucus drips down and accumulates in the throat, causing coughing. If she's swallowing some of it, that can contribute to vomiting (and diarrhea, if that should show up at some point). It's possible that the antibiotics she's been given will help if this is the cause.

Reflux is common and often causes throat problems when no lower GI problems are evident. The stomach and esophagus can handle more acid than the tissues in the mouth & throat, so the irritation can be noticeable only in that area. Obviously, reflux is worse at night when people are lying down. If you don't want to do medications, you can use an effective children's supplement. It's highly absorbable so less is in the stomach at any given time, and that reduces what comes back up. It also boosts immunity. That's what I did to get rid of my bronchitis and my chronic stuffy nose. (I used the adult version.)

I agree with J.C. that vaporizers can work either way - more moisture, yes, but more mold too. Doctors will be split 50/50 on whether this is a good idea.

Put vicks on the bottom of her feet
Hylands cough works great for my kids
ask about getting a nebulizer machine w albuterol

A cough is a bacterial infection, so she needs probiotics that will put good bacteria in her body (probiotics work best when taken at night). Give her yogurt w/ live active cultures, too. I also have a lingering cough that won't go away, & I am taking a probiotic. I also need to take colidal silver in a nebulizer. You van google home remedies for a bacterial infection. A lot will come up. Good luck!

Don't give your baby yogurt as a treatment for the cough (it could possibly create more coughing and gagging depending on what the source of the problem is). Yogurt may cause more phlegm and consequently, more coughing.

Please do record the coughing episodes as another mom suggested, and then bring that with you to the doctor.

This cough could be related to many different things or a combination of things: reflux, allergies, asthma, to name a few of the common culprits.

Please have her checked again, and if you are not getting the answers you need, seek a second opinion.

J. F.

Some viruses love warm mist and grow and are happy and some viruses love cool moist air and warm moist air kills them.

So I'd see if a warm steamy shower helps her do better or seem to make it worse. Then if you are using a vaporizer you can decide if the warm mist is helping or making it worse.

We typically only use a mist humidifier. This is the one where it doesn't have a filter of any sort and you can see a stream of mist coming out. We don't have it on high either.

Could it possibly be an allergy to something in her room?

I know pediatrician will tell you to run a vaporizer but the first thing an allergy doc will tell you is to trash the vaporizer since they can breed mold. If the carpet gets just a little damp from the water vapor it will be a prime breeding ground for mold which could definitely be the culprit of your daughter's cough at night.

We just ended a round of colds that ended in cough as well. You have a vaporizer for medicated breathing treatments or a humidifier? I'd talk to the dr. about albuterol treatments. It would be hard to get her to breath them in, but you can just put the mist near her nose. We used to do this while reading books to our babies at this age. One parent read book, other parent hold breathing treatment near by.

I have tons of leftover perscription albuteral and use it whenever I get a dry cough that sort of irritates the lungs and creates more unproductive coughing. It really relaxes the cilli that get irritated and brings relief so you can sleep. My husband is an M.D. and has no problem using these treatments when our young children have needed them. The key is to invest in the vaporizer and don't get talked into a canister. Canisters administer too much medication into the body with minimal results where you need them. And albuteral causes the gitters, so you really want to use as little as possible.