Chronic Cough in My 20 Month Old....

I had chronic bronchitis for many years - like your son, I did have weeks when I had no symptoms, but it was a "wet" cough like you describe. It was worse at night due to lying down and having things drip down (post nasal drip) and also most health professionals will tell you bronchial things are worse at night. I have a friend who had terrible allergies, and her son was a lot like yours at 1 year of age. He spent a year being sick for 3 weeks, semi-well for 1 week, then sick again. This went on for a year. Interestingly, all 3 of us have become virtually symptom-free (and almost entirely medication-free) by boosting our immune systems without medication.

And I think the doctor is right not to force your child through a lot of invasive tests - your only option would be medication anyway (including nebulizers and so on), and you really have to question whether all those pharmaceuticals and chemicals are good for your child long-term. Meantime, they are only addressing the symptoms anyway, and not the cause.

The cause is not day care and germs - we are all exposed to germs all the time anyway. The cause is a somehow depressed immune system, which is so common in most of us that the AMA said in 2002 that our diets are insufficient to give us the nutrients we need. In all of my work in the past six years, including training seminars with top pediatric nutrition experts and experts in human genomics (dealing with immunity and other issues), I have heard nothing to contradict using the new discoveries in epigenetics and super-foods to bolster the immune system. This sub-cellular nutrition level has completely surpassed the "macronutrient and balanced diet" philosophy of the 60s and 70s and the "micronutrient & individual vitamins" philosophy of the 80s and 90s and early 2000s. None of those worked, and we are sicker and with more chronic and auto-immune diseases than ever.

I'd pursue that before I'd do anything more medical, and I wouldn't get rid of the cats & dogs. You still have so many environmental influences that you cannot avoid - it's a shame to see people getting rid of pets, pulling up carpets, cutting down flowering trees, and going through incredible elimination diets, when it's just not necessary. Maybe a few people have gotten relief, sure, but at what cost? The financial implication, the incredible vigilance about reading labels and being "everything-free" in the diet - and still not getting major relief for most people. It's not productive. And it's not backed by any of the new research over the past 15 years.

Asthma. Has he tried nebulizer treatments with Albuterol? You would not think cough as asthma but it is more common than you think. I worked with a pediatric pulmonologist. You do not need invasive testing. A nebulizer trial would tell quickly. Might want a second opinion.

Allergic to cats and dogs is a good possibility.

Welcome to mamapedia!

Have you had him tested for allergies?? not just seasonal but environmental?

Animal dander can be VERY hard on a child. He might be allergic to them.

How often do you change your filter on your Heating and AC unit?
How often do you wash the curtains or blinds in his room?
Do you have hardwood floors or carpeting?
If you have carpeting - how often do you vacuum and clean them?
Look around your home...do you see a lot of dust? or even dander flying through the air when you hit a pillow?

All of these things can contribute to poor pulmonary function in a child. Demand that your son be tested for allergies...seasonal - ALL Of it - environmental, food, pollen, dust mites, all of it...you live in Michigan....lots of water around you right?

Find another doctor who will do more testing to find out what is wrong. An almost 2 year old with pneumonia three times in his life is NOT right. And a chronic cough? NOT right. Keep fighting mama...you are your son's advocate.

It may or may not be allergies and post nasal drip. I have a friend who Dr's swear she has asthma but tests do not indicate that.

She just finished a couple of appts with a GI and her self diagnosis if re-flux was correct. She wakes at 5am like clockwork coughing her head off. Per the GI test, it is reflux, NOT allergies or asthma as she was told.

This could very well be allergy related or be something like reflux. My husband will wake up coughing at 2am and his is allergy related.

Seek out another Dr and opinion to get properly diagnosed. My friend was taking asthma meds that she didn't need.

I personally prefer to stay away from RX and our family has been healthy enough to do so for many years. We are not into the extra supplements with unknown additives either.... we believe in eating right from the start.

When they are so young and not able to communicate, it is hard to diagnose this symptom, there are just a lot of possibilities.

I know EXACTLY how you feel. Our daughter was the same way for years, it was not until she was 2 1/2 that they decided to call it asthma. When she was almost 3 she ended up in the hospital with pneumonia.

Once we had the diagnosis we were on a plan to see how we could help her. I then took it upon myself to make sure our home and her room was a breathing sanctuary. I will message you the info, I have posted it on here so many times, I am sure the moms are sick of seeing it.

You WANT a correct diagnosis, stay on it, keep a journal or on the daily calendar, write down symptoms, sleep patterns your child's activities AND the weather and pollens that your local news station reports.

This can be a guide to see if something stands out to you or your doctor.

I would go to an Allergist preferably in an office that has an ENT, too. They can work together to be sure that he has no deformity in his nose/throat, no allergies and perhaps even a adenoid infection that won't go away.

Good luck!!