my daughter's night cough drives us mad!

Asthma with stridor can manifest irself as a croup or barking type kind of cough.

Try baby Vicks vapour rub on the soles of her feet. Sounds completely crazy but it works like a charm! Slather her feet in it and put some socks on her. Just remember to wash it off in the morning so she doesn't go sliding everywhere!

I would go and see a different doctor and get a second opinion, might not be an allergy? I took my son to the doctor recently and his persistent cough turn out to be bronchitis, after a couple of days on antibiotics he was much better and the cough has almost gone.

Prednisolene is a corticosteroid and this type of steroid is naturally produced by the adrenal gland in your body anyway to keep infections at bay... it is basically prescribed to reduce allergic-type reactions in your body... it's only recommended for short term treatment and has immediate effect (which is why OP noticed the immediate stopping of the cough) Singulair on the other hand is a leukotriene and is basically used as a long term prevention of asthma triggered by allergies...it only works after two weeks of taking it daily so is more a preventive measure than an instant cure...

Interesting, as prednisolene is a steroid. It's relieved the irritation in her chest/throat

Although she was not diagnosed with astma the medication she's getting is actually astma treatment (Prednisolone and Singulair). And they worked wonders last night. We slept through the night, with not a single cough, hurrah! The only strange thing is that she peed alot at night, even wet her bed. Must be an effect of this medecine. Great news, this is why one goes to doctors and takes advice posted on here with a pinch of salt! The peeing could just be that it's the first night in a while where she managed to get a good nights sleep and slept deeply, don't read too much into that.

My DS seems to get more chesty coughs etc since being in nursery and we use manuka honey and lots of pure vitamin c. The vit c powder mixed in a little juice (it's very sour) is amazing....last night he was coughing, gave him a dose and a teaspoon of honey and we didn't hear a peep for the rest of the night. Also give him lots of fresh juices during coughs/colds....carrot/orange/ginger is a favourite and use extra garlic in his food and reduce dairy. Hope your DD gets better soon. We also use Vicks on back and soles of feet at night.

I also agree with Kiwispiers that coughs can take 6 to8 weeks to go away.

I'm wondering if she has a mild form of croup. Which is any virus affecting the windpipe and voice box. The cough can sound a bit like a bark. The most effective way of treating this is with steroid medication. My daughters had this recently and recovered quickly with some steroid meds. I do agree with the others, it sounds like athsma also. I'm not sure what the normal treatments are for athsma in one so young though. I wonder if there are paeds with specialisation in childhood athsma?

Most things are covered in the below but just wanted to make two quick points 1) the confusion with Vicks is to do with whether its baby Vicks or regular. Regular vicks contains camphor which is actually poisonous and I personally would use any camphorated products even on an older child. Baby Vicks has no camphor and is a much safer choice. 2) a simple viral cough can take up to 6 weeks to resolve, my son has had two of these 6 weekers and they have gone away without any intervention. A spoonful of honey given on its own can soothe the tickle, there is also a syrup called prospan which can help. If the cough persists more than 6 weeks then start to look into alternative explanations but odds are you just need to let her lungs recover.

i completely feel for you... we've been living with the same for yearssss and as a matter of eliminating items from our DD's environment we were able to reduce the night time coughing... it's basically a simple case of identifying the triggers and being prepared for them... DD's pediatrician had initially suggested Zyrtec and it definitely worked at keeping the cough at bay but that was only because it pretty much drugged her off to sleep (as any typical antihistamine does!) However, after her being on repeated cycles of this i took her to a specialist pulmonologist... one look at her and doctor suggested asthma (and here I was thinking that asthma patients only wheeze!! i had no idea there was such a thing as asthmatic cough)... so the pulmonologist went through the following tests: - inhalant allergy testing (she tested positive on the counts of dust & mites) - lung capacity test (tested positive to asthma) - typical physical exam (revealed dark cirlces under eyes, whistling sound in chest cavity... all typical signs of asthma) Anyway... she went on long term treatment of singulair and we resorted to the nebulizer with ventolin for any majoy attacks... two years down the line the nighttime coughing is completely under control... she is completely off all medication and only has to have the nebulizer on particularly bad days of very high humidity or dust storms (if she's directly exposed to it)... Do all the standard hygiene checks at home... - hot wash of all linen - deep cleaning of AC ducts (even if you dont switch them on) - full cleaning of the air purifier used in the room - keep away all scented candles/perfumes from the child's room - no soft toys/heavy curtains etc - air out all pillows, etc. I second the Vicks under the soles of the feet!! works wonders though i honestly have no idea how it works! I personally don't use the VICKS brand... we use a much milder version from Mustela called 'Soothing Comfort Balm' All the other recommendations made so far help too... from steam inhalation, honey, ivy leaf extract (prospan)... but the most important thing is identifying the cause of the coughing... supressing it will only give you temporary relief... hope your DD gets better sooon...

I agree with the other ladies, don't discount how good honey is. Research has shown that honey is as (if not more) effective as cough medicine. If you get Manuka honey with UMF it also has high levels of antibacterial properties which might help with the source of the problem, not just the symptoms. My children's pediatrician told me a good air purifier, not a humidifier, is the best thing for children's room. I've seen a few brands recommended on here if you do a search. I'd also try to find a doctor that actually looks for the source of the problem rather than just medicating...

Changed for Zyrtec yesterday and gave her goat's milk instead of NAN before bed. She only had one cough attack early in the morning, slept better. I've been already disappointed with homeopathic remedies before. I don't think honey would help against severe cough. Viks I did try on the feet and chest and back. It seemed that the smell irritated her even more. Just take her to a good doctor, the zirtec will be doing more than anything else, but you need to get to the bottom of why she is coughing and treat accordingly.

take half teaspoon Honey and add pinch of turmeric powder mix well. give this to your daughter before sleep at night . In shaa Allah she will be fine. It will work for sever cough. <em>edited by sunlight on 29/09/2013</em>

Dont judge me but Vix on the feet (especially the soles) with socks on.. It works a charm, trust me on this one. Works for adults so it should for kids too.

I agree strongly with the others who recommended honey. I usually give my boys a teaspoon of honey with a pinch of black pepper; it helps. Steaming will also help. My paed has told me to always apply vicks on the back and not on the chest (can't recall the reason she gave me but I do follow her). Hope she feels better soon.

Ok change doctor or go back and explain your concerns and in the mean time try old fashioned steaming several times a day, this is one of the best remedies for coughs and still advised by doctors now. Obviously please be very very careful with a two year old when steaming. Your doctor may well suggest some more tests and advise an inhaler or nebuliser for a while to help your DD or further treatment based on diagnosis. Don't smother her in Vix or add anything to the steaming or you could do more damage than good. hhmm.. so far it's not done any damage to DD *touchwood*. I take it as it's much cleaner that the rough water you get from the pipes in this country ;) If you read the contraindications you will see that you have to be careful with certain ages and if your child has certain chest conditions it is not advised as an actually worsen the illness. I use vix, have done for 40+ years but i don't smother it on and am more than aware how unpleasant it can be for a young child to have smothered on. At this point in time until a diagnosis is made steaming with nothing several times a day is the most beneficial and safest thing to do. Hopefully the OP has now taken her child to see a doctor. Rough water? has nothing to do with anything. [i'>"Infants and young children have airways that are much narrower than those of adults, so any increase in mucus or inflammation can narrow them more severely."[/i'> http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/avoid-applying-vicks-vaporub-to-babies-pediatricians-say-1.845457 edited by Lolacat on 28/09/2013 hhmm.. is that vicks for adults or baby vicks? Anyway OP's DD is 2 yo.. :D

Ok change doctor or go back and explain your concerns and in the mean time try old fashioned steaming several times a day, this is one of the best remedies for coughs and still advised by doctors now. Obviously please be very very careful with a two year old when steaming. Your doctor may well suggest some more tests and advise an inhaler or nebuliser for a while to help your DD or further treatment based on diagnosis. Don't smother her in Vix or add anything to the steaming or you could do more damage than good. hhmm.. so far it's not done any damage to DD *touchwood*. I take it as it's much cleaner that the rough water you get from the pipes in this country ;) If you read the contraindications you will see that you have to be careful with certain ages and if your child has certain chest conditions it is not advised as an actually worsen the illness. I use vix, have done for 40+ years but i don't smother it on and am more than aware how unpleasant it can be for a young child to have smothered on. At this point in time until a diagnosis is made steaming with nothing several times a day is the most beneficial and safest thing to do. Hopefully the OP has now taken her child to see a doctor. Rough water? has nothing to do with anything. [i'>"Infants and young children have airways that are much narrower than those of adults, so any increase in mucus or inflammation can narrow them more severely."[/i'> http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/avoid-applying-vicks-vaporub-to-babies-pediatricians-say-1.845457 <em>edited by Lolacat on 28/09/2013</em>

Ok change doctor or go back and explain your concerns and in the mean time try old fashioned steaming several times a day, this is one of the best remedies for coughs and still advised by doctors now. Obviously please be very very careful with a two year old when steaming. Your doctor may well suggest some more tests and advise an inhaler or nebuliser for a while to help your DD or further treatment based on diagnosis. Don't smother her in Vix or add anything to the steaming or you could do more damage than good. hhmm.. so far it's not done any damage to DD *touchwood*. I take it as it's much cleaner that the rough water you get from the pipes in this country ;)

Ok change doctor or go back and explain your concerns and in the mean time try old fashioned steaming several times a day, this is one of the best remedies for coughs and still advised by doctors now. Obviously please be very very careful with a two year old when steaming. Your doctor may well suggest some more tests and advise an inhaler or nebuliser for a while to help your DD or further treatment based on diagnosis. Don't smother her in Vix or add anything to the steaming or you could do more damage than good.

I don't know what to think any more... my 2 y.o. started coughing at night since we came back from vacation a month ago. Since 3 weeks we haven't been sleeping through a single night. She has sudden cough attacks so dry and strong, that she has to throw up sometimes. We were by the doctor, he said it's allergic and prescribed Aerius and Nasonex for the nose. This was 3 weeks ago and these don't seem to make this cough better. I tried other things: cough syrup, high pillow, humidifier, menthol oitment, saline spray, no A/C...nothing works! I just wonder whether someone of you had the same problem as allergies seem to be quite common in Dubai? I put away soft toys, old matrass and other things which collect dust from her room. Where else could I look for the allergen? Milk maybe? I only give her formula for toddlers in the evenings, no normal cow milk. Of course we'll see a doc again, I'm just afraid he won't be able to help... Dairy tickles the throat. Cut down on the number of scoops. Use baby vicks on her chest and back. What I also used to do is keep a bucket of hot water mixed with a big dollop of adult vicks next to her bed..

I second the honey rec. Try pure Yemeni honey if you can find it. It really calms the throat. Good luck.

Was at my wits end the other night with my little one coughing....ended up giving a teaspoon of raw manuka honey in warm milk....worked a charm, really calmed his throat, and he was able to get some sleep....so did Mummy. :)