Toddler coughs - is medicine worthwhile? Vaporiser?

[pilsbury]

Hi guys

My 2.5 year old had a bad cold last wk which is nearly gone but we are left with a lingering cough that really disturbs her at night - coughing fits that wake her up several times a night which usually result in me sleeping in with her... She had this a lot last winter too though I assumed that was mostly based on starting new at nursery and catching lots of new germs...

My question is, has anyone found a cough medicine that works? There's conflicting advice online with quite a few people advising not to give small kids cough medicine at all?

And if not medecine, what else? Do those vaporisers work? Already putting Vicks on her chest and soles of feet, keeping her warm etc

Be interested if anyone has aagic solution :)

[colababe]

My son has had the same for the past 2 weeks just a cough now - argos do cheap room humidifiers, doctors told me to put a bowl of water underneath a radiator or wet clothes on the radiator to get moisture in the air

Or Vicks on the bottom of feet an socks ontop has been working for us, but it's getting better everyday I think it's shifting itself

[grabot]

We found the Karvol vaporiser plugin highly effective.

Correction. Looks like it is currently unavailable, although apparently the Boots equivalent is good.

[RenF]

We use the calpol vaporiser- but do also give cough mixture if the coughing is persistent (my daughter is 2).

I don't think it's particularly effective other than as a soothing thing and makes me feel like I'm doing something at 3am having been woken up for the nth time!

I also think that not having the room too warm helps (read this somewhere and found turning her radiator down a few notches worked).

Edited to add: actually the Calpol thing is a plug in menthol thing rather than a vaporiser.

[jennyh]

I've always been a big fan of vaporisers and have this one - http://www.argos.co.uk/m/static/Product/partNumber/3768851.htm?CMPID=GS001&_$ja=cgid:11009688545%7Ctsid:41370%7Ccid:147740825%7Clid:48708269825%7Cnw:g%7Ccrid:37283276465%7Crnd:11353673191002448062%7Cdvc:m%7Cadp:1o1. Has its pros and cons and you have to be careful to try and dry the walls after use or end up with possible damp and mouldy spots if you use a lot. Put some olbas or sweet thyme oil in. I've also started giving my daughter 2 pillows to elevate her head a bit more which can help.

Good luck! It is a particularly bad cough going around and seems to keep coming back! Every winter is a beast for illness in our experience and this is my daughter's 3rd winter in nursery!

[Strawbs]

I swear by the vicks steam vaporiser for coughs and then the boots electric vaporiser for colds, honestly couldnt live without them! the vicks steam vaporiser can make things damp so the following day I just run the dehumidifier and suck the moisture back out. Oh and I know it sounds strange but vicks on the feet with socks on seems to help too!

[Saffron]

You might find these interesting...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3869379.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7917188.stm

[pilsbury]

Yes I'd read those articles or similar before, hence why I was wondering if it was worth it... I've bought the Vicks vaporiser to see if that helps - do you put normal Vicks in it or something else?

Have tried the Vicks on feet thing, though forgot the socks so that might make a difference!

And I have a calpol plug in, but found it fairly useless (I too loved the karvol one, but has been discontinued..)

Thanks v much for all the advice!

[Saffron]

What do you think is causing the cough to persist/worsen at night? If it's drainage from the sinus causing upper respiratory irritation, then an antihistamine would be better than a cough suppressant. I can't remember the brand we had last time my LO had this problem, but it was just a regular children's liquid antihistamine from the local pharmacy, nothing special.

Also, the airways can become hyper-responsive after an infection. So, things that don't normally make your child cough might now be making them cough since the airways are temporarily sensitised. For example, if you've been playing outdoors, pollen, mold, and pollution can settle in the hair. So wash your LO's hair before bed. Also, house dust mites produce allergens that are commonly found in bed sheets. So wash your LO's bedding with extra-frequency, and use hypoallergenic covers if you have them. xx

[scareyt]

I use two thick books to prop up the legs of the cot bed at the head end which seems to help a bit. A steam humidifier definitely helps. I'm about to steal ours from son's room as his cough is finally better but now I have it instead!

[pilsbury]

Thanks for the extra tips... I think the cause of so much coughing at night is just all the mucus running down her throat... The vaporiser seems to make a bit of a difference though and I think I'll try the cot propping thing for my littlest who has now come down with it! Thanks again!

[londonhypnobirthing]

Vicks on the feet really helps, as does a spoon of manuka honey before bed. Wishing you a cough free Christmas x

[Michael58]

All those replies are really usefull. Have the same problem at the moment, only tried Vicks on feet so far, but will try some of the other suggestions, too.