Asthma & Colds

Hi all, I'm looking for some help. My 3yr old son has Asthma and every time he gets a cold his coughing at night is out of control. Is there anything he could take to control or ease the coughing? His ventolin isn't helping any.

Thanks

Stephanie

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Hi

I can totally sympathise because my three year old daughter is the same. Her night cough is always bad but when she has any sort of sniffle it is unbearable.

The hospital have advised me to give 10 puffs ventolin/salbutamol regularly to try and help it settle but I find that she just can't catch her breath and then the coughing makes her hoarse until she gets a 'croupy' bark.

I have also posted on the parents & carers area looking for some advice. I will be interested to read replies to this as I am in the same boat.

Annie x

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Hi, have you tried propping kids up a bit so they not lying totally flat. That helps Sean sometimes, also when Sean was smaller and on less dose of preventor I was told to double up on dose as soon as he looked like cold coming. Unfortunalty not been able to do that for years as his dose of flixtide was too high but when he was under age of three it was often suggested.

Julie x

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another thing docs often tried when he was a toddler was atrovent inhaler four times a day, might be worth asking your doc.

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does any of this work with adult versions?

when i was younger my mum used to rub vaporub on me and plenty of baths to soothe the chest.

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hi stephanie sorry to hear bout your sons cough

when i was little my mum use to sit me in the kitchen and fill it with steam to help ease my coughing. normally meant i could get off to sleep and be okay for quite a few hours.

vapour rub which i still use is also quite good

lots of pillows to keep me propped up also worked sometimes providing i didn't slide off em!

hot honey and lemon just b4 bed was another trick

hope this helps

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It sounds like cough variant asthma to me, which is what I have. Before taking inhaled steroids to control my cough, I used to get a cold and then develop a cough that always got worse in the evenings. I would cough continuously until about 4 or 5 am, and then usually managed to sleep out of sheer exhaustion. One year I fractured a rib coughing, but no one believed me - it was only years later that a consultant saw it on an x-ray and asked me about it.

With hindsight, I think that steam made the cough worse, as did cold draughts, cough syrups etc.

Good luck - I hope your son is lucky enough to have it diagnosed and treated early.

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Asthma & Colds

Hi all,

Thanks to everyone who replied to my earlier e-mail. Lewis is now on the road to recovery. Last night was the first night in a week that he hadn't continually coughed throughout the night. It was strange getting a full nights sleep......

I'm so glad I found this website as there are so many people in the same position as us but you don't realise it. Again, thanks to everyone who gave their advice and support.

Hope everyone else is ok.

Stephanie