Cough

If instead your child has high fever and a cough is painful it is time for that doctor visit. If a cough is worse at night, but not too disturbing to your child during the daytime, and there is no really high fever or misery (other than the lack of sleep) you may try to give your child a cough suppressant and a decongestant or anti histamine before bed (try these OTC medicines out during the daytime first to be sure your child doesn't have the unusual but annoying paradoxical reaction of agitation and sleeplessness from anti-histamines - also check the dose carefully by knowing your child's weight). It is also helpful to "steam" your child before sleep by frequent short trips into the bathroom with the hot shower flowing to steam up the room. Do not stay longer than 5 minutes and keep the door ajar for the infant age group. Check with the pediatrician in the under 6 month old since too much steam can also be hard on the newborn lungs. Increase your child's fluids so that the mucus is well hydrated and easier to manage and elevate the child's mattress a bit so the flow of mucus is with gravity instead of pooling in the back of the throat when she lies down and making her cough constantly. A cough that is loud, wet, loose and rumbling is almost always a "good" cough particularly if the child is not feverish or in pain. Coughs that are unusual, muffled, wheezy or painful should definitely be "heard" by the doctor. Remember that most coughs bother our adult ears more than they bother our child and don't over react. Patience and fluids are usually all that is needed.

Some coughs are associated with seasonal allergies and not with classic cold symptoms. In some children, every fall or Spring brings with it an annoying and constant hacking cough. This is often the result of an irritant such as pollen, getting to the airways of an allergic type child and may even be the only symptom of a variant of asthma called "cough-variant asthma" or "reactive airways disease". There are inhaled medications that can be of great relief for these children and can be given even to toddlers in a passive mist form. Talk to your doctor about this since this cough is a sign of airway narrowing and although it is rarely dangerous it is very disturbing to the body and needs attention. Don't settle for keeping your child away from the great outdoors - all kids deserve to play outside and they can if we help them get comfortable. Cough and cold medicine will not do the trick here although some anti-histamines might help a little at the expense of unwanted sedation. Not what children need.

There are coughs that come with more serious infections such as pneumonia, and of course this child will look quite ill, have high fever in almost every instance, and will need to be seen by the pediatrician for diagnosis and treatment, usually with antibiotics. An xray may be necessary. Don't worry about having given a cough medicine before going to the doctor - it doesn't matter - what the doctor is looking for can be found with or without the cough actually being present. (My mom was famous for saying "cough for the doctor, darling" and being upset with me when the cough just wouldn't come! Sorry , mom!)