sbgrace Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 I am sad that my son has been coughing since Oct 1 and we can't seem to fix it. Two months of severely disrupted sleep and missing all kinds of things. He's been on antibiotics, steroids, albuterol, etc. He's still coughing. He doesn't have pneumonia anymore. The doctor can't hear asthma. Last week they wanted to try another antibiotic "just in case it's sinus or something like that" and a longer round of oral steroids "because sometimes they help with breathing issues" but I'm not thinking they will help any more than the last round. They did a chest x-ray (clear) and a pertussis test (not back yet). It doesn't present at all like pertussis but at this point I think I'd be thrilled if it came back positive honestly. At least we'd have a reason for such long cough and a hopeful end point. Does anyone have any idea what this might be? Some nights he coughs all night. Some days he coughs all day. Other times are a bit more moderate. He coughed all night and most of the day today. Then he settled down in the afternoon. He started coughing again before bed and coughed for probably two hours before falling asleep. I've just heard a bit of coughing since. He almost always wakes up coughing in the morning though. That makes me think asthma but albuterol doesn't usually help much if at all and he even coughed while on oral steroids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my2boysteacher Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 My sister's kids had pertussis, and it didn't present as 'normal' symptoms. Sounds a lot like what you are describing. If that is negative, could it be environmental? Mold in the house? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Mungo Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Ask to see an allergist and a pulmonologist. Not all allergies present like allergies. Not all asthma presents like asthma. Your doctor has eliminated what he/she can, time for a specialist. My son has lung issues with coughing and albuterol doesn't help him at all. However, maintenance meds (like Advair) have helped a great deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Ask to see an allergist and a pulmonologist. Not all allergies present like allergies. Not all asthma presents like asthma. Your doctor has eliminated what he/she can, time for a specialist. :iagree: :iagree: :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
besroma Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Ask to see an allergist and a pulmonologist. Not all allergies present like allergies. Not all asthma presents like asthma. Your doctor has eliminated what he/she can, time for a specialist. I agree. Does he have allergy shiners (dark circles) under his eyes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 My oldest has asthma (and allergies) but our regular dr. wouldn't 'hear' her asthma. It was diagnosed by an allergist who did a PFT and monitered her for a while. When she starts coughing (most often at night) and uses her inhaler, she gets relief quickly. It doesn't progress like it would in the past and she is much happier and healthier. I would go to a specialist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Just wanted to add this: My older dd was diagnosed with asthma in 1980-ish, altough today I think it was actually Reactive Airway Disease, as dd only had an attack when she had a respiratory infection, as opposed to an asthma attack being triggered by allergies of some kind. At any rate, my mil used to sell Neo-Life products, and eventually she convinced me to let dd try a product called "Resp-Eleven." We did see positive results: when dd felt an attack coming on (she was old enough by then to be able to communicate the way her lungs felt), the Resp-Eleven kept her from becoming bad enough to go to the hospital for a breathing treatment and prednisone. I would stil see about getting your ds to a specialist, but in the meantime, it couldn't hurt to try the Resp-Eleven. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammi K Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 If that is negative, could it be environmental? Mold in the house? This was my thought as well. Mold makes me cough. At times, it's gotten so bad that I've ruptured vessels and coughed up blood. Disrupted sleep and nights filled with coughing gets really draining. Hope your little guy gets better soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemongoose Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 My son has cough variant asthma. It sounds similar to what you are describing. He gets a cold w/ upper respiratory stuff and it triggers it and then he coughs and coughs. It took our pedi a while to figure it out too because he would seem "fine" for the asthma tests. He got an URI right before Memorial Day and then was still coughing in August. He was sleep deprived and had the dark circles around his eyes. When we took him in the Dr said that he had been coughing long enough that it was likely not something that needed antibiotics anymore, but cough variant asthma. He gave us an inhaler called QVar and said it wouldnt work if it was not cough variant asthma. It worked! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 :grouphug: What is the humidity level in your house? Everyone but my son has a cold and was feeling miserable, I checked our humidity meter and it was 42. After boiling water for 4 hours and breathing steam, I felt much better. The humidity is now around 50% and the cough is better, although I am still feeling bad and have a sore throat. You don't want the humidity much above 55%, though, or you encourage mold. (You still need to solve the problem, of course, and I am sorry to say that I have no ideas for you, but thought this might help ease the cough in the meantime if your humidity is low.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 It sounds like the nasty cough I sometimes get in the fall. In my case, it's triggered by dust mite allergy mixed with a cold or sinus infection. Using a neti pot to clear the sinuses and fluticasone nasal spray (prescription) daily to reduce sinus inflammation help get me back on my feet. Also, I have to keep warm. If I get chilled, my cough gets worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oakblossoms Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 My SIL developed a problem with Mold. It was awful at one point. Coughing for no reason. I Second, third or whatever the recommendation to Check on allergies if the pertussis comes back negative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 A few thoughts... Asthma-has he actually had a breath analysis or has the doctor just listened to him breathing? My dd had night coughing that was asthma. She sound fine when breathing at the doctor's, but on a true asthma test where they test lung capacity without and then with a breathing treatment, it showed her to have extreme asthma. Maintenance medications stopped her night coughing. Even with that, in the winter when we run our gas heat, she needs warmer air. If your home is cooler or you allow the temperature to drop in the house at night, try keeping the temperature up and see if it makes it better. Dd needs it to be over 70*. We use a space heater in her room. She has to use a steam humidifier sometimes too to keep that gassed air more moist. RSV has been really severe here this fall. The cough from it can last 2-3 months in someone who is very healthy. It is worse at night. If this started with a severe cold, this is a real possibility. Not sure it would test positive at this point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annabel Lee Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 I am sad that my son has been coughing since Oct 1 and we can't seem to fix it. Two months of severely disrupted sleep and missing all kinds of things. He's been on antibiotics, steroids, albuterol, etc. He's still coughing. He doesn't have pneumonia anymore. The doctor can't hear asthma. Last week they wanted to try another antibiotic "just in case it's sinus or something like that" and a longer round of oral steroids "because sometimes they help with breathing issues" but I'm not thinking they will help any more than the last round. They did a chest x-ray (clear) and a pertussis test (not back yet). It doesn't present at all like pertussis but at this point I think I'd be thrilled if it came back positive honestly. At least we'd have a reason for such long cough and a hopeful end point. Does anyone have any idea what this might be? Some nights he coughs all night. Some days he coughs all day. Other times are a bit more moderate. He coughed all night and most of the day today. Then he settled down in the afternoon. He started coughing again before bed and coughed for probably two hours before falling asleep. I've just heard a bit of coughing since. He almost always wakes up coughing in the morning though. That makes me think asthma but albuterol doesn't usually help much if at all and he even coughed while on oral steroids. That sounds a lot like what my family is struggling with. Since late August, some combination of us have had a horrible cough. The kids & I all have it still (again?) right now. It never really goes away, just kind of mellows out and seems like it's going away but then comes back full force. I'm so tired of it. I'm taking the kids to get the flu vac in hopes that in our weakened state we don't keep catching every other thing that comes along. I wonder if that's what has been happening. The cough though - it's not like a regular cold, but it doesn't sound like a seal bark or wheezing as pertussis does. This was a gripping, choking, body-shaking, violent cough that caused a hernia in my dd and other, less-serious but inconvenient & unpleasant side effects for the rest of us. Like not being able to go anywhere for very long, because eventually, a serious coughing fit will happen. The Dr. said it's pertussis and called it the 90-day cough, saying that after so many rounds of antibiotics there's not much else they can do. We just have to wait it out. He said people are getting a milder form of it, even vac'd individuals (which includes us). He didn't do a test due to his almost certainty of the Dx, and because of the high rate of false positives. It makes me wonder if this is what you have. If I were you, I'd still want to rule out mold and the other things posted about here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jenny in Florida Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 My oldest has asthma (and allergies) but our regular dr. wouldn't 'hear' her asthma. It was diagnosed by an allergist who did a PFT and monitered her for a while. When she starts coughing (most often at night) and uses her inhaler, she gets relief quickly. It doesn't progress like it would in the past and she is much happier and healthier. I would go to a specialist. In my family, we have a few folks with what I've heard called "cough variant asthma." Essentially, it doesn't look or sound like normal asthma and presents as a persistent cough, but traditional asthma meds work wonders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbgrace Posted November 30, 2012 Author Share Posted November 30, 2012 Thank you all for your thoughts on this. I so hope it isn't mold or something like that! We did start allergy meds just in case. I didn't see any improvement but we're continuing them for now. I'm leaning toward cough variant asthma. This started with a virus that turned into pneumonia. It's certain that any illness puts us back to square one. He coughs on exhale, while laughing, etc. for sure. But he just doesn't respond to albuterol and even the oral steroids (5 days) didn't kick it. I just don't understand. But my inclination is if the pertussis is negative we need to move to pulmunology. The pediatrician is clearly stumped and I'm a little frustrated with throwing more of the same that didn't work back at him to see if it helps this time. Actually, I'm most frustrated that they wouldn't try Singulair. I wanted to see if it would modulate him enough that he won't react so terribly to viruses. The thing about pertussis is he just coughs so much. It's not like a fit and then he's ok for a while. It's more like cough, cough, cough, cough..pause a few seconds...cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough....pause for a minute...etc.) for hours at a time. He has never thrown up coughing. The worst I've seen is turning purple and even that isn't consistent. He is vaccinated. But my husband and I wouldn't have protection which is also what makes me think not pertussis. I'd expect us to be sick. My dad has been coughing as long as my son but less severely. I'm just starting to feel afraid this might not end. I'm sure that's the lack of sleep talking. I'm not doing well at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lolly Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Thank you all for your thoughts on this. I so hope it isn't mold or something like that! We did start allergy meds just in case. I didn't see any improvement but we're continuing them for now. I'm leaning toward cough variant asthma. This started with a virus that turned into pneumonia. It's certain that any illness puts us back to square one. He coughs on exhale, while laughing, etc. for sure. But he just doesn't respond to albuterol and even the oral steroids (5 days) didn't kick it. I just don't understand. But my inclination is if the pertussis is negative we need to move to pulmunology. The pediatrician is clearly stumped and I'm a little frustrated with throwing more of the same that didn't work back at him to see if it helps this time. Actually, I'm most frustrated that they wouldn't try Singulair. I wanted to see if it would modulate him enough that he won't react so terribly to viruses. The thing about pertussis is he just coughs so much. It's not like a fit and then he's ok for a while. It's more like cough, cough, cough, cough..pause a few seconds...cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough....pause for a minute...etc.) for hours at a time. He has never thrown up coughing. The worst I've seen is turning purple and even that isn't consistent. He is vaccinated. But my husband and I wouldn't have protection which is also what makes me think not pertussis. I'd expect us to be sick. My dad has been coughing as long as my son but less severely. I'm just starting to feel afraid this might not end. I'm sure that's the lack of sleep talking. I'm not doing well at all. Being vaccinated would not keep him from having it. The vaccine may have worn off, or he may just have gotten enough immunity from it in the first place. It still could be RSV. It is very much out there, and highly contagious. As far as asthma goes, he may need several medications together to see results. And, it could take a little while on them. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SMRB Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Both of my kids cough horribly, but my son is the worst. We went through 2 years until it was seriously affecting his sleep and then we finally got referred to an allergist, GI, and pulmonologist. Singulair, Zyrtec, Benadryl all did nothing for him, but a combination of Advair and Allegra was the ticket. It sounds like allergic asthma to me, but I'm suspicious if albuterol doesn't help. Our pulmonologist uses that as a key in diagnosing young kids with asthma. She always said if albuterol doesn't work, they would need to keep looking for something else. Have they ruled out Cystic Fibrosis and reflux, or has he had a sinus scan to make sure there's not a problem there? We had to do all of those in the beginning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2boysmom Posted November 30, 2012 Share Posted November 30, 2012 Get a good air purifier for his bedroom. This will really ease the symptoms at night. I reccommend RabbitAir. It saved us from having to take meds it works so well. The cheap purifiers don't work as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ELITEANDLOVINGIT Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 I like what others have said about pertussis and mold. Also, I am guessing they have done a x-ray (can't remember if I read that)? My daughter had a cough that just bothered me (and I wasn't the sort to be bothered)...hers unfortunately was related to something more serious. Have they done a cbc w/ dif? and YES, if you read my threads related to illness I ALWAYS ask about this test, because it does tell us A LOT about what is going on with our bodies - my second favorite is a sed rate. ;o) :biggrinjester: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrissiK Posted December 1, 2012 Share Posted December 1, 2012 Is it a "coughing up a lung" cough? Or is it post-nasal drip cough? My oldest son has cough variant asthma and when he's having trouble it sounds like he's coughing up a lung. He's on Q-Var, which really helps a lot. Then, my 2nd daughter gets post-nasal drip cough and she'll cough all night long, but it's not a lung cough. What helps her is when I can get her on Claritin and then I rub Vics all over her chest and the soles of her feet and put socks on her at night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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