Why is my child coughing so long!

Some of you who know me pretty well know that our family has been put the the ringer the last few months with sickness.  It all started with my daughter Hannah who had a wet cough or phlegmy cough that started way back in July.  I took her to the pediatrician multiple times who said it was allergies or a virus.  She continued to cough everyday all day.  I knew it wasn’t allergies.  My husband, mother and son all have allergies, and they have never coughed everyday for months because of allergies.  I finally decided if the pediatrician wasn’t going to do anything that I would take her to an allergist to prove that it wasn’t allergies.   The allergist tested her for allergies, turns out she is mildly allergic to trees but that wasn’t what was causing the coughing.  The allergist determined Hannah had a sinus infection, that went undiagnosed for 5 months.  After a round or antibiotic and steroids the cough finally ended.

Next was my baby Noah(8 months old) who started coughing, I was ready to cry after the ordeal I went thru with Hannah.   I took him to the pediatrician who said “it’s a virus”, then a week later back to the pediatrician, “it’s a virus”, then another week went by, “it’s a virus”, then back again to the pediatrician it’s getting worse lets give him Omnicef, still not better lets’ give him breathing treatments and another round of Omnicef because I was  insisting it’s not a virus.  Still no improvement, Noah continued to get sicker and sicker and I was crying every night because I knew something was seriously wrong!  And my pediatrician kept telling me it was viral!  So in desperation I made another appointment with an allergist/immunologist praying he would have some insight.  After listening to my story the allergist/immunologist said he suspected it to be  Mycoplasma, after doing the physical exam he said Noah had pneumonia.  He didn’t have a fever which was throwing off my pediatrician .  After 10 days of Bactium, the antibiotic to treat walking pneumonia, (Mycoplasma Pneumonia), I am happy to say Noah has stopped coughing.  I am so thankful to God for leading me to the right doctor.  

I know this is going around so I hope that my story will help other moms who can’t figure out why their children are coughing!

The 3 most common causes of a cough that lasts 6 weeks or longer are postnasal drip (most commonly from allergies), asthma and gastroesophageal reflux (stomach acid coming up to the vocal cords and making him cough)–in that order. Often the history or exam guides you. For instance if there is wheezing, asthma is the likely candidate. If the lungs are clear but there is alot of snot, postnasal drip. 

The typical approach is a trial of treatment for the most likely culprit. Albuterol sometimes is helpful if you give it and you notice that for the next couple hours he coughs or wheezes less. It doesn’t do anything to make him get better faster but it does make him breath easier and wheeze and cough less until his body heals. If he is not getting better within a week or two, you can try oral steroids for 5 days or a steroid inhaler which gives the same medicine right to the longs but takes longer to work (maybe a month). Somewhere along the way a chest xray is good to get to make sure there is not a pneumonia or something unusual that might show up on xray.

For both asthma and postnasal drip from allergies, avoiding common allergens can be helpful. The most common ones are cats/hamsters, dust mites (cover mattress and wash sheets in hot water weekly) and pollen or mold.


My friend who is a doctor sent me this information.  I thought it might be helpful to someone.

That Coughing Cat, Part Two: Feline Heartworm Disease, by Dr. Laura Theobald

Heartworm disease is typically thought of as a disease affecting dogs, however cats can also be infected with heartworms. It is transmitted by mosquitoes and is reported in all of the continental United States.

Cats can show symptoms with as few as one to three adult heartworms living in the heart. These signs include coughing, difficulty breathing, vomiting, lethargy, anorexia (decreased appetite), and weight loss. There can also be acute episodes of shock and respiratory distress, as well as sudden death. On physical exam, there can sometimes be a heart murmur noted.

Diagnosis in cats is difficult when compared to dogs as the standard in-hospital testing (antigen test) that is used for dogs is not always accurate in cats. This is because cats tend to have only a few worms. A send-out test to the reference laboratory (antibody test) may be more useful, but a negative result still does not rule out heartworms. Other helpful diagnostics include radiographs (x-rays), echocardiogram (an ultrasound of the heart), complete blood count (CBC), internal organ function testing (chemistry), and fecal exam (to rule out parasites that can live in the lungs and cause coughing).

Prevention is the same as that used in dogs and includes monthly oral medications such as heartgard or trifexis, or topical solutions such as advantage multi or revolution. A six month injection called Proheart is available in dogs, but a similar product is not available in cats at this time.

Though dogs can undergo risky heartworm treatment (a series of two to three injections of a drug called immiticide to kill the heartworms in the span of a month or two), no such treatment is available in cats. Treatment is limited to monthly use of preventive medications to prevent further infestation and shorten the life of the heartworm. Supportive care includes bronchodilators to help pets breathe easier and steroids to reduce inflammation.

Written by Dr. Laura Theobald
Lap of Love Veterinary Hospice

Dr. Theobald works with Dr. Hawthorne helping families in the Charlotte North Carolina region. For more information – please see their profile page. http://www.lapoflove.com/North_Carolina_Charlotte 

Can Rock"n Rye help reduce coughing?

Cough is the second most common reason that people see doctor’s.  So out of the myriad of reasons, cough is way up there.  Is there any mysterious about this?  It is very common and very annoying, so there is strong motivation for the many people who cough to go to the doctor.

I was asked by a desperate mom today about what to do for her child’s cough.  The child was 6-years-old and missing school for 3 days.  The cough was continuous, but worse at night.  The loud, seemingly non-stop, barking sound from coughing was keeping the family up at night.  The parents had tried an over-the-counter cough suppressant medication, with no success.  I determined the child had a bacterial sinus infection with thick, sticky post-nasal drip, producing this cough.  I recommended an antibiotic, a decongestant, very warm saline rinses followed by saline gargles at least 4 times per day, and a 5 day course of oral steroids to reduce the inflammation of the respiratory tract (from the infection and the damage from coughing).  His mom requested a narcotic cough suppressant, which I declined to give for the following reasons.  Her son is coughing, from mucus that contains bacteria, which is entering his lungs.  Suppressing his cough would allow this mucus to continue uninterrupted into his lungs.  I do not think this would benefit him.  It would allow the family to sleep better the next few nights, I understand this.  The Food and Drug Administration actually concluded that codeine cough syrups were no more effective than dextromethorphan.  

Next, his mother asked if she could give Rock’n Rye.  This famous treatment is based on hearsay.  There has never been a study that I am aware of or could find in medical literature.  Rock’n Rye is bourbon that is 48 proof.  I believe its effectiveness comes from the alcohol, which can cut through the thick mucus, hence removing some of the cause, and the sedating effects from alcohol putting the person to sleep.  The effectiveness of other cough syrups like Nyquil and Cheracol I think is based on their alcohol content, which is 20 proof and 6 proof respectively.  (The link goes to a very complete table of the alcohol content of over-the-counter medications.)

I did not recommend Rock’n Rye for her son.  I did say she could give OTC Robitussin AC (7 proof) plus alternate giving him fairly warm chicken noodle soup and fairly warm mint tea with lemon and honey mixed in.  Both help smoothe the throat and cut through the thick mucus.  That’s what I’ve read up and that’s what I give my kids and myself for coughs.

I hope this story helped some readers understand cough treatments a little better,

Your Allergy Dude.

Coughing and Heart Disease Relationship

Not a few of you who may have asked if there is a relationship between cough and heart disease? At first glance, these two conditions seem different things as coughing associated with respiratory organs such as the throat and lungs, while the heart disease clearly a vital organ disorders experienced that pumps blood throughout the body.

But in fact, the heart and lungs are organs that are inter-related. Similarly, coughing and heart disease. As described in the Mayo Clinic Family Health Book, cough is one sign of heart disease. Here is a brief explanation of the relationship between cough and heart disease:

Cough is basically instinctive reflex action or mechanism of the body to expel foreign objects that may irritate the respiratory tract. In fact, the production of mucus (when cough) is a protection mechanism that is used for the same purpose. However, harsh cough and persistent (chronic) can be caused by certain diseases and should not be taken lightly.Chronic cough is generally an indication of a respiratory tract infection. But it may have also been associated with heart disease.

Generally, cough suffered by those with upper or lower respiratory tract. Prior to the lungs to perform the functions of oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange, the air we breathe, first pass components of the respiratory system such as the nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx, throat, and bronchial tubes.Respiratory organs can become inflamed if we inhale irritants such as dust, chemicals, fumes, or disease-causing microbes. These conditions encourage the immune system to expel the mucus irritation. Working system of the human body organs work collectively. Similarly, between the respiratory and circulatory system, in which the heart is the main organ.

The heart is the organ that supplies pumps deoxygenated blood to the lungs, which then brought the blood vessels throughout the body. If the pumping ability of the heart is interrupted or disease, this would lead to pulmonary congestion. Fluid in the lungs and heart can cause symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath or wheezing.

Cough and heart failure
To understand the relationship between cough and heart disease, you must first understand how the heart works. Human heart is divided into four chambers (right atrium, right ventricle, left atrium and left ventricle).The weakening of the myocardium or heart muscle due to coronary artery disease is one of the most common causes of congestive heart failure. Coronary heart disease is characterized by lack of blood flow to the heart due to the buildup of arterial plaque. Although this causes the heart muscle to weaken, thus increasing the risk of congestive heart failure, heart muscle thickening due to high blood pressure can also cause the same effect.

 Coronary artery disease also increases the risk of heart attack. A heart attack is a life-threatening condition in which the coronary artery blockage causes damage to part of the heart muscle. Shortness of breath, persistent cough, chest pain and edema are characteristic symptoms of congestive heart failure.Heart failure can occur on one side of the heart, such as heart failure or left side right side heart failure. If heart failure occurs in the left ventricle pumps the heart, the blood will clump together and accumulate in the lungs (congestion). This is what raises congestion shortness of breath and coughing. As a result, the air bag as the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide can be filled with liquid, thereby disrupting the function of the lungs.

Coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath are common symptoms of pulmonary edema (pulmonary edema). Pulmonary edema is an abnormal buildup of fluid in the air sacs of the lungs that causes shortness of breath.

While coughing attacks may be associated with respiratory infections, allergies, asthma or lung problems. In some cases, congestive heart failure may actually responsible for causing chronic cough. Those who experience symptoms such as coughing and heart disease should receive a thorough medical examination to establish the diagnosis.