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What Causes Severe Dry Cough In A Child?

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Posted on Mon, 8 May 2017
Question: Hello,
I am writing for my 8 year old son. He is constantly struggling with recovering from minor colds. He gets this barking cough and lasts for weeks. Last week we went to XXXXXXX and yes the pollen gave everyone some allergy issue. For him he gets the dry cough and he gets wet at night from sweating. My wife gives him Zarbees, Motrin, cough syrup and it helps to some degree. It seems very bad at night and wonder if the drainage is an issue. Doctor never stated he has asthma but gave him an inhaler. What is causing the long drawn out recovery, for sure his lungs seem to struggle more than normal. He is avg weight and height, when he is not sick he is fine and no issue. Is there anything I can try differently? He does have mild autism with a hypersensitivity to taste. I wonder if he coughs more because the drainage. Please give me some suggestions
doctor
Answered by Dr. Dr. Pradeep Kumar Jain (2 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Disease course may vary in different individuals

Detailed Answer:
Hello

Thanks for choosing this platform

I have gone through the details and do understand your concern.
As per your description, to me it appears to be allergic cause and not an issue of drainage.
The disease severity, frequency, duration and it's outcome varies in different individuals according to their body metabolism and immunity.
I want to mention here that nebulisation is not only limited to children with asthma. Nebulisation helps in relieving the spasm of Airways which is very common during acute allergic condition.
In case of repeated and prolonged allergic episodes giving long term allergic controllers like combination of montelukast and cetrizine helps.
I won't get worried as the child is otherwise growing well and the allergic episodes are not associated with any breathing difficulty.In most of the children the frequency of severity of these episodes gets decreased over a period as they grow.
I request you to try to avoid the allergens as far as possible and to consult your pediatrician to assess the need of long term allergic controllers.

Hope this will help you.
Please let me know if you have any other queries.
Wishing for good health of your family.
Regards
Note: For further queries related to your child health, Talk to a Pediatrician. Click here to Book a Consultation.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
Answered by
Dr.
Dr. Dr. Pradeep Kumar Jain

Pediatrician, Cardiology

Practicing since :2006

Answered : 2073 Questions

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What Causes Severe Dry Cough In A Child?

Brief Answer: Disease course may vary in different individuals Detailed Answer: Hello Thanks for choosing this platform I have gone through the details and do understand your concern. As per your description, to me it appears to be allergic cause and not an issue of drainage. The disease severity, frequency, duration and it's outcome varies in different individuals according to their body metabolism and immunity. I want to mention here that nebulisation is not only limited to children with asthma. Nebulisation helps in relieving the spasm of Airways which is very common during acute allergic condition. In case of repeated and prolonged allergic episodes giving long term allergic controllers like combination of montelukast and cetrizine helps. I won't get worried as the child is otherwise growing well and the allergic episodes are not associated with any breathing difficulty.In most of the children the frequency of severity of these episodes gets decreased over a period as they grow. I request you to try to avoid the allergens as far as possible and to consult your pediatrician to assess the need of long term allergic controllers. Hope this will help you. Please let me know if you have any other queries. Wishing for good health of your family. Regards