Coughing - Jacksonville,FL

Ditto. Get a new pediatrician. Dig around and get a dr recommended by friends/family or whoever. Jen

Hi K.,

Does your daughter go to day care? My son wouldn't stop coughing when he was in day care and when he was out for about 4 months, he was completely fine. It did concern me because it was a violent cough-when my mom heard it over the phone she said "That's a day care cough" So if she goes, it might be because of the day care. There are plenty of germs she will come in contact with everyday and maybe the daycare needs to clean better.

Giving her benadryl constantly doesn't sound very safe. Soon she'll build an immunity to the medicine and it just won't work.

Have you checked for allergies, asthma, sinus infection, ear infection? Upper respiratory infection?

If your doctor is blowing you off, then maybe you should get another doctor or just say something to the manager of the doctor's office.

You're a mother and your concerns are just! Nothing is more important to you than your child's health and happiness.

I do know a remedy that might work for the runny nose. Give her Welch's Grape juice. I knew a little boy who had a constant runny nose-gross, right? His father gave him welch's grape juice (the purple stuff) and it was gone! Try that! She needs more Vitamin C!

Is there any wheezing?
You might want to find another Pediatrician. It could be alergies or asthma. Please don't be scaird by this. But if caught early she can out grow it.
My son was about 5 months old when he started wheezing. His Ped gave him a albuterol treatment and it helped. He referred us to an asthma and allergy specialist and we ruled out alergies. Which left us with asthma. We have done treatment ever since and he seems to be starting to slowly out grow it.
Benadryl is commonly for allergies so she might need something stronger.
My advice would be to seek a second opion.

I'd get a new pediatrician!

I would be very uneasy giving a child any kind of medication for so long and I can't imagine the pediatrician encouraging it. I'm not an expert, but the symptoms sound like allergies and a good ped can recommend someone.

Note on allergists: They don't specialize in caring for kids with allergies. A friend of mine went to an office with a Nurse Ratchet who made the testing more difficult for her little girl. Check with your new ped to see if All Children's has an allergist.

Hi K.. I have a little boy who is now 5.Ever since we moved here to Florida EVERY year about Oct Nov area he always ends up getting what they now say is Chronic Sinusitus.We think he has an allergy to something but have not been able to find out WHAT yet.He gets real bad coughs too. Will start off just durring 'sleepy' times (at night or in the morning). Then as he gets a 'break through', actually getting the infection flared or sick with whatever, the cough will get bad through the whole day. They usd to have to put him on steroids, predisone, etc once in a while. We didnt like this so now they're trying daily meds to 'keep it in check', from the breakthroughs. This seems to help from it getting so bad. ANYWAY, if this sounds anything like what you're seeing she may have some sort of allergy like him (prob airborn)which may be hard to figure out since there are so many airborn allergens. If your insurance will cover it you should check out Nemours. They are great and are specialist in all areas 'children'. Some of the Drs have offices they visit in Orange Park as well so you could always set up appts at either office for convienience. The 1st appt is always takes a while to get.... but once you're established it's all good. We had to wait for 6 months they had been backed up til for our 1st appt. Also we use Orange Park Ped's. Normally see Dr Gheret (sp?). He is a very nice man. Check it out. Good luck. One more ? Does she seem to get better when we start getting more rain?? My little boy will, think that's the reason for sick durring fall-spring area,not as much rain to wash the air out. Will be mentioning and questioning the allergies for that when see an ENT later this month.

Hi I have triplets who are now 3...they were 10 weeks premature...for about 4 months 2 where coughing like that ..I got a nebulizer Held it infront of their mouths and it helped alot..you do need a prescription for the saline solution though...Good Luck

K.,
Is it five months straight? You said an antibiotic knocked it out. How soon did it come back? Is she in daycare and are the other kids getting sick too?

I would call another pediatrician for a second opinion. I'm not one to over react and I know how the doctor's office is when you call them about cold symptoms, but you're daughter is a little young to continually be getting sick. The benadryl is probably just masking the problem. If an antibiotic took care of it than it's probably more than the common cold. Keep seeking help till someone listens. It may not be serious, but if its not taken care of, it could get that way.

J.

hi i want to share this with you. i work with wellness company and i believe that this will help your daughter feels better. please contact me and i will have you hear the information about it and you will decide if you should try this for your daughter. im looking forward to it. my website is www.mommysuccessful.com
C. kreitz

My son has been having a very bad cough too. We went to the dr yesterday. They did a test on him to make sure he was getting enough oxygen and then supplied us with a nebulizer to help break up the cough and open his chest. He is also on allergy meds. I would suggest getting a second opinion if your dr is just blowing this off.

Has your child been checked for RSV? She may be allergic to something in her environment. Some kids will have these symptoms to environmental allergens such as dust, pet dander, etc. Hope she gets well.

Sounds like allergies to me. I would have your pediatrician recommend an allergy doctor. If they are reluctant then get a second oppinion.

A.
Bristol, Fl

I have had the exact same issues with my two girls (ages 2 & 5). Around April of this year both of them had a continuous cough that kept them from sleeping well. Our pediatrician finally put them on antibiotics, but before that they did mention that it was possible they had allergy induced asthma. So, during one of the visits to the doctor they gave me a prescription for Albuterol (liquid form) and it helped tremendously. Warning: It does make kids hyper. My older daughter just had another bout of coughing & I gave her Children's Claritin 24hr plus the albuterol & it did the trick. If it keeps up it wouldn't hurt to take your daughter to an allergy specialist. My family & I are new to Florida. We moved from the midwest a little over a year ago. Our pediatrician said that it is not uncommon for adults & children to acquire allergy induced asthma when they move to a different climate....just an FYI if you are new to the south.
Dr. Edward Stewart in Ocala ###-###-####) was recommended to me by several friends that have taken their children there for allergies & asthma symptoms. I have not yet gone to see him since I have been able to control my girls' symptoms. Good Luck!

I am someone who dealt personally with allergies for years. I always took meds for it. It even got to the point of allergy shots, yuck ! What I have learned as an adult is the source of the allergies. It is what I eat. It is an intolerance to certain foods. For instance, when I eat wheat, I get a runny nose, tickle that causes a cough, fluid in my ears.... This is NOT a food allergy. Those are the ones that send people to the hospital because they can't breathe. So try to eliminate a food for a few days and see if it helps ! Much better than all those medications....

Benadryl is not meant to be an everyday medication. It's meant to be used for allergic reactions. If you continue to use it as much as you say you have, it's effect lessens. Then if she comes in contact with something she's very allergic to, the benadryl may not work. Please seek out a different pediatrician.
In the meantime, get rid of any dust catchers she's around. Stuffed animals are the worst, heavy curtains need to be washed regularly, carpets cleaned or pulled up. Make her living environment as clean as possible, but without using chemicals. Instead use white vinegar, lemons, baking soda and salt. Those 4 ingredients can clean just about anything.

My little girl is 20 months too and has allergies... sounds a lot like what you're describing. She always has some kind of runny nose, and very often her cough gets much harsher. She is currently on Singulair (preventive) which she takes in her food every night and Zyrtec (environmental) which she takes as bedtime every night. Sounds to me like the antibiotics are not what she needs. I can highly recommend our pediatrician, Dr. Hilleary Rockwell, who is on Park St. in Riverside, and he could talk to you more about that. I'd definitely get a second opinion!

When my daughter does get sick and need true decongestant, we stop the Zyrtec only when she's on another cough medicine but not the Singulair. It's really an easy system, but be prepared to spend at least $40/mth, just on the two prescriptions. I have great insurance and it's still that much!

Good luck! Let me know what happens!
K.

have her tested for asthma. she sounds like my eldest at 2. took a month before the Dr got it. when i took her in she just wasn't moving oxygen right so he did a neb treatment which opened her up and he could then hear the bubbling and wheezing. not every child wheezes with asthma my daughter gets all coughy and can't breath but will not have a wheeze 1.

My son went through this when he was about 8 months old. It ended up being seasonal allergies and we know go on Zyrtec twice a year. (Fall and Spring)

I have actually been going through the same thing with my 2 year old and 6 month old. We just moved here 3 months ago and the doctor they have seen twice doesnt know what they are doing. I am in the process of changing doctors. Let me know if you hear any new information from anybody or a good doctor in the area.