My 5 Month Old Is Coughing and Grunting with No Other Signs of Sickness.

I don't know about the smell of tobacco on a person making a baby sick, but it might. That is called second hand smoke, I believe. Also, you have gone to a different environment than the baby is used to maybe there is something there that he is allergic to. I suggest you go home. Sorry about being so abrupt. But 5 months is pretty young. Get him back to the environment that he is accustomed to. C. N.

Sometimes babies learn that a certain behavior gets a response and they keep doing it because they like the particular response. My kids learned to grunt and cough for fun. But, at the same time a cough and grunting can be pneumonia, with a fever over 100 degrees.

my son began fake coughing and grunting to get our attention for a while - but i'm glad you figured it out good luck!

give him a spoonfull of honey with a few drops of lemon...its my family medicine for coughs...hope it works

I had the same problem with all of the fires recently. We had the air on 24/7. We got our daughter a humidifier for her room ,and that seemed to solve the problem.

S. G,
I am a mother of four grown children and grandmother of six, who raised my children from a wholistic/natural perspective. It sounds like your child has a sensitive resperatory system which can be trace back to the time of birth, i.e. if there was yeast present, muconnium swallowed or other stress related circumstances at birth that can affect the baby's resperatory track. Look into possible food allergies, brochietes or asthma (which both point back to food allergies). Strengthening the child's immune system can show great results. I hesitate to give my remedies because I am not a certified medical anything other than a regiatered CPR facillitator. I encourage you to observe the reaction your child has to the foods that are eaten. If the nose runs when a food item is eaten, illiminate it. If the child scratches, coughs or even responds with loose bowels, illiminate that food item and observe the result. This is a sure way to see if your child is reacting to the food that is consumed. The smoky, dry environment may just be aggrevating a condition that already exists.

Just watch him. It is RSV season so you can't be too careful. If it starts to seem worse, get him to a doctor. Count and make sure that he is not taking in more than 60 breaths in a min. If he is...get him to a doctor. Watch his neck... if it is sinking in deep when he takes a breath get him to a doc. Hope you had a great Christmas.

1) Keep small children away from cigarette smoke. Their lungs are very succeptable to lung infections. The air dryness can be remedied by a humidifier in the room. Steam water and take the lid off the pot or use a store humidifier to add misture to the air.
2) If the coughing continues, ask the pediatrition for further testing for asthma, which is growing among this generation's children.

You know, my 7 month old daughter has been exhibiting those same symptoms. Grunting like she is passing a bowel, but she is not, and coughing but no signs of being sick. I read that the coughing is a sign of getting attention from the parents...I read that in "What to expect the first year" book. The grunting, is a new thing she does...and I do right back to her and she laughs.

Let me know what happens . She has been doing this for the past month, the grunting that is. The coughing for about 2 months. I will do some research on line and maybe contact u on that.

Hi S.: Yes, the smoke on Grampa's clothes, breath and/or body can be considered an allergen by your son's body. My suggestion is that you learn more about allergies by going to NAET.com and ordering the book: "Say Good-Bye to Children's Allergies." One of the wonderful things about NAET is that for children or the infirm, they can be treated through a surrogate, i.e., you. Here is the description paragraph from the book information.
"Say Good-bye to Children’s Allergies
By - Devi S. Nambudripad, D.C., L.Ac., R.N., Ph.D.
Paperback-1st Edition 2000
350 pages, 8.5’ X 5.5’ X .75’
ISBN: ISBN: 0-###-###-####-8-4
In Say Good-bye to Children’s Allergies, Dr. Devi S. Nambudripad, the developer of NAET®, will help you understand your child’s illness and will assist you in finding the right help to achieve better health for your child. This book will show you how certain commonly used products in your foods and environment can cause health problems in your child; how you can test your child in your privacy of your own home using the Nambudripad’s Testing Techniques described in the book. This book will educate you how your child’s health problems can relate to allergy, a traditionally under-diagnosed or misdiagnosed condition; and, how allergies can manifest into myriad symptoms that might seem unrelated. The author also provides remedies for mild conditions of common childhood ailments arising from allergies and how to find help in assisting your child find the right help for serious problems such as, asthma, hay-fever, common colds, sinus problems, milk allergy, peanut allergy, sugar allergy, hives, gastritis, vomiting, colic for newborns, ear infections, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, bronchitis, drug reactions, and many other conditions. Dr. Nambudripad explains how allergies are often the underlying causes to pediatric problems and how NAET® testing procedures and NAET® treatments can offer relief from these allergies. The book is supported by NAET® practitioners’ testimonials and patients’ success stories."

The air is too dry and the smoke smell on grandpa is not helping! He must not smoke while you and baby are in his house! What you can do to clear up his coughing is to take him into the bathroom, turn on the shower to all hot water and let the steam collect. Sit in there with him, (he will probably resist) for at least 10 to 15 min. Turh off the water, stay in the bathroom until the steam disapates and then wrap him up in a warm towel, dry his hair, put frest closthes on him and you will see instant relief. I am a great gramdma and used this on my kids. C.

your son could be teething, my daughter did this at 5 mo. and then her teeth came in in the beg. of her 6 month, it is due to extra saliva from teething or if that isnt is then he is doing those things for attention/reaction from you
hope this helps

when my son was almost two yrs old he had a cough that would not go away i kept taking him to the doctors like three diffrent times finally a doctor told me that he had asthma so now he takes medication a breathing treatment in a little machine on a daily basis but definatley check to see if it could be asthma because my son had it real bad and he was hospitalized on 3 diffrent occasions but now he is 7 he still has asthma but the medication really helps

Even if your father in law is smoking outside now, if he's ever smoked in the house it's all over the place and lingers in everything.
I would buy a cool mist humidifier and if possible an air purifier.

Hi! I am a mother of three kids. I have had this problem in the past and my son was diagnosed with Asthma. The smoke and dry air could possibly be triggering it. My son was diagnosed when he was 4 months old and we had to carry a nebulizer machine with us when we traveled to dry climates. There are medicines out there that can help with the coughing and the grunting. I myself am a Asmatic and it can be tough when you go around or do something that triggers it. I would have the cough checked out. Good luck!

I am an infant care nanny and I think your instincts are correct. The coughing is probably caused by both. The smoke is definitely in everything and the air is dry. It would help to get a humidifier and or air purifier, if possible. Go to a health store and find a remedy for the cough. It is not advisable to recommend in writing but an experienced person in that department should be able to help you.
C.

The smoke may have something to do with it, but I would have the child checked for asthma. This same thing happened with my son, and it ended up being asthma.

Good Luck and enjoy your wonderful baby!

I have lived most of my life in Toronto (moved to Diamond Bar a year ago) and it's very very dry during the winter. I will strongly suggest to have a humidifier in the room where the baby sleeps. As for the caugh, I have no idea.

K

I think you are right on about the smoke. i bet it is irritating his throat. Maybe next time do not stay with him. i know he is smoking outside right now but smoke stays in the house, on clothes, in hair, etc for a long time. i cough when i go into a smokers house too. Get the cough checked out by a doctor just to be sure and tell him abiut the cough and smoking. you can also try taking him into the bathroom right before bed and closing the door. Turn the shower on very hot and let the room fill with steam. Hold him in your lap and just breathe. It does clear the nasal passages and if he has a little drip it will clear it.

S.,
My name is M., I am studying for Nursing and I am a single mom with one son. I just want to give an advice about your problem because my son get sick easily.
Your baby can get sick from the cold weather. About the issue with the dry heat, it is not good for him or for adult if it is too long because it can dries up our body, atleast a little bet humid. You should get a humidifier. About the smell of smoke from your father-n-law's clothes may cause of coughing of your baby. Baby are very sensitive. Becareful, if possible try to keep him away from smokers.

I would take him to the pediatrician.Coughing,grunting and choking are symptoms that should not be taken lightly. Asthma can be triggered by the slightest exposure to smoke or even allergies.