My 6 Year Old Son Constantly Cleared His Throat for Two Months Since Oct

Is it possible he has acid reflux ? Does he have a hoarse voice or any gastrointestinal issues? I was clearing my throat a lot and losing my voice often. before being diagnosed and starting medicine. I would take him to an ENT. Good luck!

Have you been to the doc recently to be sure?

Sometimes cough/throat clearing becomes a habit - it's another possibility, and your doc may have some ideas on how to help stop that if he's otherwise healthy.

I have a long history of non-asthma throat and upper respiratory issues. I'm sure you realize that medicines are only treating the symptom, and not the cause, right?

I'm going to assume, based on your description, that the cough is not part of any habitual issue (such as OCD, Tourette Sydrome, etc.). A friend's son and a cousin have those issues, one had a lot of throat clearing unrelated to a physical cause.

My guess is that he has something going on, not only with a suppressed immune system, but with either a) the lingering effects of allergies and/or the cold, or b) inflammation in the bronchial tubes which cause a cough spasm (even if he has no phlegm to cough up). Clogged sinuses can continue to drain over time, and the post-nasal drip can be irritating and constant. It may accumulate during the night, which is why it's worse in the morning.

I had this for years. The only things that helped me were immune system strengthening (which takes time, maybe a few months) and taking a multifaceted fiber product (with soluble and insoluble combined - very important) to clean out all the junk. I also combine that with a natural anti-inflammatory to deal with the bronchial issue. There's a children's product that combines the 2. I haven't been sick since, and no longer have allergy problems or meds. If I stop using this natural approach, though, the problem comes back within 3 days. My experience in food science and immune support, and working with leading scientists, has taught me that these chronic problems are really determined by epigenetics (including damage to the "software" that drives the cell "hardware") and that's why they are recurrent and tough to get rid of.

I'm happy to give yo more info. I doubt you will find a medicine that deals with this because it's chronic - you've really got to address the cause and not just the resulting symptom.

Good luck - I know this is so frustrating.

Could be a habit left from a cold/cough.

If a doctor has said he doesn't have asthma then he probably doesn't. However if you think he doesn't have asthma without a medical diagnosis, take him to a pediatric allergist. The dry cough is an asthma symptom.

I would stop using OTC meds. The number of meds and frequency of changing them could be part of the problem. And if you're using an OTC decongestant he probably has rebound congestion. I use a prescription nasal spray that keeps my nasal passages clear. I you haven't tried the original Sudafed, I would give that a try. In Washington state one can purchase it at a pharmacy by asking the pharmacist for it. In Oregon we can get it with a doctors prescription. Original Sudafed clears me up but the OTC Sudafed doesn't.

I also agree to add moisture to the air. Use humidifiers or keep a kettle of water barely simmering on the stove. Keep a humidifier going in his bedroom. Rinse his nose with saline spray. Use a net pot to clear out mucous. I have a plastic bottle that I fill with a saline solution. Squeezing the solution into the nostrils puts some force behind it so the solution reaches the back of the throat clearing out the gunk. The brand is Neil med Sinus Rinse and it can be purchased in the pharmacy department.

The inhaler med causes the lungs to expand/open up more. He sounds like he needs to increase the moisture in his environment. I would guess he has some super glue goo in his sinuses, throat, and tip of his lungs.

Children's liquid Sudafed, the real stuff, NOT the fake Sudafed. My local family owned pharmacy orders it for me. Walmart, Walgreens, etc...argue with me that it's not made anymore, that it's against the law/been outlawed...I show the the bottle and that it's a new purchase and they just don't believe me.

So you have to find a local pharmacist that can order it for you.

Give him 1/4 dose. If he seems to stop clearing his throat then that's enough. If he is still doing the clearing thing then next time you give him a dose do half a dose. That usually works more than fine for my family.

Making the goo runnier so it goes down better is step 1. Getting him out of that pattern of clearing his throat should be a good sign it's the thick drier drainage.

Another thought.

IF HIS GOO IS THICK then an allergy med might be at fault. Allergy meds dry out the mucus membranes and stop mucus production. So he could be like a dessert inside his sinuses and in pain. Behavior issues in a main reaction to allergy meds. Why? Because inside their head is in pain from being a dry socket.

The drainage that does make it out of the sinuses is dry and sticky and gooey.

There are many side effects from meds. That's something you could research. Clearing his throat could also be a habit now.

It could be post nasal drip.

My 6yr old son had the same problem. His doctor did not think it was asthma for the first 6 months we went through it. There was no wheezing and his lungs would always seem to be clear. After 6 months of the same issue, and his doctor telling me to give him cough medicine, I pushed for other tests to be done. We eventually found that it was a combination of 3 things. Asthma, Allergies, and Dry Air. The only thing my son would respond to at first for us was his preventative inhaler and then on days when the cough would not ease he found relief in his rescue inhaler. We would heat water on the stove to help put moister back into the air as well as on a few of our heater vents. Our Asthma and Allergy doctor said that indoor allergies produce these kinds of symptoms as well. Upon an allergy test we found he was allergic to most things outside but dust and mold and smoke were the things he was allergic to most. If you have not had him tested for allergies or asthma, you may want to. If it is one of those things, there are so many ways to help relieve his symptoms without over the counter medicine. It is a very tough situation to hear your child cough uncontrollably and feel helpless. Now my six year old is doing great. We have his asthma under control, we have his allergies under control, and there are very few days spent coughing. My advise would be to schedule the tests, if you have not already.

My son did this. It was postnatal drip from allergies. He didn't respond to typical antihistamines (Claritin, etc did nothing for him), so it took us a while to figure it out. We finally went to an allergist who put him on nasacort and within a few weeks he stopped.

It is what seems to be going around here. I had a cough for about 2.5 weeks, followed by a dry cough. My throat is still pretty sensitive. My coworker has been spraying some natural, homeopathic, anti germicide, germophobe, citrus, mist in the air and it instantly makes me cough.

My hunch is that it is a post nasal drip because it is happening from time to time overnight, but only in the day hours, if something irritates my throat.