Hoping you may be able to help

Lil Chicks started a cough since yesterday. Its worse when she lies down to sleep. Doesnt sound chesty just dry or tickly. Got her the glycerol 3 mo plus cough mixture and doesnt seem terribly effective. Theres another one for dry or night coughs but it says 2 years plus. Cant remember what its called though. Would it cause real probs if i got it for C at 18 months old?

Hey hun!

Thats a toughy, I had the same dilemma last week with Islas cough! Normally the slightly older cough meds have a little bit of expectorant in them like guiafenesin, but tbh that wont help if you think its a dry cough anyhow.

When i took Isla to the Dr's to have her chest sounded they said to leave well alone, and let her body do its stuff.

What I did do that helped though was to raise her cot, loads of fluids, (but reduced her milk and upped her clear fluids), and i put a few drops of childrens olbas on a tissue tied to her cot (to open up any airways)

So all in all, I would probably say dont bother, and with being a nurse you'll be able to tell if its starting to sit heavy in her chest.

Hope she feels better soon hun

Lisa x

Thanks hon, actually i said the glycerol wasnt doing much but she has settled a lot faster tonight. If she starts up again i'll try the karvol in a cup of boiling water under her cot again. Cheers for the advice x

sorry to but in but my gp, nurse, doctor at the walk in, and some professional at the hospital all told me on seperate occasions that cough medicine is no good and can sometimes actually do more harm than good!

they dont recommend it at all

my kids have all got that horrible cough too, the phlemy one where they sound like they are going to be sick?!

x

me butting in too.

I have to agree with Katie, i've been told repeatedly that cough meds do not work. Rowans suffered from 7 chest infections since dec last year and croup and chesty coughs (child seems to catch everything!!!) and they never work.

A raised mattress, no dairy!!! specially for chesty coughs. Vix on the chest will help also.

If the cough is wet then i'd pop to the gp as she might have a chest infection.

Hope she feels better soon

No its dry and tickly ive listened to her chest and sounds fine. I think the cough mixture they worry about it the one containing guafesinin its recently been rebranded in light of emerging research, the 3 month plus one is glycerol which is like having honey and lemon really (if i thought shed take that id have saved me money lol). Just hadnt heard of the 2 year plus one. I will try the raised mattress if need be though if she starts up again might be of some help thanks kel and katie

If anyone has a croupy bub btw steam is best, get em in bathroom with door shut and get shower running

Just been having a look at the 2yr + ones, and some contain diphenhydramine!

I definately wouldnt advise to use these on young children, basically its a drug that mildly sedates the child, thus stopping them coughing.

Just for info if anyone else was interested in this post

Ooooh nah wont bother then. Shes seemed ok actually for last few hours so maybe it has just taken the edge off the tickle enough for her.

Lol has anyone told Gill and Wil, she was on FB yesterday looking for Wil's battery compartment

They totally do not recommend any cough/cold syrups here anymore for kids under the age of three. I have noticed that the past little while..they have changed the packaging and labeling of all over the counter meds for kids. There was an issue of kids on these meds of having seizures when I asked the pharmacist why there were no more infant cough remedies.

I think thats the ones they rebranded here as 6+ cos my friend asked me how come it had been withdrawn when a friend gave her some for her little one and when i checked the formulary it said the guafesenin had been flagged up as causing that and hallucinations so had been changed to only being for older kids. Lisa might be more accurtae than me on that though.

Def gonna stick to my 3 month plus one for now if it works then after reading all that, a little glycerol to soothe her throat shud be fine and im sure she will do the rest herself

Funny you should say about seizures Jen... a few weeks ago Stuart had a 4 seizures in one evening after having a bad cold/chest infection. I had bought him cold & flu tablets that he had been taking all weekend and thought nothing of it. It was only when his mum read the leaflet INSIDE the box that it said in tiny letters that it was not suitable for epilepsy sufferers due to an increased risk of seizures! Why the heck was something as important as that not put on the back of the box !

I learnt my lesson anyway, always read the leaflets!!! Lisa/Mario are there any other specific meds epileptics who are on medication should avoid?

Im not totally sure tbh snoops as there are sooooooo many out there I usually learn what they are used for and dosages for work and use my bnf to look up contraindications and side fx but yes always give the leaflet a good read before taking anything, forewarned and all that

Lisa is prob the person to ask, hope hes better now xxx