irritative cough

my son is 11 years old ,,he has an irritative cough that is persistant since many months now ,,it is there all day and seems to disappear at night ..I tried to give him zyrtic(antihestamine) and a bronchodilator with no help ,,it is slightly worse after eating ..the cough is nonproductive

[birmatkolo]

i am just a medical student, but it sounds like your son might be having some reflux.  this is actually one of the three most common causes of chronic cough the other two being asthma and postnasal drip.  the fact that it gets worse after meals makes me think reflux.  on the other hand, reflux often gets worse at night so i could be wrong.  i would take him to a pediatrician/family doc and maybe they will try him on a ppi and see if his symptoms get better.  

[halbashes]

You mentioned his symptoms seeming worse after eating.  I would recommend keeping a log noting the severity of his symptoms in correlation with what he is eating.  That way you can maybe narrow down what is causing his symptoms whether it be allergy, intolerance, asthma, or reflux.  Additionally, you may want to visit a pediatric pulmonary specialist.  I hope your son feels better soon!

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

Does your son has other symptoms like heartburn, reflux, indigestion or associated sinusitis or rhinitis?

These are the common causes of chronic cough.

In any case, it would be best not to try any self medication and consult a pediatrician for his symptoms.

A chest xray would probably be advised.

Let us know about how he is doing and if you have any other doubts.

Regards.