chronic cough in 7 year old boy

[mdbell]

Our son has had a dry cough for over 3 years.  First had him tested or examined by ENT for athma, doctors could not say yes but prescribed inhaler, and singular and clairton.  No help.  Last summer 2006 we had his tonsils and adenoids removed along with continuing meds.  No help.  The little guy is getting upset and tired of coughing.   He does not cough while sleeping as much (about 1/3).

Our family MD suggested treating for acid reflux.

Do you have any suggestions?

Mbell - June 9, 2007

[fredc]

your son may have LPR.  (Larynogpharyngeal Reflux Disease)  While it's absolutely silly to diagnose you over the internet (not to mention i'm not a doctor), i've gone through almost a year of Hell before it was finally diagnosed in me...and diagnosed BY ME.  the doctors could never figure it out for some reason.  anyway, besides the cough, common symptoms are: tightness in the throat, hoarseness, frequent throat clearing and coughing, Asthma-like symptoms, a feeling of swelling in the throat, and post nasal drip.  It's a type of reflux but it goes up to the back of your throat.  People don't experience heartburn with this.  The treatment includes things like Prilosec and/or Protonix, coupled with Zantac or the equivalent and a change in diet.  The process involved higher doses of meds than regular reflux (GERD) and there is a surgical option if you aren't getting much better in a year or so.  here's an article from Columbia University: www.entcolumbia.org/lprd.htm   - Bottom line, i'm not sure this is what you have but think about the symptoms and, if they fit, let your doctors know this possibility right away so you don't spend months bouncing around from doctor to doctor like I had to...good luck.

[Evie1963]

Your poor little boy. :( I was thinking along the lines of an allergy but you've written that you've tried antihistamines. Has he been specifically tested for allergies anyway? Do you remember anything around the time he first started coughing - a starting point, what set it off? What about molds?

I'd be getting second and third opinions to find an answer, there must be a doctor out there who has come across this before. Here's a web page I found, it might be helpful.

http://cureresearch.com/sym/dry_cough.htm#possible

Good luck to you and your son.