persistent cough for 6 months

[kadynshea]

My 3 year old has been coughing for 6 months.  It occurs all day, but is worse at night.  It is a dry hacking cough.  
She has had allergy testing, sinus & lung X-rays all WNL.  The cough has caused vocal cord nodules.  Her history is significant for RSV, RAD and reflux.  This is the first year is has been off an nebulizer.  She has not wheezed in over a year.

We tried a 2 weeks of reflux meds and have re-started pulicort and singulair.  She is still coughing.  We have an appointment with a ped. Pulmonologist in 2 1/2 months.  Any suggestions until then.

[kadynshea]

Thanks,  I have started using her rescue inhaler (albuteral?).  It did seem to help.  Sometimes the cough stops right away and other times it seems to take up to 20 minutes.  Is this normal??

Thanks again for the info. and advise.

[dobson]

hi my mother is a diabetic and she also have high blood pressure
she live with me.she cough all the time a few years ago the doctor said they found spots on her kidney and some were else and i was wondering if this why she cough all the time she constantly eat cough drops like candy is this a bad thing.she take  4 kinds of
medicine.

[National Jewish]

Reactive airways disease (RAD) is another term for asthma that is used when the problem is not clearly asthma.  This applies to your daughter who has not reached school age so she is too young to be tested for asthma.  RAD is wheezing and/or coughing because the airways are irritated and reacting to something, most commonly an infection.  There are several reasons for this to occur:
This cough could be a longer-term reaction following an infection or from the reflux.  As this goes past weeks, it is most often called asthma.  Lots of things such as infections or reflux can make asthma worse.  This requires a more long-term approach, like the breathing treatments that you mentioned.
In addition to the Pulmicort, which is a preventative treatment, she probably needs a rescue medicine, such as Albuterol or Xopenex, which is used to treat the cough.  These medicines are used when they are needed.  You should discuss this with your daughter

[kadynshea]

Thanks for the information.  She does not care for milk but I will try to remove other dairy.  
There is no cancellation list.  I call everyday to see if there is a cancellation.  
She had a complete allergy work-up.  Everything came back neg.  We have pulled the carpet in the house and put down hardwoods.  We have taken down her window treatments and replaced the blinds with a shade.  We had the vents and ducts cleaned a month ago.  We have no pets and no smokers in the house.

Thanks again for taking the time to write.

[Concerned lady]

You'll get good advice from the Nat'l Jewish medical people, soon.

Are you on a cancellation list, so that your daughter might get in sooner, to see the Pediatric Pulmonologist? Has your daughter been seen yet by a Pediatric Allgergist?

The Allergist might be able to help you find out if there are dietary &/or environmental factors, etc. relating to your child's coughing, in addition to other factors that the Pulmonologist can discover. Perhaps a second opinion by a Pediatric ENT (ear, nose & throat doc) might be helpful.

Some children are sensitive (intolerant) to things in COW'S MILK, such as lactose (milk sugar), &/or, milk proteins (casein, whey, etc.). If milk-sensitive children continue to drink milk or eat milk products (cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc.), they may have worse GERD (gastro esophageal reflux disease), and this can lead to increased coughing, and even breathing problems.

Some children are allergic to some foods, or might be sensitive to some foods (food intolerances are different from allergies.). Bad reactions to certain foods can cause more GERD, & other reactions. Soy, corn, gluten (in wheat, rye, barley, oats, buckwheat), etc. can cause problems for some children.

Regarding the environment, is your child ever exposed to perfumes, scented products in general, air fresheners, new carpet, mold, sprays, harsh cleansers, etc.?

Keeping a detailed food/beverage diary, including environmental factors, can sometimes help to show some causes of coughing.

If it's possible to take your child to National Jewish Medical & Research Center, in Denver, Colorado, they would be able to diagnose your child, and suggest treatment choices. You can speak with their LUNG LINE nurses, by calling 1-800-222-LUNG(5864).

Sincerely, concerned lady
http://cantbreathesuspectvcd.com

[kadynshea]

Forgot to mention.  She is followed by an ENT for her vocal cord nodules and BMT.   The ENT suggested the Pulmonologist.