I seriously need to get some sleep.

[janradder]

I've been up for the past three nights with Éiden who has been waking up coughing. So far, I've put a vaporizer next to his bed and have poured camphor oil into it to help him breathe better. I've also tried giving him honey (which has worked wonders in the past) and dark chocolate (which has also helped somewhat but not as much as the honey). Unfortunately, while these have all helped to some extent, Éiden is still spending a good portion of the night coughing.

Does anyone have any other cough remedies they've found success with? I'm trying to keep away from cough syrups since they don't work any better than what I've already tried and the kids seem to wake up groggy and unrested in the morning after I've given it to them.

Comments

[michaeljasper.livejournal.com]

Try a mix of honey and whiskey for the cough. More honey than whiskey. At the worst, it'll help the little fella sleep.

I like it w/o the honey for myself when I've got a cough...

[janradder.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I've seen that remedy before and my mom used to give me something similar to that.

[pierogi-queen.livejournal.com]

Grandpa always recommended honey, whiskey and lemon in hot tea.

Sometimes, filling the bathroom sink with hot water and using a towel to make a tent over the child's head while he breathes in the warm steam can help loosen congestion and relieve the cough.

Mucinex also breaks up mucous and helps with the cough. (and doesn't have the anti-histamines or cough supressants that cause the problems with cough syrups)

Last resort though, if the cough persists is a visit to the doctor for prescription cough medicine, and to make sure that you're not dealing with bronchitis.

[janradder.livejournal.com]

Thanks. It doesn't sound like bronchitis yet, just the last dregs of his cold. He gets that same barky cough I used to get.

[janradder.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the suggestion. We gave him a hot toddy with whiskey last night and it seemed to help -- as far as we could tell, he didn't wake up coughing during the night.

[michaeljasper.livejournal.com]

Awesome. Our 4-year-old woke up with a cough, so I may need to head to the ABC (liquor) store tonight. And I SO hate having to buy whiskey... ;)

[janradder.livejournal.com]

I hope he feels better soon. Listening to your kid cough all night is one of the worst parts of being a parent, at least for me. And then, of course, there's having to buy whiskey.

[haddayr.livejournal.com]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand it was whiskey for the win! Thanks, Michael!

[michaeljasper.livejournal.com]

So you gave him a belt of whiskey? Or did you mix it w/ honey? :)

[haddayr.livejournal.com]

Jan made him a hot toddy with herbal tea, tons of honey, and a teeny little drop of whiskey. Wait. Brandy.

[janradder.livejournal.com]

No, it was whiskey -- Jameson's.

[dryadjuna.livejournal.com]

We had spoons of crushed up vitamin C chewies mixed with honey and lemon. Mmm.

Also, what your mom said - a nice nasal steaming before bed to get the juices flowing. A warm, humid bathroom at least, and if he's old enough not to hurt himself, leaning over a pan of mint tea with a towel. I've read that cold viruses have a tough time surviving high humidity.

You're sure he's not cleverly finding a way to get attention, right? Coughs are pretty easy for an actor such as himself.

I also read that cough syrups were proven to be ineffective in chidren, and are no longer recommended below a certain age.. he might be above that, I have no idea.

Is he old enough for ricolas? Those do wonders for me, the original style. Of course, they are as tempting as candy, and rot his teeth. But maybe it could be pre-toothbrushing or something.

[dryadjuna.livejournal.com]

Here's a link about cough syrup stuff: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/23/health/23confuse.html

[dryadjuna.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, and hope you get some nice sleep soon!

[janradder.livejournal.com]

Me too -- I feel like I've got an infant who keeps needing me to get up all night. I'm sure you know that feeling well.

[janradder.livejournal.com]

Thanks. He's probably old enough for the cough syrup, but I've found honey to be just as effective (there have been some clinical studies on that and chocolate that found both to be at least as or more effective than cough syrup). He likes the cough drops and they do help but only while he's eating them. Right now I think it's more that his throat is irritated than that he's overly congested, though I could be wrong. We've been giving him some fairly warm baths at night to help steam his lungs.

[jocelina.livejournal.com]

Is he drinking lots of fluids? I use honey too, but I find that drinking lots of water and tea helps immensely when I have a cough, whether it's from an irritated throat or congestion. Other people already mentioned steam tents, which I also think are really helpful especially for congestion.

Good luck! I hope he feels better soon.

[janradder.livejournal.com]

Thanks -- I've been pushing the fluids on him most of today. It definitely helps me when I've got a cough.

[pierogi-queen.livejournal.com]

There are two basic conditions that cause most coughs - one is post nasal drip from the sinuses draining. The other is mucous in the bronchial tubes. In both cases, pushing fluids helps thin the mucous and allow a cough to bring it up and out. Not sure what you're dealing with with Eiden - but when I cough a lot during the night, its the post nasal drip thing, and if I can get to sleep, I can stay asleep. The tea, whiskey, honey thing in that case works for me. (although I have also mixed krupnik in hot tea and that is good as well)

[janradder.livejournal.com]

We gave him the hot toddy (with whiskey) last night and it seemed to help. As far as I could tell, he slept through the night, though I did find his bedroom light on at 4 am (he was asleep in bed).