Toddler Has Cold Now for a Month!!

Try putting Vicks vapor rub on the bottom of his feet at night with white socks on him. If he is in a crib put pillows under the mattress to raise him if he is in a bed have him sleep on 2 pillows.
Keep the humififer on a runny nose is good you don't want all that mucos to sit in his chest.
Good luck

Hi L.,

My son has been the same on/off colds for the past 3 months. If the runny nose is clear it may be just allergies. If it's thick and has a yellowish color then it's a cold. The cough may be croup which my son got back in December and eventually cleared up with a special type of medicine that your pediatrician can prescribe. When it comes to humidifier please use the cool mist one because the cool mist is better for coughs than steam humifiers.

I would also try using Hyland's C-plus cold (it's homeopaethic med) and that helped him a lot with the cold symptoms. Ofcourse make sure he stays hydrated. Other than milk please give him lots of water and lots of fruits and veggies with vitamins C and E which will help him with his immune system.

Hi....We have a 2 yr old also and have have the same issues since August 2007. We have been told it is probably allergies or possibly asthma but have not been given a definate diagnosis.He has also been given a chest x-ray. We have seen 2 diffent docters in the area and have an appointment for a third the first of Feburary.Hopefully the new doctor will be able to help us. Good luck.

keep him warm at all times, the temperatures are crazy this time of year and toddlers and infants are especially vulnerable to colds. make sure his arms and legs and feet are covered (those pajamas with feet are the best) don't give him dairy until he's well and don't let him do any running around/excitable activities 3 hours or so before bedtime, it makes the cough worse. is he old enough to have honey yet? ask your doctor. honey is a great solution, take one tablespoonful and add 1/4 teaspoon of ground turmeric and a bit of pepper. mix it well (again, ask your doctor if he's old enough already) and give it him right before bed time. it works great and naturally. make sure throughout the day the blows his nose constantly with lotion tissues (no scraping) otherwise, if the phlegm doesn't move it will likely end up in his ear...leading to infection. push water and clear liquids. warm broths.

Hi L.,

I had a message on email today in regards to children's immunity.

Question:
Dear Dr. Popper: My family eats pretty well, but my kids are constantly getting sick during the school year. What is the best way to boost immunity in my kids?

Answer: It is a myth that children get sick because they are exposed to other kids or because the weather is cold. Kids get sick because their immune systems are suppressed, which results from poor diet and lifestyle choices.

The best way to build your children's immune system is to adopt a program of dietary excellence (a Wellness Forum-style diet). One major dietary culprit is dairy products - almost all cases of chronic ear infections clear up when dairy is removed from a child's diet, for example. Additionally, few kids get enough sleep these days, and sleep deprivation causes immune suppression too. Kids in grade school should be in bed by no later than 8:30-9:00 depending on their ages in order to wake up without alarm clocks feeling fully rested.

An optimal diet and optimal habits will not only prevent your kids from catching every virus they are exposed to, but will also help them to better in school. Research continually shows that well-fed and well-rested kids perform better academically.

D.
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L.,
It sounds more like allergies than a cold. Probably these high winds stirring up the stuff in the air. I moved from Michigan where my allergies would act up in the fall (leaves falling, windy etc.) A couple weeks ago I started experiencing the coughing, laryngitis etc. and realized it's b/c it's like fall weather in Michigan. A great thing to do without giving meds is to put Vick's on the bottom of his feet at night with socks over them. Stopped my coughing! Hope it helps!
K.-SAHM of 4 teens

Hi L.,

I went through something similar with my daughter. I kept calling the doctor and they kept telling me "viruses are going around". Well, after 3 weeks of a cough - mainly at night and bad coughing spells in the morning I took her to the doctor because I believed she had a sinus infection. Sure enough she did and they placed her on antibiotics and within 10 days no runny nose, no cough, good to go. She never had a fever. She is prone to sinus infections and your son's symptoms are exactly the same as my daughter.

The cough could be caused by the drainage down the back of the throat which irritates the throat and their reaction is to cough to clear it out. With the cold lasting a month, I would recommend having him checked for a sinus infection.

Good luck,

L.

I would try an herbal expectorant if you think that he has stuff in his lungs. I don't use meds. unless totally neccesary. If you have a local heath food store, or the giant Whole Foods, wander into the supplement section and describe your sons ailments, usually they are women and are very helpful. I have a friend at our store whom has helped me greatly, I am always in there with questions while shooping. Good luck!

Maybe allergies? Our 4 yo had a cough and runny nose that was "nothing". When food allergies were diagnosed, he was put on allergy medicine. The cough is cured.

Hi L.,
My 4 yo son had this and then my 19 mo old got it. He did have an intermittent fever and just got worse. We ended up having to take him to CHOA's ER (it was New Year's Day) and he had pneumonia! <feeling like a bad mommy!> One of the drs at the hospital said that they normally only admit 1-2 kids each week on the respiratory level and the night we went in there were 8 admitted and 3 had pneumonia. <sigh> He said that it's due to the major temp changes and that it's unfortunately normal for this time of year. Our ped said that we need to watch coughs when there are other symptoms along with it (fever over 102 especially) and if it's interrupting sleep. Before this I wouldn't have said to check w/ your dr (I thought he just had a cold) but now I'd said just ck if you can to be sure. He's probably totally fine and just has a cold but I wish we would have checked in before we did.

Good luck and hope your little guy feels better soon!

Hi,
It could be possible that your son has an environmental allergy. When my boy was 5 he was having trouble recovering from colds....didn't seem "sick" but wasn't completely healthy. His doctor determined he had a mold allergy. We had a leak through a light fixture in the ceiling of the room he played in most. We removed the fixture, but the hole in the ceiling was exposed for quite awhile while we had the roof patched and waited for another rain to see if it was fixed. I think there was mold above the ceiling and spores were coming into the house. I invested in a high quality air purifier and boosted his immune system with some natural supplements.
Good luck,
S.

My daughter that is 10 was EXACTLY the same way but this went on for years. We went back and forth to the doctor so many times and every time their answer was more medication. It was killing my husband and I to hear her coughing every time she would lay down. Inhalers kinda worked but we didn't want to give her steroids and medicate her. We were then introduced to a company that makes chemical free products for your home and within one month of getting the chemicals out of our house, our daughters coughing problems were GONE! It has been so amazing and such a blessing to our family. I would love to share the information with you. Call me anytime. My name is Julie West and I am a mother of 3. My phone is ###-###-#### or you can email me ____@____.com

Could it be allergies? My daughter has bad allergies and those are her symptoms. Check with your pediatrician. Ours has me give my daughter Children's Claritan and it works wonders!

My first thought is that it could be allergies. If a running nose is the only problem, you should talk to the doctor about it.

Do you have animals in your home? There could be something else that your child is allergic to in you home as well. I have not heard of a cold lasting that long.

It sounds more like allergies than a cold- A dry cough is an allergy symptom- Go see your pediatrician or an allergist for testing-
K.

Hi L.,
I read somewhere that rubbing Vick's Vapor Rub on the soles of the feet can calm a coughing fit. My son (2 years old in October!) has a cold right now too, and I rubbed Baby Vicks (milder, without the menthol)on his feet and on his chest, and he's been sleeping well the last few nights.
Good luck! It is so hard when they don't feel good, and don't sleep well!
K.

Have you had him checked for allergies - runny nose, dry cough, but no fever is more indicative of allergies than a cold. My daughter was having lots of ear infections and stuffy nose, cough and easily caught colds, so we eventually had to have tubes put in her ears to drain the excess fluid and we had her allergy tested (skin prick test - not fun but useful) and found she's allergic to mold, mildew and cats. We had been using a humidifier, per pediatricians advice, to help 'loosen' chest congestion. But after the allergy tests the allergist told us to stop using the humidifier because it was probably putting too much moisture in the air of her carpetted room and mold and/or mildew was probably growing in the carpet, despite frequient vacuuming. We also started her on Zyrtec, which was really helpful for her cat allergy. We had the carpet steam cleaned to get rid of the mold/mildew - the doctor had recommended getting rid of the carpet and going to a wood floor, but we were renting so we didn't have that option. She definitely had a lot less coughing and stuffy nose after that.

Hope this helps,
M.
Married, working full-time, mother of 6 year old daughter.

Hello. Have you talked to your doctor? There are probably several causes for runny noses. I would say it could be that he is getting his 2yr molars and that could be causing his runny nose. Or it could be allergies of some kind. Do you have pets? Anyway, if it is mostly the runny nose(a lot of drainage) Try giving him a dose of Benadryl before bed. My 9mo old has had the same problem and the Benadryl seems to help. (Along with a coolmist Humidifier).Just check with your doctor to make sure you are giving the correct amount. Hope this helps.

Hi L.,
This must be going around because my daughter also 2yrs and my niece (18mos) have the same thing and the best I can figure it is, is the daily change of temps. When its in the 40s during the day but freezing overnight it seems to keep viruses active and colds abound! I keep a vaporizer in the kids' rooms and I give them childrens sudafed for the congestion but I get the real sudafed that you have to ask for from the pharmacy, I feel it works better. Just make sure your Doc is ok with that and only give the reccommeded amount and you should be fine and I know it helps and it doesn't make the kids drowsy. If your son is really congested and if he'll let you, you can pick his nose with a Q-tip and try to get some of the mess out of there or you can suck it out using a bulb syrenge. I'm personally waiting for this cold to subside too, we can't keep enough kleenexes in stock! Good luck!

C.

Ask your doctor if you can give him Children's Claritin? My son was the same way and this worked for us. I only gave it to him at night, as I am not one to cram medicines down my kids throats. We also used the humidifier nightly and made sure that it was fairly close to him, so he would actually reap the benefits of it. After being sick for a month and a half, this worked! My son was only coughing from the drainage down his throat, so the only logical thing to do was to get his nose to dry up. I suppose benedryl would do the same thing.

Yes, also my 8 month old has had the same thing since the beginning of January. It has now turned into a horrible sounding cough. Her doctor prescribed her something call C-Phen. It is a decongestant and and antihistamine. It has dried up her nose and cleared up her congestion. I started giving it to her yesterday, she still has her cough, but we'll see after a few days if it will dry up also. I know it also helps, if you can elevate his head while he sleeps, maybe some blankets under the head part of his mattress. Another option, is with my 4 year old, when she gets a cough I give her a breathing treatment of Albuterol. Of couse your doctor has to prescribe it but it kicks the cough in the butt in just a couple of days. Good luck!

Hello L.

Sounds like his cough comes from his post-nasal drip.
There are few things that you can do at home:
1) While sleeping keep the head elevated.
2) Use saline drops 2 drops let them set for 20 sec before you tried to clean his nose before putting him to sleep.
3) Decrease fruit juice intake (makes phlegm thicker)
3) If symptoms continue to persist call your pediatricians office and schedule next available appt. as long as he is not having any difficulty breathing or persistent cough spells through out the day then you try to get the same day appt.

Hi L.:

My first thought was, has your son gotten his 2 y.o. molars yet? When all three of my kids got their molars, we went through the same thing. And it seemed to last forever. If he's already gotten those in completely, it's probably just a cold. Try to keep him away from other kids for a while; I'd even keep all my kids away from other people for a week or so. When mine get sick, I load them up with tons of OJ, vitamin C and soup. And disinfect everything a lot. I only use paper towels to clean up, rather than rags or sponges, so germs can't grow. And that new clorox anywhere stuff works great; you can use it on any surface and it's safe. If you're really concerned about it, call your pediatrician and see if there's anything else you can do. But they'll probably just tell you it's cold and flu season and it needs to run its course. Hopefully this helps a little. Good luck.

Hi,
The first SIMPLE thing you can do for his immune system is make sure he is getting the proper amount of filtered water daily... 1/2 his body weight in oz. This will help keep his body in pH balance and increase his immune system. Second, consider minimizing animal proteins (meat, eggs, yogurt,dairy products) to 10% of the diet. These foods are very acidic in the body and have little to none of the good nutrients that we need to be healthy. Minimize refined sugar consumption... again very acidic to our body throwing it out of pH balance. Sugar can lower the immune system for up to 6 hours after consumption.
Add more fruits, veggies and berries to strengthen immune function! A good friend told me about a 'whole food' supplement called Juice Plus+ that has changed the health of my entire family! My son started with the kids gummies at age 2 and is now swallowing the capsules at age 6. In the past three years we have only been to the doctor for well child visits! I love JP+ so much I have become a rep. for the company. You can visit my website at www.juiceplus.com/+la03919 for more info.

Hope this helps... please email with any questions! L.

Try testing him for allergies. My daughter had a similar issue and it turned out she is gluten intolerant (wheat, barley, rye and oats all have gluten). There are different ways to test for allergies. For Gluten and Dairy the most accurate way is gene testing done through ENTEROLAB (you can find them online). It is expensive but worth it in the end. For other allergies you can check with your physician. I know there are blood tests but there might be other, less invasive ways. If he has dark circles under his eyes, that is often an indicator of allergic response.
Amy-Beth
Lafayette

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Hi L.
My son who is 14 months old also had the same problem,(had
some wheezing also)
2x already in the past and we went to his Pediatrician and got a Nebulizer which expells a RX of Albuterol from the Pharmacy.It works really well and it cleared him up within a week or less both times!

Good Luck!
L.

If he doesnt get better take him back. I had the same symptoms for 3 mo, and finally was told I had Asthma due to allergies I didnt know I had either. I'm much better now that I have the correct meds. My cough is almost gone.

L.,

You may want to visit your doctor. My son had a cough for a month and I kept watch and watching. After 4 weeks, he spiked a fever, I took him to the ped. and he had mycoplasma which is an antibiotic resistant form of walking pneumonia. It is going around. I'd at least ask your doctor about it. By the time my son got sick-sick from it, it was really scary.

T.

Take him to the doctor, sounds like some kind of infection. I'm not a doctor or nurse. My youngest had those same issues when she was 6 months old and needed a nebulizer. Good luck.

K.

Hey L.!
I know by the dates that this request is old, and hopefully your son's issue is cleared up, but maybe this will help for the future.

When my daughter gets sick, it's straight to the Pediatric Chiropractor. She does neat things that help drain ears, clear up stomach problems and make my daughter happier in general. We started going to one because of GERD and now know to go for earaches, runny noses and anything that is out of the ordinary.

Keep it in mind!
J.

Hi L.,your son sounds like he might be allergic to something.Check everything he comes in contact with for the ingredients,such as lotions and perfumes.Everything from the laundry detergent that his clothes and bedding are washed in to the floor & carpet cleaners,room deodorizers,bath soap,shampoo and different foods he might have an allergy to.Do you have cats or dogs? Check all of these things and if you can't find the problem,your doctor or pediatrician can give him an allergy test.I know the little guy must be tired of the running nose and cough.I have the same and mine are caused by allergies.If you can locate what's doing it and discontinue that product,that's great.If not,the Dr. can prescribe some mild allergy medicine in liquid form.He might only have to take it for awhile,since he might outgrow the allergy as he grows older.I'm a 60yr. old grandma with allergies and I have children & grandchildren who have allergies too.Besides the running nose & dry cough,he might also have a headache & earache.A children's aspirin or tylenol could help until you find the problem or have the doctor do an allergy test.Hope your little guy feels better soon.Good Luck!