Does Your Child have Cough Variant Asthma?
Do you have any comments? I'd love to hear from you.
From the lens How We Controlled my Child's Cough Variant Asthma - Cold Induced.
-
-
TheApril
May 26, 2012 @ 7:29 am | delete
- I think this is very important information. It is so true that not all asthma looks the same. I went undiagnosed until I was in my 30s, because I don't present like most asthmatics. Great job!
-
-
-
MC
May 24, 2012 @ 10:24 am | delete
- My son (age 7) has suffered from this since before age 1. He had reflux and took reflux medication from a few months old until about a 1. His doctor took him off of that medication. He has been Flovent, Zyrtec (before it was over the counter), Singular, etc since about 6 months old when he was diagosed with CVA. Problem is that it all worked every now and then. He has flare ups and normally with Flovent, Mucinex (discovered that a while back), cough syrups, etc we could normally get it under control fairly quickly. He has rarely missed any school time for this as well until this past week. He has had that cough for about two weeks now, but started out not bad and was not bothering him much at night. Last Thursday all hell broke lose. None stop coughing. Said he went to the nurse 3 times that day at school and threw up several times as well. My wife took him to the ER that night. Gave us a script for some cough meds and a steroid. Came home and went to bed and the cough really started. Missed school on Friday but seemed to be doing better over the weekend. Sunday night, again all hell broke lose. Non stop coughing. Coughing like we have never experienced with this. We have been to the doctor, had x rays, filled him full of meds, etc all week. He finally gave school a try today (last real week of school and he is missing all of the end of year parties). We will see how it goes, but the cough does not seem to want to go away. Might have to try some of the things you mentioned that we have not tried. I swear, my wife and I wrote your story though. Sounds so much like us and our son.
-
-
-
lisakleinweber May 24, 2012 @ 12:46 pm | delete
- Hi MC, it sounds pretty bad right now. definitely try the nasopure. I swear by that thing.
-
-
-
MJ
May 21, 2012 @ 11:13 am | delete
- My 14 yo son grew up with cough variant asthma. I started noticing it in his swimming lessons when he was 4 yo. After a lap he would start coughing, no wheezing. I thought it was his heart but his ekg was normal. It wasn't until he was 6yo that he was diagnosed w asthma and later w excercise induced asthma. From Sept.-March he would cough all night. We would be eating in a restaurant and he'd cough until he coughed pu his food it was terrible. He started using albuterol at 7 but it wasn't enough because at the same time he started getting really active in sports. Soccer erquired him to inhale a lot of dry air triggering his asthma. He was started on singulaire and advair but advair gave him chest pain. I stopped using all cough syrup and decongestant 'casue we were told it actually dries his airway causing more coughing. Humidifier didnt' wrok. They switched him to symbicort, singulaire, albuterol prn, claritin everyday and this worked for him. He plays club soccer all year round, and although he still gets short of breath faster thatn a normal person without these medications he wouldn't last more than 5 min. at the most. His pediatrician stopped symbicort because she sthinks it has a lot of potential bad side efefcts and switched him to flovent which made his asthma worse because he would get sorethroat and start coughing. He was also on flonase for almost 2 years but he hasn't needed that. He gets allergy shots because allergy tests revealed he's allergic to everything including his cats and dog. We have a hepa filter at home and in his bedroom. We give the cats a bath every month to lessen dander and the dog every week. Animals are not allowed in his bedroom. He plays as much sports as he can. And we founf out the nasal irrigation in a great thing to have as well. I measure his peak flow as often as I can remember and we are scheduled to see his doctor in 3 weeks. (We changed doctors)I'm assuming he will restart him on symbicort. My son does not get asthma problems w sports like baseball, etc. But he is a very active athlete and I was told by one doctor in New York that I wrote to that the most dangerous thing that can happen right now is to stop his soccer and I believe him. My son would not need this medecine if he does not play sports. But I believe every child with asthma should play sports to keep their lungs working and expanding.
-
-
-
- it's wonderful that you've had relief. :) maybe he will grow out of it. ... lots of people do. My son doesn't play sports, but he does run around a lot :)
-
-
-
Sarah
May 16, 2012 @ 9:41 pm | delete
- I read this a few months ago and am reading it again now, as my child is coughing in the night. we've tried a netipot with her. She's almost 5, but for the past 5 weeks haven't been using it as she seemed better. Like your son was, she's on singulair, flonase, flovent, and albuterol. It started in the winter and ends up with a horrible, barking like cough that didn't seem to go away until azithromycin was prescribed. Then she was better for about 2 months. In March, it started again with a cold and we go through all of the flovent, cingulair, albuterol and ends up again with her at the ER and coughing constantly for hours. Turns out she did have pneumonia. We are given more antibiotic and told to continue the flovent, cingulair, and albuterol. The doctor has previously said yes she has CVA. She's been good for a few weeks and then 2 nights ago starts again with a mild cough at night which has gotten worse every night. She doesn't have any symptoms during the day. So frustrated and don't know what to try. I think I might have to go back to the netipot. I don't want her on all of these meds, but thought they were helping but here we are again....
-
-
-
Katie
May 17, 2012 @ 1:14 pm | delete
- I would really encourage you to investigate dietary and environmental issues that might be contributing to these symptoms....undiagnosed food allergies, mold, dust mites, cleaning products....? And also to get in to see a naturopath.
Best of luck to you..........
-
-
-
Lisa
May 18, 2012 @ 5:27 am | delete
- Your story sounds indentical to mine and like the previous reply, you really must investigate food sensitviies. My daughter had exactly the same and it turned out that a course of anti-biotics she had been given had completely stripped her gut and caused a food sensitivity. When she drank milk or ate yoghourt or whole-wheat products she would cough, and cough all night and when running around. The doctors kept talking of asthma and giving us more and more steroids and inhalers. It took me months of trawling the net and when I finally removed mik and wheat from her diet, the cough disappeared. We still had some health issues, and problems with a coughing when she got a cold, but I then started her on a pre&pro-biotic supplement made by Optibac, specifically tailored for children. It helps rebalance the damage anti-biotics can do and also boost the immune system. It can take 6-12months for the gut to reblance after a course of anti-biotics. Be very careful with anti-biotics as they can be the very cause of all your problems. I could talk more about this but I don't want to ramble on to much, I have been researching it for over 8 months now, I would post my email address for you to email me directly, but I don't want to post it here, reply to this message if I can help you anymore xxx
-
-
-
- I totally agree with probiotics. food sensitivities? not so much. I know some people have them, and some have them severely, and Joe may even have some, but we were able to get a handle on things without changing his diet. The only thing I did was replace regular milk with coconut milk - but he doesn't drink much milk anyway. He still eats yogurt and butter and cheese. In fact, these days, he is eating more cheese than ever before and it's not raw cheese.
-
-
-
- I would recommend the nasopure instead of the neti pot. the neti pot is passive, and may only clean the nasal passages. the nasopure actually pulls snot out of the sinuses using a kind of suction as the water rushes past. it's awesome.
-
-
-
Shannon
May 16, 2012 @ 11:57 am | delete
- You are spot on! My son has allergies that get bad in spring and fall, but viruses also trigger the cough. His booger doc put him on the sinus washes when he was 9. I didnt know how to get him to do it, but like you, had him watch a youtube video. We use the Neil Med sinus wash. Same concept different brand. You can get them at any drug store. That thing is a God send! Also, mine takes a daily clairtin D. Another natural tip that I swear by is Zicam rapid melts. Every 3 hours when the first sign of a scratcy throat is felt. I havent had a bad cold in years thanks to that stuff. Usually take it for a day or two and the symptoms are gone! My son has been using it for about 2 years and it helps him also! Good luck to anyone dealing with it! The nose washes are a must though!!!
-
-
-
- yes, the nasal washes are the only MUST MUST MUST in my arsenal :)
-
-
-
- yes, the nasal washes are the only MUST MUST MUST in my arsenal :)
-
-
-
WorldVisionary3
May 14, 2012 @ 9:57 pm | delete
- I had asthma as a kid and know how scary it can be. Thanks for putting together such a helpful lens!
-
-
-
mel-kav
May 14, 2012 @ 9:17 pm | delete
- Wonderful lens. Nighttime coughing is the worse. So glad your beautiful little boy is doing much better!
-
-
-
Rachel
May 13, 2012 @ 5:57 am | delete
- Oh my goodness... As I sit here listening to my 4yr old cough continually for the 4th night you bring me so much faith that another treatment method might actually work! I am sick of pumping my little girl with meds. I live in Australia so some of the meds you talk about I do not know by name but I will certainly be researching what I can get sent here to aus. Thank you so much.
-
-
-
Sue
May 12, 2012 @ 3:54 pm | delete
- Sounds like my son. I thought for Flovent to work you had to be on it long term. Do you have any concerns about the nasal rinse?
-
-
-
- Well, here's what I think based on our experiences. 1) Flovent is not fast acting. The steroids only work when a certain level has built up in your blood, and with the inhaler, this can take several days. That is why they give you liquid steroids when you go to the ER. They work faster.
and 2) My son does not need steroids when he's not sick or in a flare. so that's why we were able to wean him off in between. Now that we have the nasopure he's only needed the steroids once in the last year and 2 months - and only for a couple of weeks.
-
-
-
Iris
May 10, 2012 @ 2:00 am | delete
- My son was diagnosed with CVA 8 years ago, at the age of 3 1/2, after his 6th episode of non-stop coughing, this time it was for 6 hours. He threw up two handfuls of phlegm, which prompted a late-night emergency room visit. He was put on a nebulizer at the hospital and stopped coughing almost immediately. He also has eczema and suffers from many environmental and food allergies. I have tried everything and the only thing that keeps his symptoms under control is Flovent, now Qvar; 80 mcg. I have tried to wean him off, but the CVA returns after about 2 weeks. We try every summer, and will try again this summer as I,ve heard puberty usually reduces or eliminates symptoms. I am hopeful! I want him off meds for good!! Anyway, thank you for sharing your experiences. It is good to know we are not the only family dealing with CVA.
-
-
-
- you're welcome! and I hope it gets better!
-
-
-
Tia
May 8, 2012 @ 4:27 pm | delete
- I have been misdiagnosed for many years. Docs have given me antibiotics & acid reflex meds for a year before my coughing was so bad that I couldn't drive for fear of coughing so badly that I would gag & couldn't concentrate on the road. Prednisone was finally given to me & it cleared up completely. Because predisolone is so bad for one, I've been searching for healthy alternatives. I'm grateful for your article as it gives insight to others who suffer from this type of asthma & I will definetly try the nasal spray with Quercetin & the Nasopure! All of the other medicines I've already discovered to be useful.
-
-
-
- oh my gosh!!! Good luck with the quercetin and the nasopure. I LOOOOOOVVVVEEEE the nasopure. It's my saving grace. If I could only take one thing with me to a dessert island (if my son was going) it would be the nasopure. :)
-
-
-
- desert island lol
-
-
-
betta_addict
Apr 28, 2012 @ 8:46 pm | delete
- Great lens you have here. I first had asthma in the year 2000 when I was diagnosed with Pneumonitis. I have been suffering from Nocturnal Asthma for almost a year now, but I believe it's caused by environmental factors. I'm not sure asthma can be cured, but I strongly believe it can be controlled and that was what you did here for your lovely son. Great Job!!!
-
-
-
- thank you!!
-
-
-
Heather
Apr 26, 2012 @ 8:48 am | delete
- Hello! My son has not been diagnosed with CVA, but a friend suggested looking into it. He has had pneumonia and bronchitis and takes antibiotics and then when they stop the coughing comes back. Hehas the cough from fall to spring and then seems to do okay. I did notice you takes about his chapped lips and excema. My son has these problems too. I asked his Doctor about asthma, but she says he doesn't medically act asthmatic. I have only recently learned of CVA, but will be talking to his Doctor about it. So glad you have found what works for your son. Your post has been very informative.
-
-
-
- You may need to find a new doctor if your son's doctor doesn't know about CVA. but then again, I had to go to a naturopath to start finding relief. good luck!
-
-
-
BronxMotherhood Apr 24, 2012 @ 10:36 pm | delete
- I'm so glad you squid liked my lens. My daughter was recently diagnosed with cough variant asthma. If, only I could convince her to take the nasal wash. I will try these options. Thank you.
-
-
-
- You are welcome! good luck!
-
-
-
Claire
Apr 23, 2012 @ 8:10 pm | delete
- Thank you so much for this useful post. I'm reading this lead in bed coughing myself awake when I should be sleeping! I'm in my 30's and was diagnosed with CVA 6months ago, it came out of nowhere and has been a nightmare to manage. My poor husband must be going crazy stuck listening to me coughing all the time! I'm going to give some of your suggestions a go!
-
-
-
- wonderful! I would love to hear how it goes!
-
-
-
elizabethknows
Apr 22, 2012 @ 10:54 am | delete
- Avoid giving a child with Asthma orange juice too. Also I commend you, I too had Asthma bad as a child...nothing helped. One day I told my mother stop giving me these meds they are making me sicker. You know what? No major issues since. Thank God.
-
-
-
- That's awesome! I did a similar thing with motrin when I had fibromyalgia. I had been taking up to 8 motrin at a time twice a day. One day, I just decided I wasn't going to take motrin anymore ... and I didn't need it anymore. It was crazy!
-
-
-
Erwin Freeland
Apr 19, 2012 @ 8:14 pm | delete
- Hello,
As I write this my 3 year 5 month old daughter is coughing at what I feel is an uncontrollable rate with my wife trying to keep her comfortable at home. As all parents understand this to me is the most difficult part of parenting. Feeling powerless to relieve your child’s aliments. She is an active girl and even when she is coughing runs around the house. When she is not coughing and what I would call “symptom free” never coughs or is short of breathe while being extremely active (sometimes to extreme ). The doctors officially diagnosed her with asthma mid last year and only seems to get this “cough/asthma” when she gets a cold / ear infection / viral infection etc. When she was 9 months she started coughing and could be relieved with a “neb” with Ventolin. At the time we were living Stateside and our pediatrician did explain that she could have asthma if the coughing bits continued when she is sick. It is very frustrating as we live in the Caribbean now and do not think we have the most up to date treatment schedules like else ware. She is currently get’s Ventolin starting with 2 puffs every 4 hours at the first signs of a dry cough. As the coughing persists and is closer together we up it to 4 puffs every 4 hours. We are so frustrated and before leaving work I just did a Google search and read your article briefly till I can get home. I do feel somewhat comforted that others going through this have taken time to post up informative information. I will be asking our pediatrician about the remedies you have found to work and see if this is something that can be applied to our daughter. If you have any other thoughts it would be appreciated. Most importantly I’m glad to hear your son is doing much better. It is a parents greatest joy to see there children’s happiness, right?
Warm Regards,
-
-
-
- Thank you Erwin, yes - my son being happy and able to sleep is the most important thing to me. I wish you much luck!
-
-
-
Jennifer
Apr 15, 2012 @ 10:02 am | delete
- Thank you for this post! Lots of wonderful information. We just this week got a cough variant asthma diagnosis for my 5 1/2 year old son; prior diagnosis was Reactive Airway Disease. We have experienced many of the same episodes as you and your son and have felt helpless many times. He was also diagnosed with non-allergic rhinitis. I haven't fully investigated this diagnosis yet, but am a bit concerned that it is typically an adult condition. Need to research it further. Upon recommendation of the asthma doctor, we are about to begin a fluticasone (Flonase) and albuterol regimine for soccer season, with Flovent on standby if his symptoms worsen after increased outdoor activity. After reading your information, I may try some of your approaches as well, or possibly instead of the prescribed approach. I guess it will be a lot of trial and error, much like your experience, but coming across your website has definitely been helpful and enlightening. THANKS!!
-
-
-
- you're welcome! I hope you find relief!
-
-
-
Nan
Apr 14, 2012 @ 1:44 pm | delete
- sounds like my daughter's symptoms. I felt so helpless until I read your blog. I had never heard of CVA. My daughter's pulmonologist said it was coughing asthma. I have tried the xoponex, cod liver oil, the naturopathic way (it has helped some) but she keeps catching this monthly cold which is followed by constant coughing. It has been going on since she was 3. She is now 7. I haven't tried Quecetrin but will try it. I have gone the traditional method with steroids and tried the natural. I can't find a cure. We live in Florida where there are the least allergies. The Naturopathic doctor took her off of Wheat and Dairy.
The strange thing is that over the Easter weekend she overdosed on chocolate and candy. This might have upset her detox process with the homeopathic medication; thus, causing the flare up again. WHO knows!! Bottom line, glad I'm not the only one.
-
-
-
- you are definitely not the only one!! I wish you swift relief!
-
-
-
Lisa
May 2, 2012 @ 5:06 am | delete
- HI Nan, your story sounds identicle to mine, my daughter is now 4 and I found that a supplement to boost the immune system helped, it's called Optibac and there is one specifically tailored for children. I also stopped wheat and dairy and the difference was incredible, her cough disappeared almost immediately. What I did find out though was that this whole coughing thing was due to a sensitivity issue in her gut, which was caused by a course of anti-biotics she was given nearly a year ago. Before these anti-biotics, there was no cough, no sensitvity to wheat or dairy. Basically there are like an atomic bomb and they destroy everything in the gut. The Optibac supplement helps to rebalance what the anti-biotics destroyed and also boosts the immune system. Hope this may help
-
-
-
dazzvision
Apr 13, 2012 @ 5:13 am | delete
- It's very sad when we see our kids have asthma..
I had asthma when I was child. My parents love birds and we have some in our house.
I do not know if this is related or not, but the attack always occur when my father clean the bird cage. Also, my asthma often occur at night. I feel so miserable because I could not breathe and disgusting mucus out from my nose.
My mother believe that I had asthma because my immune system is low, so she always make me herbal drink to relief it.
I'm 19 now and my asthma never occur again.
It's good to see good lens that help others and have lots of comment :)
-
-
-
- thank you!
-
-
-
Hannah
Apr 8, 2012 @ 3:35 am | delete
- Thank you SOOO much for this article.... we have had the exact same story with our little one for the past year and a half, and I'm desperate! This has helped me with a lot of ideas.
-
-
-
- I'm so glad. and you are welcome :)
-
-
-
Sam
Apr 6, 2012 @ 5:00 pm | delete
- I am in Ireland. My daughter apparently has cough variant asthma. She's a small thing so I hate to give her the steroids I really do. I have not read your article in full yet but have seen you offer some medicines that have worked brilliantly for you and I wanted to thank you for writing this and for being such a fantastic mother because from those pictures of your beautiful son and from all the care and trouble you take about him I can see he is a very happy little boy. I imagine he adores you! :)
-
-
-
- Thank you Sam, this is such an incredibly sweet comment and it made me feel wonderful :)
-
-
-
Katie
Apr 5, 2012 @ 1:51 am | delete
- I would also encourage all the mamas (and papas) on this thread to look into undiagnosed food allergies.... corn, soy, wheat and artificial dyes were also huge triggers for my asthmatic son...
-
-
-
- Thank you Katie.
-
-
-
Heidi Nichols
Apr 3, 2012 @ 10:34 pm | delete
- Hello, my son, Mason will be 2 on the 26th and we just were diagnosed with CVA. We have been through 2 years of hell with this and are so excited to have a diagnosis! My doctor keep prescribing him albuteral which never helped and finally we were referred to an allergy specialist who gave us our diagnosis. We have been prescribed Flovent and Zyrtec. He is sick right now and still no relief. I am going to try what you recommended. The nasal spray and nasal washing. Is that what you think I should try? I am so releived to find I am not the only one going through this with their child. And I appreciate you telling us all about your findings! Thank you, Heidi Nichols
-
-
-
- you are welcome! there's a lot of us! Two is young for the nasal wash - did you check out the website? she does have some pointers on kids that young http://nasopure.com/index.php/nasopure-for-kids/how-to-teach-2-3-year-olds
-
-
-
Louise leverett
Apr 5, 2012 @ 9:47 am | delete
- I ordered the nasal wash as it does say its suitable for 2 years plus I think it may be called nasopure little squirts? My daughter is just 19 months and I did use the quercetin spray. The manufacturers said it was ok for her age however others say because herbal medicine isn't tested you shouldn't give it to children. I only had to use the spray for two days and the cough went away so it's not like I'm using it lots. Just waiting for the nasal wash to arrive but it does say age 2 plus on the websute. Hope that helps katie x
-
-
-
Katie
Apr 3, 2012 @ 1:26 pm | delete
- Wow, this has been so incredibly helpful, thank you! I'm off to the store. Your son's story sounds very much like my 7 year old son's who is super sick right now with an upper respiratory/asthma flare-up....I have tried many many things and have taken your suggestions and experience to heart.... will report back. Again, THANK YOU for taking the time to write this and share this for other families dealing with similar issues. You should submit it for publication to 'Living Without. Cheers, Katie O'Grady
-
-
-
- Hi Katie, thanks. Interesting idea.
-
-
-
louise leverett
Apr 11, 2012 @ 10:38 am | delete
- It's so hard when you hear your little one every night struggling. I am actually so exhausted from Lyla's constant chest infections that we had decided not to have another baby as it would be way too much to deal with! I looked at other friends with children who didn't have these problems and used to think how easy they must have it? I'm so glad that now the nasal spray seems to be working and i tried the prebiotic powders every day too and they defo make a difference! xx
-
-
-
- oh wonderful!!!
-
-
-
miaponzo
Apr 3, 2012 @ 4:05 am | delete
- Check out my ideas about this on my Asthma lens.. but basically essential oils, combined with reflexology to reactivate the glands, particularly the adrenal glands, and good wholesome food (a hair analysis is worth the money)... and I have never seen this NOT work :) Blessed! (What a cute son you have!) :)
-
-
-
- ok, thank you :)
-
-
-
Louise Leverett
Apr 2, 2012 @ 7:58 am | delete
- Hi, thank you so very much for all of the info you have given regarding your child's cough variant ashtma. My little girl has suffered terribly since birth with reoccuring chest infections and reoccuring broncilitus and nothing seems to work. She was a healthy 9lb 10oz baby and eats a huge amount of healthy foods so i'm not sure why she suffers. Every other week we get the cough back and it's so distressing hearing her cough every few minutes and not being able to help her! I recently purchashed the Quercetin spray on your recommedation and can't beleive how much it's helped over the last few days! She does have inhalers too but on their own they just don't seem to prevent the cough turning into a chest infection whereby now i've been using the spray the cough has actually improved rather than getting worse. I was a bit worried as on the internet it says not to give to a toddler but the place i bought it from asked the manufacturers directly and they said it was fine for a 19 month toddler? how old was your boy when you used it? I'm now going to order the nasal wash as your advice has helped me so much thank you so much :0) are you in the UK or America?
-
-
-
- I am so glad that you asked the manufacturer! and I am so glad that it is helping! Joe was 6 when we found it. I wish we had it when he was younger. We spent a lot of nights being miserable. I am in America :)
-
-
-
Louise Leverett
Apr 3, 2012 @ 4:47 am | delete
- I did even go as far as importing Mucinex from America ( I am in the UK) but unfortunately when it turned up they have changed the age to 4 plus so i can't use that for my daughter at the moment :0( Instead i will keep up with the Quercetin and when my nasopure arrives i will try that too. It's been so great to hear of other ways people have dealt with this as i'm constantly at a loss when Lyla is so unwell with it and the doctors keep prescribing antibiotics which i don't think work anyways and who wants their child on antibiotics fortnightly! Not me :0) x
-
-
-
- yeah me neither. we were on antibiotics about once every 6 weeks for years. that was crazy.
-
-
-
Ken
Apr 17, 2012 @ 10:35 pm | delete
- Hi, I have a six year old and your story and a lot of the stories posted on this site resonate with me because my six year old son is also fighting what seems to be a clear cut case of cough variant asthma. None of the pediatricians we've seen have actually called it that though. We had to take him to the doctor today after a really bad flare up and we're given a different inhaler to use twice a day. I have been doing the quercitin fairly regularly once a day although after moving to a different state he fell of his regimen for about a month or so and hid sniffling and sporadic coughing became more frequent. Not sure if that was due to not taking quercitin or due to the fact that we moved to Houston from MN where allergies and air quality seems to be worse. But this most recent flare up was after about two weeks after he went back on quercitin. He is very good about doing the neti pot every night.on top of that we follow a mostly vegan diet limit his candy junk foods, etc. there are also other things I've tried with not much success but the quercitin and neti pot are very regular. Interesting u should mention antibiotics. My son also had frequent ear infections which meant frequent doses of antibiotics. I think after about 8 or 9 ear infections they allowed us to put tubes in his ear and the infections stopped instantly. I sometimes wonder if the respiratory issues he has are from the antibiotics themselves. I wish I had tried eucalyptus oil and some other types of oil that people in other parts of the world use to treat ear infections with good success. Something for other parents to try if your kid gets ear infections a lot. So not sure what else to try with my son. He doesn't have too many bad flare ups but it seems to have gotten worse in Houston. I want to try a higher dose of quercitin but want to make sure he doesn't get too much.
-
-
-
Christa
Apr 1, 2012 @ 9:13 am | delete
- Thank you so much for creating this site. My son has had a chronic cough for quite some time now, the doctor said it might be asthma, but I am hesitant to give him steroids. I am so grateful to be given a list of more natural and gentle methods to try instead.
-
-
-
- you are welcome. I hope you find relief!
-
-
-
Frank's mom
Apr 1, 2012 @ 12:19 am | delete
- Give up gluten when the coughing starts for two weeks just to see if it helps. It costs nothing to try just for a few days. Three days without gluten and my asthma and allergies just let go of me. My son's constant throat clearing and headaches stopped after three days with no gluten. We both tested negative for wheat allergies and celiac. The asthma and the throat problems and the adnoid and tonsil problems all started when he started pre-school (and a daily diet of pepperidge farm cheese fish crackers snacks, sandwiches, chicken nuggets, flour tortillas, etc. everything with wheat flour). Gluten seems to cause inflammation and aggravate any existing allergies or illness symptoms. I still have asthma to certain trees in season but it is soooo much better. Same for my son. This won't help every kid with coughing but I bet its the solution for some and its free and easy to try. Switch to chicken soups, fruits, veggies, lunch meat, rice crackers, mashed potatoes, ice cream :D Its the world's easiest diet once you realize that butter is gluten free. :D No one will feel deprived if they can finally breathe and sleep through a whole night. Thats been ultimately the biggest win for us. Normal sleep patterns. woo-hoo!
-
-
-
- thank you for your comment and advice :) We have not given up gluten but if we were still struggling I would try anything!
-
-
-
Shelly
Apr 6, 2012 @ 12:00 pm | delete
- My son has throat clearing, please give me more info. Does your son have acid reflux symptoms?
-
-
-
Frank's Mom
Apr 9, 2012 @ 1:47 am | delete
- In case you are talking to me :D...I don't think he had acid reflux symptoms, just constant throat clearing, especially after eating. I have met an adult who suffered from acid reflux and turned out to be a gluten intolerance, but I never thought of my kid as having reflux. But he may have had pain and just didn't complain. High energy kid who just kept moving and still has trouble explaining to me exactly where in his body he is having pain when he has it. He was prescribed Albuterol at about 4 years old I think, its hard to remember. I hated giving it to him, but it did work somewhat. He seemed to outgrow the wheezing aspect, but the throat clearing just kept getting worse. He had a tonsil surgery to reduce the tonsils. But a stuffed up nose component started soon after and got worse over the years. By the time he was 10 he was just stuffed up all the time. Used combo of Zyrtec, mucinex and advil to keep things under control - kind of, didn't really work. Eventually his stomach and head started to hurt and we can never find an explanation until we took gluten out of the diet. All symptoms stopped.
The first symptoms were the wheezing and coughing and throat clearing though. I feel like I'm just about recovered from the sleep deprivation from his childhood of health issues and he is now 12.
So I posted this because I wish I had just tried this sooner. A lactation consultant had mentioned the word "gluten" to me when he was a few months old (when talking about soy intolerance and other things in formula) when I was still having incredible pain while nursing him. I had tried giving him formula just to give myself 24 hours to heal but he would just hurl it up (all night, just adding to my exhaustion). Everything made him hurl just being in his mouth -- he nursed exclusively for a whole year! And not because of my lack of trying to get him off me :D The lactation consultant (and I saw two) could see nothing wrong in his latch, etc. The nursing never stopped hurting and in hindsight I think it was the gluten I was eating was causing inflammation in the ducts. At the time, I was just too tired and too desperate regarding feeding issues to really look into it, there wasn't so much information around about gluten issues even ten years ago compared to now. He may have been having some kind of pain was trying to sooth himself, nursing seemed to fix all crying. Sorry for the TMI, but my nipples looked like giant raspberries with the color and all the little sections; felt like ice pick stabbing while he nursed. It was horror film material. But the kid had to eat and he did keep getting fatter. But it was obvious something wasn't right.
But I'll never know if his nursing issues were gluten problems for sure. He made us so tired we never had another one. I just have regrets that I didn't try it sooner so I'm sharing the gory details just in case it helps one family. A prescription for Abuterol for a toddler does just seem wrong. I wish I'd figured it out sooner.
-
-
-
jandriene
Mar 28, 2012 @ 8:53 pm | delete
- Thanks so so much! I just stumbled across your article. I am so excited to try soem of these methods for my fiveyear-old son. I dohave not likea him takingthe steroids and albuterolit and singulair all the time. I will get back in a while with my results!
-
-
-
- wonderful! I hope you have great results!
-
-
-
mileydy
Mar 28, 2012 @ 1:27 am | delete
- I aI am so thankful to read this my story is the same to the first story no wheezing and lots of cough. I am sooo mad ,pediatricians have no idea how to treat this until is too late . My daughter got a pneumothorax which is a hole in the lung. This was do from the force of the cough.
Where should I start allergist , asthma specialist.
I live in Sacramento , ca and going to UC Davis children hospital
still have no received and decent help for the Cough Variant Asthma.
I have not tried natural. Any suggestion ?
How do I find a doctor that has experience in this diagnose.
-
-
-
- I went to a naturopath and that was when I finally found something that worked. the mainstream doctors push the steroids and albuterol, in my experience.
-
-
-
Kyles Mum
Mar 27, 2012 @ 3:45 pm | delete
- Thank you so very much for taking the time to share this, I really appreciate it on behalf of our 6 year old son. :-)))
-
-
-
- you are welcome!
-
-
-
Tangled07
Mar 27, 2012 @ 3:33 am | delete
- Very helpful and informative lens and your son is simply adorable :)
My little brother has asthma and he would have coughing 'episodes' and it was terrible for my parents. He's the youngest one (so basically he's our little prince) and those wheezing sounds coming from a little baby and the coughing...it breaks your heart. Unless I'm mistaken (he's only here in the summer so I'm not sure of any changes) he's currently using flovent but I'll be forwarding this lens to my mother so she can read up. Thank you for this :)
-
-
-
- thank you :) yes, it's very rough. :(
-
-
-
kira stocker
Mar 25, 2012 @ 5:47 pm | delete
- hi my little boy of 5 has had all of these symptoms, it began when he was 3 iv bin through all the medications and he gets so many chest infections as soon as he catches a cold, he gets sick with his cough at nite, his reliver does not work at this stage, he is on an asthma tablet each day but is not helping with his constant cough, im constantly just waiting for it to calm down with everything the doctor gives to stop the symptoms, iv found the information about your story very useful and want to try the things you have said has worked but they are very expensive for them all, do you know if they can be on a perscription?
-
-
-
- I don't know if they can be gotten with a prescription or not. Personally, I would start with the nasopure. that is what helped us the MOST.
-
-
-
kira stocker
Mar 27, 2012 @ 6:23 pm | delete
- yes thankyou for your response i have found reading your story has gave me relief that there is otjer people going through the same, i fekt so alone with this for 3 years, my son has got it now since november its bin up and down, hes had 4 chest infections and toncilits twice since his flare up and had steroids to get rid of his constant coughing, it would of usually worked but hadnt this year so the doctor gave me singulair tablets and a new inhaler called salmeterol didnt really want him to be on loads of medication. i will try the nasopure for sure because he constantly has a stuffy nose the same amount of time as his cough. did your little boy always have a stuffy nose?
-
-
-
Jen
Mar 24, 2012 @ 3:08 pm | delete
- Hi there! Glad to have stumbled across this! My 6 year old has had tons of issues since he started school this year! He seems to have caught every illness that goes around. He's an only child. I've been told that he has everything from allergies, allergy induced asthma, regular asthma & cough variant asthma. I've switched pediatricians 3 times now. He's been seeing an allergist for a couple of years now & has some pretty severe food allergies (pork, turkey, beef, coconuts, tree nuts, oats & lots of different fruits & veggies!). His allergist put him on Singulair this past fall for a 2 wk trial & I weaned him off after researching all the side effects (leukemia!!), although it didn't seem to help anyway. The only thing that seems to help is antibiotics to treat whatever the secondary infection is that stems from the virus/allergies. It's almost like the wheezing is directly related to the virus/bacterial infection that he currently has. I'm really unsure where to go from here. I'm so frustrated in that I don't think he has regular asthma because when he's feeling fine, there is no shortness of breath or wheezing during excercise. The quercetin seems fairly promising & I think I'll start him on bromelain enzymes also. He was doing nasal rinses last year, but after a choking fit while doing one, he now refuses! Every doctor with the exception of his allergist wants to put him on prednisone, but I adamantly refuse! I can't take them personally myself (I had to take them after an anaphylactic response to allergy shots & they made me feel crazy) & am not willing to chance that with him. Any other info that anyone could bombard me with would be greatly appreciated!! We eat really clean in our household & try not to take too many medications if there is a way to treat things naturally. I just want him to have a normal childhood!
-
-
-
- Yeah, there is a specific kind of cough variant asthma that is virus induced, meaning that when your child is sick, it triggers the cough variant asthma. That is too bad about the nasal rinses. that was what helped joe the most. were they helpful while he did do them? good luck!
-
-
-
- Yeah, there is a specific kind of cough variant asthma that is virus induced, meaning that when your child is sick, it triggers the cough variant asthma. That is too bad about the nasal rinses. that was what helped joe the most. were they helpful while he did do them? good luck!
-
-
-
Jen
Mar 24, 2012 @ 9:57 pm | delete
- Yes, it did seem to be helpful when he did them. I never thought I'd say it, but I'm looking forward to his allergist appointment this coming Thursday. I'm ready to move forward now that I'm a bit better informed & try to make some progress!
-
-
-
- ok good luck!
-
-
-
Laura
Mar 21, 2012 @ 12:03 pm | delete
- Thank you so much for your post. My son and your son sound like they went through the exact same diagnosis and treatments. I was getting so frustrated with the doctors. Everytime I came in to say that the steroids weren't working they would just prescribe more inhalers. Till finally I did some research and trial anylisis like you. Our stories end up very similar as well. Our first defense against a couching attack is a good offense. We also do the nasal wash, and the probiotics, and attack mucus at the first thought of a cold or flu comming. So thank you for sharing. And to all mothers out there. Remember to never settle for a quick diagnosis from a doctor that sees and hears your child for 15 or 20 min at the most and then quickly prescribes what might be a possible quick fix. Be an advocate for your childs health. It is worth it!!!!
-
-
-
- thank you Laura :) I totally agree :) thank you for sharing
-
-
-
suzy springer
Mar 20, 2012 @ 9:59 am | delete
- my son was told in october 2011 that he had asthma but he did not have all the obvious signs weezing shortness of breath i had to research myself and found that his systems matched CVA he takes his easyhaler and his doctor said to come back in a year for a check up i am not happy with this i wanted him to do a allergy testing but he refused this,i want to stop the easyhaler but not sure what will happen if the cough will return i do not feel supported by our doctor who seems to think that my son should continue to take this medication without any further tests.please help.
-
-
-
- Hi Suzy. I am not a doctor. Maybe you should find one that you feel will consider your requests. good luck!
-
-
-
Amanda
Mar 19, 2012 @ 10:48 pm | delete
- Wow--This is incredible to read. I haven't done much research about my son's condition until tonight (because we're in a flare up time). He hasn't been diagnosed as having CVA, but its absolutely what he has--the descriptions you've given are exactly what my poor 3 year old has to endure. The non-stop coughing, mostly at night, sometimes during the day too. I'm curious how old your son was when you started giving him the Quericin and the Mucinex--is that something that could be given to a 3 year old? Or the nasal spray? Its hard because he is still so little. My son does use an inhaler, but it barely helps, which is why I'm so eager to find other ways to support him. I'm so grateful for your post and to know that other parents struggle with similar issues. Thank you!!
-
-
-
- Hi Amanda, You are welcome :) Joe was 6 when we first went to the naturopath and started trying other things. At 3, we really had no tools but antibiotics would calm things. :( I'm not sure when you can start giving him those meds. You can talk to your regular doctor about muscinex and sudafed but maybe find a naturopath for other options.
-
-
-
Christine
Mar 18, 2012 @ 12:37 pm | delete
- Hi Lisa, it's wonderful to have found ur posting over CVA. I have never heard of CVA as my family doc just diagnosed my son with asthma since he had the first attack about 2 years back. Of late, he's been coughing almost every night (though daytime he seems fine) and I have to administer the steroid inhaler to help him to sleep better at night. After reading of your natural therapy way to control your son's cough, I am very thrilled by your "experiment" and results that I will start looking for the mucinex and as well the nasal wash. Re the nasal wash by nasopure, unfortunately I don't think it's sold over in Malaysia hence I was wondering if a neti pot filled with organic sea salt water works equally well. We do have a brand by Sterimar for nasal wash that sells over here...need your expertise on this...
-
-
-
- I don't think a neti pot will work as well - unless it's one you can squeeze. The nasopure is squeezed and that sends a jet of water in one nostril and out the other. The positive pressure pulls anything that is in the sinuses out. Neti pots don't do that. good luck finding something!
-
-
-
Jeannie
Mar 17, 2012 @ 8:49 am | delete
- Thanks so much for posting! This is a glimpse of hope for me! My 4 yr old step daughter was just diagnosed with CVA. The nights of coughing have been rough. I had no idea CVA existed until now. Our Dr. just started her on singulair at night and claritin in the morning. We just started but I don't see it helping and this is very different from what I've been reading, for treatments. I am going to pick up the mucinex and sudafed for now and get a saline wash for her nose. I want to get the nasopure! I am just starting everything and the process seems like a lot but I'm so thankful there are things I can do to get her coughing to stop! Thanks Again!
-
-
-
- best of luck and speedy health to your little one!
-
-
-
Hopefulmom
Mar 16, 2012 @ 4:36 pm | delete
- Hello, did you ever try delsym before bed, for those nasty coughs?
My daughter is also told she have cough variant asthma. For the last 5 days she has been coughing at night,especially when she gets up in the morning. Not so much in the day. I am dying for some peace at night.
How long do you take quencertin to work? I just got some mucinex hopefully it will do some good for us too!
-
-
-
- I tried lots of cough meds back in the day. nothing helped. I remember a lot of dextromophan. I'm not sure what's in delsym.
The nasal spray we took 'worked' immediately in that I saw an immediate decrease in issues when he started taking it. good luck!
-
-
-
sarah
Apr 11, 2012 @ 9:32 pm | delete
- Hi, My three year old daughter keeps waking up through the night with a constant cough and then vomiting, been to the doctor and he just keeps giving antibiotics with no diagnosis but it just keeps coming back, but he did say that if it don't get better he will probably be giving her a pump and know reading your article it's sounds quite similar to this.
-
-
-
McKall
Mar 16, 2012 @ 11:59 am | delete
- Thanks for posting this information! I have a 5 year old girl that has suffered from Asthma and food allergies all her life. She has been on several meds and we just took her off singulair because we didn't like some the the side effects that we think it caused.. I'd love to get her off the steroids and go natural.
-
-
-
- I wish you lots of luck and relief!
-
-
-
Nicole
Mar 13, 2012 @ 10:45 pm | delete
- Thank so much for documenting all of this information.
How old was your son when you started to give him the Quercetin nose spray and tablets?
-
-
-
- my son was 6 when we went to the naturopath and discovered quercetin and enzymes.
-
-
-
Christina heathman
Mar 13, 2012 @ 1:15 am | delete
- My son is three years old and for the last 6 months he has coughing episodes that last sometimes over a week and prevents him from getting anysleep. No doctor is helping telling me he is to you g of testing, but do tells they thing he might have asmtha. My son has been complaining of pain in his stomach area which I am sure is from coughing all day and night. This as also disrupted his days in pre-school. I am so lost and feel so helpless I don't know where to start to help my baby boy feel better
-
-
-
- I am praying for your boy to feel better soon! Have you even been offered flovent or steroids? I don't like to be dependent on them, but they did help us a lot until we could figure out what else to do. Maybe you should try a new doctor?
-
-
-
Nicole
Mar 12, 2012 @ 3:50 am | delete
- I am reading this at 12:30 am as I listen to my 5 year old cough she went on the hospital at age 2 for 5 days for breathing distress and since then everytime sh gets sick it turns into a cough that just doesn't stop we do the breathing treatments and they don't really help- one time we we're in the doctors office - she had gotten a treatment right before she went and then he gave her another one and it didn't work and then he sent her home. No one has ever suggested any of the things you wrote about - gonna check out te booger doc site and the nasal wash! Thank you thank you for yout post. I even like that I have a name for her asthma!
-
-
-
- I wish you speedy relief! I am so glad you have found some new ideas here!
-
-
-
jseven
Mar 11, 2012 @ 7:34 pm | delete
- Thanks so much for sharing on such a huge issue for so many children and adults. I am sharing this on Facebook and Pinterest. God bless!
-
-
-
Michelle
Mar 11, 2012 @ 5:21 am | delete
- Your story is very similar to ours. I also suffer from Fibromyalgia, over 9 years now.
Both our kids suffered from reflux as babies. (We assume this is from their dad who cryed till he was 18months old, the cause unknown). They have always had to sleep with the head of their cots/beds raised or they would cough.
Out of the blue our daughter got the nocturnal cough first at the end of March 2010 (18mnths old), then our son in Sept 2010(3.5yrs old). We tried everything with our daughter, but nothing worked untill we got fed up with our son coughing we put pressure on the doctors to stop sending us away.
The first thing we found to work was the standard ventilin inhaler, a couple of puffs before bed. Everything was good over the Summer, early autumn months. Then winter came around again, and so did the nocturnal coughing.
We raised the air temperature to 25-27deg C, this worked for a while then this started to become inefficient. Everytime they would come home with a virus, the management techniques seemed to be less effective.
Then we found a skivi to keep their necks warm worked for a while. Untill another virus exposure.
Eventually these stopped working. We were given the steroid inhailer. This got us through winter well, Usually during summer we do not need the steroid inhaler, however we had a very cold summer, and everytime we tryed to stop the inhaler, the cough would come back. Although I have also learnt that it needs to be slowly stopped so this could also be why.
We have only discovered the power of the decongestant in the last couple of weeks.
Another thing to note is that reflux can cause a cough, likewise, a cough can cause reflux.
We have recently found something called nocurnal asthma. This could be something to help you. We are sure that the adenoids are a contributor to this type of asthma. My husband had this same cough, and for years his mum was told my husband and his brother had environmental allergies. A new doctor took their adenoids out and they never coughed again.
We thought that maybe the reflux was irretating his adenoids causing asthmatic symptoms so we took our son to the ENT specialist. She told us that he did not have an adenoid issue, nor a reflux issue, as he didnt have the typical symptoms. She then sent us for an X-ray and found he did have large adenoids. We have an opporation tomorrow, and they are doing an investigation to see if there is maybe a reflux issue.
Dont know if you have had your boys tonsils and adenoids checked but thought this made sense with the regular nasal washes you mentioned. All your symptoms similar to ours.
Maybe environmental irritation aggrivating sensitive adenoids cuasing nocturnal asthma. When managed everything is okay. Then triggered with a virus or reflux episode causing an irritation, causing coughing, causing further irritation, causing................... the cycle continues.
We hope taking out the adenoids will mean the triggers will have nothing to irritate, therefore no reason to cough.
Fingers crossed!! Good luck with us all!!
-
-
-
- Thank you! and best of luck to you too! Great information in your comment. I really appreciate it. We never had Joe's adenoids checked, and now it seems there is no reason to - as he is quite controlled. It's March now, and we got the nasopure last march. I have only given him flovent for coughing ONE TIME in the last year, so he is doing so wonderful :) I am so appreciative.
-
-
-
klaird
Mar 9, 2012 @ 12:10 am | delete
- I found this lens from a link in your ebook, but it happens to be an issue we are dealing with for our 4 year old. Any little cold leads to cough, cough, cough, for at least a month with little help from any antibiotics. He coughs so hard he vomits. His pediatrician has discussed CVA, but has never officially diagnosed him with that. I really never considered even trying a nasal saline rinse, even though I have my teenage son use one. I just assumed my younger son was too young. I am going to try to get him started with the Nasopure. Thanks for your recommendations. Love the BoogorDoctor site!
-
-
-
- Yay! I hope you find some relief!
-
-
-
ClinicallySignificantProductions
Mar 8, 2012 @ 12:02 pm | delete
- What an awesome lens! My son has this same type of asthma. As a toddler whenever he would get any sort of mild upper respiratory illness he would cough horribly at night. Sometimes things would be so bad he would vomit because of the violent coughing.
Of course as a first time parent you just naively assume the cough is a symptom of the cold/flu at first. However when over the counter cough medicines etc have little to no effect you start realizing something isn't right.
Prior to the diagnosis, the only thing that would help the night cough even a little was elevating his mattress on his bed so he was sleeping with his head elevated and Chiropractic care.
Luckily albuterol ,and occasional steroids like Pulmicort administered via a nebulizer were all that were required to get my son's cough variant asthma under control back then. It's been much less of an issue now that he's older, but like you we learned to recognize triggers. We can now nip things in the bug before they really flare up.
As a Doctor of Chiropractic I HATE giving my son medicine unless absolutely necessary...so I was so excited to see all the information and comments about Naturopaths and holistic type alternatives. Don't get me wrong, I'm one of the "weird" Chiropractors that realizes medicines are sometimes necessary. I just personally feel they should be one of the last solutions on the list to try, instead of the first.
Thanks for sharing a great lens. CVA is one of those things most people never know about until they have a first hand experience with it. Spreading the word that ashtma doesn't have to be the textbook wheezing we all expect can do nothing but help! Nice job!
-
-
-
- Thank you Doctor James :) i love it when Doctor's like this lens. :) I'm glad you have found relief too. CVA is tricky!
-
-
-
missesq10 Mar 7, 2012 @ 12:55 am | delete
- I have been a chronic asthmatic all my life, and NOTHiNG speaks louder than experience! I really enjoyed your lens:)
-
-
-
- thank you :)
-
-
-
Jodi Whittemore
Mar 6, 2012 @ 11:14 pm | delete
- Hi There,
First of all, I am so touched by your love for your son as evidenced by your perseverance to find the best solution for him. I am a mother of 3 and would do anything for my kids . . . it's just built in and to read your history made me think what a fortunate boy Joe is to have you for his mommy! We have a Neti pot and have used it in the past with the same results. My son is coughing now and I so appreciate the reminder! I'm also going to order the Nasopure as it looks to be so much more user friendly. Thank you for the time you've taken to help so many others. Blessings to you! Jodi from Phoenix
-
-
-
- Thank you Jodi, :) your comment is very sweet and I really appreciate it. I would do anything for him.
-
-
-
Natalie H.
Mar 4, 2012 @ 7:06 am | delete
- Hi, I read your blog after trying to search for info on Google. My daughter will be 5 in July...when she was 1 almost 2 years old, she was diagnosed with acid reflux (had ulcers in her esophagus and colon). This all because she was a picky eater, coughed constantly at night and when sitting down. After a year and half on prevacid, the doctor had me stop it. He felt that she was better because she no longer had any of the gerd symptoms. 2 years later and recently (since Monday) she has again been constantly coughing- sitting down and sleeping. We took her to the doctor (I'm out of town, so this was an air force base doctor) on Wednesday and he felt like she wasn't getting gerd again since she's been eating fine. He took a light to shine up her nose and saw that she was very congested. Thing is, she hasn't been sneezing or sniffling and hasn't had a runny nose...so I'm confused. He told us that the snot is causing irritaion to her throat when she lays down, etc. He said to prop her up when she's sleeping and try the Vicks, it seems to work okay. Its been 6 days now though, and its making me really wonder if her gerd is coming back. I want to try the nasal cleaning product to see if maybe its the congestion the doctor saw. Its just that my MIL and I are stumped as to why she is not showing any signs of congestion. Is that possible to be congested and not have a runny nose or sniffling?
-
-
-
- Hi Natalie,
Back in the old days, joe rarely showed signs of congestion. that was one of the very confusing things to me to. It was almost like he was soooo stopped up and backed up all the time that when he got more congested nothing could really happen.
The only way I ever used to be able to tell that he was congested was he would grind his teeth in his sleep.
These days, I can always tell when he is getting congested - so either his body changed or the constant treatment changed things.
-
-
-
- sometimes comments disappear :( if you don't see yours or I didn't reply, post it again please.
-
-
-
Olga
Feb 29, 2012 @ 11:02 pm | delete
- Hi Lisa,
I'm writing again about my 5 year old, who has CVA and a lot of environmental allergies. She cycles with colds and infections every two weeks, which drives our family crazy. In 2011 alone she was sick about 16 times. About 5 months ago, once we found out about the allergies, she was put on flovent, allegra and veramyst. The meds did not do much, that's when our doctor suggested adding cingulair to the "mix", so we did. Cingulair seems to have helped, it stopped her from coughing every time she got sick. She still gets sick though, every 2 weeks, like clockwork. Our allergist told us that bottom line would be to start her on immunotherapy (allergy shots). We are waiting on that, although I'm ready and sadly so is my little one, she is that tired of getting sick so often. We've done the nasopure every day, I wish it would have helped, but it did not. She takes multivitamins, probiotics and fish oil daily. So our last resort is this Korean Hanjak medicine, we went to an acupuncturist today, who is also a licensed herbalist. He said that she might have digestion problem, that's something he is going to try to treat, hopefully that might help to relieve some of her symptoms. We've heard great things about this type of treatment. It often involves acupuncture, but I know that acupuncture will be too much for her, so we will go with the herbs first.
I remember reading that you've tried similar approach as well, did you see any improvement?
We will start her off with a moth supply, and I will come back and let you know if it helped at all.
-
-
-
- Hi Olga, OH NO! I am so sorry! :( that is just too bad. I just love the nasopure so it's so sad that it didn't work for you. We are not dealing with allergies over here. sigh. I wonder if enzymes would help - did you ever read the Aspirin Alternative?
We did not try acupuncture but we did try chiropractor and a kind of massage/energy healer. They did not help.
The boogor doctor suggested reflux - have you ruled that out? or have you emailed him? http://www.boogordoctor.com/ maybe he can still help you. I sure would.
I really hope you find something that works for you. :( and I really hope you keep giving me updates. I'd love to hear from you. thank you.
-
-
-
sharon
Feb 29, 2012 @ 5:48 pm | delete
- SO glad to read your story, my son, who is now 5 had the very same issues--we've tried almost everything today in fact I went to the vitamin shoppe and the clerk who has astha recommended a tongue spray, I am really hopeful about trying other natural healing agents, I do believe in the body healing itself and look forward to learning more..I believe now I can change things with my now 18 mos old who has similar coughs --- thank you.
-
-
-
- You are welcome! and I wish you speedy relief!
-
-
-
Jana
Feb 29, 2012 @ 10:25 am | delete
- Thank you for ALL your very helpful information! I know each case varies, but at least you've given me options to chose from for my 4yr old daughter. She's not nearly as extreme as what Joe seemed to be. But none the less the night time coughing is AWFUL!! She hasn't even been diagnosed yet, but has some of the symptoms of CVA. You've given me many options for help, so again I Thank You for your diligence in wanting to help others by spreading your success! Blessings =)
-
-
-
- thank you Jana :) I wish you much success! Lisa
-
-
-
Marilyn L'Heureux
Feb 27, 2012 @ 2:35 pm | delete
- Hi Lisa and Lisa viewers! Lisa, I do believe everything can be healed. I also believe with have much lack of knowledge and wisdom in America in regards to medicine. and that Western medicine limits it's spectrum and puts down proven natural healing methods. Coming from a family who had much asthma growing up, and myself having some, along with my husband and daughter I have found things that work besides what Western had to offer, which is not much! But Western medicine serves a purpose also and their asthma medicine does save lives, it is needed. What is needed in addition to it is other healing medicines so Western medicine is hopefully needed little or not needed at all. For the dry asthma the lungs have to be moistened and if you give the wrong natural healing medicine it can make you worse. We have used Lily Bulb Formula from Health Concerns. I grind up the pill and make it into a powder form and we have it in applesauce. my nine year old daughter and the rest of us have had much success with it. You need to understand your
body at the time and what is going on at the time will determine what can help you. For allergies we have used Springboard D-Hist and the junior chewable formula. It is amazing how quickly it opens you up in a breathing way and stops the sneezing and runny nose. I even recommend it for food allergies that tighten your throat area up. It has worked fast for us with much benefit. AAT I recommend for trying to reverse allergies. No pain, no drugs, it is worth trying out. For many, if you can stop the runny nose from happening, so it doesn't drip down into the lungs, it can prevent some asthma episodes. The dryness if different and adding something that moistens the lungs can help you. You don't want to over dry the lungs which some medicines can do. That can lead to asthma too. Alignment can play a part too. In regards to asthma, ad cough variant asthma, I believe you need a plan with a variety of tools and adjust them as needed. I also believe in the power of prayer. I am a Christian and have had amazing experiences just with prayer alone. God has given us natural things on earth to help us...keep seeking until you find what is right for you or your child(ren). The journey can be hard....we experienced much of the cough variant asthma symptoms with our daughter in the past and have made much progress through much prayer and trial of a variety of things. Keep trying, keep praying, and never give up!
-
-
-
- Thank you Marilyn for that wonderful, thoughtful, helpful post. I agree.
-
-
-
Not convinced
Feb 27, 2012 @ 12:43 pm | delete
- I am a 25 year old adult with cough variant asthma. I was diagnosed at age 6 after several trips to the ER. I think it is great to try different methods for controlling asthma, but just because it works for one person does not mean it works for another. People have different levels of asthma and different triggers. This is partially why it can be difficult for doctors to decide on a treatment plan. Many children grow out of their asthma. Mine has improved but that isn't really saying much. Musinex does nothing for me. I continue to try and use it hoping at some point it will help, but no such luck. It just dehydrates me. I do use sinus rinses and think they help, but I have had 4 sinus surgeries and am some what of a lost cause when it comes to sinus infections. For my allergies and asthma I take flonase, allegra, advair (which is my lifesaver), and sigulair. I also take prevacid for acid reflux (you are very correct that this affects asthma). For a while I took probiotics, mostly to combat all of the antibiotics, but I am currently not taking them and hoping to eat yogurt for this purpose instead of taking the pills. I also have albuterol for a fast acting inhaler and a nebulizer at home. When I am sick, it does not matter how many at home remedies or over the counter meds I try, I need prednisone, a strong antibiotic, and my inhaler and/or nebulizer. Anyway, all of that to say that I think it is great if you can find ways to help your child's asthma but medication has it's purpose. Asthma varies from person to person. Also, I do not believe you can cure asthma. You can control it or it can get better as you grow, but you cannot cure it. And please, if your child has asthma keep a fast acting inhaler near by and use it.
-
-
-
- Hi Not Convinced. Personally, I refused to believe that there is any disease that exists that you can not cure - because once you believe you can't cure it. You never, ever will.
You didn't say anything about enzymes. I read a great book called the Aspirin alternative that talks about systemic enzymes and how they can work better than even hardcore medicine with respiratory issues.
If I were you, I also would look into xylitol nasal rinses. I have read great things about that for allergies.
Also, someone on a forum just mentioned Yamoa powder to me. It's something you eat and is supposed to cure issues like this.
You'll never know if it helps until you try it. And for me, if something isn't dangerous, I'll try anything and everything and never say "ok, this is it, I've got this for life"
-
-
-
Not convinced
Feb 27, 2012 @ 10:08 pm | delete
- I will have to continue to disagree with you. I do not believe you can cure asthma. You can "grow out of it" as many children do or you can control it. I have tried many things. This is not the only medical issue I have, and I have heard a different diet or home remedy to fix almost all of them. Some of them have left me sicker than I was before. I believe in medicine bc I wasn't expected to make it past age 12. (I give this credit to God, but I believe He used medicine). I had 7 surgeries before the age of 17 and have been on as many as 27 medications a day before. I am now a fairly healthy 25 year old on 7 medications a day. I do believe at home remedies can help but I trust my doctors and I am thankful to be at the point I am with my health. I consider my asthma under control with medications. I am, personally very thankful for advair. I just want people to continue to be careful. Asthma is dangerous.
-
-
-
- I think it's wonderful that you have found such success. :)
-
-
-
aishu19
Feb 26, 2012 @ 3:00 am | delete
- Reading your kid's story was truly like reading mine..even now I am praying he doesnt start the night coughing up!! And he is on and off on albuterol... my goodness...the amount of sleep we have lost, the anguish we go through..adn all that fear that if this isnt taken care of he ends up asthmatic? The only time he didnt have it was the 4 months we were out of the country... Thanks for all these useful input..I do use decongestions..Robitussin works for me..Delsym sometimes...Looks like I should keep mucinex handy... I did buy a saline spray by NeilMed since I use the Sinus Rinse and that helped me alot.. never heard of nasopure before..I must see if I can do that wash for kids his age... he is a little younger than your boy from what I see..once again..thanks a million for sharing this...
-
-
-
- good luck Aysha!
-
-
-
Samantha
Feb 25, 2012 @ 10:38 pm | delete
- Thank you for this article. After recently taking my son to the doctors for yet a 3rd time because of a horrible cough that was lasting well over month, and being told it's nothing, my husband finally demanded x-rays, and they found his lungs were elongated and determined he had cough variant asthma. This totally explained why ever since he has been little, he has picked up every single cold he has been exposed to, and always got this terrible cough, which was way worse than anybody elses! I always wondered why it seemed like he was always getting croup. He was put on the Inhaled albuterol and flovent, and finally after 6 days he has had his first full night of sleep without any coughing. I am just a newbie to this, and I have to admit a little fearful, but I loved your article I found it very helpful and understanding. I am going to look for or order the Nasopure Nasal wash right away and try that route, I hope we have some success as well. Thanks for compling all your efforts and for updating.
-
-
-
- wonderful. I hope it helps!!
-
-
-
susan300
Feb 25, 2012 @ 10:16 pm | delete
- Awesome lens!! So much of these parallels my own experience. You've been through so much, and documenting your progress here is sure to help so many people. Thank you!! :)
-
-
-
Lakshmi
Feb 23, 2012 @ 11:11 pm | delete
- Could you please specify the kind of Sudafed and Mucinex you use for your child.
My daughter has almost a similar story as your son. Nasal wash with Neilmed sinus rinse bottle has helped greatly here. I just started giving her digestive enzymes( vitamin shoppe ones). Hoping they'll help her. have to start on the probiotics regimen soon.
Thanks for your story. I'm sure it will help many others in similar situations.
-
-
-
- I use the Children's sudafed PE liquid with Joe and I tried both the minimelts and the liquid Mucinex. I even have sometimes gotten the Mucinex brand liquid medicine that has both phenyliphrene and guaifenesin (mucinex) in it but it tastes yucky.
copy and paste this to see it on amazon
http://www.amazon.com/Mucinex-Childrens-Expectorant-Decongestant-4-Ounce/dp/B001GCU5M4/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1330124519&sr=8-8
you're welcome! I'm so glad you are seeing improvements!
-
-
-
- There was a commnet posted that somehow got deleted. can you please repost? Something about what kind of sudafed I use?
-
-
-
Melissa
Feb 18, 2012 @ 1:43 am | delete
- I am unable to post my comment here. Is there another way I can contact you? Would really like your feedback.
-
-
-
- lisakleinweber @ gmail.com
-
-
-
ChiroAustin
Feb 16, 2012 @ 4:11 pm | delete
- Such a wonderful lens...really enjoyed it. As a Chiropractor I've worked with many children that have asthma and have seen incredible improvements.
-
-
-
- We tried chiropractic and I did not see any improvements over about 6 treatments. My son wanted to stop going so we did. We also tried a short massage / energetic massage lady who did a type of cranial sacral work short enough for kids to hang out through. that didn't help either. HOWEVER, I would never discourage anyone from trying chiropractic - in fact I would encourage it. I'm certain it's helpful for some.
thanks for your comment!
-
-
-
Sara Horsley
Feb 12, 2012 @ 2:06 pm | delete
- Wow, I know how it feels to have your daughter cough and cough and NOTHING that works on normal coughs gives ANY relief. My duaghter is eleven and we have stuggled off and on with this since she was in first or second grade. She would get a cough when she got sick and then it wouldn't go away. In the fourth grade I think she coughed from April to August! Last year in the fift grade we amanged to have a fairly cough free year thanks to the inhaler Qvar which we give her regualrly during the spring allergy season. This year in the 6th grade she cought a cold and now it's be 6 days of coughing and the Qvar is very slow to start working. I will have to check out some of your ideas since I like you hate the ideas of giving my daughter to many steriods. She the hater of taking medicine since she was an infant has taken more meds than anyone in the house! It just nice to know that other people out there get it!
-
-
-
- I wish you and your daughter relief Sara!
-
-
-
kristi
Feb 11, 2012 @ 5:04 pm | delete
- Wow!!! I came across this site somehow and Im possitive this is what our daughter has. After coming home from emerg for the second time in 2 weeks, they sent us home with flovent. We meet with the pead monday and I will be bringing up cough variant asthma with her. The doctor at emerg also suggested it could be this.
-
-
-
- good luck!
-
-
-
Helena Seli
Feb 10, 2012 @ 6:53 pm | delete
- Thank you, Lisa - is the same true for the QC nasal spray? That is, blow nose right away- as there are no active ingredients?
-
-
-
- oops! Now I see what you were asking. Sorry! There are ingredients in the nasal spray. I've taken it before and sometimes I feel the need to blow my nose after - I don't think it's that big of a deal. Although not blowing would probably be best.
-
-
-
Helena Seli
Feb 10, 2012 @ 6:29 pm | delete
- Lisa - when you used the nasal spray, did your son immediately blow his nose? Our daughter is 2 and the Nasopure is too much for her (though the older son uses it). Should you not blow the nose so the active ingredients can absorb?
Also, I don't see anyone who recommends Mucinex and Sudafed as preaching quackery - to me, that as Western as it gets. Clearly, you have tried it all and worked out a good balance between homeopathic and other sources.
-
-
-
- My son does blow his nose right away. There are no active ingredients in what you put in the nasopure. It's just salt and a buffer like baking soda that helps it not sting. I've taken the nasopure without the salt and it makes my nose sting.
The reason the nasopure works is not because of absorption of medicine, it's because 1) because the nose is your body's filter and cleaning it is smart practice and 2) because the pressure of the water going through the nasal passages uses Bernoulli's principle to pull snot that would otherwise just sit there out of the sinuses.
http://nasopure.com/about-nasopure/how-nasopure-works
And thanks! I am actually pretty surprised that someone would even think enzymes and probiotics are quackery. :) a good balance, I like that.
-
-
-
Asthma Nurse
Feb 10, 2012 @ 2:22 pm | delete
- Lisa, it worries me to read this as I hope many parents will take it as gospel. Your child vomited after the Albuterol because it relaxed his airways, he coughed and some of the loosened mucous caught in his throat which made him gag. I bet he felt a bit better after the vomiting also forced a good deal of mucous out of his lungs. Three things happen during asthma: Airway swelling, aiway constriction, and mucous production in the airways. Albuterol only helps with the constriction so that the airways can relax. The only thing that helps inflammed, swollen airways get calmed down is the lowest dose of inhaled corticosteroid that is effective. The medication lasts 12 hours in the body and it is a much smaller dose than your child would have to take if it was an oral steroid. If you are only ordered to give two puffs once a day, it works better if you give 1 puff twice a day. With children, colds are frequent asthma triggers, as are dust mites, strong odors and smoke. Using a humidifier gives dust mites much happiness. They thrive in it as does mold. Deal with the enviromental triggers, but this goes hand in hand with following a reasonable, smart protocol for asthma medication intervention with contollers and rescue meds. Good sites for learning are National Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, American Lung Association, and American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immuniology. Please avoid quackery.
-
-
-
- Hello Asthma nurse, I found your comment initially to be quite offensive, but I'm trying to look past that.
First, I would like to know exactly what you see as quackery? the enzymes? the probiotics? the nasopure?
Second, I would like to know what you recommend? That children stay on coricosteroids forever? I sincerely want to know.
Why in the world would anyone take anything I say as gospel? Who am I? Just some lady they don't even know. All I'm giving here is ideas - no instructions. No orders, no demands.
I don't want anyone to take my advice as gospel. I want people to get ideas that they can then try with their own children and see with their own two eyes what works or what doesn't.
Modern medicine wants people to take their advice as gospel and just do it more if it doesn't work. And look the other way if it doesn't work. And pretend that it does work if it doesn't work.
I think the biggest thing that I found offensive in your comment was you telling me what happened when my son took the albuterol.
Were you there? No. I was. Both times he puked and every other time that he didn't puke but didn't get better either.
It seems to me that you think you know better than I do because you are a nurse and I'm not. It also seems to me that you are toeing the recommended treatments for asthma line.
I tried everything the doctors told me - many times. If it had worked and/or if it wasn't dangerous I'd still be doing it.
The nasopure works, and it's not dangerous at all. That's why I choose it over steroids and albuterol.
-
-
-
- Oh, and one more thing. Have you read any of the comment here of the many, many parents saying "I've tried everything the doctors told me and NOTHING works" ... what would you say to them?
-
-
-
Patricia
Mar 10, 2012 @ 11:38 am | delete
- Hello! I am waiting for my son to go into the asthma clinic and we recently took him to get tested at the Allergy Clinic. He is allergic to everything! Highly allergic to dust mites and mold. He started coughing again last night and now it has a slight "bark" or "seal" sound to it. He is on flowvent and picking up his prescription of singulair this morning. I was going to purchase him a humidifier today but after reading your excerpt, I think not! Is there anything you would recommend to relieve his cough in the interim? I am always scared it will turn into another trip to ER.
Thank you!
-
-
-
april
Feb 8, 2012 @ 10:54 pm | delete
- i'm definitely going to try this. my son, almost 4, has had a mild wet sounding cough since before christmas. we've been to the dr, 3 times, he's on his 3rd round of antibiotics, and I just went an bought a nebulizer for albuteral inhalents....he isn't responding to any of this, not even the mild ear infections he has had concurrently. throughout all this, he has only had a fever one night. i don't agree with prolonged and frequent use of antibiotics so I am really looking for an alternative method of treatment and cure.
-
-
-
- Hi April, good luck!!! Let us know.
-
-
-
sarah
Mar 7, 2012 @ 7:16 pm | delete
- best cure for ear infections is garlic mullen oil. my son had ear infection after ear infection,used the oil once never had an ear infection again.
-
-
-
Greta
Feb 8, 2012 @ 10:12 am | delete
- I hope you don't mind Lisa, but I just wanted to add my opinion/experience about the dairy free/gluten free diet in regards to asthma. I have done a lot of reading and personal research as well long discussions with my son's doctors. What I have learned is that unless your child tests positive as allergic to dairy or gluten (which can easily be done through your allergist) then there is no reason to avoid these foods. I believe it is good to go organic when it comes to dairy but other than that, your child needs the calcium and vitamin D, expecially if using the asthma medications such as corticosteroids which can affect bone growth. In fact, being Vit D deficient can actually lead to asthma issues. (I had my son tested for that as well, through a blood test). We should be especially aware of this during the winter months when most of us are in the sun less. As far as I know, avoiding gluten will only help those children diagnosed with Celiac disease (symptoms are diarrhea and stomach issues - and with the gut being closely related to your immune response, then yes, this would be the reason to avoid gluten and perhaps see positive response in breathing issues). But, not very many children are allergic to gluten to the extent that it would result in asthma. Plus, it is a very difficult diet to pursue especially if there is no actual health benefits. Although there is some evidence that avoiding dairy during a cold may be beneficial, in between colds Calcium and Vit D may in fact be essential. I would suggest you have your child tested for all food allergies and know for sure.
-
-
-
- Greta, you're preaching to the choir here :) I totally agree with you. I did try to take my son off dairy for a bit, because he doesn't eat a lot anyway so it wasn't such a big deal. Taking him off of wheat on the other hand, would have been a full time job and an absolute LAST RESORT.
Plus, my son is old enough now that he might protest this - and that would make it even harder.
I would suggest to anyone having issues to try everything I've suggested first - find some immediate relief - and if that doesn't work or doesn't work as well as you'd like THEN go towards elimination diets.
I personally won't have my son tested for allergies if I can help it because I don't think it's an exact science and I do think 'possible' allergies can lead to a lot of limiting and controlling of food - which is harmful to children's happiness and wellbeing.
-
-
-
rhondarivera
Feb 7, 2012 @ 2:34 pm | delete
- Thank you for sharing your experience. My son had been perpetually sick with a cold and congestion since starting daycare at 3 months old. (He is now 8 months.) Because he was under a year old, his pediatrician didn't want to diagnose him as having cold-induced asthma, but after many months of breathing and coughing issues, he was finally prescribed the inhaled steroid, Pulmicort, and he was referred to a asthma/allergy specialist. We are fortunate to have had good results so far, but I definitely want to explore other options for my son, so I appreciate you sharing this experience. I agree that eliminating the congestion and mucous goes a long way to help, so my family purchased a nasal suction machine. Baby hates it, but I think it reduces the length and severity of his colds and the subsequent asthmatic symptoms. But, as soon as baby is older, we will definitely take a look at the neti pot.
-
-
-
- thank you for your comment :) NOT the neti pot - the *nasopure* . A neti pot probably will not be effective like the nasopure. the nasopure works on bernoulli's principle to pull gunk from the sinuses. the neti pot does not.
-
-
-
rhondarivera
Feb 8, 2012 @ 3:11 pm | delete
- Thanks for the clarification!
-
-
-
Kari
Feb 6, 2012 @ 4:26 pm | delete
- to MBTS, what is stated here sounds good, but I would also get some liquid Vit A and chewable Vit D for your son. This helps so much in the health of your child (and adults). Get the enzymes and the sinus wash. Feed your son a gluten and dairy free diet and I believe in 3-10 days you will see some good results.
-
-
-
- I don't agree that a gluten and dairy free diet is necessary. I took my son off dairy and it did nothing. The nasopure was much more helpful. Some people may find avoiding gluten and dairy helpful, but it's not a given.
-
-
-
Joy
Feb 8, 2012 @ 5:55 pm | delete
- HI, I'm getting ready to try www.alcat.com. I went to a Wellness brown bag at my old job, and a naturopath was talking about them. She had been diagnosed with myasthenia gravis and long story short, she found this place which had an especially sensitive method for testing food allergies. So, it turned out she was allergic to gluten and dairy, but ALSO to rice and other things. So, just because going off gluten and dairy didn't work, maybe there were other additional components that are also causing an "allergic" response. This gal said within TWO weeks of eliminating all the things the test showed as allergens, she had 95% relief from her symptoms. And this was a disease that had progressed to the point of the docs preparing to put in an enteral feeding tube. I was at a low paying job at that time, so couldn't swing the (uninsured) test. But, now I'm doing better financially, so I'm going to try (once again!) to experiment on myself. I'll keep you posted.
-
-
-
- thank you for your comment :) I think when someone progresses to the point that it sounds like she did, dietary examinations can be very helpful.
-
-
-
MBTS
Feb 5, 2012 @ 3:23 pm | delete
- I have never responded to any of these posts before, but I am lost with my son. He is almost 3 1/2 and have had this off and on coughing since birth. This last stretch started the beginning of October 2011 and we are now in February. He has also had tubes put in his ears a year ago because of frequent ear infections. Your descriptions are identical to my son. Nobody can figure it out, we have had all the testing and will soon be off to a pulmonologist and gastric specialist. But after reading your post, I do not want to have to subject him to all that. I am so confused with all of the treatments out there. I can stand to see him on steroids or inhalers anymore. They don't seem to work much. I just want the poor thing to stop coughing. I will try the sedated and mucinex. You seem to have this figured out. even with all your suggestions I don't know where to start first. Maybe I am just exhausted since I have not slept more than 1 hour straight in 5 months, because as a mom it is hard to sleep through your son coughing all night. But thank you for posting, it is finally a relief to hear that this is not some fluke thing with my son.
-
-
-
- MBTS, you need an expert, check this guy out. http://www.boogordoctor.com/ he knows what he is talking about. I wish you all the relief in the world, and quickly. also, I would start with the nasopure. Your son is young, but the website says it is doable http://nasopure.com/ for my son, the nasopure was the silver bullet that fixed everything (although we still do sudafed and mucinex if he gets sick
-
-
-
jenken
Feb 3, 2012 @ 12:15 pm | delete
- Lisa, Thank you so much for this advice. I can't believe how much this sounds like what we go through with my 5 year old son for the past 4 years! Thank you so much for sharing. I'm curious - what dose of Flovent he was on and if you ever used Pulmicort, Singulair or Nasonex? I bought the NasoPure as soon as I read this and hope and pray that is the answer to reducing all these medications and helping him. The Nasopure makes so much sense because he is so prone to sinus infections. We've been using it for a week, he's been a great sport and we've watched the videos, but we don't seem to have the technique right - do you have any tips for a 5-year old?
-
-
-
- :) we only used flovent. I think he was on 125 mcg, 2 puffs, twice a day. What kind of issues are you having with the nasopure? Is he making the k sound so the water doesn't go into his mouth? maybe you could start doing it to better help him
-
-
-
jenken1
Feb 19, 2012 @ 12:41 pm | delete
- Thanks, Lisa. I had ordered a Naspure myself and when it arrived started using it to show him, and about a week ago he started getting it and it has been working very well. Thank you so much for sharing about this. I am so grateful to having something that in time may allow us to be less dependent on the steroids. We do use the mucinex mini melts - but I wanted to ask what type of childrens sudafed do you use - the nasal decongestant, the nasal decongestant pe or the cold/cough? I like the vitamin we use (garden of life whole foods vitamin and garden of life raw probiotics) but was thinking of switching to the kids calm. Do you still use the kids calm vitamin and the fish oil and still think it helps?
-
-
-
lashawn
Feb 3, 2012 @ 12:29 am | delete
- Please help !!!
-
-
-
- Hi LaShawn, I'm so sorry! that's really hard with a 9 month old. My suggestion would be to find a naturopath, or see if you can contact the boogor doctor http://www.boogordoctor.com/ my son used to cough as a baby, but never for 6 months.
-
-
-
Kim Hughes
Mar 2, 2012 @ 5:52 am | delete
- Hi Lisa, this is all very interesting. I am trying to find a more natural way to help my daughter, who is 2 yrs and has has these episodes most months. I am not sure if it is CVA but sounds similar. She has been given brown & blue inhaler from the doctor and we have had many doses of antibiotics when it turns into a chest infection. My main concern rather that the coughing is her rapid breathing. She was up to 70-80 breaths per minute the other day when we had out last trip to the hospital. They are very nice doctors but do not want to tell me why this keeps happening to her? I am trying to find alturnative medicines or a solution to why she has such a low immune system to keep getting these breathing problems and infections. I would love to here what you think? And any advice anyone may have. Thank you Kim
-
-
-
LaShawn
Feb 3, 2012 @ 12:24 am | delete
- My 9 month old has had a cough and cold for the last 6 months. Multiple chest X-rays, all clear. About 25 visits to 4 different doctors, multiple trips to the ER. I can't get rid of this cough , it's horrible to where he's coughing so hard like its hurts. He's on albuterol nebulizer. Buduosenide , he's been on prednisone 4 times , he's on mucinex. Constant ear infections then given amoxicillin. He is 28 pounds so the cough syrup was an option. Im so tired if doctors telling me let it play it's course. I don't know what else to do. He does have some wheezing sometimes .
-
-
-
Leslie
Mar 12, 2012 @ 12:23 am | delete
- PLEASE don't let your 9 month old get prednisone for a fifth time! That i s terrible for them, yes they need it to breathe but its like "poison" for their bodies. You need to see a pediatric pulmonologist and get this (whatever it may be) under serious control! I have 3 kids under age 6 ALL with asthma. They have all had prednisone 1-2x each by now, but we do everything under the sun to keep it under control AND AVOID the steroids. You have to be your child's advocate and search/look up/google/ask all you can and inform yourself and then you can make the best decisions for your child. Doctors prescribe meds A LOT just because they don't have the right answer for you and don't assume they are always correct. My children take QVAR 2x/day and Claritin daily and albuterol through the nebulizer 3x/day AS NEEDED.
-
-
-
ChrissLJ Feb 2, 2012 @ 11:48 am | delete
- Nasopure and Musinex are my best friends when sick. My asthma goes haywaire anytime I get a sinus infection and quickly turns into bronchitis. I've found over the last few years that by using the Nasopure system, I cut my sick time in half and it relieves pain from headaches associated with the illnesses.
-
-
-
AngryBaker
Feb 1, 2012 @ 11:12 pm | delete
- oh wow.. sounds like you've run the parenting marathon.... glad that he's improving.
-
-
-
ngio64 Feb 1, 2012 @ 8:01 pm | delete
- Great story and updates are appreciated. Glad to hear you found something to help your son. We use nasal irrigation instead of benadryl for allergies. Blessed your lens.
-
-
-
Rebecca
Jan 28, 2012 @ 1:19 pm | delete
- sorry - forgot to include my email address
-
-
-
Rebecca
Jan 28, 2012 @ 1:17 pm | delete
- Your journey almost matches mine to a "T" with my 4-year-old. He is regularly on flovent, nasonex, and allegra. What a cocktail! What is your exact regime right now? only the nasopur? and then you add mucinex, etc when he gets sick?
-
-
-
- right now, my son takes nothing except a liquid vitamin. I'm thinking of getting some shizzandra to see if it does anything for him, although he's pretty much at optimal health right now.
He does the nasopure EVERY NIGHT without fail. If he gets sick or sounds congested I give him sudafed - the decongestant. he hasn't been sick in many months though.
If he got sick I would give him sudafed and try to give him quercetin and mucinex and if he had a lot of snot I would give have him do the nasopure twice a day.
-
-
-
- ha ha, my son is sick right now :) so he's getting liquid mucinex with the sudafed 3 times a day and he is doing the nasopure twice a day and he is taking a double dose of probiotics. when the shizzandra gets here he'll take that too.
-
-
-
Andrea
Jan 25, 2012 @ 5:21 pm | delete
- Lisa ... I forgot to mention that my 10 year old daughter was put back on Singulair for her cough. She'd taken this in the past for up to 2 years, with success but, I don't like the long term effects.
-
-
-
- interesting, thanks
-
-
-
Andrea
Jan 25, 2012 @ 5:13 pm | delete
- I wish I had seen this 5 years ago. My daughter, who is now 10, has suffered from CVA for the past 5 years. And I'm just learning about her diagnosis through a co-worker. I immediately looked it up and can't believe how much my daugher's symptoms are like your sons. We were at the doctors yesterday and antibiotics and "albuterol" were prescribed. He cough got worse. I can't believe after all these years, the albuterol was making it worse. I will be calling our pediatrian in the morning to see if I can get the Flovent. And, I'm on my way to the pharmacy to get Sudafed & Mucinex. I feel helpless. She's on her 3rd day of continuous coughing. She is completely exhausted as is my whole family. I hope this helps us. Thank you.
-
-
-
- I'm sorry Andrea. I hope it gets better for you too. I just want to point out, that the nasopure, in my opinion, is much more important than any of the drugs. and the enzymes and probiotics helped my son a lot too.
-
-
-
OhMe Jan 25, 2012 @ 3:38 pm | delete
- Your little one is precious and I am so thankful that you were able to get his cough under control. I will have to share this with my hubby. Thanks for sharing your story.
-
-
-
- thank you :)
-
-
-
tamara
Jan 24, 2012 @ 5:42 pm | delete
- hi my son has cough variant asthma and he actually just takes beudsonide(prevenetive)twice aday and the albuteral only when needed and for a whole year he did great until i moved to massachussettes and the pediatrician decided to put him on the pump and stop the nebulizer which he was doing great on and now he started again and i just dont understand why other states are diffrent,now i just hope they put him back on the nebeulizer cause the beudsenide prevenative twice a day is the best for asthma it controls it and he can be a normal kid all day everyday of his life.
-
-
-
- Hi Tamara. Honestly, you have the power to choose your doctor. If you chose one who respected your opinions and input as much as his or her own protocol, maybe you would have less frustration and more success.
-
-
-
Raushunah
Jan 16, 2012 @ 9:24 am | delete
- Hey thanks sooo much for given me some valuable information from your experiences. But my son is 1 yrs old and his cough at night is so hoarse, as well as dry. I would wake him up give him something to drink, i've tried to sit up with him also on my chest, nothing works. His doctor says it just viral but he has no running nose or anything. They told me it would pass, when he was 8 months they told me it was croup ( i think i spelled that right) so i did the hot showers. The family doctor gave me albuterol for him not the liquid and that doesn't seem to work his too young for mucinex, and other over the counter drugs. Please help me and give me some suggestions, I have not had a good nights sleep in months, and i'm tired of fighting with the doctors for some resolution and relief for my baby...thanks so much...
-
-
-
- I'm so sorry Raushunah. I've been there. I remember that. maybe contact the boogor doctor and see if he has any suggestions. http://www.boogordoctor.com/ and go see a naturopath if you can. I've given all the suggestions I have.
-
-
-
Same boat momma
Jan 24, 2012 @ 1:02 am | delete
- Demand to see a specialist. We just got our 12 month old in to see an asthma/ allergy dr and right away he diagnosed her with ashma. My ped had been avoiding the diagnosis for two months prior to that with constant coughing. I know how hard and frustrating to know something is wrong but the dr keeps sending you home.
-
-
-
- Honestly, the diagnoses was not that helpful for me. The nasopure was. The enzymes were. The sudafed was. The mucinex was.
-
-
-
Tonie
Jan 12, 2012 @ 12:20 am | delete
- Hello, you are such a beacon of hope, truly. I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't found your site. Just being able to show my husband who YET AGAIN can't remember what my daughter has and thinks I'm overreacting to a cold (he works out of town so never sees it) is worth it's weight in gold.
Do be sure to leave the Quercetin spray in the article for people like me. I tried the Nasopure the first time I read your article a while back and my 5-year old just can't handle it. She is deathly afraid of the water and swimming, and totally gags and chokes when I can even get her to try it at all. Even when I show her the video of the child doing it. :( Oddly, I actually already OWNED the Nasopure for myself when I came across your article.
We were on the tail end of 9 weeks of meds during our last episode when I first saw your article, so I tried the Quercetin caplets, guafinisen, and when the Nasopure didn't work I totally exhausted myself trying to find a product I'd used when she was an infant, Afrin Pure Sea. You can find it online, but can't buy it online or anywhere else? I finally thought to get some straight saline for the nebulizer from the pharmacist, so she could breathe it in. This helped a little bit, but I was exasperated from all the searching with hacking child in tow.
We're on Budesonide with a nebulizer 4 x's per week regularly, but when I don't catch it in time we'll be on once or twice a day for NINE WEEKS, along with neb'd Albuterol as needed. You are so right about starting right away! This time I didn't. It's like you are hoping it's not happening and it might not be what you think it is. :(
It took me 2.5 years of her hacking episodes with no relief, throwing up meals, not being able to sleep or have a life for over 2 months at a time, before I discovered CVA from a doc at a walk-in and mentioned it to my Pulm. I am an all-natural person, but I acquiesced to the Budesonide because I just couldn't take it any more, and I didn't think she could either. Plus once I could confirm it was a type of asthma it made more sense to use an asthma med. It has lessened her episodes from occurring in the first place, but when they do happen it does not shorten them. 2 weeks is shortest, and 9 is the norm. I am figuring the meds prevent pneumonia from setting in?
Personally, I think I need to do things more regularly. I give one thing but don't see it working right away and switch to something else, instead of doing it every 4 hours like you did. I have your whole list and I'm trying them all, including the nasal spray.
One product I would like to mention is Herbal Expec. You get it at the health food store and it contains guafinisen, the active ingredient in Mucinex, but not some of the dyes and artificial sweeteners. Another product that has worked even in the last 10 minutes is putting a rub on her feet. I buy a product at the health food store that is like Vicks Vaporub without the chemicals (petroleum/menthol) but it does the same thing. Rub it on the soles of their feet and put socks on. No coughing for a while. Finally, I found Nasalzyme. It looks like the Afrin Pure Sea that I can no longer find. It may be helpful for someone who can't use the Nasopure.
I also firmly believe the gastroinestinal tract has something to do with CVA. Reflux meds didn't help us, but I know she has some digestive issues and I'm still working on that piece, too.
-
-
-
- Hi Tonie, thanks so much for your very helpful comment. I am so sorry that you are going through this with your daughter - and that you seem unsupported. that's ok though. I am confident that you will get through this and get to a much better place.
Yes, if you are using decongestant, use it every 4 hours religiously for at least a couple of days before deciding it's not helping! I was a robot with the decongestant. Give it, give it, give it - and start immediately! an early indication with my son was nose-picking. I would see nose-picking before anything else. and if I saw nose picking I started decongestant even if he wasn't congested (or I couldn't tell he was congested).
You might want to get on the boogordoctor's list http://www.boogordoctor.com/ he may be able to help you too.
I wish you so much success and swift relief!
-
-
-
helenas
Jan 13, 2012 @ 7:49 pm | delete
- Lisa - could you remind us what decongestant you use? I know that you like Mucinex for the expectorant. And, do you recall what worked as a decongestant for kids under 3?
Many thanks! We've purchased both the nasal spray and the nasopure and are trying both out!
-
-
-
- I use sudafed. In the old days it used to have pseudoephedrine in it, but now it has phenelyphrine (sp?) both work equally well for my son. When my son was under 3, I don't remember if I was giving him decongestant - I don't think I was. I think at that point I didn't know all taht I know now and he just got a course of antibiotics every 6 to 12 weeks or so. that sucked.
-
-
-
- wow. what a negative comment. sorry. It did suck that my son was on antibiotics so often, but it didn't suck that they worked and that we had several weeks of peace after a round of antibiotics. I am appreciative for that . and if any harm was done by the antibiotics I think I have repaired it with probiotics. so there. that's better.
-
-
-
steve
Jan 11, 2012 @ 5:22 pm | delete
- Hi Lisa, my six-year-old daughter has had cough variant asthma for a while and even had pneumonia at age 2. She also had reflux as a baby. Last week, the whole family had a virus and for the first time in her life she began wheezing. Today she was just diagnosed with pneumonia again. I mentioned that I ordered the Nasopure to the doctor and she gave me a cautionary tale regarding children's use with unpurified water. The Nasopure arrived but I don't want to use it right away since she is on steroids antibiotics and medications now. I am happy that you were able to control your son's condition but I feel like our daughter's asthma is out of control. Did your son ever get pneumonia and if so did you consider moving to a better climate? Thanks for your advice.
-
-
-
- The reason your doctor mentioned that is because it was just in the news. here's the boogor doctor's info on it http://www.boogordoctor.com/2011/12/brain-eating-amoeba-and-nasal-rinses/ just boil and cool your water or use distilled.
I think for some the nasopure is more effective than steroids and antibiotics. it was for my son.
My son got pneumonia once when he was 3. that was the only time.
We never considered moving because of that, but we did move - from Hawaii to Idaho. It was humid in hawaii and dry here. The move itself did not seem to change much with his coughing.
What kind of a climate are you in?
-
-
-
steve
Jan 13, 2012 @ 1:43 pm | delete
- Hi again Lisa, thank you for your info and FYI we live in the Washington, DC area w/drastic change in seasons. Our child’s cough is still lingering and the allergist who diagnosed the pneumonia wants us to start Advair which seems to have awful side effects. I am trying to get my daughter excited about the Nasopure ….. I really hope she will be brave enough to use it. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge and experiences!
-
-
-
Daniela Castro
Jan 11, 2012 @ 4:03 pm | delete
- Dear Lisa:
Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience with us. This information is very helpful. I have a similar case with my 6 yr. old son; after constant battles with colds, coughing, difficulty breathing, allergies (unknown) for the past 3 yrs and my son being on albuterol, every time he got congested/bad cold (suggested by his pediatrician) I finally decided to take him to a pulmonologist, because it became really sad to see my kid lying on his bed or sofa not wanting to do anything, due to the lack of energy every time he had cold. Then, he is short of breath, starts the wheezing, and extreme coughing. The pulmonologist diagnosis was Ashtma, but he never mention the possibility of being CVA, or other type of induced Asthma. The Dr asked a serious of questions, and then he said it was Asthma and put him on an action plan by prescribing Flovent (2 puffs twice a day) and continue with the Albuterol as a rescue, at school before PE. I got worried about the fact that Flovent has steroids, and started doing some research on it and it's side effects, and honestly I didn't like the idea of having my son on Flovent. My son got a really bad cold and an "episode" of extreme coughing, this past Christmas, that's when I started him on Flovent, they also put him on Predisomone to get rid of his cold. He did get better after 2 days on those meds. But, then I noticed his behavior changing a bit, he started getting irritated all the time, I'm uncertain that the Flovent has an effect on this, specially if he was only on it a week. I stop giving him the Flovent puffs, due to this reason and because he got well. He has been fine this past week without Flovent, only albuterol before PE. I got really happy and hopeful, when I read your article. I will definitely try the Nasopure and schedule an appointment with a Naturopath and hopefully he can grow out of his "episodes" and get well. God bless and thanks again for this significant information. Regards, Daniela:)
-
-
-
- thank you Daniela for your comment. I wish you the very, very best. When we had Joe on flovent I found it worked well to wean him off of it between episodes, slowly, rather than just take him off quickly.
-
-
-
HeatherLCritz
Jan 7, 2012 @ 12:13 pm | delete
- My daughter has every symptom that is on this message. She has it now as I am writing this. My daughter has been on alot of meds since she was born. Her dr now has her on her breathing treament they have put her on steroids multiple times and antibioctics. She gets better for a little bit and than she goes back to the same coughing all night and hacking and than her asthma attacks also fevers. She has had her tonsils removed tubes in her ears and adnoids taken out and she still gets sick. I hardly ever get any sleep and havent for a cpl of mths. I would love something that would just take this all away. My daughter can't act like a normal 3 year old would be able to because of it. Lisa could you please tell me the types of meds that a 3 year old can take so that I can try and make her better. It hurts to see her having to sit while her brother is up and active. She sleeps elevated every night. I keep a humidifier on in her room everynight and she gets 2 steroids throughout the day and her other treatments every 4 hrs. I don't want my little girl to suffer these coughs anymore and these attacks. So if you could Lisa let me know the meds that I can use for this I would greatly appreciate it.
-
-
-
- Hi Heather, I am so sorry. It sounds a lot like what Joe went through, although we never did get tubes or remove tonsils and adenoids. His doctor suggested tubes and I wondered about tonsils because my tonsils are quite large and used to be problematic, but it never quite wne that far.
I don't know what a 3 year old can take. My boy is 8 now and I don't remember exactly what we were doing at 3. Can you go to a naturopath? Maybe discuss decongestant with any doctor too ... I think we may have done decongestant at that age but I dont' remember.
Also, read The Aspirin Alternative to get some ideas about enzymes - the author doesn't say what age enzymes were used for but he did say that pediatric respiratory issues reacted wonderfully to systemic enzymes. That's something to talk to your naturopath about too.
and MOST IMPORTANTLY, look into the nasopure.
http://nasopure.com/nasopure-for-kids/how-to-teach-2-3-year-olds
this was what 'cured' the cva in my son. this is the best thing I've ever found.
-
-
-
running mom
Jan 16, 2012 @ 11:29 pm | delete
- My 4 yd old son has had so many of these same symptoms, and I'm here now because he is coughing with a cold in his sleep as I type. I gave him a breathing treatment before bed, and the antihistamine decingestant every 4 hours. I can say that our allergist told us NOT to set up a humidifier because of his asthma. Just thought I would pass along what little extra information I have been given just in case it may help your daughter.
-
-
-
Showpup
Jan 5, 2012 @ 11:10 pm | delete
- A lot of wonderful information here. Thank you for sharing your story! My son's fiance has a 6-year-old son with asthma. I wonder if his is this type. I'll have to ask. I know she asked me for cough syrup one day she was here without his meds. I thought it strange but it worked wonderfully. Also, have you tried chiropractic? My chiropractor tells me it can help a child with asthma.
-
-
-
- Yes, we tried chiropractor along with energetic healing and neither helped a lick. I was sad about that too, because I really wanted to believe.
-
-
-
Tonie
Jan 12, 2012 @ 12:00 pm | delete
- Perfect way to express it. I "really wanted to believe," too. Even tried accupuncture. ;)
-
-
-
Music
Jan 5, 2012 @ 6:33 pm | delete
- This is was an excellent article and I wanted to thank you for posting it. I have Cough Variant Asthma and have been researching natural ways to treat the condition. I am uncomfortable with using my Flovent inhaler, but I have not been able to find relief from alternative methods. I am interested in trying Quercetin and nasopure. I already take Probiotics. I applaud you for reducing the amount of chemicals/meds you give to your child.
-
-
-
- thank you Music, and I wish you great relief and success!
-
-
-
Eli
Jan 2, 2012 @ 10:56 pm | delete
- Our boy since born has been having croup episodes often & every winter. He has enlarged adenoids. As an infant he was diagnosed with acid reflux. He is now almost 4 yrs old and has chronic coughing that can last over 4 weeks at a time. He was on albuterol and pulmocort and is now on two types of inhailers, cough improves but never quite resolves. We don’t know if we should have his adenoids removed or if he has CVA underlying, which will leave him with the same problem anyway. Any advice is much appreciated.
-
-
-
- Well, why don't you try the nasopure and treat him for the acid reflux. These would be much less invasive and costly than having his adenoids removed. If that doesn't do it, then you can always go back to considering removing his adenoids ... see the boogor doctor for more http://www.boogordoctor.com/
-
-
-
Joy
Feb 8, 2012 @ 5:47 pm | delete
- Although I'm an adult, I know how a chronic cough really impacts the quality of life. It has cost me jobs (from coughing so much on interviews!); I have suffered for more than 10 years and have been on virtually every allergy type medicine (here, try this new sample the drug rep just brought!). I'm preparing to (try to) get some allergy blood work (it's hard to get insurance to cover anything but scratch tests, which give a very different result than antibody tests.) through www.alcat.com. I found This website (http://intelegen.com/nutrients/food_and_environmental_allergies.htm ) had an interesting clinical case --- Clinical Cases:
A 48-year-old woman presented with a 10-year history of cough and allergy symptoms. She was tested for food allergies and was positive for elevated antibodies to dairy, shrimp, corn, barley, oat, sesame, banana, grape, pear and rice. With this new gained knowledge she improved dramatically with complete remission of her symptoms. That seems like a dream (come true) for me! Also, I read that Quercetin impedes uptake of Vitamin C (I take crystal form power in water). I just started Quercetin today.
-
-
-
MamaofLundyn
Jan 2, 2012 @ 2:55 am | delete
- What if the kiddo is 2-going on 3-I can't give Sudafed OR Mucinex? She started this cough-sometimes dry, sometimes wet, during a cold-6 WEEKS ago and I am up with her every night! She has a history of frequent and incurable ear infections. Consequently she is on her second set of tubes in her ears. My husband thinks she just has a virus but my gut tells me otherwise. She does not cough for the most part during the day. I have tried homeopathic syrups, water with honey, humidifiers, Vicks, etc. with little relief. Help!
-
-
-
- Hi Mama, I was there when Joe was 2. Sorry. I tried EVERYTHING too. Can you go see a naturopath to talk about enzymes and quercetin? Have you gotten a nasopure? http://nasopure.com/nasopure-for-kids/how-to-teach-2-3-year-olds - the nasopure was better for us then anything else when we finally got it.
-
-
-
eli
Jan 2, 2012 @ 10:34 pm | delete
- loook into adenoids?
-
-
-
helenas
Jan 2, 2012 @ 1:36 am | delete
- Great information! Our daughter was born at 25 weeks, 3 days - so is a micropreemie. She had RSV at 6 mos (corrected) and since then, has been struggling with reactive airway disease - a term used before an asthma diagnosis can be rendered. She is currently 2.5 years - so too young for the definite CVA diagnosis per our pedi. She has been on Singulair for 14 months, it seems to help - but she still has breakouts. We have avoided steroids - oddly enough, antibiotics seem to cut off her cough. MD prescribes them if she also has a fever - so to avoid a bronchitic process. I have our older son on nasopure as a result of your blog - he has dust-mite allergies and started nasonex. It seems to work!!! So many, many thanks! I cannot wait to try sudafed/mucinex when our daughter is a bit older to see if we can start addressing the cough before it becomes bad. Blessings to you!
-
-
-
- Hi Helena, yes, weird. antibiotics used to work for Joe too when he was little. He was on antibiotics every 6 weeks or so at 2 years old. it was frustrating. I'm not sure by what mechanism they would work ... but they did.
thanks for letting me know, and good luck! you may also want to talk with someone about enzymes. The aspirin alternative talks about how it's a cure for some pediatric respiratory issues.
-
-
-
Hannah
Dec 26, 2011 @ 12:28 pm | delete
- Thank you, Internet, and thank you Mrs. Lisa! I've been coughing...oh, as long as I can remember. I'm 17, and I think it's been going on since I was around 7 or 8. None of the doctors we went to had any idea what it was, and I thought it was something I was just going to have to live with. I could have cried when I found out that this thing I've been going through has a name! Thank you so much for doing this page, and for the hope that you've given me. I'm definitely going to my allergist with the information on this page and hopefully in a short while I'll be able to have my own success story.
Thank you so much - God bless you, your family, and certainly little Joe. Merry Christmas!
-
-
-
- thanks Hannah, I wish you luck! and no coughing!
-
-
-
Lila Andrade
Dec 20, 2011 @ 2:36 pm | delete
- Yes. My son born with some tipe of allergy(milk intolerance),But I am very inclined to by this product and try since your testimony look like very sincere and good.
Thank you I really wish that your son get cured and you can share this all to us, desperate moms.
Lila
-
-
-
- thank you Lila, I wish you the best of luck. It's been a miracle for us.
-
-
-
Kim
Dec 19, 2011 @ 1:27 pm | delete
- I LOVE that I read this article! I have two children 6 and 3 both with cough variant asthma. My daughter - 6 has had it since she was a little over 1 but it took us years to actually figure out why she coughed all the time. I thought she had an immunology problem because I never knew asthma could cause coughing, but that is a whole other story. Lately, both my kids have been having horrible night time attacks. They take zyrtec during the day and their inhalers but that wasn't working. So we added: delsym, benadryl, even a prescription coughing medicine. It got to the point, I got nervous about how much I was giving them. Then I read this article! Last night, instead of all the other mess, we gave Allie sudafed before bed and she did not cough one time!!! SO happy! The box says 4 and up so I did not give it to my son - he is the 3 year old. We are still struggling with hours of non-stop coughing at night with nothing helping and the doctors want to put him on prednisol. But one kid on the up and up is GREAT! and I have reading this article to thank!
-
-
-
- Hi Kim, thanks for sharing your success. I LOVE that you read this article too! :) Some people have said in the comments that benadryl works too. Maybe there's a benadryl for 3 year olds? I personally have always used sudafed with Joe, but if for some reason it didn't work anymore I would certainly try benadryl. good luck! consider the nasopure! your kids are young but I think the 4 year old could do it! watch the videos on the website. there's really young kids doing it on there.
-
-
-
Yvette
Dec 21, 2011 @ 10:55 pm | delete
- Hi,
My son is 5 and a half and is dealing with some sort of asthma. He never wheezes at all even when he sick. Shortly after contracting the cold, he gets the tight barky cough. Sometimes it will go away on its own (not often) other times we are stuck doing prednisolone. Our ped thinks its cough variant asthma or viral induced. We were told to try Flovent....my kid was a nut on that. So, now they want pulmicort. It is so hard for me to do these meds knowing that they are steroids. I also do not like his behavior when he is on them. I am very interested in the quercetin....but everything I am reading says you have to be careful on dosage for kids. I am not finding how much or how many times to do this. I would love to know more about how much you gave your son.
Please contact me at ykarriker@aol.com
I look forward to learning more on how maybe to help my son.
Yvette
-
-
-
- Hi Yvette,
the naturopath that I went to said to give my son 1 adult size tablet a day. I don't know if that's safe or recommended for your son. Honestly though, the nasopure was much more helpful to us than the quercetin. I personally would try that first.
-
-
-
Yvette
Dec 22, 2011 @ 9:21 am | delete
- Kim. thank you so much for your reply. I will try both and let you know what we see. Are you still continuing to give your son both quercetin and nasopure? Are these two things a daily regimen? OR only during a flare or cycle?
-
-
-
- I would like to give him the quercetin but he won't take the tablets anymore (I used to take it out and put it in smaller tablets) or I would put it in his yogurt. he didn't like that either. So now I still give him the nose spray that has quercetin and I give him a liquid vitamin that has quercetin .. it's just not very much.
The nasopure is an every day thing. no exceptions. I don't care if we are camping or so tired we don't brush our teeth. we will always do the nasopure once a day. if he were to get a cold and have a lot of snot we might do it twice a day. He hasn't had a flare since we got the nasopure in March. :) which is why I love it so.
-
-
-
Lorrie
Dec 31, 2011 @ 2:27 pm | delete
- What is the vitamin you use exactly? I plan on getting all these things you use to try to also cure my son's night coughing. Thanks!
-
-
-
- it's called Kid's calm. :)
-
-
-
Pukeko
Dec 19, 2011 @ 3:22 am | delete
- This is so great. I am sure it will help a lot of people. Blessed.
-
-
-
Rachna
Dec 14, 2011 @ 4:44 pm | delete
- Lisa,
Thanks for sharing your experience.
My son was diagnosed with Asthma in as casual a manner as yours. He was 3 years old then and is 6 now. The sad part is that I may not have acted in his best interest and continued to give him Flovent , Advair, Xopenex as advised by doctors (pediatric and Allergist). Ofcourse I thought they were the experts but as I am now discovering, they seem to follow a set protocol. My son's reliance on inhalers seems to be increasing. He started out with Cough Variant Asthma with no wheezing to much worsening symptoms now inspite of continued and increasing use of inhalers. Last year, and again yesterday he has been prescribed Prednisol for 5 days. In the various things you have successfully tried, what was your doctor's involvement ? Were you informing them at every stage ? When you were using Sudafed and Flovent together, did they approve of it ? Our Pediatrician does not want to talk about anything other than increasing the controller medicines. The allergist told us to use NeilMed Nasal Rinse and that has been useful but we use it only during actively visible symptoms. Also, the hesitation is that my son often gets blockage in one ear after using the Nasal rinse. Overall, at times of Nasal Congestion it is usually a blessing because otherwise all that mucus settles into the body and causes him infections. Sometimes the Nasal Rinse also led to even more mucus being generated but that may have been because we did not use distilled water. We used filtered water before but have now started to use distilled water.
How do I check the authenticity of a naturopath ? Are there licenses etc that we can verify ? I am thinking that if I could get in touch with a good naturapath, I could start some very natural therapies along with current medication and slowly hopefully reduce the reliance on inhalers. I need community support in thinking straight because I am so lost right now in the maze of doctor's opinions that I do not agree with, but, do not know what path to take.
Troubled Mom: Rachna
-
-
-
- Hi Rachna,
that was something I was quite scared of - the increased reliance on the medications. Do medications EVER lead to needing less of them? I don't think they do. I think once a medication is controlling something but the cause is not rooted out and dealt with, the body will develop a tolerance and you will always need more. That was one of the biggest reasons I started my search.
As for the sudafed and the flovent, as far as I can recall, it was my doctor who recommended we use sudafed with Joe as soon as he had a cold. this was the mainstream doctor.
Once I figured out that Joe was not getting better I stopped going to the mainstream doctor except for emergencies. I sought out a naturopathic doctor. She had a diploma on the wall but I forget from where. It was important to me because whatever she told me to do I was going to research it first before I did it anyway. If I wasn't comfortable with it, I would have gone to someone else. I would have kept looking until I found someone who could help us.
My son's mainstream pediatric doctor was considered one of the best in the city we lived in so I wasn't going to keep going that route. Luckily, the first naturopathic doctor I found helped us quite a bit with the enzymes and the nasal spray and the quercetin.
I don't think the nasal rinse is the same as the nasopure honestly - you might want to look into it. The nasopure uses bournoulli's principle to pull stuff out of the sinuses.
-
-
-
innermindman
Dec 13, 2011 @ 12:23 pm | delete
- I love to hear real life stories like this where critical thinking and self-education are involved to overcome a serious health issue, rather than blindly following the mainstream medical establishment and keeping your child perpetual pharmaceuticals. Congrats on being persistent and resolving your son's condition.
I don't know much about Cough Variant Asthma but I've researched regular asthma extensively and determined that the liver is mostly responsible for its occurrence. The liver might also play a role in CVA based on your comment about eczema which is also directly related to problems with the liver.
My wife cured her asthma with a series of liver flushes. She had severe asthma from a very early age up to her young adult life. She could not get through a day without using her inhaler multiple times along with a daily steroid inhaler. After a series of liver flushes she was complete asthma free and has been for several years now - no more inhalers.
Obviously liver flushing is not something an infant or toddler can do, but a focus on resolving the conditions in the liver should help. It appears quercetin helps detoxify the liver, so that might have been the key early on when you started having success. I do know once the root-cause is addressed (liver) the problem should be permanently resolved as it was in my wife's case.
http://www.squidoo.com/healing-cancer-and-cancer-prevention
-
-
-
- Fascinating, and that would explain why Joe still goes through flares, as I like to call them, because even though the nasopure controls his coughing issues, if his liver is still healing then he could still have the other issues i've described when he flares. thank you for your comment. It gives me another piece to the puzzle.
-
-
-
krakensquid
Dec 12, 2011 @ 2:22 pm | delete
- Very informative, thanks for sharing!
-
-
-
she-ann
Dec 7, 2011 @ 7:21 pm | delete
- hi mis liza.pls help me im from the phillipines....my daughter is coughing for 4 weeks buts its only a mild but it took longger..i bring her to the pedia but still she is coughing..she is using nebulizer right now jus t to help her sticky phlegm out..hel me plsss wat more i can do..just to stop her coughing...
-
-
-
- Hi She-ann, did you read my suggestions on this page? I say start with the nasopure, progress to the enzymes and probriotics. evaluate and modify as needed. come back here an let us know what helps and what doesn't.
-
-
-
she-ann
Dec 15, 2011 @ 5:34 am | delete
- hi ms.liza i try the nasopure it doesnt work.last dec.11 i bring her to other pedia..tnow she take medicine like for her cough and cold and antiobiotic..the pedia told me that if the cough is not stop for 1 week then i will bring her again to the doctor and they will xray her..but in my observation my daughter is only coughing when she is crying and too much played,but still coughing..wat you will advised me ms.liza..i want to expend christmas that she will now coughing ms liza help me wat fruits that will help my daughter?
-
-
-
- Hi She-ann. I think you are misunderstanding the purpose of this webpage. The purpose is to share my experience of what helped my son. NOT to give people advice on what they should do. I don't know what will help your daughter. I'm sorry. You are going to have to find someone else to help you. You have all the information I know. I am not a doctor. just a parent like you. good luck.
-
-
-
Melissa Baskin
Dec 7, 2011 @ 11:17 am | delete
- My daughter is 7 and was diagnosed with this type of asthma at 13 months. She was 8 weeks premature with polyhydramnios (fluid in the lungs). So, her lungs were damaged from birth. However, her asthma only flairs when she is sick. She has no allergies. She has been allergy tested twice and had no reactions. We saw an allergy/asthma doc who put her on so much asthma medicine it made her worse. She was on 16 puffs of Flovent a day and 4 puffs of Advair plus Xopenex and Atrovent. Her pattern was the same. She always started with nasal congestion and the cough would be really bad by about day 5 or 6 of the viral illness, which would usually last 14 days. This doctor gave her so much medicine that it stunted her growth. She went from growing in the 5th percentile to 0.2 percent. I was livid! We see an endocrinologist who correlated her asthma meds to her growth issues as all of the other tests were normal. We now see a pedi pulmonologist who is awesome! We do Mucinex, Sudafed, and sinus rinses at the onset of an illness and continue for about 2 weeks until drainage is gone. We add Atrovent to the Xopenex at the beginning of an illness rather than when the cough gets really bad. We ruled out reflux, and she had her adenoids out- this really helped. She uses Patanase and Singulair everyday She is beginning to catch up on her growth, and her asthma is much better. A side note: Humidifiers DO NOT work. No asthmatic should use one.
-
-
-
- Hi Melissa, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and experience. We've got some incredible collections of knowledge here! I'm so glad your daughter is better.
-
-
-
MarilynL
Dec 7, 2011 @ 1:19 am | delete
- Hi Lisa!
My daughter has gone through a very similar battle for years. She is now nine. I am happy to have stumbled upon what you have written just the other night. It gives me more hope and comfort to hear that we are not alone with what we have gone through. The sleepless nights with constant checking and helping my daughter and the many battles with allergies, skin rashes, hives, breathing difficulty, asthma, colds, viruses, sneezing, runny noses, and coughing! It has been overwhelming and has taken away much time. As we have also gone through trial and error to see what helps and what works and cures we have come to some similar findings that you have come to. If you can keep the sinus stuff from dripping down into the chest there is much success. In the last year we have learned to use Benadryl at night for my daughter when she gets hives, a flared up rash or if her nose starts due to allergies a cold or virus. We also start right away Childrens Expec every morning and maybe twice a day to help thin anything that dripped down during the night and this also helps her cough it up. She also takes probiotics and enzymes daily. I feel Dr. Ellen Cutlers enzymes are good compared to others I have tried. The Micromiracles come in capsule or chewable form. I and my daughter both use the chewable. We have used the nettipot in the past with little success, but will try what you recommend. I have used Claritin on and off the past year and it helped with her allergies, which helped decrease everything else. I have found heat to be beneficial also. We use a heating pad, or boil rocks and put them on certain acupressure points, and empty a water bottle and fill it with sink hot water to put on her back or chest/throat. This helps move stuff around and on the throat helps with coughing. Sometimes her coughing is due to reflux. I have learned if she can burp, it helps the coughing stop. We use a little ginger ale drunk slowing to help this. After a few burps come up, the cough subsides. We have done allergy work and lately have been doing AAT which everyone can research online. I feel it is helping her. I have done NAET and some of Dr. Cutlers allergy elimination and NMT. Sometimes the results I had were amazing. It can be costly. AAT seems to do more for the cost. The last thing I wanted to share for now is one more supplement called DHist. This supplement has quercetin, bromelian and stinging nettle in it. My husband has had very bad allergies with asthma for his entire life. Last year he did a trail of taking this supplement instead of Western medicine and was able to go through the spring season with no Western allergy medicine except for some eye drops. I have taken DHist for me for environmental and food allergies. The relief I have had has been pretty instant. It has helped with my breathing much when needed. Always read the ingredients of whatever you take and make sure you are not allergic to any of them before taking. I look forward to learning more of what has helped you or other parents. More support is needed for asthma and allergies. My hope is that Western and Eastern medicine will work in collaberation so more people can be helped and hopefully cured. I have been very saddened to see how much my daughter suffered, and felt helpless for a long time. The Western doctors did not have much to offer her and what they did, did not work much for her, I actually feel the medicine they gave her made her worse many times. I have been searching and trying new things for some years now. Last year I felt a difference was finally being made and will continue to search and learn until she is healed. I, as you, continue to share the success I have found so others do not have to continue to suffer. I pray Western medicine allergy/asthma doctors will be open to trying new things for their patients besides just Western medicine. If they truly want to help their patients, they have to try other things. What you learn in a book is not the same as living it. When you live it you truly know what works and what doesn't work, and it can be different per person. I wonder how many doctors take the medicine they tell their patients to take to see how it makes them feel and if it works. Blessings to all on this journey, may we and our children find healing and then share our victory with others so they also can be healed.
-
-
-
- Hi Marilyn, I loved your entire comment and nodded my head repeatedly while reading it. I LOVE the burping. what a great idea! I'll try that if we ever have any more issues ... although my son sure seems to have it all under control over here - thank goodness! :) thanks again for the comment.
-
-
-
Kim
Dec 19, 2011 @ 3:22 pm | delete
- My daughter takes dHist also. Twice a day. More if she is going to be exposed to more allergens that day. Also for her acute cough she is going to try Resprin herbal supplement. We have only used that twice so far and I feel it helped. She also had the NAET. She still starts coughing around 7pm, maybe one cough every 10 to 15minutes, but then she goes to bed and it does stop. So still working on that. Watching this post for suggestions. Thanks.
-
-
-
- thanks for the comment Kim. I wish you the best of luck!
-
-
-
Heather426
Dec 4, 2011 @ 2:37 am | delete
- I have written extensively about my son's asthma and how i cured him and how he was the impetus for my becoming a certified Herbalist. Re the eczema he had it also. The probiotic route is absolutly the best but you can cure the eczema with Schizandra. my lens is Schizandra, a Wonder Herb. You will be amazed.
-
-
-
oceansky Dec 4, 2011 @ 2:15 am | delete
- Great information Lisa, I deal with asthma so this is good for me to read.
Thank-you.
-
-
-
Mike
Dec 3, 2011 @ 10:55 am | delete
- My daughter, Emmie, (6yrs) has the same exact symptoms and the same patterns! Thank you very much for sharing. It's nice just to know that my wife and I aren't alone. It seems to happen a few times a year, usually associated with a cold or something. What follows is a predictable 3-4 week course of OTC meds, steam, nebulizer, etc and several visits to the doctor. Finally, we will be given Prednisone, which does the trick within a couple of days. How I wish they would recognize the pattern and jump right to the Prednisone, instead of putting the poor girl through 3-4 weeks of misery. I know they like to try everything before pulling out the big guns, but boy is it frustrating. We're going to try Quercetin and maybe a few other products you've recommended, and see how that goes. Thanks again!
-
-
-
- Hi Mike, quercetin was helpful, but not nearly as helpful as the nasopure. I would recommend that over anything else I tried and mentioned.
-
-
-
Rebecca Young
Dec 5, 2011 @ 6:37 pm | delete
- Thank you, Lisa, for sharing your wealth of knowledge and experiences with others. I am so thrilled to read that your son is better!
-
-
-
_Joan_
Dec 2, 2011 @ 6:46 pm | delete
- Clearly this excellent lens is helping a lot of people.
-
-
-
Marilyn
Dec 2, 2011 @ 3:14 am | delete
- Do you ever talk one on one? My daughter has had a similar struggle and would love to be able to talk to someone and share what has worked for her and am still looking for help and cures too. I think it would be so beneficial for sharing and comparisons to help our children and other children. I have felt so alone in the battle and would appreciate talking with another mom who has gone through it too.
-
-
-
- sure marilyn email me lisakleinweber@gmail.com
-
-
-
Merstarr
Nov 30, 2011 @ 4:50 pm | delete
- Congratulations!! All of your hard work, and great parenting are paying off in the health of your little guy. Mommy to mommy, I know how good that can feel :)
-
-
-
Mum
Nov 29, 2011 @ 11:26 pm | delete
- What is the diff between nasonex and nasopur? My child is almost 5 and has had these virus-induced all-night coughing fits since the age of two. Her doc often blames her snotty nose for the cough. I am exhausted from staying up all night worrying while listenning to her cough and cough and cough. The doc suggested nasonex. Who does it compare to nasopure? Same thing?
-
-
-
- nasonex is a drug. nasopure is a user-friendly nasal irrigation system (it washes your nose). definitely get the nasopure first, in my opinion.
-
-
-
niceman91
Nov 27, 2011 @ 9:19 pm | delete
- Thanks for the great info!This will be much helpful for me when after i grad as a doctor in the future.i'm currently in my practical year.keep it up.i'm happy to know your son lead a happy life now :)
-
-
-
akarki
Nov 26, 2011 @ 2:51 pm | delete
- it is a story...i can see what you went through, i have my story too with my daughter's flu virus infection what led to paralyzes, but quite happy end as yours. Congrats on your courage to fight, and taking initiative. i wish you further success and happy healthy life for your adorable son.
-
-
-
RenaissanceWoman2010
Nov 26, 2011 @ 1:58 pm | delete
- I love happy endings (or at least happier ever after stories). Very helpful and useful information here from first-hand experience -- the best kind. Hope all is well now with your son, and, hopefully you are all getting more rest these days. Many blessings to you this holiday season. Thanks for sharing your journey. Appreciated!
-
-
-
amieljaven
Nov 25, 2011 @ 8:58 am | delete
- Wow! I really enjoyed this lens. Thanks for sharing. Squid-liked!
-
-
-
lilymom24
Nov 23, 2011 @ 6:08 am | delete
- Very interesting. My son was dx'd with mild intermitten athsma and we know that he is sensitie to something he eats. Just never thought the two might be related. Now I will be looking into it.
Thank you for blessing my lens on my daughters hemispherectomy. =)
-
-
-
superbob17
Nov 21, 2011 @ 12:29 am | delete
- This is great info. These are some great ideas to help control Asthma.
-
-
-
KC
Nov 17, 2011 @ 10:15 pm | delete
- Sorry typo in my last post : nasopure (not nasopro)
And P.S. My daughters attitude has so improved! School work and chores are getting done without attitude. She is back to a normal little girl. The tantrums and meltdowns must go hand in hand with not getting a good sleep at night since her cough would wake her so many times. I feel for these kids in school that are so medicated you wonder how they can even perform to their potential. Because I know my daughter wasn't performing to her potential because she couldn't focus. She didn't know to connect the dots though. I keep hopeful, and praying for her recovery and all of your children too!
-
-
-
KC
Nov 17, 2011 @ 9:57 pm | delete
- Do you use a peak flow meter?(spyrometer) What one do you like for kids age 9?
Update with my daughter. she is doing really good! I think everything is kicking in such as the supplements (vitamin C, fish oil, probiotic, allergy supplements, which includes quercitin ect.) and avoiding the food allergens(dairy, gluten, eggs and sugar). And just incorporating a lot of super foods into her diet to boost immune system. And the nasopro. And of course alot of prayer! did not hear her cough for a couple nights now. Did not get back into the dr. Yet but am going to call for a follow up visit.
-
-
-
KC
Nov 17, 2011 @ 8:24 pm | delete
- Do use a peak flow meter? What is the best one for kids age 9?
Also is the liquid Zyrtec still available?
-
-
-
AmyClifton
Nov 16, 2011 @ 6:08 pm | delete
- Yes, thank you Greta for your sincere and helpful words. I never thought of getting a pulmonologist on board, I think I will look into that tomorrow. I feel that I can easily start with your treatment suggestions until I can find him medical care. The soonest I could get him in to dr. is Friday. She is a naturalpathic dr, do you think that is okay? I also have an appointment for him to see allergist on 30th. Thanks to you as well Lisa for your advice and this wonderful resource.
-
-
-
greta
Nov 17, 2011 @ 8:11 am | delete
- I have always wanted to have an eval with a naturopath doctor but my insurance does not cover it so that will have to wait for now. I would be very interested in their thoughts of quercetin and kids. I have been giving it to my son but none of my doctors know much uabout it. I like our pulmonoligist, his focus is the lungs and is all about using the least amount of medicine as possible. We went to allwrgist for food allergy testing as well as important environmental allergy testing. Both were skin scratch tests. We also did a blood test for allergies. All pieces to the puzzle. I am not a fan of our allergist as his answer is always to increase meds even when it is clear my son is not responding to them. But his insights on allergies is valuable. Feel free to email me if you want to discuss more gretabuerkle@yahoo.com. I learn so much from these discussions. Just don't give up. It takes time and I am hopeful.
-
-
-
Greta
Nov 16, 2011 @ 5:05 pm | delete
- Hi Amy, I am an avid follower of this lens as my 5 year suffers as well and Lisa's ideas are treasures for sure. But, please know you aren't doing anything "wrong". In fact, in all my research, I have learned that all the doctors are stumped by viral induced asthma in children. There is no easy fix and you can only try out different things and see how your child responds. I think that staying positive, though so difficult, is very positive. I always let me son know that he is not doing anything wrong either and that we are going to figure this out. Staying calm, resassuring and positive, especially on those long nights when nothing seems to work, is so important. We work with allergist, ENT, and pulmonologist (pulm being the central decision maker in my son's treatment). My advice is that since it sounds like you are in the middle of a flare, I would consider talking to your doctor about how to get the inflammation down, this may require a short burst of prednisone. I know, not ideal, but maybe it owuld be helpful just to get back to baseline. Only your doctor can listen to your child's breathing and make that decision. Then I would decide on some immune building vitamins (such as Kidscalm), twice daily use of nasopure and a change in his treatment plan. Don't give up, stay positive and know that you are doing your best and your child will get through this. Sorry so long and that I am always posting on here Lisa, but I know how stressful it is so atleast you can be comforted that other children (and mommies!) are going through the same thing.
-
-
-
- Great, calming info Greta. Thank you for caring. :)
-
-
-
Amy Clifton
Nov 16, 2011 @ 3:31 pm | delete
- Wow! I am completely overwhelmed by all this info and do not know where to start. My son now 4 coughs for months at a time almost since birth. In and out of drs for years with no answers. Not knowing whether it is food allergy, asthma, reflux, etc. anythime he gets cold he coughs for weeks/months at a time and is coughing right now. My heart breaks. I do the humidifier, last march had tonsills and ads out, takes probiotic, limit or restrict dairy, wheat all reflux triggers, no mold in our home, tried breathing treatments at home, etc. Where do I start.? I am so desperate and would be so greatful for anyones suggestions. I am at home with 4 and my husband out of town, so I am not really thinking clearly and feel horrible if I am overlooking something obvious. Please help. Thank you for your time. I also want to thank all of you who have shared your stories and information. I pray for complete healing for all of these little ones.
-
-
-
- Hi Amy, the nasopure should be your first stop, in my opinion. Show him the video, let him do it himself. That is what has made all the difference in our home. Other things have helped, but the nasopure is practically a cure for us
-
-
-
Vicky
Nov 14, 2011 @ 1:12 pm | delete
- I am in the same boat. My son was just about 16-18 months when he was diagnosed with "allergies" and then "asthma". He just turned 3 and we are still dealing with it. Your story sounds so similar to ours: any time he gets a cold, he starts to coughing and it lasts *forever*! He is on Zyrtec liquid at night, pulmicort nebulizer in the day and 1 singulair pill during the day. Not helping. Right now I am having to slather his chest with Vicks and use some decongestant drops in his nose at night just so he can rest a little easier. Problem is, he is only 3 years old, so I can't even begin to think about the mucinex or some of the other things until he is older. I really, really hate putting my child on all these meds; the naturopath we saw here had nothing to say except take him off dairy. We tried that and it didn't help a bit. I will probably order some of the quercetin and see if his doctor will recommend a decongestant for his age.
-
-
-
- I wish you the best of luck Vicky. Try the nasopure too - the website says kids as young as 2 use it I think.
-
-
-
Pamela
Nov 14, 2011 @ 12:04 am | delete
- My son, who is now 19 has CVA and I do as well. I was just diagnosed last year when I was hospitalized. What brought me to your site was that I am sick again, my yearly thing I go through, and I'm trying to stop it from becoming an asthma attack (it's on it's way, chest tightness and irritation has started :-/). I agree with Mucinex. They sell Mucinex WITH sudafed which is helpful (it's behind the pharmacy counter. The over the counter sudafed is inaffective). Acid reflux definitely comes into play with this. I'm not sure how old your son is. Please be aware that when a child gets older, he/she may see asthma symptoms disappear only to have them come back in the later teen or young adult years. I don't think that one is ever cured of asthma unfortunately. Although I was just formally diagnosed with asthma last year (I had a HUGE attack that landed me in the hospital for a week), I have had it all my life. I would just suffer with it year after year. I would get sick, and I would be coughing for months. I have been lucky to not have any life threatening episodes. It can be dangerous. I have lost two friends from asthma, my 5 year old friend when I was a child and a friend last year in August, a month before I was hospitalized.
Now that I know what is going on, I can take care of it. The mistake I made last year, well there were a couple, the biggest was to not rest. I started a new job and did not want to call in sick (a lot of good that did when I was stuck in the hospital for a week because I wouldn't give myself a day or two off), I pushed myself too hard and did not let myself rest. The other things that came into play were being in a dusty ceramic room, and believe it or not, chocolate covered cherries (booooo! I LOVE them!). So, where it stands right now, no chocolate covered cherries ever, mask in the ceramic room (I may avoid it this week), and I called in sick to work for tomorrow. I'm taking Mucinex with Sudafed every 4 hours. I may call my doctor tomorrow and ask for a nebulizer. I also started taking Singulair (I will only take it when I am in danger of an attack. It makes me feel famished and I will eat constantly when I'm on it.), I have an air purifier in my classroom (I'm a teacher), and in my home. I have not started coughing yet, but it's ify, I'm right on the edge.
Thank you for writing your experience. I am going to look into the nasal spray you have mentioned. I'm crossing my fingers that this will blow over before I get asthmatic....
This is such a crappy thing to go through every year. I will do anything to not get that HORRIBLE cough again. My son hardly has an issue but I make sure he gets his flu shot every year and if he starts getting sick, he goes on Singulair, Mucinex/Sudafed, and rests.
-
-
-
- Thank you for sharing your story Pamela - I wish you and your son the best of health.
-
-
-
KC
Nov 11, 2011 @ 12:52 am | delete
- Also, my daughter has had a rough week with discipline and meltdowns and tantrums. She is not getting school work done and not up to par on chores. I am wondering if she is not sleeping well because of her breathing, therefore tired the next day. I am taking privileges away left and right. I feel for her but don't know how much is related to medical? How can I help her?
-
-
-
- Hi Kc, yes, it certainly could be that she is not sleeping well at night. and that makes everything worse. It also could be something totally different.
Regardless, in my opinion, thinking of things that make your daughter happy as privileges and taking them away from her when she doesn't do as you expect can do nothing but harm your relationship and make it harder for you to help her.
I used to have things taken from me as a child and all it did was make me dislike and distrust my parents. It didn't make me want for me what they wanted for me.
-
-
-
KC
Nov 10, 2011 @ 11:14 pm | delete
- Wow this sounds similar to my daughter. We had been treating her for allergies all her life but when she came home from a friends house(who have dogs, cats and they were running around) this triggered a bad coughing spell and the first time I heard wheezing. The friends dad said the asthma word and it scared me. I knew this was more than a cough. On Monday made an appt. With our naturopath and got some reassurance. Control the allergies and environmental and you control the asthma(possibly just a term for the pharmaceutical companies). Still fine tuning. Cut out dairy, eggs, gluten, sugar. She still coughs maybe 4- 10 times just after she falls asleep. So I still want to work on that. We also use nasopure with great success after the netti pot and NeilMed were very hard for her to use. Have a follow up appt soon to fine tune everything. Thanks for your story. It summed up things for me.
-
-
-
- yay! I'm glad it caused some things to come together for you. I'm wishing your daughter great health!
-
-
-
Olga
Nov 10, 2011 @ 3:06 pm | delete
- Thank you.
-
-
-
Olga
Nov 9, 2011 @ 10:05 pm | delete
- Dear Lisa,
I wrote before, I mentioned that my daughter who is 5, also has cough variant asthma. And as it turns out she also suffers from allergies, we decided to go ahead and have an allergy skin test done (she was cycling every 2 weeks), and find out if she is allergic to anything. We also had a blood test done for her allergies that showed nothing. So the skin test revealed that she is allergic to dust mites, cat/dog hair, pollen and mold. She, turns out, is highly allergic as our doctor put it, and hopefully she will not have to go through allergy shots. She is currently on flovent, allegra and veramyst. So far it's been better, she did manage to get sick in a month, but it was not bad at all. We feel like we've gained some control over what's been happening to her. We've also started her on nasopure. I wanted to know do you currently use 4 oz or an 8 oz bottle, do you order salt refills from amazon or any buffed salt will do, and finally does your son go through one full bottle, or a couple of washes in each nostril is enough?
Thank you again, I come back to this web page quite a bit, reading about other people's experiences only gives me better understanding and lots of knowledge on this matter.
-
-
-
- Hi Olga, I feel for you! Hopefully she will grow out of a lot of it. I'm glad things are going better. I forget which bottle we use - I think it's the smaller one. And my son and I both use it in one wash - so even with the two of us using it we don't use much. One squirt in each nostril. If anything comes out I'll try to have him do one long squirt - since it works on bernoulli's principle, the longer you do one squirt, the more effective it should be I think. But if there's no snot just enough to get a stream of water coming out is enough.
-
-
-
Katie in WA
Nov 8, 2011 @ 11:16 am | delete
- My daughter is 6 and has been suffering with CVA for her entire life. Albuterol is a joke with her, the dr even mentions it now and she says no, it doesn't work. Sad but true, she knows what meds works to control the cough and what doesn't. She has horrible reflux too (since day one) and she will throw up liquid meds if they don't agree. From Sept 1-April 30 she's on Pulmicort 2x day and Xopenex as needed. Pepcid chewables daily too. So far it keeps everything under control. I'm relieved to know I'm not alone in the battle! Her father told me I'm a hypercondriact (sp?) and her asthma isn't real, just a cold!
-
-
-
- oh my gosh - have you tried the nasopure? that might help!!
-
-
-
Katie
Nov 8, 2011 @ 11:21 pm | delete
- I haven't tried that yet, but it will be the next thing I try! It's kicking our butts this year already because it's really cold here.
-
-
-
Monica
Nov 8, 2011 @ 12:07 am | delete
- well im new to this I just found out my son might have asthma so they gave him a inhaler he has to use it every 6hrs 3times a day but my son still coughing every few second all day and night its that normal for him im just scared I hear it all the time child dies from an asthma attack. so if you plz help with info on what can I do for my son. or send me an email at alvarezmonica59@yahoo.com thank you hopfuly you could give me some answers :(
-
-
-
- Hi Monica - I've never heard of anyone who died from cough variant asthma. no worries! I have written all the info I have on this page so just read through it. I wish you luck!
-
-
-
karmicchristian
Nov 7, 2011 @ 11:49 am | delete
- This is a courageous narration of your endeavor with this endemic. This is sure to help a lot of folks who battle this condition for their child. Passing it on to friends and near ones! Best wishes to you and your dear child! :)
-
-
-
- thank you!
-
-
-
sandyspider
Nov 7, 2011 @ 11:07 am | delete
- Blessed! Please add this to the non-Zazzle plexo on my Zazzle and Blessings for November 2011 lens.
-
-
-
- thank you!
-
-
-
Amanda
Nov 4, 2011 @ 7:45 pm | delete
- My daughter is 3 and a half and we have been battling this cough night after night for a year. We never sleep and she cough until she vomits daily. Add in the stuffy nose here and there and all hell seems to break loose. We have tried flonase, flovent, singular, albuterol, zyrtek, decongestants, mucinex you name it. Just can't find the right combination. I feel like I'm at the end of my rope. Her worst attacks are when she gets a stuffy nose and the post nasal drip happens. I have not been able to find a decongestant that is safe for her age. There is one out there pediatric care that is for four and older and I took the chance to use that. Please help.
-
-
-
- Hi Amanda, I'm sorry! Show her the video of the nasopure and see if she will try it! that might be your best bet. Or email the boogor doctor or Dr. Hana and see if they have any suggestions. good luck!
-
-
-
wetravel4less
Nov 2, 2011 @ 2:12 am | delete
- i really liked reading your story and i found it very interesting. great lens
-
-
-
arianna
Nov 2, 2011 @ 12:29 am | delete
- I am currently laying here with my 2 yr old on my chest as he coughs his lil lungs out. For about a month now we have been dealing with this coughing fit at night. It gets so bad that he scres himself. I feel terrible for him. And I finally deducted that he might have asthma. His father has it as well. The doctors just give me the run around. He has been on 2 antibiotics in a month and I am not a big fan of them to begin with. We go back on Thursday to get a hearing tst done. Also, about 2 weeks ago we ended up in the E.R. for an allergic reaction, so maybe those things are going hand and hand.
I just know I am one tired single mom and want my lil man to feel better. How do u suggest I approach these doctors to hear me out?
-
-
-
- Hi Arianna, if you aren't happy with your doctors keep looking for a great one. they are out there. I had great success with the naturopathic doctor we went to. good luck!!
-
-
-
Heddoo
Oct 30, 2011 @ 9:18 pm | delete
- Just surfed in and want to try some of these suggestions. I have a daughter who is 8 and we have been suffering along with her for all of her 8+ years. Nothing seems to work except steroids and now she has been diagnosed with extremely low cortisol and she is not growing. She is better since she has outgrown ear infections but now we are working on weaning her off an adult dose of Advair. I recently avoided giving Nasonex with her last cold since I did not want to increase the steroid use but noticed that her cough did not go away. After two days of finally using Nasonex, her cough went away. I guess I have my evidence that it is definitely sinus. Have we been treating the wrong parts first, resulting in ridiculous amounts of steroids? I am going to try these alternative ideas to try and finally get her off these steroids. Thanks for the blogging.
-
-
-
- Hi Heddoo, your case is extreme, and I want to personally encourage you to try the nasopure FIRST! It's been nothing short of a miracle for us. Also Read the Aspirin Alternative. It does not talk about cough variant asthma but does talk about some other respiratory issues with kids - and how systemic enzymes were better than any drug. I wish you luck. let me know how it goes if you can.
-
-
-
Dr Hana, Inventor of Nasopure
Oct 30, 2011 @ 7:33 am | delete
- We are so pleased you were introduced to Nasopure and that your son found relief. Stories like these are so rewarding to hear.
-
-
-
- Hi Dr. Hana, I'm glad you stopped by. thank you again for your product.
-
-
-
Veronicalisa
Oct 30, 2011 @ 2:35 am | delete
- Thank you so much for writing this. I have CVA. Much of your story resonates with me. I was diagnosed in 2009 and now my 4 year old is showing symptoms.
One thing I've found is a supplement called ALJ (found it on Natures Sunshine). Works amazingly for me. No attacks since I started it 4 months ago. They have a liquid form too for kids and I sneak it in my daughter's chocolate milk and she doesn't notice.
-
-
-
- you're welcome. and thanks for the suggestion :). I appreciate it.
-
-
-
Spoiled
Oct 27, 2011 @ 10:02 pm | delete
- My son is four, and has had pneumonia in the past and bronchilitis. We were sent home with a nebulizer and albuterol for wheezing. Although I am not able to hear the wheezing all of the time, initially the onset begins with coughing. This occures mostly during the change of the seasons. He has been coughing all day long, having had albuterol and robitussin dm. I gave him a treatment earlier today and he puked about five to seven minutes afterwards. I am going to have him seen by his pediatrician and, will suggest some of the options mentioned in your blog.
-
-
-
- wonderful! :)
-
-
-
Hope
Oct 23, 2011 @ 1:19 am | delete
- Oh okay Lisa. Sorry about that :) I can't seem to work my way around this site very easily and couldn't find your comment to me to respond. I had to log back in as a visitor. Mabye it's because I'm sick. Anyway, I think many of the suggestions on here are very helpful. It's nice to have other parents to talk to about tihs.
-
-
-
Greta
Oct 22, 2011 @ 10:57 pm | delete
- I think the main problem with the orange juice recommendation is that if you have acid reflux, citrus is definitely not recommended. It was told by my doctors to keep a eye on hydration for my son with CVA, but to allow the child to self regulate their water intake.
-
-
-
Hope
Oct 22, 2011 @ 6:19 pm | delete
- Well I somehow accidentally unsubscribed myself from all of this. And it was difficult to log on before. Someone said that the suggestions were not helpful for CVA but it was reading what someone posted here that helped my daughter's CVA when even my naturopathic doc didn't help her. I was desperate in the middle of the night with a daughter who coughed all night, and something as simple as giving her digestive enzymes and DGL and taking her off of certain foods helped tremendously! It was like a miracle. What works for one child may or may not work for another, so it's great that we can share here and know that we have options.
-
-
-
- Hi Hope, when I said these comments were not helpful for a cva cough, I meant that towards the person who recommended drinking water and orange juice to help stop a cough. that is what I don't think is helpful for a cva cough.
I loved your suggestions and I am glad you have had so much success ... and I wanted to mention that the german chocolate dgl actually tastes pretty good.
-
-
-
howtostopacough
Oct 22, 2011 @ 5:09 am | delete
- Great Lens, just to add up.. Drink a lot of liquids and fluids. Your body uses these fluids to help in sorting toxins and wastes. A very effective way on how to stop a cough is my keeping your throat moist with water and juices such as orange juice. Orange juice is a rich source of vitamin C which strengthens the immune system.
-
-
-
- no offense, but this advice is not helpful at all for cva coughing.
-
-
-
- by "this advice", I mean the advice to drink water and orange juice
-
-
-
shw
Oct 21, 2011 @ 7:13 pm | delete
- my daughter has had cough variant asthma since since was about 18 months old so I can totally relate to all you go through. until recently every time she got a simple cold it always turned into something crazy. recently her dose of the flovent was increased and it really seemed to help. until today- she has a real sinus inflammed snotty nose that has been getting worse for three days and today the cough is bad. my husband is always looking at more natural treatments so I think I will be giving some of these a try.
-
-
-
- that's great shw. I hope something helps!
-
-
-
Jody C
Oct 20, 2011 @ 5:52 pm | delete
- My 6 yr old son as been diagnosed with CVA and he has been coughing constantly the last few days. He is on Singulair, Flovent, and Ventolin as needed, but I don't like the inhalers help at all. When he coughs it sounds like there might be a little sinus drip, but for the most part its a dry cough. Do you think the nasal irragation would help with this, even though its a dry cough?? I just washed his sheets in hot water today and sprayed his room for dust mites. I also have a air purifier in his room. I'm trying everything but nothing is working!
-
-
-
- Hi Jody, my son's cough always sounded very dry. Dry and barky. I would try it for sure. You'll never know till you try.
-
-
-
H.C.
Oct 22, 2011 @ 3:26 pm | delete
- Hi Jody,
I understand your desperation and feel for you. I just went through this with my daughter. Has your son been tested for food allergies? In the mean time, try getting two things from your health food store: the best digestive enzymes that they recommend and some DGL. The DGL might taste bad so be prepared with something to wash it down like some grape juice. But don't make it cold. Take him off of all possible food allergens including wheat, milk and other milk products, eggs, soy, peanuts and corn. I forget what else is on the list. I was shocked when my daughter's cough variant asthma was helped by giving her digestive enzymes. Try it...it might work. - Hope
-
-
-
H.C.
Oct 16, 2011 @ 4:50 am | delete
- My daughter has cough variant asthma. I came across this Mom's experience at a time when I was so desperate to help my daughter. I am hopeful that I can now help her. I happened to have digestive enzymes in the house because I use them for myself. When the albuteral inhalter didn't work, and she was having bad side effects from the steroids, I was at a loss. I had tried alternative medicine as well, and nothing was helping from that end either. But when I gave her the digestive enzymes, the cough disappeared long enough for her to sleep. Now that I know that the reflux is the problem, I will tighten up her food allergy menu and talk to my new naturopathic doctor about it some more. This note has really helped. I don't know who she is but I am very grateful to her. Thank you!
-
-
-
- thank you H.C. :)
-
-
-
H.C.
Oct 17, 2011 @ 12:40 pm | delete
- Thank you Lisa :) Also, I gave my daughter DGL, and the combination of the enzymes and the DGL helped...at least so far. Being very careful with foods is the biggest part of it for my daughter. She was drinking and eating a lot of soy, and we have just taken her off of that. She's been off of other high allergenic foods for some time, but was still eating soy and oats. Time for some food and environmental allergy testing! - Hope
-
-
-
- that's great. DGL really helped my son too. He still takes it. In fact, I slacked off on it for a while and we noticed a big difference, so now it's like the nasopure. we don't slack on it.
-
-
-
NTxWriter Oct 15, 2011 @ 3:15 pm | delete
- This is a very inspiring story of how we can find different remedies for our ailments if only we persist in our search. it's been my experience that, many times, medications, and in particular, constantly taking medications, can make conditions worse. I used to have severe allergies/asthma/hayfever. When I suddenly became allergic to all the decongestants and antihistamines and totally quit taking them. All my conditions improved to the point where I don't need anything but sinus irrigation with normal saline.
-
-
-
- nice. that's kind of like when I decided I wasn't going to take motrin anymore for fibromyalgia pain ... and my pain drastically reduced overnight as soon as I stopped taking it.
-
-
-
Ellie H
Oct 15, 2011 @ 5:45 am | delete
- I am in my early twenties and have had CVA exactly like your son's for my whole life, and like your son it is only exasperated by illness - and i get everything that goes round.
A couple of things i have learned over the years:
- lying down flat exasperates coughing (and asthma generally), i dont know why, but propping myself up on lots of pillows at night is sometimes all that is needed to stop my coughing. i often find having pilow under my lower chest and not just my neck/head is also crucial.
- i find my coughing is self-reinforcing so sipping water, hot lemon and honey and sucking sweets which soothe my throat stops it escalating.
- the best thing i have found for controlling my asthma is butekyo therapy - i cant recommend this enough to anyone who has problems with asthma. It is an alternative therapy which utilises breathing exercises to improve asthma longterm. the theory behind it is complicated so i wont go into detail here. however the way it describes asthma, especially the self-perpetuating nature of asthma once triggered, fits exactly with my experience in a way conventional explanations never have. Everytime i am ill i fall back on my breathing exercises and they are usually the only thing that will break my cycle of coughing and let me sleep.
from what you say about your son's nose bring blocked you may find butekyo helps as the first princlple of butekyo is breathing through your nose.
-
-
-
- Hi Ellis, thank you for your comment and recommendations. Do you have reflux?
-
-
-
SereneSea Oct 12, 2011 @ 7:46 am | delete
- A real life experience and the remedies are surely going to help people who come across this lens in a big way.
-
-
-
Tipi
Oct 10, 2011 @ 10:23 pm | delete
- I had never heard of Cough Variant Asthma, what a journey you have been on and I would guess its been a long 6 years with many sleepless nights in your home. Its so good that you have shared your son's story and can offer what has been proven so others can be helped along the way. To be able to reduce a flair up from weeks to days is amazing.
-
-
-
- thanks Tipi. :)
-
-
-
Gina
Oct 8, 2011 @ 8:48 am | delete
- My son is 6 yrs old. His started with a cold and a cough that would not go away. He had no weeze as well. His Pediatrician gave us flovent and told us two pumps in morning and at night. This helped, but when he gets a cold or allergies he coughs. The doctor told us we could take him off for a few weeks and see how he did. The coughing started up again so we put him back on it. He has purple circles under his eyes and I am concerned about him. Thanks to your website I now know that flovent is a steroid. The doctor did not tell me this and now it makes me worried that he has been on it.
I'm not sure what to try first. I think I want to try the nasal irrigation. My son seems to always have trouble breathing through his nose. Thank you for your website. I now will start my journey!
-
-
-
- Hi Gina,
I know an adult male (my chiropractor) who is probably over 50, who has was on these kind of steroids for most of his adult life. He's fine. He has recently made some changes that have allowed him to get off the steroids, but he's not unhealthy. I wouldn't worry about your son being on the steroids that much. I think it's a worthy goal to get him off if you can, but when faced with steroids or non-stop coughing I would choose the steroids.
I definitely think the nasal wash is a great place to start :)
-
-
-
nae919
Oct 6, 2011 @ 5:29 pm | delete
- i have CVA for about 20 years, never really found anything to help except prednisone and my albuteral. My methacholine challenge test is negative. so they say i don't have asthma. I am very interested in trying the things you mentioned.
I never suspected sinus problems, i don't have a runny nose, my sinuses feel dry but I do have mucus in my throat alot. I am going to revisit the sinus idea.
I too take Quercetin, but in pill form. Is there an advantage to taking the Quercetin Spray?
-
-
-
- Hi - I'm not really sure. I just followed the plan given by the naturopathic doctor and she recommended both. thanks for your comment. :)
-
-
-
Vera
Oct 5, 2011 @ 8:28 pm | delete
- Hi Lisa!! Is nasopure the same as Neal Med?Roberta's asthma doctor also tought us how to mix 1/2 a tsp of salt, a pinch of baking soda and fill the washing jar with warm water. Apparently is the same mix contained in the Neal Med sache. I have been washing my girls nose with it for the last two years everytime a cold or alike is detected. Roberta also started Singulair at night for a year. We are flovent free for 7 months. And even the Singulair is now used in seasonal situation. (We live in Texas were allergies are a nightmare). I sign under the mucinex, and will now try the Kids Calm. Thank you!! For you too Mitali.
-
-
-
- Hi Mitali, I think that the nasopure can be squeezed for positive pressure through the nose. That may be the only difference. I'm not sure. That's wonderful that you guys are finding relief too!! :) thanks for letting me know, and you are welcome. Lisa
-
-
-
Mitali
Oct 5, 2011 @ 1:13 am | delete
- When I came across this page I though as if you are telling everybody my story.It all started when my son was about 2 & since then its been sleepless nights & medicine & what not.He is 5 now.I tried everything at first changing my household cleaners,laundry detergent even soap & shampoo to that made from plant base.I also switch to mostly organic fruits & veg.Started changing the a/c filters more often also tried humidifiers,flovents, decongestant,vicks etc.All those things did help a little but still I am looking for a permanent cure if it out there somewhere.After reading your story I tried the nasal wash & gosh loads of mucus came out so thanks for that.The only thing not tried is the Quercetin.So thats next on the list. I hope it works.My question to you is Do you still give your son Flovent everyday ? Also for all those people dealing with ear infection the one thing I tried did work for my son was putting few drops of warm white vinegar in each ear. You'll can google it. Also I have made a lot of changes in my son diet & would like to share with everybody. Please visit
http://blog.foodfacts.com/index.php/2009/07/01/azodicarbonamide-another-reason-to-avoid-most-bread/
An ingredient in bread to avoid as it causes asthma.
Thank u so much for sharing your journey through this blog.We'll let you know how it goes.
-
-
-
- Hi Mitali, you're welcome, and thanks for your comment. I don't ever give joe flovent anymore. He got sick last march and needed the flovent, and that's when we got the nasopure. After the nasopure we went several months with no illnesses. Recently, we've had two slight illnesses with no coughing whatsoever, so no need for flovent.
Oh, and I think hydrogen peroxide works like vinegar too :) I read that on Dr. Mercolas site. thanks again!
-
-
-
Shelby
Sep 27, 2011 @ 9:17 pm | delete
- Lisa, I'm so glad I ran across this page- I have been struggling with a chronic cough for around six months now and not much has helped. I think I may have found my answer and plan to alert my pulmonologist that I believe CVA is the correct diagnosis!! Thank you so much!!
-
-
-
- good luck shelby!
-
-
-
Heather
Sep 24, 2011 @ 10:27 am | delete
- Thank you so much for sharing your journey thus far with all of us! We have been dealing with this for years with our 10 year old son. We are in a pretty bad "cycle" right now and I am so tired of the doctor telling us to use the nebulizer and albuterol every 3 hrs to get through it! He has an inhaler and pulmicort and so on. His major cycles are very predictable- spring and fall with little ones in between. I have been on a quest to figure this out and find some other ways to treat and help him. I came across your story at just the right time! My question for you is how do you know the right dosage of quercetin to give your child? That is actually how I came across your article--I was researching quercetin. Anyways thank you so much for all the time and devotion you have put into your son's well being and blessing all of us with sharing the information you've found!
-
-
-
- Hi Heather,
You know what is FUNNY?!? Your post just made me realize it!!
*I* used to have cycles every spring and fall. When I was a kid I would get strep throat or a severe sore throat every spring and bronchitis every fall!!
Or maybe they were the other way around ... but it doesn't matter! If I used to cycle then my son will almost for certain grow out of this! (I don't cycle anymore)
Yay!
Anyway, to answer your question, the naturopath I took Joe to said to give him the big, adult-size pill a few times a day when he was sick and once a day when he wasn't. She didn't seem to think that he needed to have an exact dosage.
you're welcome, and thank you!
-
-
-
Greta
Sep 21, 2011 @ 9:34 pm | delete
- I have been following your blog for a while and often check back for ideas. I am still struggling with "fixing" my 5 year old son's CVA but wanted to share that I have found some benefit to adding Sambucus (elderberry) at the start of a cold. I also just purchased Sinupret which was recommended by Dr. Sears also to be used when a cold starts. I also added 1/2 teaspoon of Carlson's Fish Oil to his vitamin regimine as I have read this helps with boosting immunity to colds. Nasopure is working great but my son sometimes says the water gets in his ears after he washes his nose. Not sure how to avoid that.
-
-
-
- thanks Greta :) I love to hear what people are having success with.
As for the water getting in his ears, I don't think that is possible, unless he's got a leak somewhere. :) I'm not positive, but I think the ears and the sinuses are both seperate, closed systems.
However, I wash my nose every night, and I have sometimes felt a sensation of my eustachian tube in my ear feeling squeezed or tickled by the water rushing past it. I can kind of hear it and kind of feel it. For me, it just goes away after a few minutes. Or, I guess you could try what you would do to clear your ears on an airplane - blow into a closed nose, chew gum, or yawn. :)
-
-
-
9310mon
Sep 19, 2011 @ 10:14 pm | delete
- Hi Lyndie, my 4 year old grandson does the nasopure rinse. It has helped him alot. You wont believe all the junk that comes out. I was amazed. I learned alot reading about Lisa's son. It was very helpful. He takes singulair every night and he was on Zyrtec too, but the Dr. said to take him off the Zyrtec so his body won't become immune to it. So I was worried taking him off the Zyrtec but since we have we do the nasal rinse daily and he hasn't had any nasal congestion and no coughing. I trully believe in this nasal rinse. I hope things get better for you because we were just like you so worried and our kids can't sleep because of the coughing. Sometimes he doesn't want to do the rinse and I tell him you want your cough back, he says no and he does the rinse. Let us know how it goes. Grandma Becky
-
-
-
- Hi Grandma Becky - it's really good to hear your update :)
-
-
-
Lyndie
Sep 18, 2011 @ 11:33 pm | delete
- Hi there! My daughter is 5 and has this same issue. Currently we are using Flovent and Zopenex. It doesnt seem to be doing the trick. Im pretty sue her dr will be starting us on the dreaded prednisone tomorrow. My daughter has been coughing all day and now is trying to fall asleep - with no luck as the cough is so constant. Thank you for taking the time to post this and share all your information. Couple of questions - What age did your son start the nasal rinse? My husband and I do the rinses ourselves..but im not sure I can get my 5 year old to try it. Im wondering how clearing out the sinus can help alleviate the cough? Im hoping to get into my daughters asthma dr tomorrow and I plan on talking about the sudefed and Mucinex. You have also inspired me to seek out a pediatric naturopathic dr. Thank you again for posting.
-
-
-
- Hi Lyndie, the way we got Joe to try the nasopure was we showed him the videos on the website of the kids (many younger then him) doing it. He looked at it and said "let's get that". He didn't like being sick anymore than we liked it.
I'm not sure what exactly the rinse does for the coughing, but my guess, or my theory, is that my son's sinuses were packed full of crap a lot of the time - moreso when he was in a cycle, and this was an irritant to the plueral lining of the lungs and respiratory system. I think that by now having clear sinuses, his pleural linings can all calm down now and not be on hair trigger.
-
-
-
worriedformyprincess
Nov 4, 2011 @ 10:58 pm | delete
- hi lisa,
thanks for your blog..... we are in the same situation now...... my 4 and half year old daughter started with night time cough in november 2010 ..... doctors then prescribed her antibiotics couple of times thibking it to be pneumonia..... then the cough progressed even in the day time..... now she cough almost every other day....... i ran to many doctors but find find any relief...... she puked every other day and her weight now is 15 kgs ( normal 16-24 kgs)....... i will start trying all you said from tomorow..... i cant see my daughter in this condition and wenever i cry , seeing her coughing every other hour , she says dont worry mama i am fine....... may god help her.she is such a sweet princess,,,,,,,,,,
-
-
-
squidoolover76
Sep 17, 2011 @ 2:04 pm | delete
- cough variant Asthma is very common to children and thanks for your valuable suggestions and tips on this.
-
-
-
Olga
Sep 15, 2011 @ 1:37 pm | delete
- Thank you so much for sharing all of this information with us. It's been incredibly helpful to me. My daughter started to cough about a year ago, it lasted for about a month and went away. Ever since then she developed some sort of cycle, every two weeks she will get sick, she will seldom have any fever or something more serious. The cold will just start with a cough, and runny nose, congestion later. The cough doesn't last too long, she will get over it pretty quickly thanks to Zyrtec and Mucinex combo. It's the two week cycle that drives us crazy. She had her blood work done in Spring'11 and it came back fine. We went through 3 pediatricians, and most of them are trying to makes us believe that it's regular asthma (one will hear wheezing, the other one won't). We've even gone to a pulmonologist, who assured us that she doesn't have asthma. All that we want is just to get an idea of what's going on with our child. I'm taking her to an Allergist today, as it is the next logical step in this quest for us. But so far you and your son's struggle, and your insightful story gave us a piece of mind and an idea that she might just be going through something very similar. We will try to use the nasal spray as I think it might be very helpful. Thank you. I really hope that your battle with CVA is over, it's just too hard to watch our little ones suffer.
-
-
-
- Hi Olga, thanks for your comment. YES! the cycle! I think discovering the cycle is half the battle. I also think the nasal wash will help you. It sure helps us. We don't miss a day! ever!! oooh, I see you say the nasal spray - I would recommend the nasopure, which is a nasal wash. I still use the spray sometimes but my son doesn't. he just does the wash.
-
-
-
Greta
Sep 21, 2011 @ 9:27 pm | delete
- I have a very similar story for my son...we work with pediatircian, allergist & pulmonologist...we are still not in control of the situation but we are not giving up...next we are getting an evaluation from an ENT...you may want to consider this as well.
-
-
-
Props-n-Frocks-Fancy-Dress
Sep 14, 2011 @ 2:47 am | delete
- no, but both my grandchildren have had battles with gut allergies that caused loss of sleep, coughing etc. so this lens interested me. Thanks for sharing and I am glad that you seem to have solved it - I know what an uphill struggle that this is, so well done and I hope that your son remains well!
-
-
-
- thank you :)
-
-
-
bechand
Sep 7, 2011 @ 5:31 pm | delete
- seems to be so many asthma kids these days ...
Your little one is adorable !
-
-
-
- thanks :)
-
-
-
crachell
Aug 17, 2011 @ 10:15 pm | delete
- your son is very adorable... thank you for sharing your journey to f controlling your son's cough variant asthma. this is very helpful.
-
-
-
- You are welcome :) and thank you! He is pretty adorable. :) still at 8. :)
-
-
-
Kim
Aug 16, 2011 @ 3:52 pm | delete
- my son is 2 1/2 yrs old and he's been on Singulair for about 3 months. It's been working GREAT!!! He started coughing at night again a couple of nights ago. Has a runny nose during the evening and during the day. He sounds congested also throughout the day. Besides giving him his daily dosage of Singulair, what else can be done to get rid of this "junk" and make him feel better.
-
-
-
- Hi Kim, that's wonderful that you've found some relief. There's tons of suggestions on this page about the things that I tried like decongestants, nasal washing, probiotics, and enzymes.
-
-
-
Zoe
Jul 19, 2011 @ 8:25 pm | delete
- This is also us. Started at age 2 after she swallowed too much water at a swim lesson, she is now 5. We discovered it was CVA about a year ago.
A few things to add: We do find that using nebulized Budesonide (steroid) 3-4x's per week is preferable to starting and stopping flovent at higher doses. Better to do a small amount year around and keep her healthy and active, than to have more frequent bouts of using 2x's per day of steroid/14x's per week.
Also, I found a product called Herbal Expec which includes Guaifenesin, the main ingredient in Mucinex. It has a little bit of alcohol, but everything else is fine. It doesn't have the chemical ingredients and aspartame, etc. that Mucinex does.
Coughing/gagging on Albuterol - Albuterol will loosen up the mucus, so if a child has a strong gag reflex, all that mucus coming out can cause them to vomit. This is actually not a bad thing, but the best way to do Albuterol is the .25 dose through the nebulizer. It's really good as a rescue for when they are choking, IF you administer it in a milder form.
We also heard about the possibility of reflux, but reflux meds didn't do much. We are on enzymes and probiotics. Weird thing is, my child actually never gets sick or viruses. I think it's allergy related.
No luck with the Nasopure, but we are using the quercetin and Herbal Expec (Natural Mucinex). The clear rubber cement that comes out of her nostrils is the problem. You could literally stretch it. I'm afraid of Sudafed. When I take it, it clogs up my sinuses and gives me an infection. It doesn't get stuff OUT for me, just masks symptoms but it's still all in my head.
We are going to order the QC Spray today. Thanks for the tips! Nobody gets it. The doctors should focus on GETTING THE MUCUS OUT, but as we all know they are just not practical like that, now are they?
-
-
-
- Hi Zoe, thanks for your insights. :) I totally agree.
-
-
-
thenaturalmd
Jul 19, 2011 @ 7:43 am | delete
- This is a very helpful lens! I am a physician and have suffered with cough variant asthma my whole life. Medication alone helps but I too am worried about long-term steroid use. I am trying many of these suggestions and feel you have given some very valuable advice. In particular, I am a HUGE fan of the nasal washing - could not have survived over the years without it. Brush your teeth and wash your nose - every child should be taught to do it every night! Thanks for your very thoughtful lens.
-
-
-
- thank you! and thank you for your comments :)
-
-
-
KaneshiaKelly Jun 25, 2011 @ 2:42 pm | delete
- OMG. You read my mind, I myself have chronic bronchial asthma. This lens has been extremely helpful to me. I just had a series of attacks and the weather has significantly affected my asthma. This is how I began blogging. My doctor bed rested me from 2/16/2011,3/31/2011. This lens was extremely helpful.
-
-
-
- I hope you are doing better now!
-
-
-
9310mon
Jun 16, 2011 @ 12:09 am | delete
- Hi Lisa, thanks for your quic k response to my message. What is DGL for the acid reflux? How many pills does Joe take every day? Is he on a certain diet? Thanks for all your help.
Grandma Becky
-
-
-
- Hi Becky, the dgl is this
http://www.amazon.com/Enzymatic-Therapy-Chocolate-chewable-tablets/dp/B00014E1GY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308272701&sr=8-1 I started using it after the boogor doctor mentioned it as an alternative treatment for reflux http://www.boogordoctor.com/ . Joe takes one pill before dinner. He is not on a special diet. I tried eliminating milk for a while but it didn't seem to change things.
-
-
-
tish
Jun 14, 2011 @ 12:10 pm | delete
- Lisa, that is really interesting. My area around my sons lips gets bright red when he has his coughing attacks too. His breath gets really foul smelling though.
-
-
-
- Hi tish, for joe, it seems like it's his own saliva making the lips irritated. If he starts to lick his lips a lot when this is happening they crack so I put vaseline on them.
His breath used to smell bad too, but now that we have everything under control it smells fruity instead. It really scared me the first time - I know that diabetic ketoacidosis can cause a fruity smell and I was like WHAT!? but of course it's not that. (he's not diabetic, and I tested his urine and he wasn't in ketosis). I have found other moms on the net mention their kid's have fruity smelling breath when they are sick so I just chalked it up to something natural that doctors don't notice or understand.
-
-
-
Tish
Jun 14, 2011 @ 12:06 pm | delete
- My son is now 8 and has had cva since he was 2. We have tried everything. What really seems to work for him is fish oil (nordic naturals) daily, multivitamin daily with iron (he has low iron levels and I figure the extra D is helpful). We use xopenex and mucinex when he has coughing attacks (I honestly think that the mucinex is more helpful than the xopenex). He only has coughing attacks 3-4 times a year (seasonal allergies and when he has a virus) now, compared to almost nonstop when he was younger. We are so glad to get this under control now that he is in school.
-
-
-
- Nice. :) I'm so glad that you have found something that works for you. We used to use nordic naturals :) Now I use some liquid supplement that has tons of stuff in it, even a small amount of quercetin.
-
-
-
Grandma Becky
Jun 14, 2011 @ 12:58 am | delete
- Hi Lisa, so glad I found your web page. My grandson is 4 years old and he has cough variant asthma. He has been on singulair and Zytrec. He just had a trigger and he has been coughing all day today and last night. My daughter is discouraged. He does albuterol treatments at home. I just bought him mucinex. He does the nasal rinse but we stopped when he was feeling good and just did the natural nasal spray. How often do you do the nasal wash? He has not been tested for allergies, we do not want to put him through that right now. His dr says he has seasonal allergies.
I have been reading the other posts and I feel better knowing we are not the only ones trying to find some help. Thank you all for your stories.
-
-
-
- Hi Grandma Becky, :) My son does the nasal rinse every single day at night. Occassionally, we will collapse into bed without brushing teeth, but we never don't do the rinse. It's just to important. If joe starts to have mucus issues, we will do it twice a day - once when he wakes up too, but honestly, since we started using the nasopure that has only happened once.
Personally, I am truly starting to believe that Joe (and maybe lots of these kids) goes through natural cycles where his saliva is more acidic his tissues are more swollen. Maybe once every 6 weeks. These are the times when it would look like he had gotten a cold and was now having CVA issues.
I say this, because now that he hasn't had it happen in a long time, I still see the cycles. His lips get red and swollen (from his own saliva) and so does his other end. He picks his nose a bit, and his breath sometimes smells fruity - the only difference is, with the nasopure it never turns into coughing. It lasts about 5 days and then is gone.
It also makes sense to me because when he was a baby he had ear infections every 6 weeks like clockwork until he was almost 2. I believe now they were just another manifestation of whatever this cycle is.
One guess is maybe his body is ridding itself of environmental toxins - and this is something it does naturally. But in the past, it used to cause big problems. Now, not so much.
-
-
-
Aiko
May 30, 2011 @ 11:07 am | delete
- Hello Lisa,
I came to your site, and I'm so grateful. My son had a little cold in March that went away in a few days, but it left him with this prolonged cough. Now it's been 3 months. Some days he hardly coughs, and on other days, he starts to cough. Because my husband deals with asthma, I started to suspect that our son might have asthma, but he doesn't wheeze. So I'm very thankful to now know that there is such a thing as CVA, and that you don't hear the wheeze. His cough is not as bad as your son or the other kids mentioned in the comment sections, but everything you mentioned, and I've read about CVA makes sense that our son must have this. He also always had sinus problems, so we just ordered Nasopure. One thing that I wanted to mention was that "Breathe Deep" tea, by Yogi tea always helped my son. I had the tea because my husband sometimes takes it. I wondered why it worked on my son when he started to cough since I didn't think my sons's cough had nothing to do with asthma. Now, it makes sense. Could you please tell me which brand of kids' enzyme supplement you like? And also speaking of enzyme, I hear over and over that you have to have some enzymes with quercetin because many people can't digest it (quercetin tends to come with bromelain in some brands' bottles). Your son was taking enzyme anyway, but I wanted to mention to those who do not. The only question I have about bromelain is that I understand it is for protein, and I see it in many quercetain blends, but quercetain is a type of flavonol... I wouldn't think flavonol as protein, but may be I need to do some research on this. Thank you so much for your story. I will forward this to several friends of mine.
-
-
-
- Hi Aiko, thanks for your comment and the info. :) I give Joe Digest. I don't know if it's recommended for kids or not, but the pills are small enough for Joe.
-
-
-
Greta
May 19, 2011 @ 9:20 pm | delete
- I love your website. My 4 year old son has CVA (as far as we know) and even though he has been on Flovent daily for 6 months, he is still having exacerbations about every 3-4 weeks. It ALWAYS starts with congestion. Usually after the 3rd day I start hearing the cough and that's it, the cough takes over. We are learning how to deal with the attack but what I love about your site is it's all about prevention. I feel like when we go the doctor we are always in crisis mode and this prevention part is missed. I was curious, did you ever do allergy testing for your son? My son tested positive only for Dust (not mold, trees, grass, cats, etc). Obviously colds/virus causes his CVA too. We are going to do a blood allergy test but do you have any information on this "dust" allergy? We are now going to ask the doctor about a possible sinus problem and reflux as well because it does not make sense for him to have so many exacerbations when taking the corticosteroid inhaler daily and his only known allergy is dust! Thank you again so much for your site. I already ordered the neti pot for kids you recommended. Can't wait for my son to try it. I am so proud of him for his strength as he goes through all of this. He amazes me.
-
-
-
- Hi Greta, thank you! You know, you are describing something here that I have noticed in my own son - a sense of "cycles". It sounds like your son cycles every 3 to 4 weeks - my son cycles about every 6 weeks.
Joe does not do the coughing anymore. We haven't had a cough in months - but he still cycles. I notice it because he will pick his nose a lot - like he feels congested or has extra sinus issues. Plus, his saliva seems to burn his lips - they get all red and chapped. Plus his bowel movements seem to burn his bottom - that also gets red and chapped.
So, I don't know what this all is - I am assuming that it is all normal growing cycles, but it used to cause a lot of congestion and coughing. Now, it only causes the things I have mentioned.
FYI, now that we have everything under control, he is not getting the steroid. I noticed him cycling yesterday and thought I should give him some just in case ... but I haven't yet.
I think the nasopure is going to be great for you, and I think the reflux might be an issue too - it stands to reason that if just my son's own saliva can burn his skin then his digestive juices might be more hyperactive during this 'cycle' and cause issues like the ones we are seeing. Joe is taking DGL for reflux.
I never did have Joe tested for allergies - it just wasn't a road we wanted to go down at that time.
:) good luck! Lisa
-
-
-
debnet
May 19, 2011 @ 10:22 am | delete
- Blessed by a Squidoo Angel ;)
-
-
-
Daphne
May 7, 2011 @ 9:03 pm | delete
- Lisa: I just wanted to follow-up from my post, below, that I've been doing alot of reading on PubMed.gov (National Institutes of Health) about the growing body of research that supports says vitamin D supplementation can lower asthma exacerbations. You must have your child's vitamin D level tested (blood test called 25-OH-D). Levels range from 20 ng/ML to 80 ng/ML. You want to aim for the high end of this range. My understanding is that it can take a while for levels to climb. And, you do need to test the blood ~every 3 months to check the levels. But, the research is encouraging!
-
-
-
- thanks Daphne. That's funny you commented today - I just read that low vitamin d levels cause ms also. .... We're actually doing really, really good here with the nasopure, so I'm not going to pursue this at this time (plus joe was born in Hawaii and lived there till he was 6, and he's very fair-skinned - I'm sure he was not vitamin d deficient. ) ... but this is a great tip for people still looking. Tons of people come to this page every day looking for tips on how to help their kids.
-
-
-
Michelle
Apr 27, 2011 @ 6:06 pm | delete
- I too have CVA. I am 42 yrs old. Mine is affected by outside temperature fluctuations and of course any type of head cold will make it much worse. I am currently fighting I think my worst bout and longest. I am on day 52 (yes I said 52) of coughing. I take inhalers, Bricanyl and Pulmicourt (equivalent to Flovent and Ventilin) It is not helping. A week ago I got a head cold and that of course made everything that much worse, of course. In addition to the regular use of my inhalers, I had a prescription for cough syrup called Tussionex. It works wonders to suppress the cough but once it wears off, back comes the cough. Back to the Doctor and was given presc. for antibiotics (Biaxin) which I have 3 more days of 10. It is not helping the coughing at all, but clearing up the head cold.
I've done everything from covering my head over a sink of hot water to inhale the steam, to asking my hubby to wack me on the back to try and losen the ever so deep issues.
What I don't quite understand is, with CVA your lungs are clear. It is deep in the bronchiole tubes that lies the problem, right?? I had allergy test about 6yrs ago and none found.
Like others have mentioned, so VERY tired and frustrated with this continued dry, hacking to the point of gagging cough!! No one sleeps because of my "barking" and my co-workers are polite, but I know its annoying! I've taken Zantac thinking it could be reflux but doesn't seem to change anything.
I am really out of ideas and tired of going to the Dr. Suggestions??
Thanks for letting me complain :o)
-
-
-
- oh my gosh you HAVE to try the nasopure -- please if you try it come back and let meknow how it worked. It's so awesome for my son. I would love for an adult to try it
http://www.squidoo.com/cough-variant-asthma#module148786519
-
-
-
Merriah
Apr 14, 2011 @ 2:09 pm | delete
- Thank you so much for this report, my son is in a flare-up as we speak and it seems as if he is not going more than 3 minutes in between coughing episodes. His flare ups are usually only twice a year or so and the doc was not happy that I did not want to give him nebulizer steroids twice a day all year. I felt like that is just two much medication for 2 weeks a year of asthma. I am going to call around today and see if I can find the Quercetin, and also going to try sudafed. I have just been giving him the albuterol and steroid whenever he has a flare up and feel like it never does anything, and I cant lay next to him all night anymore listening to him suffer. Just curious though if anyone elses child is on an inhaled steroid everyday? If so, do you feel it helps alleviate flare-ups after colds or viruses?
-
-
-
- Is the nebulizer steroid the only option? How about a regular inhaler with a spacer? that's what Joe uses. He is down to one puff a day right now and doing really well. The thing about steroids is they only work when there is a certain level in the blood - so once you start using an inhaled steroid you may not see a difference for a few days. That's a long time to wait for relief when the coughing gets bad. Although I totally agree with you - I wouldn't want to use a nebulizer twice a day for 2 weeks a year.
-
-
-
Ren
Apr 15, 2011 @ 8:45 am | delete
- My son was on the nebulizer steroid all winter because before now he was too young and didn't properly do the spacer though, as soon as you can move to that do- my son LOVES the inhaler/spacer. I also thought it was too much to be on steroids everyday and I tried many more natural options but, Lisa is right. There may be ways to work around Albuterol but, the steroid is really the important key to controlling asthma flare ups and as much as it stinks, it really is necessary. I found out the hard way last year when his attacks started to get closer together and kept getting worse through the winter till we ended up taking him to the emergency room and getting oral steroids. Even though Albuterol seems like the more important medicine its the steroid that your son needs. Also, as an update- after I posted here I took him back to the doctor and my son's diagnosis is no longer CVA but, traditional asthma. I'm not sure if it was always that I just missed the signs or if its turned into that but, we're on a whole new track now. . . good luck with yours.
-
-
-
Camden's Mom
Apr 26, 2011 @ 12:37 pm | delete
- I am so grateful to have found this write-up. My son also has cough-variant asthma and is on inhaled steroids twice a day and I tell you it is worthless with his flare-ups. He only has issues when he gets a cold but he may just as well have not been on anything when he has one. Thanks to this I implemented mucinex for this latest flare-up a few days ago and it was LIFE CHANGING! I am now working on how I will reduce him being on the oral steroids as I deem them to be worthless but I want to be cautious with removing him from being on them.
-
-
-
- Yay!!!!!! :) thank you for letting me know this was helpful.
-
-
-
Jenny
Apr 10, 2011 @ 4:37 pm | delete
- Thanks for such a fantastic report. This is the first time I have found someone else who seems to have the same symptoms as my son (aged 7). He has a repetitive cough that seems to run in cycles: starting off as an occasional cough (that any 'normal' parent wouldn't hear). It gradually over a few days increases in frequency and intensity), and the gap between each cough decreases. To the point where he cannot talk between coughs, bursts his blood vessels in his face and vomits. We normally succumb to the doctor at this point and get prescribed predisolone and antibiotics.
Your report has made me look into (and in fact purchase) a nasopure, and he has started taking sudafed when his cough starts up.
Can you please tell me, was your son ever put on a nebuliser, and if so did it help? The reason I ask is that during the last coughing attack my son was put onto the nebuliser for the first time. It relieved the cough whilst he was on the machine...but within 5 minutes he was coughing just as bad as before. I've been told that this means my son couldn;t therefore have asthma....so now I am really confused!
Can I also ask, were your sons tonsils and adenoids checked? Because I've been told that these can casue a child to cough excessively.
Thanks again for making the effort to write this article. I would truly love to be able to get my son off of his preventer inhaler. He has been on it for 5 years now. KInd Regards
-
-
-
- Hi Jenny, Joe had a nebuliser once in the er with epinephrine I think, and that helped. Joe had a nebuliser once with albuterol at urgent care and that did not help.
Joe has had his tonsils and adenoids looked at by his primary physician and she said they look fine. I had tonsil issues when I was young.
Yes, the cycles - Joe seems to go in cycles too, 6 week cycles actually, although we did go something like 8 months without a cycle after we moved.
When he is flaring, his saliva seems more acidic, he sometimes gets sores in his mouth, and sometimes digestive disturbances too. .... I sometimes wonder if maybe he is not triggered by a virus, but rather this is a normal cycle his body goes through that causes very abnormal symptoms.
We are just ending a 'cycle' here, which could also look like a cold, but we made it through with NO coughing, which I attribute to the nasopure :)
-
-
-
renee
Apr 10, 2011 @ 4:34 pm | delete
- Thank you so much for documenting your journey! I am in the "trying everything, doing albuterol and pulmicort via nebulizer but, not having great results" stage and am very much looking forward to trying some of your suggestions. I also, like you, had to almost find out on my own that my son's asthma was cough variant asthma. For a little while I didn't do the regiment that the doctor suggested because even though they said asthma, I would read about traditional asthma and say to myself, "but he only has the coughing" it caused a great doubt in me toward the ability of our doctors to diagnose properly because no one ever explained it to me. I will let you know of something else that I found helpful for both over all health and for eliminating ear infections (as constant antibiotics when he was under a year was stressing me out) regular visits to the chiropractor. That also helped control his flare ups for about 4-6 months through the summer months as an infant but, that wore off in asthma control when the cold/flu season hit. We haven't had an ear infection since we started at the chiropractor when he was about a year and a half old and he's 3 1/2 now. He's struggling right now so, I'm going to go look for musinex and that nasopure. Thanks again.
-
-
-
- you are welcome renee, and thank you. :) I am a big believer in chiro care, but now at 8, my son doesn't want to go anymore. I've also read that acupuncture can help.
-
-
-
Daphne
Apr 9, 2011 @ 7:42 pm | delete
- Thanks so sharing your valuable experience! We used to regularly give my 7-year-old son about 250 mg of quercetin/day just to lower his allergy response (he's high IgE and allergic to peanuts). We recently stopped it, as I wasn't sure it was doing anything. Well, we stopped it and the next time he was sick, his horrid CVA cough came back; it had been gone for so long. I am putting him back on quercetin asap and trying Nasopure and Mucinex. I'm just curious, what type of maintenance dose of quercetin were you giving Joe and did you increase it during cough flares? Thank you!
-
-
-
- Hi Daphne, the quercetin our naturopath recommended is 500 mg a pill, and she suggested him taking at least one whole twice times a day during a flare if possible, plus one a day otherwise.
-
-
-
nicole
Apr 9, 2011 @ 12:14 am | delete
- My daughter is now 6 years old and laying in the bed right next to me with yet another coughing fit. Sleepless nights are the norm and they have been since she was 2. My daughter gets chronic infections like pertussis,fifths disease,bronchitis, and pneumonia. A couple of years ago she was diagnosed as having CVA and was given many different steroids to" control" it. Nothing has helped and she is getting worse. We have even taken her to a respiratory therapist and an ENT. I am really worried because she has started complaining of chest pain when she coughs and wakes up in the middle of the night choking on her own mucus.
I am very glad that you were able to get everything user control with your son. Going through the nasal washing,inhalers, antibiotics, and sleepless nights is so hard on my little girl and me....I am at a loss.
-
-
-
- Hi Nicole, I am so sorry. :( I wouldn't be too worried about the chest pains- although of course I am not a doctor and don't know for sure - but my guess is that they are caused by either trigger points in the intercostal, chest, and neck muscles caused by all the coughing (the body has to work really hard to cough) ... OR, they are caused by some sort of inflammation in the linings of the lungs and the linings between the lungs and the chest wall.
So you are doing nasal washing already ... that would have been my biggest recommendation. Have you tried mucinex? Have you asked your daughter's doctor about higher dose mucinex for her? I used to smash the adult mucinex in a blender and put it in tablets my son could swallow so he didn't have to take the liquid or the 'melts'. It's hard to get a good dosage and a good dosage recommendation that way though so definitely talk to your doctor and see what he or she recommends.
Have you tried a naturopathic doctor rather than an allopathic one? Nothing against allopathic doctors but if they haven't been able to help you so far maybe a naturopath can.
I tried some other things I don't think I mentioned on here too - like I took my son to a chiropracter and a cranial sacral lady. He's a little high-intensity and I wanted some relaxation techniques included in our treatment.
Also, have you looked into the fact that your daughter may have reflux? That was a big one for Joe and definitely contributed to his nighttime coughing - we are controlling it with DGL.
You've GOT to go to the boogordoctor website http://www.boogordoctor.com/ and talk to doctor russ. just leave him a comment somewhere. He'll answer.
best of luck to you!!!!!! Lisa
-
-
-
Nikki
Mar 30, 2011 @ 2:26 pm | delete
- Thank you for sharing your son's journey of battling CVA with us. I could totally relate to your story. My daughter has been battling CVA for about 2 and a half years now. We have had many sleepless nights dealing with the coughing attacks. My husband and I were perplexed as to how she developed this nagging cough. She starting having issues at the age of two and a half and the doctor told us that it may be asthma, but that the only way to know for sure was to treat her as if she had asthma. I am a proponent of using natural methods to treat disease and illness instead of statin drugs, so I was not thrilled with putting her on medication. Anyway, we have tried albuterol, pulmicourt, prednisolone, antibiotics, steam therapy, air purifiers, humidifiers, herbs, vitamins, nasal sprays, etc.; all of which have provided temporary relief. Actually the albuterol treatments, sometimes exacerbate the coughing episodes. When the coughing gets really bad, the only thing that seems to deter it is prednisolone. I have found that if I give her albuterol at the very first sign of a cough along with aggressive steam inhalation with menthol and collidial silver nasal spray I can prevent a full blown episode most of the time. She is currently on a daily regimine of probiotics, multivitamins, vitamin D and calcium, quertcitin, and (nasal spray as needed). I have surfed the internet repeatedly trying to find a permanent solution to no avail. She is now five years old and about 5 days ago she got a cold from school, and that terrible cough began to rear its ugly head again. I began to give her albuterol treatments every 6 hours. The cough sounds scary at times, almost like croup or a smokers cough. Anyway, we went to the doctor and she was diagnosed with an ear infection and given prednisolone and an antibiotic. We are on day two of the antibiotic and prednisolone and she is feeling much better. The fall and winter months seem to be the worst time for her. She generally gets much better from April through September. It was very refreshing to read your story and know that we are not alone. I thank you for giving me more options to add to our regimine.
-
-
-
- Hi Nikki, thanks for your comment. Yes, your journey sounds very similar to mine. :) Isn't if funny how we don't want to use these strong medicines, and yet they are the only things that help. Definitely, DEFINITELY look into the nasopure. I didn't get one the first time I heard of it and I so wish I had. It's awesome. Watch the videos on the website of the younger kids using it. Have your daughter watch them too. :)
-
-
-
Nikki
Mar 30, 2011 @ 6:18 pm | delete
- Yes, we will definitely try the nasopure. Thanks again for sharing your story and for this website!
-
-
-
CVA Mommy
Mar 28, 2011 @ 9:51 pm | delete
- My daughter is only 19 months with CVA and it's especially hard to get her decongested because the over the counter medications are for children 2 and up. Her doctor prescribed her a decongestant, but it did very little. I've tried everything it seems. Saline drops, humidifiers, steam from the shower, a natural honey elixar, and the list goes on. Still it seems the coughing and congestion persists. Any suggestions for a toddler with cough variant asthma?
-
-
-
- She's so young ... that the nasopure might be an issue, but I wonder if there's any way to make it work? You could ask - Dr. Hana has personally answered my email questions before http://www.nasopure.com/ - the boogor doctor also has answered my personal questions http://www.boogordoctor.com/ check them out and see what they recommend. I was the same way - I tried EVERYHTING. Things got easier as Joe got older, but that doesn't help you much now, huh?
-
-
-
Pare
Feb 25, 2011 @ 6:56 am | delete
- My daughter is four and has had this cough for over a year now. Last year in June, we moved to Singapore from East Africa and i really hoped that the change in environment would help. Her pediatrician in Uganda had checked her chest several times and declared it normal, he even did a chest xray, which showed nothing. In Singapore, we saw another pediatrician who immediately started her on ventolin and another drug through an nebulator (some gadget that kind of bubbles the drugs as she inhales). I had to do this every four hours. Anyways, during this time she also had contracted one of the many coughs flying around, so her condition seemed really bad and she was wheezing. After one week, we went down to every four hours, then after five days we took her off (she had improved). The doctor then gave her aerius, singular in addition to ventolin puffed twice a day. We went back to Uganda for Christmas last year and by the time we arrived all of us had flu and coughs so bad that the doctors put us on antibiotics (amoxylin). Surprisingly, for the first time in a year, my daughter's cough cleared and she didn't cough at night for the next two weeks. We returned to Singapore in early January, and withe monsoon season still raging, coughs and flus were abundant, and it was inevitable, she came home from school with a cough one day. Since then (second week of Jan), she has been coughing, more so in the night. The cough is productive... Please advise us, we ar our wits' end... Thanks.
-
-
-
- I'm not a doctor, I can't advise you on anything. I just shared here what I did for my son. ... Since antibiotics helped though, you should look for a chronic infection somewhere probably. Maybe in the sinuses. Check out this website http://www.boogordoctor.com/ and this one http://www.nasopure.com/ Good luck!
-
-
-
jackiebolen
Feb 25, 2011 @ 2:12 am | delete
- A very helpful lens!
-
-
-
aesta1
Jan 5, 2011 @ 7:34 pm | delete
- Thanks for this. Looks like as one grows older, like children, one is prone to asthma and coughing and trying to understand this helps.
-
-
-
Oracle_Post
Jan 4, 2011 @ 4:44 am | delete
- you have such a cute sun and you really are an inspirational mother! nice to see you sharing your incredible experience here (:
-
-
-
terrapin719
Nov 29, 2010 @ 2:39 pm | delete
- I love stories of successfully controlled asthma. Most people don't realize that there are so MANY different kinds of asthma. Three people in my household have asthma, myself and two of my sons, and they are all different types with different triggers and different reactions. Kudos to you for researching and finding what works best for your little one!
-
-
-
- yes! and thank you :)
-
-
-
Guest
Feb 20, 2011 @ 1:17 pm | delete
- Awesome. thanks for posting your experience. I am at a point where I am almost convinced that steriods is the only way out for my 3 year old. I will try these alternatives
-
-
-
Tonya
Oct 25, 2010 @ 5:54 pm | delete
- Thanks for sharing your story. My son developed a chronic cough after getting his first influenza virus Feb. 2009. Since this time I was always stubborn and determined I would control his environment, in turn controlling his cough. He would begin coughing when he would wake up in the morning, for an hour or so, and sometimes when the sun would go down he would also begin coughing. Luckily, he wouldn't wake up too often throughout the night coughing, but he would wake up at 4am for the day. Since that first virus his immune system completely went downhill, keeping in mind that this an extended breastfed child. Once I stopped feeding him and he began preschool everything went downhill from there. Over the last year and a half I tried all natural remedies: hot shower, respitrol, nordic naturals artic fish liver oil, Quercetin nasal spray, Grether's pastille throat lozenges, Sudafed, Zyrtec, Sudafed and Mucinex. Out of all of these remedies the only one's that worked were the hot shower and the Grether's Pastille throat drops. However, it did not completely do the job and finally my child was diagnosed with allergy induced asthma about 2 months ago. The dr.'s say he could have always had allergies and asthma it just took the virus to bring them out. Whatever the case may be, he is now controlled on 1 puff a day. The pulmonologist directed him to be on four puffs a day, but as a mother I chose 1 puff a day and he is fine with that. Even with just 2 puffs a day the medicine transformed my child into a wild beast. So I took it upon myself two cut his dose down to 1 puff. Have tried to skip a day, but he ends up waking up coughing a little bit. So for now I will keep him on 1 puff a day. I am not happy that my child is on a daily medicine, but I could not risk creating long term lung damage by him continually coughing. I pray every day that one day I will be able to wean him off! I understand what you went through with Joe as I felt so much grief for a long time and we finally have our quality of life back.
-
-
-
- Hi Tonya, thank you for sharing YOUR story too :) I feel for you - you sound just like me. a determined mother wanting the BEST for your son :) Yes?
I didn't see probiotics, enzymes, or reflux treatments on your list of things you've tried. You might want to consider the possible reflux aspect of something like this, as the booger doctor has recommended. http://www.boogordoctor.com/
For me, enzymes and probiotics are a very necessary prophylactic treatment (won't help acutely, but will keep symptoms down long term) and I've recently had a lot of success with DGL and apple cider vinegar - both natural reflux treatments.
thanks again!
-
-
-
Tonya
Nov 28, 2010 @ 6:32 pm | delete
- Hi again. I just reviewed your response to my post. I forgot to mention that I did try probiotics and apple cider vinegar. Neither seemed to work for him. What I did do was eliminate a few things from his diet, such as m&m's (daily treat), because it did something very unusual to his throat. I think the hard coating of the candy shell scrathed his throat or something and made him start clearing his throat by coughing. Also, crackers would dry out his throat alot. Bread also affected his throat. So I think these dry foods ruined his throat for such a long time until I finally figured out that he developed chronic inflamation in his chest from all of the coughing. So now the Flovent has helped alot with that inflammation, but everythime I do try to wean him off (like to every other day) he coughs a little bit more. Of course, it is in no way the magnitude of what it use to be, but how can I take the chance to reduce his Flovent (it is a catch 22 for me). Anyway, thank you for taking the time to respond to me it is so nice to have someone who understands what I have been through with my child. I wish you and your the family the best.
-
-
-
- Hi Tonya, thanks for coming by again. It sounds like you will eventually find something that works for your son. My most recent natural treatment has been for reflux and has been working great - DGL.
-
-
-
skiesgreen
Sep 4, 2010 @ 6:27 pm | delete
- A nice take on childhood asthma and the problems it presents. *-*Blessed*-* and featured on Sprinkled with Stardust
-
-
-
- thank you!
-
-
-
kohuether
Aug 31, 2010 @ 2:09 am | delete
- Hmm. The quercetin working suggests to me that perhaps his cough/asthma thing has been caused by asthma? Or perhaps the quercetin is helping to give his immune system a boost. I am an herbalist and during my schooling we learned that Mullein is the traditional healing herb, taken as a tea, for asthma and other lung complaints. I'd look into it and do some research on it. I am not sure if A. it's safe for children and B. if it is safe, not sure on the dosage. If you have a lawn that has weeds in it, chances are pretty good you have mullein if you live in the Northeast, Midwest, and I forget where else. We had it growing in our yard in New Hampshire. Good luck! My sis had a cough similar to this in our first house growing up that had a wood stove. When we moved - no wood stove. Magically the cough was gone. It helps to figure out why it's happening,
-
-
-
Sally1746
Jul 21, 2010 @ 10:22 am | delete
- you're baby is soo adorable! im happy he's all better!
-
-
-
- thank you :)
-
-
-
Russ
Jul 10, 2010 @ 1:35 pm | delete
- Lisa, thanks for an excellent lens! The only thing I can think to add is that I usually also consider the possibility of reflux in my patients with "cough-variant asthma". That is, with their reactive, very sensitive airways, any cause of inflammation - allergic rhinitis, sinusitis, otitis, and reflux - can trigger an asthma exacerbation. The symptom of cough can be from reflux. When the cough is limited to nighttime I am especially suspicious of reflux. Given a choice of giving my patients systemic steroids or an anti-reflux med, I will often put them on a trial of the anti-reflux med. If that reduces their symptoms, we have made the diagnosis, and have a decent treatment.
Thanks again for some great tips. I especially appreciate the Quercetin suggestion, great alternative.
Russell A. Faust, PhD, MD, FAAP
http://www.boogordoctor.com
-
-
-
- Thank you. Love your website. I'm really excited to find out if reflux is contributing to Joe's coughing. I would love to get him off the steroids for good.
-
-
-
Tish
May 5, 2010 @ 9:37 am | delete
- Thanks,I will have to try Quercetin. My 7 year old son has cough variant asthma as well. The coughing started when he was about 18 months old, and he was diagnosed with pneumonia several times (and given a ton of antibiotics) until he was diagnosed correctly. All of the steroids make him nuts, except for xopenex, which only lasts for 3-4 hours so he wakes up coughing a lot at night :(
-
-
-
- Thanks, I hope it helps. And have you ever given him probiotics? that might help too.
-
-
-
Emily
May 17, 2010 @ 1:06 pm | delete
- Thank you. My son has cva and got diagnosed at Christmas. We finally went on flovent his last virus and it cleared up right away. This virus was milder with the flovent but he started coughing again a couple days into it and I read your post and tried mucinex. He stopped coughing right away but then again, he's on the flovent. I just didn't want to up the flovent dose like recommended (actually, the recommendation now is quadrupling the flovent during a virus.) I, like you, want him off the flovent but feel like we have no choice. I ordered the quecertin from Amazon, (I linked from your post) is this for children? I ordered the nasal spray and pills. I'd prefer not to go to the naturopath right now (expense,) would you say the quecertin is safe for him without docs rec.? We've just been to so many doctors appointments and naturopaths and I work and it's hard to get to all the appointments (and pay!) We are doing cod liver oil, D, C, probiotics, limiting dairy, etc. He is pretty healthy but does have some seasonal allergies I think this year, his eyes have been pretty itchy and now I'm worried I should give him an antihistamine too but don't want to combine with the flovent AND mucinex. Even if the docs say it's safe I worry about all the side effects. Thanks again, I hope we can mimic your story!!!
-
-
-
- Hi Emily, the quercetin and nasal spray I linked to are the brands my naturopath recommended to us for our then-6-year-old son. I don't know if they are specifically for children.
I can't say if the quercetin is safe or not safe for your son. My son takes it and I take it, and my husband takes it but I'm not a doctor.
I hope you can mimic our success too. I feel much better about giving him quercetin than flovent - although I still do use the flovent when I need to, that 6 month period where he didn't need it at all was awesome.
I always try to wean him off of it or at least to a lower dose when it seems he is better. His conventional doctor said that was fine.
-
by lisakleinweber
My son is now 9. He's had cva symptoms since he was under a year old. We got a handle on them when he was about 6 years old with sudafed and quercet... more »
- 115 featured lenses
- Winner of 31 trophies!
- Top lens » Skylanders Toys
Feeling creative?
Create a Lens!
Explore related pages
- Yoga for Asthma; Gentle Yoga DVD Yoga for Asthma; Gentle Yoga DVD
- Eat a Rainbow Eat a Rainbow
- Learn About The Human Circulatory System Learn About The Human Circulatory System
- Top 10 Best Dehumidifiers For Sale 2012 | Buy A Dehumidifier Online Top 10 Best Dehumidifiers For Sale 2012 | Buy A Dehumidifier Online
- Vick's VapoRub...not just for chests Vick's VapoRub...not just for chests
- Home Remedies for Good Health Home Remedies for Good Health
