Nighttime Coughing

My son used to cough at night until he vomitted. Started around age four. It was the asthma. In a lot of kids the asthma manifests itself as a nighttime cough. I find it to be especially bad in the winter.

Could be something in his sheets or bedding/mattress. My step daughter has a mild form of asthma and she usually has more problems when she goes to bed at night.

Sounds like it could be sinus, but if he's on an antihistimine, he shouldn't have drainage. Should he?
My PA/TNA son had nighttime coughs, then the allergist put him on Zyrtec. He only has a bout of nighttime coughing one or two times a year now. If it gets bad enough, the allergist puts him on Advair along with the Zyrtec.

We went through something similar. My daughter would cough so much at night, she would get severe bloody noses. Once her asthma and allergies were controlled with medications the night coughing stopped.
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Keep Smiling
DD - allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, coconut, and egg

Could you try washing his bedding in very hot water and putting a barrier or encasement on the mattress and/or pillow?
We ALL have to sleep with encased pillows at our house. It really sounds like it could be an emerging dust mite allergy. He's about the right age.
You can wash and dry most stuffed toys in warm water if you put them inside pillowcases first. We've also had stuffed critters "vacation" in our large freezer to kill mites, but you still have to vacuum them or wash them to remove the allergen.

have you looked to see if your child has "tonsil stones" or tonsoliths? A few years back I was waking up each night coughing my brains out, like a tickle of sorts. I went the doc and I had tonsil stones. They are pretty darn gross, but pretty common. Usually the sufferer has horrible breath until they get properly treated. It's basically nasal drainage in the back of the throat and food particles that get caught in the crypts of the tonsils and "grows" into these hard little smelly pellets. Oh yes, gross. You can google it to get more info.
Anyhoot - maybe that's it? When one sleeps, they tend to creep out and fall out, and since you are lying down...they get stuck in your throat while you inhale and cause one to cough.
Adrienne
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30-year old survivor of severe peanut/tree nut allergy

I have a friend whose son was constantly sick with ear infections, asthma etc. He was on some pretty serious asthma meds. and the year he was 4 to 5 years old, he was hospitialized 19 times due to night time coughing. The doctors said he had asthma. He didn't cough during the day, but at night was a mess.
The mom finally took him to some sort of a specialist because she was fed up with her child being medicated and still sick.
It turns out that this child had severe acid reflux...the coughing at night was due to acid rising into his throat.
So, for at least 2 years, this poor child was pumped full of steroids, had tonsils & adenoids removed, tubes in ears and the problem was acid reflux.
Go figure. Now, he's the healthiest kid around.

Nighttime coughing is one of the symptoms of a sinus infection. Acid reflux can also be a factor. This is one of the ways we can tell when DS has yet another sinus infection. Usually the cough goes away within a couple of days on antibiotics. Recent research has shown that some very persistent sinus infections are cleared up by treatment with acid reflux meds. We had to go that route one time when surgery was the next option. Another symptom of sinus infection is bad breath from the drainage.
If you check with your ped or allergist, they should be able to verify or rule out a sinus infection.

Sounds like both my dd's asthma. Their asthma worsens with postnasal drip. Also, one of my dds has had what I thought was a stomach virus this week, but found out was pneumonitis- too much stuff to cough up.

I was thinking sinus too...when my daughter had a sinus infection, she coughed all day, but it was worst at night. She also vomited one night while coughing, and the docter said it was from the drainage that she swallowed. During the day, she seemed healthy except for the coughing. She had to be on an antibiotic for 20 days to clear it up.
Does your child's doctor take the cough seriously? If not, maybe you could tape the cough before your next appointment.