To be fair this has been going on for 3 years.  She's now 6.  I've been to the doctors about this & they have decided that it's asthma.  I can't say I'm convinced.  Whilst she does suffer severe hayfever & has eczema I have to say I still think it's related to the reflux she had as a baby.  She was treated with the usual antacid stuff which was hit & miss as to whether it worked.

Anyway, the reason for my post is that the latest revelation from dd is that her throat is sore because of the "sick that bubbles up in her throat".  She says this occurs mainly at night.  Before I take another trip to my doctors (who is very patient & kind) I just wondered if anyone had ever heard of a child of this age with reflux or knew what she could be suffering from.

She's a very happy healthy child really & doesn't appear as sickly as the above makes her out to be.  I just want her to get a good night's sleep, without the coughing.

My friend's son has suffered with reflux since he was a baby.  He's 10 now and although it's not as bad as when he was small, he does still suffer from time to time and will ask for gaviscon when it's bothering him.  Don't think it causes him to cough at night, though.

Bit if a long shot, but does she have dairy in her diet?  I have eczema (and lots of related problems but NOT asthma).  I have to really restrict my dairy intake, not just because of my skin, but because it causes awful mucus build-up and and night it can make me feel like I'm drowning in the stuff (sorry if anyone's eating whilst reading this!). 

It sounds like asthma to me my son coughed like that for years. Have you done the practical bits? Hypo allergic (duvet and pillow) ie not feather. Window open, replacing carpet in her room with lino or laminate in other words eliminate dust mites. A quick test for allergies, Sam got 80% better when we discovered a wheat in tolerance.

Damp cloth around her wardrobe top and cupboards, teddies through the tumble drier in a pillowcase weekly, all those bits help, if you cough enough you will "sick back" but it is unlikely its acid reflux could be wrong, but I would try and sort out the cough first 6 years is too long for this to have been  going on. Oh and no air freshners in the house. Have you thought she may be allergic to the dog? dog hairs can really trigger a cough.

I think you have to deal with 2 situations here .
Firstly the asthma/hayfever .  As Whistler says , anti-allergy pillow/duvet/mattress cover etc and keep on top of the hayfever .
Secondly , she could well be suffering reflux .   When i was a child i used to have a bedtime drink then sometimes , when full of energy , do head-stands on the couch . I would often complain of a ' dotty throat ' and need water to wash it away . The reason i called it a dotty throat was because it felt hot and prickly . I now know it was reflux but it was caused by me drinking and then turning upside down .
Your daughter's could be caused by the coughing or by a problem with the sphincter ( muscle) at the top of her stomach .
I would be asking for a referral as acid in the oesophagus can cause problems and if your GP can't solve the problem she should be referring you . She already has history of this from being a baby so i can't see why she wouldn't refer her .  

 

Thanks everyone for your replies.

We've tried non dairy, made no difference at all to her.  We've cut down the amount of dairy anyway as a precaution.  Also took the wheat out of her diet for 4 months, no change :-(

We don't have carpets, the house is made of wood so dust is an issue.  We've just decided to buy the special mattress cover (any suggestions to the best one would be great please)  Windows open, damp flannels done too.

Only one air freshener, that'll have to go.  Not the dogs (both breeds in the house are non-moulting (TT & SWD) so would be very surprised if it's them).  Cat is banned from kids bedrooms & doors are always shut for that reason.

When she was little she used to be sick when she coughed to much, but I'm sure it sounds more like someone's "dotty throat" - i like that :-)

Have informed her TA at school & my daughter to see if the bubbling sick occurs at school or whether it's just at night.  Have to say, we're back at the doctors in a fortnight anyway to review the results of using the spray.  At least my doctor has said if it doesn't improve her breathing by 15% then she won't be put on it long term.

Thanks again, knew I could rely on you lot :-D

Son has asthma - one of the symptoms was night-time coughing and at 11 it still mostly flares up at night ;)

He also used to cough so much that he was sick - hasn't got reflux at all (lots of other digestive problems tho )  ;)

with son the weather also has a lot of influence on his asthma - wet weather/cold weather/changeable weather etc ;)

My daughter coughed and coughed at night for a year and was always making herself throw up. I felt like a paranoid mother always taking her back to the doctor for repeat antibiotics, i think in the end because i had seen 5 different doctors and i'm not saying he defo was but thought maybe cos he thought i was a paranoid mother he thought he would be seen to be doing something and sent her for a chest xray - long story but from on there she was also sent for a salt sweat test and it turned out she has Cystic Fibrosis. My doctors surgery had obviously not come across this before so wasn't so apparent to spot and thought she just had chest infections etc. I'm not saying anything like this is the matter with your daughter just pointing out that please keep hounding them and dont feel paranoid til you get a defo answer. Best wishes and good luck with the doctors

My son coughs at night as well- was told hayfever/asthma- Even went to an asthma thing and they put him on this different puffer which actually made him worse caused his throat to start to close up so went back to original puffer- he doesn't use it to much if at all but I always make him carry it....

We were told the same thing with pillow, stuffed toys ect- we also have hardwood so much easier to keep things clean... After reno's this summer planning on have all our ducts cleaned out so the house is not as dusty... Have you had urs cleaned? That can help in keeping the dust down...

all our ducts cleaned out

what ducts are you talking about?  Sorry very ignorant on houses, just keep hoovering & mopping.  I'm lucky that the ceilings are fairly low so that I can hoover the beams too - glad no one can see in as I get a bit like a mad woman with the spiders :-D

Will do as we're told re. the doctors for the next 10 days until our return to see her.  As I say, we've visited doctors for the past 5 years & have been treated fairly well.  Our new doctor here is very open to actually listening & never makes me feel neurotic.  I'm just aware that there are a lot more poorly people needing her time so I tend to put things off.

Insist on an ENT referral.  Could be severe house dust mite allergy, I will e-mail you a leaflet at some point regarding what you can do regarding this.

cheers :-D

hayfever asthma and exzemac sp are one of those things that seems to come in twos or 3s. I have hayfever (chronic severe lol) and asthma but my asthma only bothers me in the extreme cold or heat of the suffering hayfever season. Get her checked out im sure shell be right as rain

what ducts are you talking about?  Sorry very ignorant on houses, just keep hoovering & mopping.  I'm lucky that the ceilings are fairly low so that I can hoover the beams too - glad no one can see in as I get a bit like a mad woman with the spiders

Your air vents- where the heat comes from the floor, them ducts- they can cause alot of dust as I no ours our from doing reno's- was planning on doing them this year after we are done reno's in the kitchen so hopefully have them cleaned out before winter rolls around again so they are done when we turn the heat on again....

Sounds like you are doing everything you can. I get eczema and did have asthma as a child. I can tell if someones house is dusty or dirty as it sets me off itching and sneezing but at home i can control it by changing bed regularly so no itching and coughing at night time and general cleaning up with the rest of the house.

One of the problems my daughter, also six, has is severe reflux and she also coughs a lot at night.

The sick bubbling up does make it sound like it could be GERD ( Gastroesophageal reflux disease ). My daughter gets throat and mouth ulcers from the acid.
GERD is nearly always much worse when children lay down, so propping her up at night may help. You need to put something under her bed not just use extra pillows.
As a baby my daughter had to be strapped to a wedge so she slept at a 45 degree angle.

I would definitely ask for it to be checked out long term untreated GERD can cause further problems.  

If you want any further info just ask.

I would love some more information.  Saw a doctor today with her but that wasn't our normal doctor & it was re. tonsilitis.  He said reflux in a 6 year old is very rare, so highly unlikely.  I will push with my normal GP but it would be great to have some solid information to go along with.

Lots of illnesses and conditions are rare and although highly unlikely surely they should be ruling out all posibilities especially in a 6yr old.

Sorry to hear you haven't got to the bottom of it yet.

I know a few children with GERD so it can't be that rare.
Gp's certainly don't know everything. I would ask for a referral to a paediatric gastroenterologist, who will be able to tell you if it's likely or not.

I see from you post that your daughter has suspected asthma. Chest problems are also often seen in children with reflux as some of the stomach contents can be inhaled. In babies on liquid feeds this can be serious but in older children often causes irritation in the lungs.

I've PM'd you some info.

> Lots of illnesses and conditions are rare

I have had 3 members of my family die young - each of them died of something ' rare '.
Either i have an unlucky family or rare conditions aren't that rare anymore ( possibly we are better at diagnosing these days ).

Go with your Maternal instinct ! 

And i agree - GP's don't know everything even though they think they do .

I do hope you are able to figure out whats wrong- all the best...

havent time to read other posts..

My son suffered asthma from 4yrs brought on by excitement /stress by passed for quite a long time by doctors eventually diagnosed as asthma given medication and under control.

He had a terrible cough during the night its a type of cough you begin to recognise from a cold cough if you know what I mean.

When he was a child once I recognised it I would know  if I needed to take him to the hospital if he needed a nebulizer or if a quick puff of his inhaler was enough.

He has grown out of it now.

hi it sounds like asthma to me .ive been a sever asthmatic for the last 12 years but have had asthma from a child.my children also had asthma when young but they seem to be growing out of it.you can grow out of asthma every 7yrs until you are 21.symptoms vary but most children cough at night and when doing any form of exercise.simple ventolin inhalers usually open the airways up and usually a steroid inhaler is used to keep the airways open.im also get alot of acid reflux esp when ive got a chest infection.try putting a cup of water by the bedroom radiator as this stops the air getting to dry.im not saying your child has asthma as only a gp can comfim this but i think its worth discussing with the gp.i find sleeping propped up helps with both the asthma and the reflux and drinking milk helps the acid as does regular snacks through the day.hope this helps and please try not to worry.

If it's asthma then surely prevention inhalers will solve the problem, and if they don't then it isn't asthma maybe? :)

Maybe it's not that simple though. I do have mild asthma myself but find the inhalers really sort it out.

With GORD or GERD, some very little given information is to sleep on one's left side and not the right or back or tummy. For some reason, sleeping on the left hand side (ie body turned towards the left and on the left actual side) really helps and in some cases totally stops it. Also being overweight can add to this problem so small meals and losing weight can sometimes help prevent it, as can experimenting with certain foods and drinks, mine was due mostly to coffee, barleycup and anything very fatty or a larger meal than normal. The drinks were quite hard to find but I did an exclusion diet which surprisingly showed it was them causing about 90% of my problem! After 3 years of taking flipping proton pump inhibitors. If only doctors were more thorough in getting to the bottom of things.

Lots of luck
Lindsay
x

Inhaler is just making everything ten times worse.  It will be intersting to see how she gets on in the hayfever season.

We're off to the Cranial Osteopath in the holidays so hopefully she'll tell me if she's asthmatic or not.  As she managed to tell that my neice had suffered from really bad chicken pox due to the scaring she could "feel" on her bones, she also sorted my "bits" out post baby no..2 when I was told that I would need surgery.  I thought it was all hocus pocus but now I'm not so sceptical ;-)

what inhaler is she using and does she use a spacer device.does your gp have asthma clinic as these are usually run by specialist nurses.their are a few medications for controlling asthma so the gp will try different combinations and ihalers until the asthma is under control.after 6yrs of going to the chest clinic i was given a nebuliser to use 4 times daily,3 tablets night and day plus inhalers.asthma cant be cured but in most cases controlled.please realise it can take quite a long time to find the best treatment so please listen to your gp.with all the medication im on my asthma still isnt under control.what works for  one might not work for another and most asthma medications can take a while to start working.

It is actually tree pollen season at the moment so she could be allergic to this.

but what about the rest of the year.

She does have a spacer yes (currently we're decorating it with stickers).  As I say, her peak air flow measurements don't seem to be that improved & her coughing has got worse not better.

As for the tree pollen, I suffer from it but it hasn't started on me yet but I know it will in the next few weeks.  But then mine is specific I think it's birch that causes my problems.  I'm incredibly lucky that I only suffer from severe hayfever, even last year with our wet summer.  I'm not allergic to anything else.

Now think ds is ever so slightly allergic to the cats as he gets into our bed in the mornings & sneezes, the cats aren't allowed in the kids' rooms.  It's that or he's allergic to us :-D. 

def worth looking into allergies,cats and rabbits are very common trigger factors for setting off asthma.like most animals allergies its the dander in the fur that causes reactions more than the fur,and i think u can get products to control the dander on pets.i dont know how effective these products are as ive never used them,but im sure other forum members can advise u.i hope the little ones cough is soon sorted, as i know night coughs are really annoying esp.if it wakes u up.ps dont mind me asking have u got carpet in the bedrooms,because since i laminated our bedrooms the kids have grown out of the asthma,and i dont wake up as much in the nights coughing and wheezing.

A quick update.  Went to see a cranial osteopath with dd.  She said that there was some irritation of the lungs but nothing major, she'll probably grow out of any asmatic tendencies.  She was more interested in finding out if my daughter had had a major bang on the head & was concussed at any time.  Weirdly enough, she was pulled over backwards by our young lab just over two years ago (just after we moved in).  She banged her head hard on the patio, backwards.  I lay her on the sofa & offered her her favourite tea which she turned down.  She then said "mummy I can't see you".  At this point I called an ambulance (I didn't know where the hospital was!)  4 year olds don't muck around like that!  Anyway, she was fine.  But apparently, this has caused her neck to shorten & her throat to constrict, causing all her problems.

I'm sitting here typing, not a cough coming from above.  I'm not a believer in alternative medicine really but this lady has sorted out something major for my body (which I was supposed to be going under the knife for), my son & now my daughter.  So perhaps there is something in it after all.

Don't get me wrong, she's told me that my GP has been very wise & agrees with her prognosis so that's comforting to hear (that I'm not giving dd drugs for no reason!)