Expert: Bailey - 6/7/2007

Question
QUESTION: Hi,
Both my 8 month old daughter and myself have this persistant cough and she has a wheeze along with it. We started out with colds 8 weeks ago that lasted for about 10 days then had this annoying cough but no other symptoms and now the last two and a half weeks have had a terrible deep cough (I have some phlegm and she does too I think but can't get it out but does have some thick nasal discharge) that seems to have no relief. The doctor prescribed inhalers (flovent and ventilin for her and symbicort and ventilin for me) but we've been taking them for about 10 days now but they don't seem to do anything. Could we be having an allergy instead? I don't want to take inhalers when it doesn't seem to do much. If it is an allergy, could I be passing it on to her through breastfeeding? This also makes it difficult for medications I can take for relief as well. I am just sick of the contstant coughing for both of us and would like to head on the path of controlling it.
Thank you,
Michelle

ANSWER: Hi Michelle,
 Has the cough gotten any better since the cold? If not, and if it is a bad cough, you may want to get a chest x-ray and make sure there is no fluid or anything in your lungs from when you had the cold. It could be an allergy, hard to say, but you may want to try some allergy medication and see if you get any relief from that. Did your doctor do any lung function tests when you were there? If this continues you may want to have this done to see what your lung capacity is which is helpful in judging the severity of asthma or other breathing problems. Give the inhalers at least 2 weeks to work. If after say 3 weeks they still are not working, then I would not continues to take them. There are a multitude of inhalers available though and you may find that if you try a different type, it may work better. They can take about 2 weeks to start working though, so that is something to keep in mind before stopping use or switching.
-Bailey

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the information - they did chest x-rays on both of us on Monday and we both were clear. THey put my daughter on 5 days of prednisone but this is day 4 and I still hear a wheeze - she also is now not as cooperative with taking the inhalers as I think she is getting fed up as well! As for me, they upped my symbicort to 3 times a day and I'm taking Claritin but haven't noticed much of a change. Yesterday and today, I woke up both times from a nap with an attack of coughing, sneezing, tight throat, and it seems to take a good 20 minutes to calm down. I took my ventolin for relief but the inhalers don't seem to do much. I'm just getting sick and tired of being sick and tired and I'm just heartbroken watching my daughter go through it. I see the doctor again on Tues. so I'm hoping for some better answers from him instead of just pumping us with inhalers that don't seem to be working. If you have any advice on what I should ask him then that'd be great. If not, then thanks for all your help already.
Michelle

Answer
Hi Michelle,
 If there is no relief from the prednisone with your daughter, then I would get her off of it. Predinisone is a very powerful medication which is usually quite effective but it should not be used for long periods of time unless necessary. A lot of times, it is only prescribed for a week or so, like in your case. It also tends to make people irritable, which may explain why your daughter is being less cooperative. With the sneezing and tight throat, I would look into allergies. You may want to ask your doctor about getting an allergy test done, and I would recommend checking for food allergies as well. I hope you and your daughter are able to get some relief!
-Bailey