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tic cough or allergy cough?


patty

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Since my son got bad allergy from his outdoor camp this mid July, he started with a mucus cough and open mouth tic. He was treated via Bioset for the eucalyptus tree and the mouth tic went away. However, his stuffy nose, sneezing and cough did not go away. About 2 weeks later, stuffy nose and sneezing went away. Now the mucus cough has become a dry cough that won't go away. It sounds just like a regular cough.

 

Before my son's acute onset of tics, he used to cough months at a time after he gets a cold.

 

Can this be tic or allergy?

 

Do any of your kids have lingering cough? If it is allergy, how do you treat it?

 

Thx!

 

Pat

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Patty,

 

What is your pediatrician recommending to treat the cough?

 

A few years back my daughter had a tic cough that went misdiagnosed as asthma for a long time. The pulmonologist she was seeing kept increasing her asthma medication. At one point, she was sick and I took her in to my pediatrician. My wise pediatrician was not comfortable with the amount and type of medication that was prescribed. He had a suspician that it was a tic cough and told me that if it is asthma and you give asthma medication then the cough should go away. He sent me for a second opinion who agreed with my pediatrician. We then went to a neurologist.

 

So I would guess that if it is allergies and you try allergy medication, then the cough should go away. If it doesn't, consider whether it may be a tic.

 

Debbie

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Debbie1,

 

Thx for your input. Your dd's story's very similiar to my son. Before my son's onset of tics, he used to cough months at a time (3/4 mos). Because he had asthma & nasal allergies, his pulmonogist prescribed flonase and flovent. My son was on it for 1/1/2 mos w/o any improvement, so i decided to stop. That was about 3 yrs ago.

 

Did your dd cough sound just like a regular cough? And what did you do to stop the tic cough? Thx for your input.

 

Pat

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Pat,

 

My daughter's cough sounded like a dry, quick cough. During the weeks between seeing our pediatrician and waiting for our appointment with the neuro, other tics appeared and very quickly got dramatically worse. By the time she saw the neuro, she was really in need of a quick intervention. At the time, I did not know about this site (it was about four years ago) and natural ways to treat tics. She was put on medication and went through a few different ones before klonopin, which worked for her. Over the next few years, we noticed increased difficulty in focusing at school but never associated it with the med until May of this year. By then we had made dietary changes (removing all artificial colors, flavors and preservatives) and were able to reduce her medication. She came off the medication entirely this summer. Right now she is doing great and we hope and pray that her success off of medication will continue.

 

If it were the cough alone at the time, I do not think we would have done anything. Hope this helps. Let me know if I can give you any other info.

 

Debbie

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It could be an allergy cough or possibly lingering bronchitis, which is characterized by a dry cough that lingers 2 weeks after the cold is gone. And sometimes viral coughs just linger beyond symptoms. Time will tell.

 

A nightime HEPA air filter would likely help an allergy cough.

 

Does he cough in the middle of the night? That might indicate something non-tic related, since tics don't tend to occur in the middle of the night while sleeping.

 

See if herbal tea with honey helps sooth the throat and reduce the coughing. I had a bad cough and it helped a lot - and I don't 'do' sweets.

 

Claire

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Thx Debbie & Claire,

 

I am thinking about taking my son to see his pediatrian. I am pretty sure he will prescribe antibiotic for the cough, if not albuterol. I am wondering if these medications may cause the tics to spike?!

 

My son has a HEPA in his room and I have been trying everything that i can think of to give my son for his cough, so far nothing has helped! Also, he does not cough at nite. And the cough seems to get worst in area with lots of trees & pollens.

 

Is a cough tic uncommon? I don't recall too many on this board post about this.

 

Pat

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Hi, I'm new to this. My daughter was diagnosed with PANDAS in 2005.

She usually starts having tics a couple of days prior to cold symptoms. Often, the sniffling, coughing and throat clearing will turn into tics by the end of the cold. Last season the tics lasted through April. She's been tic free since then, only to get them again now that she's caught this cold. For a couple of months there, I thought we were done with tics...

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SBmama,

What treatments do you give your daughter for PANDAS?

So far, we've taken her off of wheat products. Her bloodwork shows that she's intolerant to wheat. We've also tried to remove dyes from the foods we eat. I haven't used any meds to date as our MD's in our town aren't very sure about what our best steps are. Some of the Doc's we've seen don't believe that PANDAS is a "real" issue...I'm very frustrated and would love information about what has worked for others!

We did see a naturalist for a while, back in '05, but didn't find much help there.

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Patty,

 

It is important to give probiotics (or yogurt if you don't want the pills) 2 hours after each dose of antibiotics to keep the good flora balance (and avoid yeast issues). Even our mainstream doctor recommends this.

 

Claire

 

 

 

Thx Debbie & Claire,

 

I am thinking about taking my son to see his pediatrian. I am pretty sure he will prescribe antibiotic for the cough, if not albuterol. I am wondering if these medications may cause the tics to spike?!

 

My son has a HEPA in his room and I have been trying everything that i can think of to give my son for his cough, so far nothing has helped! Also, he does not cough at nite. And the cough seems to get worst in area with lots of trees & pollens.

 

Is a cough tic uncommon? I don't recall too many on this board post about this.

 

Pat

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SBMama,

Is she off of wheat only, or is she gluten free?

We initially went off wheat but soon learned through a celiac site that gluten was the culprit for our son. We saw a drastic improvement in him after being gluten and corn free for four months. We originally thought he had PANDAS but he never had elevated titers, even though he had what looked like a whole lot of the 'typical' symptoms including frequent urination and OCD like symptoms. (For example, he had to get naked and completely change into fresh clean clothes after each trip to the toilet, up to 10 times a day).

Now, after 1 1/2 years on a gluten and corn free diet, dairy reduced and low sugar, no artificial anything, the most he will do is have occasional blinking when under stress.

He is literally a different kid, and he used to do it all: shoulder shrugs, grimaces, sleeve pushing, sniffing, tantrums, constant hand washing, poor diet, insomnia-- I could go on and on.

We no longer see wax ons anymore, except the first week of school when his kindy teacher accidentally gave him two freeze pops (high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors). He blinked constantly for about a week and a half. It petered off and now he is his own man again and sleeping normally too.

Caryn

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