Also, just so you know... most of the children in our area have this coughing infection right now and it seems to last approx. 1 month. My husband and I both had it as well and it is now finished. Good luck and hope your little one feels better soon.
My little guy has the exact same problem... we went to the emergency room 2 weeks ago because of the coughing. We had an excellent doctor which stated much of what was already said above. Humidifier, natural herbal cough medicine (medicinal ones are to be avoided). We have 2 kinds of homeopathic pills... one to induce coughing for during the day and the other kind is to inhibit coughing during the night (I hope you know that coughing is the body's mechanism to clear out the infection from the lungs and body). As for the idea of using antibiotics... if the coughing is the same thing my boy has, antibiotics will do absolutely nothing to help him. The doctor at the hospital made it very clear that this cough is caused by a virus and not a bacterial infection. In that case, antiobiotics will only help to destroy the natural bacteria in your kids digestive system paving the way for other health issues further down the road. IF you decide to give antibiotics, please consider getting a presciption for probiotics after the antibiotics are finished to help replenish the dead bacteria in the gut.
I only just came across this thread and would like to comment both as a parent and as a medical doctor:
The advice of having a toddler sleep with his chest elevated simply doesn't work in real life, toddlers move around the end too much .. but sleep is indeed an important component on the road to recovery as sleeping helps the immune system to "gather strength" and defend the body better. Hence, lack of sleep, independent of what is caused by, can suppress the immune system.
When one looks at cough mixtures, there are different types: expectorants and suppressants. Administration of an expectorant should happen during day time, as it will case the patient to cough (obviously, this is intended when phlegm is built u and needs to be coughed up). Cough suppressants on the other hand, are a good treatment for evening hours and night time, to help with good sleep, undisturbed through continuous coughing.
Most coughs in children are caused by viral infections, hence antibiotics will not have any effect at all. Quite the opposite, and I very much agree with Puhutes, antibiotics can have a large negative impact on a child's immune system.
Taking a child into the bathroom to let it inhale moist, steamy air, is the advice for children suffering from pseudo-croup attacks, not for a regular cough.
Rather than milk and honey, a good treat is using herbal remedies. One of my favourite herbs for coughs is thyme: thyme has been known as a medicinal herb for a long thyme for its expectorant as well as for tis antispasmodic effect. It also has antiseptic characteristics. It can be administered easily in the form of a tea, infused for approx. 10 minutes. To enhance the effect, I make a cough mixture of 1 heaped teaspoon dried thyme, 1 heaped teaspoon dried sage (antiseptic, antibacterial, mucolytic), 1 small onion finely chopped and 2 teaspoons (or more to taste) of brown sugar. Bring all ingredients and 250 to 300 ml of water to a boil, allow to infuse for 10 minutes and then strain. The cough mixture can be stored in the fridge for up to a week and the child, from toddler age, should take one egg cup full three times daily.
Inhalation over hot saline solution or using a nebulizer has a very positive impact on airways both during an airway infection but also on a regular base (not that I recommend the use of either of them daily): most homes are overheated and hence air is too dry. Dry room air dries out the mucous membrane of the airways, causing them to become more brittle and then not being able to maintain the needed level of defense against germs entering the airways. By simply keeping the indoor temperature down to no more than 21oC in a living room and at 18oC in a child's bedroom helps to keep mucous membranes better humidified and hence stronger to fight against infections. You don't need an expensive humidifier to achieve this but simply airing rooms twice a day for a good 10 to 15 minutes by opening doors wide will help.
If a cough is persistent, longer then 3 or more accompanied, or frequently repetitive over the winter months and is accompanied by wheezing, you should talk to your paediatrician for further advice.
I hope you find this information helpful but if you have any other questions, or would like to know more, contact me offline.
I would recommend to try hotmilk + turmeric, this is very ancient medicine without any side effect, unless you have allergy to milk or turmeric.
In the UK, with croup or persistent cough, the advice was always to raise humidity in the room - the best and easiest way being to take the child in the smallest room and boil the kettle for a few minutes- or to place a pan on stove and boil water in a pan, with or without Olbas/eucalyptus oil.
As said above, cough are normally due to viral infections, and antibiotics are totally useless and can cause all sorts of problems later.
So sorry you have this to worry about as well as everything else. Where is that 'hug' smiley?
Use honey and blackcurrant if you can find it Ribena is good, in warm water. Do not use milk it doesn't help the mucus. Olbas Oil is also very good on a hanky/tissue to loosen any mucus you can sprinkle it on his pillow at night.
squeeze a few drops of ginger in a spoon of honey and watch the cough go away ,,,
Hope your child gets well soon..
Brusttee mixtures from Bellevue and Stadelhoferapotheke with a bit of honey once suitable - my son asks for coughing tea it works so well. When he was smaller, I diluted the tea quite a lot.
Keep in mind that cow milk actually increases mucus so if its a wet cough, you're only adding to the problem.
By the way, honey works because of its disinfectant properties.
vicks vapor rub massage at the bottom part of the feet in the night. I used to do that when my kids got a cough within 7-8 minutes cough would settle down and the children would have a peaceful nights sleep. You can even do that during the day and put some socks on after rubbing them in. it really works