6 Year Old with Nervous Cough

I had a similar situation with one of my children and she had a dry,persistent cough with no other apparent symptoms. At times, people would look at me or even question me if she was ill when we were in public. All I can say, is be persistent,especially if you think something else can be done. My daughter was emotional and strong willed and even with some counseling the cough continued. After about 10 years, we got a different pediatrician and she was finally referred to an allergy clinic and it was determined she had sports induced asthma.

Talk to a specialist in asthma. Could be "chronic-cough asthma" triggered by colds, changes in weather, and stress (meaning anything from mold, dampness, too little sleep, changes in routine, to stuff happening at school)...

Crazy! My six year old did the same thing after a cold. Her ped says that it was just a "habituated cough" and it was an unconcious habit that would fade. hmmm... As she did it everywhere from school (her buddies had started to notice) and a little bit even at bed time, (but not once she was asleep.... so I didn't think it was post-nasal drip or allergies...hmmm...). I was worried it could be something in our home (pine or cedar decorations?) but school as well?

And now it has faded. Even with a trip to Yosemite (cold and dry like at Christmas).

Her ped said one of his sons had been through the same thing, and didn't even realize he was doing it.

Funny thing is.... yes, my daughter is a high performer and I am now wondering if the cough has something to do with the reading award she was working on around that time! I will have to get out my calendar and look at the dates.

Thanks for the post!

Hi S.,
My 8 year old has a similar problem. It started last year about this time and we just ignored it and it eventually went away. However, we noticed that it recently started up again. When I realized that it was almost exactly this time last year that he started it, we talked with the doctor and discovered that it is actually from nasal drainage down his throat -- from seasonal allergies! We are giving him a nasal spray first thing in the morning and it clears it right up! Hope this helps!

If you can identify the triggers, see if you can avoid them. Or give him a life saver to suck on.

Hi S.- My daughter did the same thing for about 2 months when she was 5-6 years old. Our family plan was to COMPLETELY ignore it. I don't believe she was really even aware that she was doing it but I didn't want to make a big deal out of something that lots of kids go through. Other than my Mother-in-law loudly and sort of harshly asking "Why are you doing that!" no one said a thing. It was annoying and I was a bit concerned but she was happy and well adjusted so I just waited and sure enough, just like my Mom said, one day I realized I hadn't heard it in a while. I would not be concerned that this is some indication that he needs therapy, it's just a nervous (and probably temporary) tick. I would watch the school situation though, if he's at the top of his first grade class why would they be "pushing" him. I would think a talk with the school and teacher to lay off a little might be more productive than rushing to therapy. Good Luck!

Mom: There is absolutely no reason for a first grader to be be pressured at school or home else to be at the top of his class. this is not going to go away until you get to the root of the problem. 6 years olds should not be anxious. They should be carefree. Bottom line, is stop the pressure. From School and from home. It is more important to have a happy 6 year old then an accomplished one. If he is happy everything else will fall into place. Remember there are no do overs.

check with your doctor to see if he doesn't have asthma or bronchitis. i have asthma which acts up under minor stress.i had it all my life-but didn't find out till a few years ago as an adult.

Hi S.,

He may have allergies to some food or chemicals in the home.

I am a wellness consultant and educate those interested in creating a wellness home environment to help support the immune system.

If you are interested in learning more email me and I will share.

Have a great day.

N. Marie

It sounds like me exactly. I have what my doctor calls "reactive airway disease". It's basically an asthmatic response to an irritation like a cold. After the cold I continue coughing for MONTHS unless I use something like Advair for a week or two.

It is not asthma, but it is also not something that goes away on it's own for me.

I would take him back to the doctor and ask him about the above. I don't see how therapy would help if it started with a cold? A nervous cough wouldn't be linked to an illness, I'd think.

Best of luck!

Hi S.

I can't comment on the nervous and anxious habit of your son. (Although, I do enjoy my own kid's school where kids are given carrots not sticks for achievement!). In my experience kids have their own personality, so maybe that is his...

Anyhow, I can comment on the cold to cough .. My kids started doing that too, around this time of year, and the advice my pedi gave me was always start them on Albuterol to open the airways that have become congested from the cold and Flovent to keep the airways open and free of congestion for a few weeks. It is asthma, a restriction of the airways that makes it hard to breathe. The coughing is the way for the body to force air out of the airways.

I have been an asthmatic since I was 3 years old and have been on modern asthma medication for almost 30 years now. I can see how much it calms my kids down having the right medication at the right time.

You can use a peak flow meter to measure the amount of air your son can breathe out at any time - compare his readings when he is coughing, and when he isn't. You should be able to get one at a pharmacy.

Asthma is a horrible condition that is very uncomfortable for kids - I used to suffer for years until I had the right medication. Medications these days are just fantastic, and of real benefit to kids.

Regards
P.

S.
First - ignore the "a 6 yr old Should Not be anxious" comment. Every child in different and comes w/ their own interesting and complex temperment. My daughter is 4 and is also the anxious and highly intelligent type. She also currently has the "cough" you described. I can sometimes tune it out but mostly it annoys both my husband and I. We have had her allergy tested for everything by an allergist and she is allergic to nothing. My husband travels quite a bit so he stopped for 2 months thinking maybe his absence was causing her stress. She is still coughing and still an overthinker. So basically I have no advice for you :) I just wanted to tell you that you and your family are not alone with this challenge. My brother was also this way and is now a very successful lawyer defending Americans in Iran. He is quite possibly the most remarkable human being I know. Thanks for asking the question b/c I'll read Some of the advice you get. Enjoy your complex son - I see greatness - as I know you do as well.

Have you tried Simply Saline? If the cough is caused by post-nasal drip that should help clear the nasal passages and therefore the throat.

I agree that if the teacher is telling him to work harder when he is already at the top of his class, that's not a good approach. If that is the case, maybe you could suggest to the teacher that she give him some more challenging work that is a 'fun reward' type of thing for him to do. If he is ahead of his class, you don't want him to be getting bored, but he also doesn't need to feel like he's being punished for being too smart. We were always 'rewarded' with being trusted to dust the erasers, or other small chores that for some reason made us feel special when I was in school. Times have changed, and I suppose society in general looks down on having the kids do such chores as punitive and "child labor" (horror of horrors! LOL!) but I'm sure the teacher can find something that would interest the boy and be an exciting challenge for him. A lot of it isn't so much in the work given, but the presentation of the work, and this may be where the teacher is letting him down. Perhaps you can help the teacher see some better ways to handle the situation.

Hi S.,

Trust your motherly inutition and give your child the benefit of the doubt. I would say that this is a physical problem and not a mental one. That's a weird diagnosis. Sounds like your pedi just doesn't know what it is. Especially because it started out as a cold, common sense and logic would point to an ongoing organism present.

It is possible that there is something irritating his passages? Did it start at school? Is the school moldy or does it have leaks from rain? (you can have fungal growing and not see it) are there animals in the classroom?
Some kids have allergies to foods that can cause mucous buildup in the mucous membranes.
My father had the throat clearing thing for years, it was real bad.. His doctor told him it was coming from his sinuses. However, it seemed like, and my dad felt like, it was coming from his lungs. It was coming from both. My dad had asthma as a kid. Turns out the throat clearing was related to milk products. Milk can increase mucus and cause inflammation in the mucus membranes.

You can try to build up his immune system. Give him fulvic acid, vit b complex (regulates nervous system) and vit A. Vit A is for the thymus gland, and the thymus gland is the center of our immune system. Cod liver oil is a good source of vit A. Give two doses a day.

We had a Minah bird when I was a kid. He talked up a storm, then ...he quit talking. My mom took him to the vet, and the vet's diagnosis was that he was bored with his food and to change his food type. The bird died a week later. I'm always amazed at the brazen absurdity of doctors.

Keep looking for answers, and blessings to your family!

Gail

I totally agree with Gail B. I would first try removing all dairy products from his diet. This is common. I had this problem (clearing the throat)and so did my children and it went away when we removed dairy. I actually tested allergic to casein, the protein in milk. You don't have to have a positive allergy test to experience the symptoms. There are many allergies that are delayed which require a totally differnt type of test. Read all you can online about food allergies and intolerances. Look up the list of the 8 or 10 most common food allergies and try removing some of these. They include WHEAT, corn, and soy to name a few. Take care and good luck.

Hello,
Just thought I would chime in - my son had a very consistant and quite irritating throat clearing habit for what felt like forever! I would say from age 6 to 8. He is now 9 and we have not heard it for quite sometime, whew! Not sure what caused it or why it has subsided though I believe us finally biting our tongue and ignoring it had to have been helpful. He was diagnosed with adhd at age 6 though we did not tell him, he did go through some testing, so...? I personally believe it was a nervous tick. Now he picks at his fingers instead, ugh. I do very much believe that he often finds school stressful - despite the fact that through all the testing he was found to be of well above average intelligence. He is very kind with a huge heart and has had to learn to stick up for himself, unfortunatly there are some pretty beastly kids out there to deal with on a daily basis.
Good luck~

I'm not sure what advice I can offer. Maybe sucking on hard candy/throat drops (Ricola herb drops are GREAT for my throat!)would help??

I do wonder why your 6year old first grader is being pushed to work harder, etc, as he is already at the top of his class?? Shouldn't the teacher be pushing the bottom of the class (well, actually she should be pushing ALL of them EQUALLY).

He sounds like a wonderful child! How blessed you are to have two marvelous kids. Just let him be...children won't verbalize their responses to stress, they'll act them out. His nervous cough is demonstrating this. Just be there for him. Mirror his thoughts out loud, to help him see where he is, such as: I wonder how it feels when your teacher tells you to do more math problems and you've already done so many... then see what he says. Give him paper and crayons, or a notebook with drawing paper, so he can express his thoughts that way. Remember to balance your activities, keep doing some fun things as a family and share laughter and games. Just let him be a kid. Take away your focus on how bright he is and just let him be who he is without labels. The more focus you give to his cough the more he's going to do it. Maybe he needs a special "lovey stuffed animal" to hold when he's coughing. Keep reading stories to him and just honor who he is and who your daughter is. Enjoy every moment as a family. They grow up really fast!

I would talk to his teacher. If he is doing well in school, tell her to back off. If not move him to another class. I'm wondering if you take some of the pressure off of him, this cough will go away. In 1st grade, kids should do well, but if he is in the top of his class don't put more pressure on him, he has his whole life for that. If he is already a nervous child, help him relax by telling him to do the best that he can and that is enough, not to work harder. Praise him for a job well done and leave it at that. I hope he continues to do well in school and that you find a solution. Good luck

My son's first doctor said the same thing about him. He said it was a nervous tick. He was in kindergarten and had no pressures, but was definitely struggling socially. Year after year, he would get a cold, and then cough for months after. Finally, I went to a different doctor, who diagnosed him with "cough variant asthma". He now uses inhalers only when he gets a cold and the cough goes away between 2 weeks and a month instead of 1-3 months of straight coughing. Also, the cough isn't as intense or as often as it used to be. Just thought I would share. Maybe a second opinion wouldn't hurt?

Since you know your kid, you are probably correct that it's a nervous cough. That tells you a lot about what kind of kid he is. If he can tend to be anxious, and he is already at the top of his class, I would really avoid telling him to work harder. That will create a compulsive perfectionist, which is really unhealthy. (I can tell you from personal experience.) Tell his teachers or whomever is telling him to work harder to lay off of him. Then just celebrate what he does without telling him how smart he is. Really relax with him, and he won't end up needing therapy.

It's pretty intense to tell a first grader to work harder!!