cough

[Unregistered]

How long do you let a two year old have a wet cough before you suggest to the parents that he see a Dr. Poor kid has had this cough for three weeks now. I've told both mom and dad about it but they don't seem to care.

[Leigh]

3 weeks is too long to not see a doctor if the child seems ill...I'd tell them that you're worried about pneumonia and think they need to take him in. Does he have any other symptoms?

[Thriftylady]

I would suggest they take him in. I just wonder why you have to suggest it, I would have done it for my kid already. Strange.

[daycare]

Some coughs linger for 21 plus days. If you don't see any other symptoms like wheezing, coughing up, fever, then let it work it's corse.

[Unregistered]

It's like he's coughing and coughing but can't get the phlegm out. He's had a runny nose and low grade fever. the cough is worse at nap time when he lays down.

the dad thinks it's allergies but if he has allergies why not give the poor kid some allergy medicine? I don't understand parents they are so stupid.

[Thriftylady]

Well my DD has allergies and for a long time when she was little, the doctor told us she had a "snot nosed cold" turns out it was allergies and the coughing was asthma. I didn't know enough about asthma to know coughing was a symptom. A new doctor caught her wheezing and diagnosed. Put her on two allergy meds and she still needs inhaler once in awhile, but is great compared to what she used to be. How old is this child? Even if it is allergies a doctor can work wonders. My DD is 16 now but is still on allegra (over the counter) singular (still script) and the two work like a charm. Just one helps soso for her but the two together are a miracle. I guess I am saying even with allergies, no need to be miserable.

[daycare]

It's like he's coughing and coughing but can't get the phlegm out. He's had a runny nose and low grade fever. the cough is worse at nap time when he lays down.

the dad thinks it's allergies but if he has allergies why not give the poor kid some allergy medicine? I don't understand parents they are so stupid.

I hate it when parents try self diagnosis, give meds that are not needed.

I've been in your shoes with a family that had a child tht had a fever for 11 days but refused to take the child in. Unless you feel thy are being neglectful there's not much you can do about it.

[Shell]

Yeah, I had two dcg's from the same family that had a cough like this for a while. Dcm (a doctor) would tell me it was because I kepty thermostat higher than theirs was at their house! Well, Gma wound up catching pneumonia from a bad cold she got from somewhere Thank goodness the girls were able to shake the cough because dcm had no intentions of ever bringing them in for care. I really do wonder why some parents wait so long, when a quick trip to the doctor could make a difference?

[EntropyControlSpecialist]

Anywhere from 1-2 weeks tops. Then I require they fill out a doctor visit form with the doctor participating as well.

[Play Care]

A week, tops.
I believe my day care kids have been passing a milder form of the enterovirus around this summer because parents were claiming "allergies" and no one seemed concerned. That is until they went in for a WCV and left with a viral/asthma dignosis...

[Blackcat31]

How long do you let a two year old have a wet cough before you suggest to the parents that he see a Dr. Poor kid has had this cough for three weeks now. I've told both mom and dad about it but they don't seem to care.

I allow a symptom such as a bad/disruptive cough or runny/stuffy nose to be acceptable for 5 consecutive days. Then I require a visit to the Dr just to be sure the child is improving and not getting worse or may be contagious.

Rinse and repeat.