June 2013 Moms

baby cough question

DD will be 5 months next week and has woken up this morning with a cough. She is in a good mood and has no fever, and there is no wheezing and she is breathing just fine. I'm torn about taking her to the emergency room today to see what's going on or waiting to take her to the pediatrician tomorrow. On the one hand, I don't want her to sit in the emergency room for hours and be exposed to germs that could potentially make her even more sick, or wait until I can get her an appointment tomorrow. Or, do I not even need to worry about the cough since she has no fever and no other symptoms? WWYD?

Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker

Re: baby cough question

  • I would call tomorrow. My LO has the same thing and used to have a running nose. The pedi said to watch her, use a humidifier, and watch her temp. But if any of that changes to bring her in. Good luck

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  • If there is no fever and she is breathing fine, don't take her to the ER. She will probably catch something much worse there, and I doubt there is anything they can do for you. Plus, the ER is for emergencies, and a cough by itself is not an emergency.

    She probably just has a little cold. Call the pediatrician in the morning. If she doesn't have a fever or other symptoms, the pediatrician might not even want to see you because they can't do anything for a cold. When we called ours about a cold, they told us we could bring him in if we wanted, but that what we were already doing (aspirating, humidifier, etc.) was sufficient. You probably need to just ride it out for a few days until she gets better.

    If you are still worried, call your pediatrician's after hours line just to be sure, but I bet they will tell you to bring her in tomorrow.

    Now, if she develops a fever (above 100.4), starts having trouble breathing, or any other troubling symptoms, that's the time to start worrying about the ER.
  • BC&LM said:

    If there is no fever and she is breathing fine, don't take her to the ER. She will probably catch something much worse there, and I doubt there is anything they can do for you. Plus, the ER is for emergencies, and a cough by itself is not an emergency.

    She probably just has a little cold. Call the pediatrician in the morning. If she doesn't have a fever or other symptoms, the pediatrician might not even want to see you because they can't do anything for a cold. When we called ours about a cold, they told us we could bring him in if we wanted, but that what we were already doing (aspirating, humidifier, etc.) was sufficient. You probably need to just ride it out for a few days until she gets better.

    If you are still worried, call your pediatrician's after hours line just to be sure, but I bet they will tell you to bring her in tomorrow.

    Now, if she develops a fever (above 100.4), starts having trouble breathing, or any other troubling symptoms, that's the time to start worrying about the ER.

    All of this. The one other thing out pediatrician said is to make sure LO stays hydrated. They recommended more frequent feedings, and making sure there were enough wet diapers.

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  • I would not go to the ER for a random cough with no other symptoms. Coughs/colds are only ER-worthy in the first 2-3 months, and that's when they have difficulty breathing or a high fever along with it.

    Keep her hydrated. Use a humidifier for sleeping and elevate the crib mattress if possible. Lots of love and cuddles. Call your pedi if symptoms worsen or cough gets wheezy or wet.

    And hang in there. It's hard when they're sick because they just don't understand, and they can't tell you what's wrong. It will be over quickly, though. My 4m-old has a cold right now and it's hard and sad. But I haven't even called the pedi; I've been through this many times with DD1 and viruses just have to run their course.
    imagePregnancy Ticker
  • I agree with PPs - the ER is unnecessary at this stage in the game.  My LO also developed a little dry cough this weekend (to go along with his seeming perpetual congestion, which the pediatrician said was normal enough) - but I'm not taking him in to the doctor unless his symptoms change drastically.


    BabyFetus Ticker
    DS born 6/2013
  • Thanks for all the advice! I'm just a paranoid first time mom and will probably not worry about taking her in unless her symptoms get worse. Time to bring the humidifier back out :)

    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
  • My LO just got over some sort of bug. She was running a fever and was a little croupy (croup is a barking cough). Even with all that, all we did (we did take her to ped's office) was hydrate, run humidifier, add an incline while sleeping, and cleaned out her nose often. Unless there is something seriously wrong, you aren't going to pump little one up with antibiotics. If you want more peace of mind, call the after hours line at the ped's office. Hang in there!
  • My LO had also been coughing more now that he's drooling more. Basically if it's not oozing out of his mouth, he doesn't know what to do with it and coughs a bit.
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    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker

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