Flatiron - we've been told he could outgrow it - yet we've met people they say they "thought" their kids outgrew it around age 7 only for it to come back in full force at 16.
Devsmama - what do they do when you get to the ER? The one time I took him to the ER for it, they gave him a shot of steroid. The thing that blows our mind is that he's BEEN on pulmicort 2x a day now for a couple of months and it's not making a different - and the albuterol this time is doing nothing. Just curious what they do for you in the ER. We hate the steriods and if there was another option we'd look into it.
squeak351 - I agree - about the vomiting thing - his whole life when he did vomit - with the cough it was usually clear - mucas stuff. The last time it was his stomach contents - it lasted every single day for 8 weeks - and all the docs agreed it was whooping cough - they just failed to order the test in time to treat it. And whooping cough was sweeping the area at the time. I'm angry that they didn't do the test - but today they did one. So we'll find out. The albuterol does not make him jittery, but it's good to know about Xopenex - it might work better. Thanks for the tip.
Littlemoon - it's funny about triggers - sometimes I think cold air will trigger it - and other times he can be in the cold air and he's just fine. Sometimes I think running fast and playing hard will trigger it - and other times it does not. I think I've finally decided to have him tested for allergies - even though he is on singulair - and it does nothing to help. And we do like the hot showers - he had one last night - but it didn't help
UPDATE:
Went to the pediatrician this morning - he said to keep doing the albuterol - the pulminologist called and said STOP the albuterol since it's not helping. The pulminologist wants us to start using the nasal spray for the rest of the week...said if son was stuffy then he wouldn't be getting the albuterol - um, what about it going through his mouth??
So finally - the ped let me do a test for whooping cough - just so we can rule it out...and when he's over this cold/cough - I will test him for allergies.
Thanks for all the advice everyone. It's just so darn scary when they cough that hard and you feel so helpless.