Patient's question:
My child (4 and a half years old) has been coughing for two months so far. I have taken them to Shanghai Children's Hospital four times, seen both internal medicine and otolaryngology specialists, and the examinations showed no signs of pneumonia. Blood tests and urine tests were also normal. The child's tongue is slightly bright red. They don't cough when sleeping at night, but during the day, they occasionally have dry coughs without phlegm, and coughing worsens after exercise. When coughing, they often tilt their head and grimace. We have tried brewing and drinking juice from pears, Fritillaria cirrhosa, rock sugar, as well as loquat leaves and flowers at home, but it hasn't helped. When they are calm, they cough less. Sometimes, the child also tells me that their chest feels a bit painful. Here, I would like to thank all the experts in advance and sincerely ask for your guidance!Doctor's answer:
Hello:In 2003, my son also started coughing in March or April. At first, he had phlegm, but after treatment, the coughing stopped during sleep but became severe when he woke up in the morning. After getting up, he occasionally coughed without phlegm, and the coughing worsened after exercise. After checking at multiple hospitals in our city, all the results were normal. He was given intravenous penicillin for a long time, but there was no improvement.
In December, we saw an article in the newspaper saying that pneumonia caused by chlamydia and mycoplasma was very severe in 2003, so we went to the Central Hospital of Tai'an City for a check-up. At first, we sought an expert, who said that if it were pneumonia, it would have been better by now without needing further tests and diagnosed it as variable asthma, prescribing some medication. Uncomfortable with this, we found another general practitioner who confirmed it as mycoplasma pneumonia and prescribed clarithromycin and fenofibrate tablets. After taking them for half a month, his symptoms improved significantly, and a follow-up test showed that the mycoplasma had disappeared. The doctor then recommended treating it as allergic asthma and performing sputum suction, but since it was inconvenient, we didn’t do it.
After returning home, we heard that after the 24th day of the lunar calendar (Jiuxiu), people should eat boiled radishes soaked in sugar and drink clear water for 81 days (the duration of Jiuxiu). We tried it, and it worked well. However, there was still a slight cough, so we started cooking pears for him in the morning. After about a month, the coughing completely stopped.
Since your child has been coughing for such a long time, don’t hurry—just take it slow and try our methods.