Does anyone have experience with "habit cough" or "tic cough"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6 year old DC has had a constant dry cough for several weeks. Coughs all day, multiple times per minute, but not when sleeping at night. No other symptoms and hasn't been sick. Doctor thinks it is "habit cough" which is like a tic cough. I have read that a certain type of behavioral therapy can help but no idea where to go for this. Would love any insight from anyone that has experienced this.

My DD had this at age 12.

Saw an allergist. It was related to some ongoing throat irritation due to post nasal drip.

Gave DD some Rx and it cleared up after a while.

Get a skin test too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6 year old DC has had a constant dry cough for several weeks. Coughs all day, multiple times per minute, but not when sleeping at night. No other symptoms and hasn't been sick. Doctor thinks it is "habit cough" which is like a tic cough. I have read that a certain type of behavioral therapy can help but no idea where to go for this. Would love any insight from anyone that has experienced this.

I think this needs to be chronic as in ongoing for 6+ months for it to be a tic. He could have a virus. When I have a cold, I don't necessarily cough at night, but have enough of a tickle during the day to repeatedly clear my throat or cough. Just don't mention it or call attention to it at all and wait it out.

[Anonymous]

My 6 yo DD is anxious and shy. This cough comes and goes for weeks at a time and usually only when she's relaxing (going to sleep, reading with me, watching tv, etc). It started when she was three or four.

When she starts coughing I just make a mental note that she's anxious about something and try to be more supportive and understanding with her.

[Anonymous]

<<OP here. I wondered that but he hasn't had strep in years, at least that I know of. Could PANDAS result from a latent strep infection that did not produce typical strep symptoms or illness?>>

YES. PANDAS manifests itself often with TICS when strep doesn't show typical sick symptoms. anitbiotics and steroids should address

[Anonymous]

My daughter had it all through fifth grade and I thought it was asthma. She has allergies and had reflux as a baby. We went to Dr. Clayton, a pulmonologist, and he diagnosed it and taught my daughter a strategy to stop it. It was some kind of delaying tactic and she stopped the cough within day or two.

[Anonymous]

This was one of the first symptoms of my son's Tourette's.

[Anonymous]

If it's due to allergies, a OTC nasal spray will probably help.

Throat clearing can be due to GERD/acid reflux. Ask your pediatrician, but you can try tums for a couple of weeks to see if it's related to acid reflux. Esophageal manometry can also test for reflux:
http://www.webmd.com/heartburn-gerd/guide/esophageal-manometry

[Anonymous]

Our DS has had a few tics over the years, including a cough but also a strange tongue thrusting thing that was disconcerting. We ignored it, and it passed. He has hfa and adhd diagnoses and is just a fantastic kid. Don't stress about tics. They come and go, and the one sure thing is that anxiety makes them worse.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our asthma doctor had an article in his office posted about this that mentioned that an SLP could treat habit cough.

Thanks for all the responses. What is SLP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6 year old DC has had a constant dry cough for several weeks. Coughs all day, multiple times per minute, but not when sleeping at night. No other symptoms and hasn't been sick. Doctor thinks it is "habit cough" which is like a tic cough. I have read that a certain type of behavioral therapy can help but no idea where to go for this. Would love any insight from anyone that has experienced this.

My DS did this for awhile- it developed into other transient tics through the years- but not Tourette's. Transient tics are common with ADHD (per our ped). Ignore the cough or get cough drops (good idea). It will go away on its own. Don't stress or be surprised if other tics show up off and on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our asthma doctor had an article in his office posted about this that mentioned that an SLP could treat habit cough.

Thanks for all the responses. What is SLP?

Speech Language Therapist

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our asthma doctor had an article in his office posted about this that mentioned that an SLP could treat habit cough.

Thanks for all the responses. What is SLP?

Speech Language Therapist

Oops, the P is for Pathologist

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6 year old DC has had a constant dry cough for several weeks. Coughs all day, multiple times per minute, but not when sleeping at night. No other symptoms and hasn't been sick. Doctor thinks it is "habit cough" which is like a tic cough. I have read that a certain type of behavioral therapy can help but no idea where to go for this. Would love any insight from anyone that has experienced this.

Experienced parent here. It started when tonsils were too big. It cobtinued when tonsils were removed because of either habit or scar from tonsils. It passed as child had enough growth spurts that it no longer tickled his throat. The worst thing is too draw child's attention to it.
As for me, I personally had such a cough myself as a kid that I too outgrew. So it helped me to have compassion on my own child about it. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

I had never heard of this until DS (9) did this. It was not like a normal cough, but a dry, almost throat clearing cough. Just enough to be annoying to everyone around him. First time it started, we had just moved to a new state. I thought that it was dirty vents/air. I bought an air purifier, kept up on washing bedding and stuffed animals, and cleaned the vents. Eventually (many months later) it went away. Fast forward to last spring the cough came back. I tried every over the counter cough medicine (nothing worked), tried increasing liquids, talked to Ped (thought it was a tic), and had his IEP team (thought it was a nervous or habit tic) make not of it. It went away after school was over. We chalked it up to stress/anxiety.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had never heard of this until DS (9) did this. It was not like a normal cough, but a dry, almost throat clearing cough. Just enough to be annoying to everyone around him. First time it started, we had just moved to a new state. I thought that it was dirty vents/air. I bought an air purifier, kept up on washing bedding and stuffed animals, and cleaned the vents. Eventually (many months later) it went away. Fast forward to last spring the cough came back. I tried every over the counter cough medicine (nothing worked), tried increasing liquids, talked to Ped (thought it was a tic), and had his IEP team (thought it was a nervous or habit tic) make not of it. It went away after school was over. We chalked it up to stress/anxiety.

Dry cough can also be a form of asthma, fyi. See an allergy/pulminologist. My nephew has this and has a maintenance inhaler.