Best cough remedies to try in the middle of the night

It’s late at night and everyone is awake. Every so often the silence is punctuated with fits of coughing. We’ve all been here. As a parent of two, we’ve been through this scenario countless times. A good chunk of our visits to the pediatrician have been due to these night time coughing fits. 

As a mom, I am always in search for the most effective remedy for my kids’ coughs and colds!

These are some of the easiest and best night time cough remedies for moms and dads to try so they can get through the night and bring them to the doctor the next day. 

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Do I need special ingredients for these coughing tips?

No you don’t. These are things to do to soothe middle of night coughing, when you do not have the time or ” special ingredients” needed for homemade natural cough remedies.

Related: For coughing solutions and tips that do use aromatherapy and specific foods  Best Natural Coughing Remedies and Tips

Tips for unexpected night time coughs 

These are things to try when one of your kids starts coughing at night without warning. If your luck is anything like mine, it always happens when 1. your out of the essential oils you normally use 2. your medicine cabinet needs to be restocked because everything you used last cold and flu season is now expired 3. your humidifier looks gross and disgusting because it hasn’t been used or cleaned in a year. 

Who wants to get up at midnight, get dressed, and go looking for an open drug store or Wal-Mart in the middle of the night? Sometimes, it has nothing to do with not wanting to leave the house and everything to do with not being able to leave sick and sleeping children at home by themselves.

Evaluate his or her bedroom

A cold room, draft from an open window, or even a lot of dust can trigger more coughing at night. My son’s Star Wars Lego collection is displayed on shelves in his room. (I’m banned from dusting in his room because I might have accidentally broken his Star Destroyer the last time I dusted.)

Change the Bedding 

As I was heard one of my kids cough the other night, I thought, “what if it’s his pillow making him cough?” When was the last time I washed or changed out his bedding. So, to help with preventing nighttime coughs, I gave him a different pillow and washed all of his bedding and the stuffed animals that sleep with him.

Move the coughing child to another location

My philosophy when it comes to caring for a sick child, is that my number one job is to see to it that my child is hydrated, monitor his or her temperature, and keep an eye out for any signs that require an emergency room visit, like extreme lethargy or a high fever. Even when it comes to stomach bugs, which requires active “cleaning” on a caregiver’s part, (someone’s got to clean up the vomit, right?) I do what I can to complete mundane caregiving tasks as efficiently as possible so I can focus on my child’s comfort. 

So instead of changing the bedding right then and there or dusting. I simply move my child to a guest room, or more often, onto the couch. They’ve fallen asleep held upright in my arms many times. The close contact also helps me monitor his or her temperature.

Want to know how other moms in the Gym Craft Laundry Community soothe their children’s night time cough?  Read: Moms weigh in on how they relieve nighttime coughing 

Want to keep track of your child’s health? Grab this sick kid printable set for your family binder! 

 

Does Benadryl help with coughing at night?

In my last post about preventing nighttime coughs, I mentioned Claritin and how that can be a lifesaver for children who have allergies. Our pediatrician prescribes both of my children claritin for seasonal allergies. And the seasonal allergies usually mark their appearance with a dry hacking cough that seems to start one night out of the blue…but goes on for weeks. 

A common question I get asked is “Does Benadryl help with cough?” I asked a friend, and fellow writer, who  more importantly, happens to be an R.N., to detail the benefits of diphenhydramine (Benadryl) for coughs.

A registered nurse answers this frequently asked question: what you need to know about Benadryl for cough.

My daughter has several allergies  (food, dander, and local trees) and an autoimmune disease (Juvenile Arthritis) that exacerbate her cough.

I even make these handy single dose Benadryl packets because I like to keep it on hand for emergencies.

But always check with your physician before resorting to medication! Here is what the FDA says about giving young children cough and cold medicine. The published an update on when to give kids medicines for cough and cold.

Don’t forget to check out my original popular cough relief tips if you haven’t seen it yet!

While some coughs will go away on their own, it pains any mother to hear her child cough. I literally cannot sleep at night with my child coughing, so I will do anything to help them out. Over the changes of the seasons, my kids always get some sort of cough, which is why I have spent so much time trying to help them out when they do get it. I hope this post helps someone out there who has a child with a nighttime cough that just won’t seem to go away.

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