wet barky cough -- environmental?

[twinturbo]

SOAKer allergy question.

DS1 has had back to back throat viral and bacterial infections. He had a few last winter and since returning to school has been hammered once with a viral then a follow up bacterial. Now he's had some gunk at the back at his throat since last week with it now turning into a wet barky cough. We've already seen ped twice, the last time about 2 hours ago. She keeps saying must be environmental allergies. He had a slightly elevated temp last week.

Tomorrow we're driving into the large hospital for a ped ENT specialist for both boys (ears for DS2, throat for DS1). What we do know it's in the throat and sinuses, not the lungs. He's super cranky but otherwise functional although missing way to much school legit reasons or no.

Thankfully we're seeing the ped ENT tomorrow and he seems like a good doc I think the boys are in good hands. What I'm tearing my hair out over right now is the ped saying it must be allergies. We've already tried some good, strong doses of Zyrtec for a few days and DS1 does not have a history of environmental issues, but he does have a lot of throat infections last winter and now. What's peeving me is this insistence that it must be environmental allergies without any sort of explanation or indication as to why she's leaning towards it. Especially in light of having an elevated temp last week.

[CMdeux]

Regionally, what's the allergen load like?

Out west, it would be mold-mold-mold right now with the leaves just coming off the trees and no rainfall to knock spores out of the air.

East-- ??  not sure.  Would think it's after frost there, so SHOULD be improving, yes?

I can see why it's bugging you-- probably not allergies if Zyrtec isn't budging it and you expect lower allergen levels, not higher.

[eggallergymom]

We should probably just move into the ENT's waiting room this time of year, given my son's multitude of "stuff" (6 sets of PE tubes, tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy, and airway issues). From your description, I would wonder about a few things:

How old is your son? A wet barky cough sounds like croup to me (my 7 year old has it now.) Kids typically outgrow that by 5 or 6, but not always. The ped told us today that she'd diagnosed a 12 year old with croup this week.

Has he ever had a sinus x-ray? My son has had some really nasty, persistent sinus infections that have outlasted a few courses of tough antibiotics. The sinuses get poor blood flow and there can be little pockets of infection that are hard to reach. Gross, yes, but there it is. Having a low-grade fever would make me wonder about that.

Does he still have his tonsils? Do they look swollen? Tonsillitis could be causing some of those symptoms, too.

[GoingNuts]

Croupy coughs tend to be drier and unproductive, rather than wet.  But yes, they bark. 

Can't remember where you are TT, but the allergies here in NY metro have been very bothersome.  Probably less mold than usual due to lack of rain (oh please, we need rain!), but it's also been very dry and windy - perfect for dispersing weed pollen and whatever mold there is.

My younger DS was a lot like you describe when he was little.  Just constant snot, coughing, sore throat, stuffiness that never went away no matter what we tried.   And constantly foul-smelling/bacterial breath from non-stop post nasal drip. 

I hope you get some answers today.