Coughing tics

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Does anyone know anything about coughing tics and if there's anything herbal/natural you can do to stop them? Also would be interested in what type of coughing tics people have experienced?

My 7 yr old son has had a cough for months. Doctor thinks it is a tic, but is also doing asthma testing and chest x-ray. The cough is almost more of a "honk" and seems its coming more from his lungs, than just clearing his throat or something . . . so I'm getting a bit worried about what the constant coughing is doing to his throat/lungs . . .

Hi mine does a revolting throat clearing noise. He also has a cough he does, just a quick hu hum. He doesn't even know he is doing it, if we draw attention to it it makes it worse. I've heard some have tried re-directing with offering water every time they cough, it didn't work for my son though.

Mine to was tested for asthma as that runs through our family, no asthma for my boy though just tics.

I'm 19 years old and I think I have something similar to this.

If I get cough from something (usually it just comes) I keep doing it for 1-2 months usually, I can't turn it "off".
Don't know why I do it though, I just.. Do it.

I do have asthma but its not that.

My son does nose sniffeling tics and a clicking sound with his throat. He also has body tics on top of the vocal tics and we have been told he has Tourette's.

One thing we tried when he started the sniffeling was a magnesium supplement. Oddly enough it worked wonders! I wouldn't say it took his tics away completley but it really decreased them.

This is the brand we used, powder is your best bet because it is better abosrbed. You can also try 1 cup of epsom salt in the bath if he still takes baths.
http://www.petergillham.com/wp/2009/11/natural-calm/
Natural Vitality- Natural Calm

my oldest gets vocal tics/stims quite often, he clicks or makes a coughy/growly sound. the purpose for him is to vibrate his throat, and he often does it when his throat feels sore/itchy, either from a cold or just because. he sleeps with his window open even in the dead of winter, and the cold air usually causes nasal drip down the back of his throat, and that gives him a very regular sore throat.

you could try the throat drops that are meant to sooth irritation. or even just hard candy to suck on, something that will cause salivation and help moisturize his throat.

have you asked your son why he is doing it?

My son does the same thing and it is so irritating! He's actually asthmatic and on meds, but he does this short, throat-clearing cough constantly.

I had a chronic cough as a child, and my mom thought it was a "habit". She tried and tried to make me stop, and finally took me to a doctor. Turns out I actually did have some medical issue, and I was prescribed a medicinal gum to chew which took away the urge to cough. Wish I could remember what exactly was wrong with me.....too much stomach acid or something like that. It made me cough in a way that sounded fake, as there was no phlem or anything.

I have asthma, which is triggered by allergens and stress. When I'm stressed, my throat tightens up, and I cough. The only treatment is to use my inhaler.

this is the forum discussion that finally convinced me to sign on. My 19 year old's behavior and life is reflected in so many of these posts, but when I read about the coughing tic, I KNEW.
As I tried to indicate with my sign-in nickname, I do not view "differently" wired brains as a handicap, but as a mother, my strongest desire is that my children reach a modicum of sustainable happiness. So, as hard of her fits of rage towards me have been, and her struggles to do well in school (she just passed the very tough final high school exams required in this country!!!Hurray!! !), what breaks my heart is if/when her social awkwardness, moodiness and tics keep her isolated from meaningful human contact, difficult even for the most "neuro-typical" among us.
She has not been diagnosed, nor tested nor seen by anyone. When I took her to a psychologist when she was 13, I was t old,"she refuses to open her mouth, no matter what I ask her. Bringing her to a psychologist is a waste of time. That will be €80, please."
So,advice: what, how do I tell her? How do I "help" her - not to "get better", because I appreciate who she is and how she is, but to help her feel better on this planet, right or wrong.
thanks

My 7yo does this as well. It seems to be habit driven at times, however he is now on asthma preventitive for the dry cough and it does seem to help and is not coughing as much... It may well be asthma that your child has

Good luck

Welcome to the forum Hope you get lots of advice and support/answers here. As to what to tell your daughter, or how to help her . . . I guess each person's situation has a different set of circumstances, so it's hard to say "do this" or "do that", because you need to weigh it against your own context etc. If I were you, I would research as much as you can on neurological issues (including autism/aspergers/dyspraxia/ADHD) and note all the things that your daughter matches with. If an official diagnosis would be helpful then pursue it (keep in mind that the best way to diagnose is to OBSERVE people in their social environment - not just do a one-on-one interview in some room in a hospital) . . . but if you are ok just "diagnosing" yourself, then maybe just talk to her about how you think her brain might work differently from most other people, and let her know that there are plenty of others like it in the world.

I agree about helping her "not to get better" ie. there is no cure or fix . . . however, I think it is worth pursuing how to teach our kids to survive the best that they can in the social world. My son's 11. He knows that we accept him as he is at home and that he is loved and valued for his differences (which definitely have their strengths as well), but I've also made it clear to him that the world out will not always be so accepting, and so we need to work to equip him to have the best life out there. I am fortunate in the sense that he is high-functioning, so there are things that he is way better at than the kids at school, and so he seems to also accept that there are social things that are way worse than them, so he needs to celebrate his strengths and work on his weaknesses, just like anybody else.

Don't know if any of that helps, but all the best in working out where to go from here.

Acid reflux is a common cause of chronic cough (wow, there are an awful lot of content farms working on acid reflux, took me a while to find a legit source) http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/chroni ... ION=causes

However, a lot of kids on the spectrum have tics, tic-like behaviors, or concurrent Tourette's or OCD. It is a good idea to rule out physical causes first, but it's entirely possible that this is something like a tic.

I thought this was really useful information on tics: https://research.tufts-nemc.org/help4ki ... 20Tics.pdf and here as well http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/tpl_news.aspx?id=3440

We also got my son "What to do when your Brain Gets Stuck" which is a kids' book about OCD - we carefully explained to him that he does NOT have OCD, but many of the things that bother him can be handled in the same way. It was at least helpful in getting him to understand. (DS has what I call "obsessive disorder" and "compulsive disorder," unlike the traditional version of OCD the two are totally unrelated: he has obsessive anxieties and worries which fortunately are completely unrelated to the complex tic-like behaviors.)

My daughter (10) also has a throat tic - she clears it constantly if nervous or tense. I actually like it as it gives a me a gage as to how she is doing (she does talk but will not tell me she is stressed, maybe she can't) If she is angry she will do this massive load throat clear/cough! It is quiet remarkable really.
I have undiagnosed AS and I get a cough if I am nervous or anxious, I hate it myself as it makes me sound really odd (not sure that makes sence at all)

Hello - My husband has Tourettes. ( I have AS. )

Although he has a whole plethora of tics, many of them are "throat tics" - coughing, barking, throat clearing... The coughing tic has gotten so bad lately, that he is now doing it in his sleep, and keeping us both up at night :-< [ Lord, I am the kind of tired this morning, that coffee just can't fix! ] He has also begun doing this scary gagging/choking thing when he eats lately :-O Really worrying... Does anyone else on here tic in their sleep, or have a loved one that does this? If so, is there anything that helps with this? ( The coughing tic is particularly bad - constant, almost! )

My two cents, ( if anyone else is stuck dealing with this )...

Things that have helped us some :
* Chamomile tea with raw honey - some effect
* Benadryl - moderate effect, especially with sleep
* Valerian, ( herb ) - moderate effect, especially with sleep
* Throat-numbing sprays and gargles, like Chloraseptic and Lidocaine - temporary only

However... While all of this does help somewhat, I can't help but wonder if we're not just "band-aiding" the problem? Does anyone else wonder, especially with the "throat tics", if there is, perhaps, a secondary issue, ( like allergies, gastric issues, sinus drainage... ), that might be exacerbating the problem? Thoughts? Experiences?

***FYI : We did a wheat-free diet for a bit, and that did seem to help somewhat. The issue of Celiac has been tossed around. I have finally succeeded in persuading, ( pressuring/bulldozing ), him into going to the doctor. He has an appointment this afternoon. We are going to try and get the doc to do a Celiac test, so that at least that one thing can be ruled out/in Absolutely exhausted, frustrated beyond belief, and desperate for relief