I wish I had something more directly on point, but my son had a medical problem that 5 doctors in the pediatric group couldn't figure out for 11 months. I finally went to a pediatric internist who diagnosed him in 25 min. Try a different doctor. The web address above is one I found about coughs and the underlying medical conditions that might be causing it. And some guidelines on how to know when to call a doctor, and a list of questions to define the cough. Good luck.

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My thought was reflux...especially with the vomitting at night. Try a pediatric pulmonologist.

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My son used to cough so bad he'd vomit too...he has asthma and the underlying thing that was exacerbating it was reflux. I still say get to a pediatric pulmonologist...regular pediatricians are better than they used to be in treating asthma/lung issues but they still don't quite compare to the specialist.

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my 6-year-old son has the exact same problem and he was clearing his throat constantly so much that the teacher got on to him. we took him to an ent (ear, nose & throat) doc and she recommended speech therapy due to vocal cord abuse. it is a very common thing for adhd kids who "scream/yell" alot. i would recommend getting that checked out. the conservative way to treat is to train him to use his voice correctly. the more aggressive way is to have a scope done in the doc's office and see the vocal cord damage. there was no way my son would tolerate this so we are trying therapy for 3 months. after that, if it's not better, then we have surgery to see damage and repair. we've done speech for almost a month and it's already better. GOOD LUCK!!!!

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These are all good avenues to explore. I had not thought of any of them, perhaps putting too much trust in his pediatrician. I should know better: He's jumped from diagnosis to diagnosis since 20 months: apraxia and motor planning; autism; generalized anxiety disorder; and finally ADHD.

My question is: Since he only coughs like this while suffering allergies or illness, could it really be something chronic such as reflux or asthma? Is that how your kids present? I had suspected it was a compulsive thing (he can be compulsive in other ways) but now I'm not so sure. Thanks!

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Hi- My son is 11 years old and has ADHD and an anxiety disorder. I notice that when he gets a cough he ends up making it a bit worse than it really is.... I don't know if its the same with your child but my definitely does it for attention.

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Hi- My son is 11 years old and has ADHD and an anxiety disorder. I notice that when he gets a cough he ends up making it a bit worse than it really is.... I don't know if its the same with your child but my definitely does it for attention.

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He ONLY does it when he's sick. We never had just a normal cold in my house. It went from sniffles to coughing incessantly, often he would throw up, and often he'd throw up in his sleep from coughing. I don't want to scare you but my son was absolutely in respiratory distress when that happened. He was moving very little air. When he wasn't sick, you'd never know he had "asthma". He was on preventative meds just to keep him from getting so bad WHEN he got a cold. It's what they call Reactive Airways. We finally determined that the underlying reflux was what was making it so bad. I don't want to be a dr snob, but often pediatricians just don't quite catch the lung stuff.

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My 5 year old son "hacks" all the time. It sounds horrible and is very annoying. He is not wheezing so it does not seem like asthma but it is. He always stops coughing after a breathing treatment.(Albuterol in a Nebulizer or an inhaler) His teachers were concerned that he was contagious but they now see that if I go down to the school and give him a treatment, he immediatley stops . It is worth a try. Definately see another Dr., I bet its asthma. Good luck, We are all with you.

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