All About Flu and Cough

[worriedmumz]

I see, thank you felizbebe and lilytan. I never used to really believe in TCM but after reading all the good feedback, thought I will give it a try.

[worriedmumz]

Besides the havelock TCM, any others to recommend for this cough problem? Just in case havelock is too far and my dh will grumble and complain.

[sssdarlings]

I did not read through previous posts so not sure if this has been shared earlier.


Manuka honey has proven effective for my children esp for both ds with their wheezing/ asthmatic coughs. They take UFM10 daily and higher when unwell. After trying various brands, I like the honey from Hock Hua the best.

I also boil thyme with rock/ brown sugar. Another effective home remedy. I also started giving cod liver oil- so far so good. Then again they are now much older and have passed the frequent cough stage that plagued their younger days

As long as I avoid food with artificial colouring and excessive MSG, coughs occur minimally.

[MyMooMoo]

Hi felizbebe,


Can I check with you how do we know if Ds is having Nasal Allergies or Rhinitis? Check with PD? or TCM will know?

Ds has this same cycle everytime. He will have flu, then cough then phlegm... then all mucus will turn yellow.. We bring him to PD.. 100% guarantee take antibiotics.. He just turned 2 and has taken 6x of antibiotics!!

Ds admitted to hospital for mycoplasma which causes him to have bronchitis. He was discharged on Wed but still need to be on neubiliser and antibiotics for 7 days and singulair for 3 months and stop school for 2 weeks. I cried so much in the hospital when see ds suffering.. Im really at wits end. Before the tuina take effect, he is so sick till have to admit into hospital. What else have I not done? Can someone enlighten me... He loves school and he loves his teachers. His teachers like him too. Does i really need to resort to keeping him at home and not letting him go school anymore till he is older?

[dasalo]

I tried replying for the 3rd time and if this time my cursor flies again, sorry moomoo my post ain’t meant for you.


Your ds’s condition is like my dd when she was young. Cut it short, I 'll put it in point form.

1) Keep your house free from dust as much as possible.
2) Keep away furry stuff toys.
3) Feed your ds soy milk if possible otherwise continue with cow’s milk and let him out grow his condtions.

[dasalo]

4) stay away from nuts and slowly introduce it back to him to eliminate this food. Do the same for other food too.

5) stay away from orange, barley water (holland) (phelgm causing food)
6) food preservatives and colourings
7) Air con turn up to 25 degree.
stay away from refrigerated drinks
9) Instead, drink chinese barley

Try adding chinese yam (淮山）in his porridge if he is still at it. if you buy the dry ones, have them grind into powder and add a tsp/bowl portion to cook.
I have many stories to share. I’ve PM you

My 2 dds rarely get sick these days (touch wood**)

[dasalo]

worriedmumz:

Besides the havelock TCM, any others to recommend for this cough problem? Just in case havelock is too far and my dh will grumble and complain.

Try this concoction :

1) 吉饼 (dried kumquat/orange, pronounce at Ji Bing) available at medical hall
2) 川贝 (chuan bei)
3) rock sugar to taste

Boil and drink the water. Drink as often as you like. For lungs strengthening, you may add raw fishmaw 鱼漂 but the taste is fishy.

[MummyThreeStreams]

Hi everyone,


Just want to share my experience. If your child has persistent nasal congestion (and I mean months and months without clearing), you might want to go to an ENT specialist to check on the adenoids.

My son has always had nasal congestion, which often led to coughs and bronchitis/bronchiolitis. We tried various things. But it turned out that his adenoids (which are behind the nose, above the throat), were really enlarged. The adenoids are glands that help to fight infections (similar to the tonsils). But in this case, it was causing my son to be ill, coz they were blocking his nasal passages and preventing the mucus from clearing, which in turn contributed to his many bouts of sinus infections, ear infections etc. More importantly, it was contributing to a lack of sleep (coz cannot breathe properly - he used to snore!) and lack of oxygen to his body and brain.

After weighing the pros and cons, we decided to have them removed. This was a surgical procedure done under general anesthesia. After the procedure, he not only doesn’t catch as many colds, when he does, the congestion clears in a week (he used to take months and months to recover). And he sleeps much better! I think more oxygen is also going I into his body coz he grew quite a lot suddenly after the procedure (he’d always been a bit small).

I’m not saying that adenoid removal should be a first resort, but for those kids who seem always to be having a cold and don’t sleep well, you might want to get the adenoids checked out by the ENT. Also, simply removing the adenoids won’t prevent the child from ever falling ill. You should still make sure they eat, drink and sleep well!

[felizbebe]

Hi MyMooMoo,


Sorry to hear about your son's condition.

The best person who can diagnose if your son has Nasal Allergies or Rhinitis will be the ENT specialist, as normal PD or GP may not be familiar in that field. Likewise not all TCM are trained to diagnose and/or treat such illness.

Normally a person will have Flu & Cough when he catches cold or if he is being infected by flu virus. But if the flu-like symptoms appear repeatedly on regular basis, then most likely it's due to allergies or rhinitis instead of normal Cold & Flu. This is one way to differentiate it.

You mentioned that your son has just discharged from hospital and was given Singulair for 3 months, to what I know Singulair is used to prevent asthma attack and/or used to relieve symptoms of allergies. Thus I'm sure the doctor who prescribed the medicine probably should have told you whether your son is suffering from allergies or asthma.

It has been reported that Singulair may cause serious side effects such as aggressive behavior or hostility, bad or vivid dreams, depression, disorientation, feeling anxious, hallucinations, irritability, restlessness, sleepwalking, suicidal thoughts and actions, tremor, and trouble sleeping. I don't think that's good for young kid like your son, therefore you may want to consider other alternative or natural treatments.

As I mentioned in my earlier post, the TCM clinic @ Havelock road is quite well-known with their natural way in treating allergies and rhinitis, why don't you give it a try? Perhaps it will help your son recover faster without being over dependent on western medicines.

MyMooMoo:

Hi felizbebe,

Can I check with you how do we know if Ds is having Nasal Allergies or Rhinitis? Check with PD? or TCM will know?

Ds has this same cycle everytime. He will have flu, then cough then phlegm... then all mucus will turn yellow.. We bring him to PD.. 100% guarantee take antibiotics.. He just turned 2 and has taken 6x of antibiotics!!

Ds admitted to hospital for mycoplasma which causes him to have bronchitis. He was discharged on Wed but still need to be on neubiliser and antibiotics for 7 days and singulair for 3 months and stop school for 2 weeks. I cried so much in the hospital when see ds suffering.. Im really at wits end. Before the tuina take effect, he is so sick till have to admit into hospital. What else have I not done? Can someone enlighten me... He loves school and he loves his teachers. His teachers like him too. Does i really need to resort to keeping him at home and not letting him go school anymore till he is older?

[MyMooMoo]

Hi Dasalo,

Thanks so much for your effort trying to post. You even add in the chinese words for me so that i can easily get it… I would definately give it a try.
Chinese Yam is to buy from medical hall?

Hi MummyThreeStreams,
Thank you very much for sharing your experience.
Ds only start the chain of flu and cough and phlegm only when he started childcare. Before that he was fine. Hardly fall sick. I think unlikely that his adenoids are enlarged. But still thank you very much for taking the effort to post. I know now that there is such a problem exist.

Hi felizbebe,
I think you are very right!!! DS is soooooo cranky, naughty and horrible these few days… Previously I brought him to Yu Guo. I intend to try TCM clinic @ Havelock road coz i read from the earlier posting that the tuina is done by the Dr Tan Physician herself. But the PD said hv to wait 2 weeks after finish medication then can see TCM. DS has 3 more days to go to completing his antibiotics. But his mucus are still a bit yellow. Haiz…