Clapping question

[anonymous]

Hi,
I have a 4 yr old that has a cold and wakes up in the morning with a wet cough. We are doing extra clapping to help release the mucus.......we don't do anything else for her lungs but clapping. Her clapping consits of 4 positions on an incline and 2 positions horizontal.
My question is........when I am doing the clapping and she starts to cough should I stop and put her in an upright position to get it up or do I keep clapping and try and loosen more while she is coughing it up? She does not really know how to cough it up yet and swallows it most of the time anyway.
Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[tiffanystar]

hi its alright if she swallows it sometimes i do that to. im 14. instead of doing the clapping theres a thing called cpt vest. it helps better then the clapping. ask her doctor about it.

tiffany

 

[anonymous]

hey. whenever my mom did cpt on me and i started to cough, she'd stop clapping for a minute to see if i could get it up. then she would ask me if i was done coughing and she'd continue. but one time when i was like 6 i coughed up a big plug and inhaled it again because i was laying down when i was coughing.

 

[anonymous]

I would also suggest that you stop clapping while she is coughing. I am not sure what the "protocol" is, but this is just what I would do.

 

[anonymous]

Hi There,
My 17mth old has a cold at the moment and we are doing extra cpt also.
I stop when he coughs and then continue when he has finished.
He swallows it but he seems to have a better cough if I stop and then carry on.
I am not allowed to put him on a angle at the moment becuase he suffers from reflux but I'm sure it would help him if I did.
Rebekah
Mother to Matt 17mths w/CF

 

[anonymous]

Hi - I would def. stop clapping and allow her to be upright to try and clear the mucus. My son uses the accapella (sp?) to help him clear the mucus. He is 6.5 and just recently has been able to get rid of the mucus without always swallowing it or throwing up. He started the vest when he was 2.5 yrs. old and the accapella when he was 4. We find that when he is really junky, the accapella really helps. We also remind him to huff and sometimes that helps clear some junk that gets stuck. Best Wishes.

Jo Ann

 

[anonymous]

Hi, I have a four yr. old as well, and when she is really mucussy, I have to lay her down on her right side to prevent her from choking on it. I've tried teaching her to bring it up, but her own DR. says she's too young, that they usually only learn to do it by around 6 or so. I have her on an incline when I do pt. and usually bend her over to help spit it out, sometimes, she and every time the vomit is full of mucus. And it's OUT!!!!Hurray, she feels much better.

 

[mhnurse02]

It is probably a good idea to let her cough and try to bring up mucus instead of trying to do the chest PT. If you dont stop and let her cough...she could aspirate...choke....block her airway more. Again, ask your CF clinic about the vest....my daughter got it when she was around 4...but it depends on your daughters size...if she can fit in the vest. GOod luck to you
Nicole, mother of Sara with CF 6 y/o...and a nurse