Dr. Sameer, please help with my son (behavioral, speech, eczema) _{Page 6 of 6}

Hi Dr. Sameer,

He's doing pretty much the same. I had not seen your message until now since I just logged in to look through his info on here again. Last night and tonight, at 2am, he began to suddenly cough. Last night I thought it was because he was choking. Either on his saliva or from reflux. But this happened again tonight and it sounded like athsma.

We went into the ER, but before we even headed out I could tell he was improving. It lasts about an hour each time. Afterwards he just coughs periodically. By the time we got to the hospital it was over. We waited there for about an hour and then left. We just got home at 4:00am.

I don't believe I ever gave him the last remedy (phosphorus). I have been thinking about his treatment lately and was going to give it to him, but then this happened.

Is there something I can give him for this choking/asthma? It starts suddenly at night while he's sleeping. Then it's like he can't catch his breath. He swallows a lot of air doing this which makes it worse. I have to hold him, pat his back, and rock him and it helps him, but when he looks at me while he's coughing he looks like he's asking me for help. : ( During the day he's fine, but does cough periodically.

Thanks!

Nature of cough: Not really sure what you're asking. It seems to be caused by a cold. Lately, it's changed. Now it's sort of like spasms, sort of dry.

He's grinding his teeth SO badly I'm really afraid he's doing serious damage to them. It's really bad at night right after he coughs, as he's trying to swallow. As if it's involuntary.

What makes it better/worse: When I carry him and pat him on his back (at night) it calms him down. Cold makes it worse during the day and being physically active. At night sleep makes it worse.

What other changes have happened since this cough started: None that I can think of. The holidays...and we have a real pine tree. My first thought was that it was brought on by the tree. Maybe an allergy.

Any times of aggravation: Night is the worse. About an hour or 2 after he goes to bed. Also in the morning, a couple hours before he wakes.

I just gave him some honey and rubbed some Vicks on his feet and put socks on. Someone told me this would help the cough. He needs to rest.


Thanks!

It does wake him up.

He's been very whiny (maybe this age?). Also sniffling. He has some facial things he does all the time. But that's not really since the cough started. He's had it for a while.

Hey Dr. Sameer,

I gave him the phos. I've noticed very very slight difference in that the sudden crying spells don't last as long or don't ever take off. I've mainly noticed this yesterday and today, moreso today. His appetite has been good the past couple days, too. He's extremely picky with food. Except for sweets, he always wants those.

The grinding teeth had improved when his cough went away, before the phos.

Oh, I think his twitches have gotten better, too. I haven't really paid attention, though.

It's hard to tell if this is from the phos. because he's on a rotating cycle and all his issues come and go with some new flare ups here and there.

I think I feel a slight rash on his torso. Almost like tiny rough scabs. Mainly on the sides of his ribs.

Thanks!

He did something yesterday which he has never done before, so I can only attribute it to the phos. He went over his best friend's house to play. About an 1.5 hours later he and the kids come knocking. They said he had started crying to come home. He was very emotional.

I asked him if someone had been mean or anything and he insisted he just wanted to come home 'just because.'

He has only ever cried because he did not want to come home or because he did not want his friend to leave (that happens a lot, btw), but never to come home except at night unless he had asked to sleep over. This was during the day.

Once he got home he was very emotional and just wanted me to hold him. He went to bed very early, too.

He's been doing that crying thing more and more. I wish I could record this for you. It's the most annoying cry ever.

Still no difference other than what I've reported.

That's hard to say since we haven't been out again since that day. It's been really cold and his friends have been over our house every day. No one's really wanted to go outside because of the cold.

He has not asked to go out, though. And if I ask him if he wants to go outside and play he will say no. But he's always been a lot like that where he'd rather stay inside unless there are other kids outside.

I just asked him if he wants to go over his bff's later and he said yes.

I've taken my time observing him these past few days, so here goes:

Emotional/Mental: He wants to hug every 2-5 minutes, seriously. He tells me he loves me in his sleep. Like he will wake up out of a sound sleep to say it. While he's asleep, if I hug him, he will sigh. He is VERY needy of affection. Not only from me, but from his best friend, too. I've caught him smiling when his bff does something affectionate. Likewise, he gets very upset when he feels rejected. He takes things with his best friend very hard. I can see the pain in his eyes when his friend tells him he has other 'best friends' (and said best friend does it in a malicious way). He tries to act as if it doesn't bother him but he will be near tears. His BFF is the same way, except that he's mostly the hurtful one. When my son says something to him and he sees his friend upset he tries to make it right. He's very sensitive and caring.

The other day Eden and his bff and his bff's sister were walking back over here from bff's house (next door). I was outside waiting for them. Well, while they were about midway the girl saw a loose dog. The dog, a puppy, started running after them and she got scared. She called for Eden and bff and then ran off. BFF looked ahead to call for Eden who was in front of him. Eden was the last to notice what was going on and he tried to run in my direction (he's scared of loose dogs, too), but he stayed behind looking for his bff who had already run back to his house. My husband went outside to get him because he started to cry. This is typical and I feel as if he'd put himself at risk for people who would not do the same for him. I hate that. He is brave when it comes to defending those he loves.

He has not really been hitting, which was a problem, but will sometimes hit his bff. He always has an excuse. He tries to do things he shouldn't to make a point and tells me why he did it. He has a tit-for-tat mentality.

Hates to clean up because it's 'boring.' Yet there are certain things he likes to keep organized or gets upset if something is unusually out of place.

He is astoundingly intelligent and I find this a bit surprising considering that he didn't talk at all until he was 3ish and has a speech impediment. He's great at math and reading and can figure anything out on his own. I don't teach him any of these things, but he picks them up and remembers them forever. Like he once asked us what a number was and it was 45. Well, from that he figured out the rest of the numbers. '4 T five, 6 T five, Three T two, etc.' :-p And he can add and subtract, even hundreds, in his head. I have no clue how he figured out what all the words on the remote control are, but he has.

It's only now that he can talk that we're starting to notice that he seems to be intelligent beyond what's normal for his age, which makes me feel a little better about him going to school because I was worried about that.

Physical: He still gets eczema, but it's very little. Has a spot behind his right shoulder and I just found another on his right upper thigh, close to the crease. And his torso is a little rough with teeny bumps.

He's very thin and not very big for his age. The opposite of the type of huge baby he was. Sometimes I wonder if he's getting enough nutrients. He grows in distinctive spurts and doesn't eat well unless he's getting ready to grow.

He's had a cold sore on the left corner of his mouth and gets sores inside his mouth all the time.

He gets colds and persistent coughs a lot throughout the year. I was told it was from allergies (probably to dairy). When he was tested for allergies they said he was allergic to dairy, peanuts, dust, pollen, cats and dogs. I don't keep him from much because if I was going to get picky with his food, too, then he'd never eat a thing. If he wants pizza, yogurt, or mashed potatoes drenched in butter I give it to him.

He is the pickiest eater ever. He craves sweets a lot. Loves bread, chicken nuggets, and fish sticks, tuna. He will eat sweet and regular potatoes, mashed and loves beans. Eggs. Some rice. And that's about it. And if there is the smallest thing off from what he has deemed acceptable (if he finds an onion bit or it's a different color or it has a burnt edge) the whole thing is ruined and he will not eat it. It's super frustrating.

I get veggies and fruits in him through raw juicing and healthy shakes. But I'm always nervous about adding anything different and then him never wanting raw juice again.

There are days where he will not eat anything at all and will only want to drink juice. He might eat a few bites for breakfast. He gets hungry a lot late at night before bed.

When he goes poop it's always soft and messy. I've been wondering if he has an anal fissure because he itches a lot and he can never get clean enough. He does go to the bathroom a few times a day and at the same times. Almost always after he eats.

His right eye is very sensitive to light sometimes.

It's hard to get him to go outside, but loves it once he's out there. If kids are playing out then he does want to go.

I will try to go through this tonight and see if I can think of anything else or put this in better order. I feel that 99% of his issues are because of me and am working to improve myself and it will help him. A while back when he was about 18 months I was on a liver diet for a few weeks and felt great. During that time he ate better and was a happier baby, even his allergies disappeared.

My issues affect him even if I try to hide them. For example, he has a phobia of frogs and I've never EVER said anything to him (or to anyone because I'm always afraid it will be used against me one day) about frogs. There are many things like this. He has many fears and is overly-cautious and careful.

Hey Dr. Sameer,

My child has some sort of irritation on the bottom of his toes which is worrying me. It looks like the skin there is becoming thin and red. He has some lines/wrinkles in the are, too. I'm including some pictures.

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Both feet. The right seems to be slightly worse. And it seems to also be affecting the side of his foot.

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Maybe this picture is a little better.

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I have no clue what this is and I don't even know how to search for it online. Everything has just turned up to be something totally different. It does not hurt or bother him.

The first thing I noticed were the lines and they were there a few weeks ago. He wears all types of different shoes, so I don't think it's the shoes. Don't know. When I first noticed the lines I thought he just had little wrinkles on his big toes. Didn't think much of it. It wasn't till today I noticed it's not just that and it's gotten worse.

Thanks!