This is my second time posting here, and I do thank you for answering me with my earlier question. I now have a new one regarding my daughter..if you remember, I posted about how she was in the hospital and the doctors said she had Reactive Airway Disease. I spoke with her doctor today about her lingering cough and he suggested trying an antibiotic in case it is a sinus infection and the dripping is causing the cough. Now, from what I've read about sinus infections, there is normally thick yellow snot, facial swelling, heaches, etc. Now, being a baby, she cannot tell me if she has a headache, but she is acting just fine. She's a thin baby, so I would notice swelling, and there is none. Earlier with this, she had some snot, but there is none now. So, my question is, could it indeed be a sinus infection or if not, what else would cause a lingering cough? She first became sick with a common cold over 2 months ago which turned into the bronchiolities and then the Reactive Airway Disease. I would think if she had some type of infection, either my husband or myself would have caught it since she coughs all over us, but we've been fine.

Hi,

Sinus infections in small children don't need to be very dramatic. They can just be a persistent cough in a child who has a long term (2 weeks or more) runny nose. Usually the dramatic symptoms that are seen in adults aren't seen in the usual pediatric sinusitis. The antibiotics sound reasonable to me.

good luck, Dr. Olson