Hi Everyone,
My 6 year old son has mild, usually well-controlled asthma with related allergies and eczema. He takes 5 mg Singulair every night and uses albuterol as needed (thus far, only after upper respiratory infections or strenuous exercise in cold air). The past week or so he has coughed only after falling asleep. He did this as a toddler, then it disappeared completely. I'm thinking that he needs to go and be reevaluated and perhaps switch meds, but I'm wondering if this happens to other children, and how frequently? Does he need an inhaler before bedtime (that may make it hard to sleep)? Any experiences and advice are appreciated.

You've got the right idea -- it's a sign his symptoms aren't being controlled properly.

I wonder if taking some ventolin before bed would do the trick, though that might keep him from sleeping as soundly, and it certainly shouldn't be more than a temporary fix.

Having him evaluated for a different drug is difficult in kids his age because a lot of the effective drugs haven't been approved in people that young.

This is the first sign that my asthma is out of control. I jsut don't sleep well...whether I wake up not being able to breathe or wake up indirectly not being able to breathe. In either case, I look like death-warmed-over the next morning. I would consider a long-acting bronchodilator (like serevent or foradil) before bed...If you do take that course of action, make sure he is also on an inhaled steroids. You may need to tweak his medicine as well.