By Cheryl Beighle, M.D., with Ran D. Anbar, M.D.

Habit cough is a relatively common symptom complex in children. A cough is present when the patient is awake and resolves during sleep.

The cough is often harsh, occurring every 2-3 seconds, and there are no other symptoms, such as fever or congestion. It is thought to be related to stress in the child and often starts after an upper respiratory infection (Anbar and Hall, 2024).

It can be thought of as a somatization symptom a child develops to deal with stressful life events. Effective treatments for habit cough include suggestion therapy and hypnosis (Weinberger et al., 2023).

Let's describe a 7-year-old who was instructed in the use of hypnotic imagery to treat her habit of coughing.

”Ashley” (not her real name) had been evaluated by her pediatrician and the local children's hospital, and no physical reason was found for her cough. She had been unable to attend school because of the daytime, loud, repetitive cough that had been present for six........

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