Hi bunny girl
My little boy has just turned 5 and a yr ago I took him to the docs as he would cough persistently at night, and also when he was running around. The doctor prescribed him ventolin as he was diagnosed with asthma which he took for 2 weeks before he had to go back to the docs. The ventolin hadn't seemed to make any difference, and so the doctor then gave him salbutomol (excuse me if I've spelt it wrong) which is a steroid inhaler. He had to take2 puffs of salbutomol, and 2 of ventolin every morn and night. He had an aero chamber ( with a soft mask to make it easier to administer). Within a week of taking the salbutumol, he had stopped coughing at night, although he would still wake up and cough, and when he ran. He was also worse when he went to my mum's as they have a dog. By august he was only on ventolin as and when he needed it , and he hasn't had to use any inhaler since October last year.
My surgery has just recently rung to say he needs a review appointment for his 'asthma'. I explained that he hadn't used anything for 8 months, and they said they'll still see him just to check, but sometimes kids can just have asthmatic symptons and the inhalers can just do the job, and the child can 'grow out' of it.
I can't see that the ventolin would harm- and it might just help your little one, especially if the cough is keeping him awake at night.
Hope this has been some help. mumx