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Children's health

Just had scary episode with 2 week old being sick through his nose and unable to catch his breath for 2-3 minutes. What should we do next time?

9 replies

RememberToPlaywiththeKids · 26/02/2011 20:18

It was about an hour after his last huge feed and I've been winding him regularly through the feed and feed him upright otherwise he pukes it all up.

He was lying on his side sleeping and we heard a funny noise and I looked and saw a bit of milk coming out of his nostrils so I whipped him up and he arched his back and started crying but couldn't breathe in properly because of the milk. He was clearly distressed and his eyes were watering and i tried to wipe the milk from his nose but it took a good 2-3 minutes (maybe more) before his colour returned to normal from red and his breathing ok. He could breathe in a bit but not much. oh dear oh dear. terrifying.

This really scared me. I assume it's reflux?? He did burp once he was relaxed again but it could have been all the crying that filled him up with air again.

I didn't know whether to call and ambulance or just wait. I was frozen. luckily it cleared but what do i do next time?

I'm going to buy a nasal aspirator tomorrow.

Oh dear :(

OP posts:
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DietCokeRules · 26/02/2011 20:24

You poor thing how scary for you! I had something similar in hospital with day old DD. Why don't you call the out of hours doctor, or get put through to them through NHS Direct. At least if you get some advice you might be able to get some sleep tonight!

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activate · 26/02/2011 20:25

If he is crying he is taking breath

Red is a good colour - blue is not

if it really was choking then lay him down along your arm, pointing downwards and a firm whack

even better take a first aid course

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narmada · 27/02/2011 18:16

Take him to the GP as soon as possible, I think. It sounds like a reflux-induced apnoea attack or aspiration to me but a doctor should definitely check it out.

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balloonballs · 27/02/2011 18:20

What activate said, try not to worry too much.

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LooLoos · 27/02/2011 19:42

This happened to my dd on xmas eve when she was 3 weeks. We rang 999 but thank god when they got here she was fine. Was worried for few weeks after but did not happenagain. I had her sleep on her side since then up until about 7 weeks with blankets either side. I also bought angelcare monitor which really put my mind at rest.

Personally i think it is just the shock of them puking that gives them trouble catching their breath. Once they are a little older they are more able to deal with it better.

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RememberToPlaywiththeKids · 27/02/2011 20:19

Thank you for all your replies - i was worried about the aspirating thing I must say - he was trying to breathe, rather than had stopped breathing, but his throat was full of milk which was causing difficulties.

LooLoos - what did the ambulance people advise 'for next time'? :(

It hasn't happened again yet but I've been religious about winding him. It literally takes an hour and a half to feed with all the stopping to wind etc. He does 2 big belches every time and we spend more time winding than sucking. i do actually wonder if the poor boy is actually managing to get enough milk before he falls asleep with exhaustion at the whole palava!

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LooLoos · 28/02/2011 14:07

a rapid response bloke turned up and actually said he could not check her over because she was under 2...! a trip to A and E was required for someone to check her over and i was convinced she was ok.

His advice incase she couldnt catch her breath again was to blow in her face...not tried this as touch wood this has not happened since.

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narmada · 28/02/2011 14:18

That sounds like a long time to feed. I always give up winding after about 5 minutes. Winding can be a bit of a double-edged sword in refluxy babies, as all the jostling and patting can make things worse, but on the other hand, stuck burps are not good either and when they are eventually released, then they often bring sick with them, as you'll know!

Has your son been checked for a tongue tie? If he has this it can cause prolific air swallowing - did in my DS. How has his weight been since birth?

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hannahsmum76 · 05/03/2011 18:51

we had similar to this a few times with our new born daughter and a sort of choking thing when feeding.....we went out of hours with her one night and dr sat and watched whilst she fed and after for bit-but sods law she didnt do it then.

this went on for few weeks and health visitor said about reflux and for us to change her teats on bottles to really slow ones.

it seemed to resolve after a while on its own-before we got the gaviscon that was suggested....but boy did it make me anxious....and jittery for quite some time.

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