Ds has wheezy shallow breaths - advice on what to do.

[Thequeensfool]

He is 3 and a little under the weather with a runny nose. He had a long nap (unusually) this morning but seems well in himself now and has been playing out today.

The only thing that's worrying me is that he is very wheezy and seems to be struggling for breath.

Do you think he needs to see a doctor?

[dizzymare]

yes!!

[foxinsocks]

yes go now. Sooner the better with breathing problems. Good luck. (If he is normally asthmatic, give him his blue inhaler now!).

[plonker]

Definitely.

We have an out-of-hours surgery above the chemist here - do you have anything similar?

[elmofan]

take him to A&E , does he normally have asthma ?

[Thequeensfool]

Thank you. I've never known him to wheeze before so there's no inhaler.

As I said he doesn't seem at all unwell apart from this - it's tricky trying to figure out if you're being overly neurotic some times!

[strawberrycornetto]

You should get it checked. I would also say that my son who is 18 months old, is often like that. Sometimes he gets diagnosed with a chest infection, sometimes not. We think he may have asthma. I am sure your son will be fine and I wouldn't panic, but I would make sure you speak to someone.

[foxinsocks]

could be croup as that also often makes them sound like they are battling for breath and often follows a cold

either way, any sort of struggling to breathe should be seen by a doctor

hope you don't have to wait too long

[suiledonn]

DD1 gets like this when she has a cold. She was diagnosed with asthma at 18 months old. Starts with a simple runny nose type cold and then a cough and then bad wheeze & shallow breathing. She usually needs a nebuliser and sometimes oxygen too.

Does he look a bit blue around the mouth? Is his chest jerking when he breathes? If so don't hang about. Get him seen ASAP.

[Thequeensfool]

Thank you so much for your replies. We took him to the out of hours doctor at the local hospital. He has prescribed steroids and an inhaler. Ds has some sort of virus.

I hope he doesn't end up suffering with asthma like me.

[foxinsocks]

ah poor poppet. Hope he is better soon.

[Thequeensfool]

Thanks fox .

[foxinsocks]

hope he is ok with the inhaler. Did they give you an aerochamber thing or a mask so it's easier for him?

[Thequeensfool]

Both apparently; dh has just gone to the chemist to get them.