Why does bronchiolitis sound so freaking scary?

I just wanted to comment here for anyone Search online for support. I know how you feel. My child has had bronchiolitis twice. Once at 16m, then again at 2.5 yrs. Both were hospital admissions with oxygen and steroids. I've researched online so much since both occasions happened. They were terrifying. I don't how I survived. All research points to my child not suffering so badly with it, but he did. Apparently it's unlikely to get it twice, but he did. You'd think the 2nd time would be easier, but he struggled more and needed oxygen for longer. Apparently they're unlikely to suffer with it after age 2, but the doctor I spoke with has seen more children being admitted to hospital with it, and the children are getting older and older - some as old as age 4. It's scary. Days 3-5 are the worst. After day 5 my child snapped back so quickly. I'm so grateful for the hospital.
My advice to anyone reading this is just to keep going back to the drs or a&e if you're concerned. The 1st time around, I took my son to the drs in the afternoon and by evening, he'd deteriorated and needed an a&e trip and was admitted overnight. The 2nd time, I took him to hospital on Saturday and he was seen by the GP. She sent us to a&e where we stayed for 8 hrs before being sent home. 2 days later I was still worried so I went to the drs who sent us to a&e immediately, where he was admitted. Trust yourself! The drs and nurses would rather see a healthy child than a seriously ill one.

Hope your son is growing stronger each day! My gd is waiting to hear from doctors as to whether they want to keep her in! !She has RSV so hope it passes in a couple of days!

Worrying about my GD two weeks old diagnosed with bronchiolitis! In hospital tonight to monitor her o2 levels and hydration levels! Please give me some reassurance!

@VirusesSuck whooping cough

As I say, I have two little ones who between them have had bronchiolitis 5 times so far and absolutely tons of other illnesses. Lethargic, as in not themselves due to fatigue, can be par for the course when they're so poorly. It's completely different from struggling to stay awake and slipping into unresponsive which is what was happening to DS when I took him to A&E and he was hospitalised. Honestly, if you saw that you would know immediately they needed urgent medical attention, it is very obvious (and scary!). I was about to call an ambulance but my DF turned up and drove us but with hindsight we got stuck in traffic a bit and struggled to find the right place to stop the car at the hospital and all kinds so I probably would have been better to call ambulance. That drive was one of the most stressful experiences of my life so far, he couldn't stay awake properly in the car seat and he'd just slept for over 3hrs at home. My DF is a doctor (not pads tho) and was very concerned himself.

A&E nurse at triage also spotted his toenails were going bluey, this isn't something I'd noticed but he had had a sleep suit on at home and I wouldn't have thought to check it.

I wouldn't advise anyone try to use an oximeter on young children at home unless you are a healthcare professional trained to use it and have the appropriate paediatric pulse oximeter bought from a reputable medical supplier. It could be detrimental to your childs health to trust in equipment that is not made for small children and therefore is inaccurate, may not work correctly at all depending where you bought it, etc. We do have one, because my DH is a physician associate and used to work in paeds, but we only even bought ours after DS's hospital admission. Ours is from a reputable medical equipment supplier and we have the specialist paeds attachment for it but even then, trying to check it at home, and it not being the fancy paeds pulse oximeter just one with an attachment - we are very conscious even that may not be super accurate for home use.

November is bronch month!

Dc had it very badly a few times as a baby. Once in Intensive care for a week, another time hdu but the rest just a tough week at home.

It can get nasty but at 18m its not likely.

Watch for - ribs sucking under but also Nostrils flaring. The hollow at the throat sucking in. The lower lip sucking in with every breath.

I am not a doctor and my experience is a few years old so don't take this as infallible:

My DS spent days in hospital regularly with bronchiolitis. They don't diagnose asthma under the age of 5 but virally induced bronchiolitis and asthma present similarly in young children and yes it is scarey and it should be - not understanding and not taking it seriously can lead to very serious illness.

When he's struggling, take off his top and look at his rib cage as he breathes in. If his ribs get more visible as he sucks air in that's the indication that he is having to put additional muscular effort into filling his lungs and he needs help.

It's way better to err on the side of caution and seek medical attention sooner rather than later. Get a finger-clip blood oxygen monitor and keep an eye on his numbers - if SpO2 is less than 90 go to hospital. If it's not that bad but often in the low 90s then ask for a ventolin inhaler which can make a big difference.

Don't be afraid to make a fuss to get your child seen. Not being able to breathe isn't to be brushed off as "just" anything, and you don't want to wait until breathing actually stops before action is taken.

It’s horrible. DS1 had whooping cough and bronchitis at 4 months old and I had to take him to the GP 5 times, before taking him to A&E, to be sent home then to receive a phone call from the A&E doctor who said she had slept on it and wanted me to bring him back. By that stage he had started to projectile vomit his milk, classic sign of WC. Keep taking him back if you’re worried. I completely understand re nursery and catching everything, both DS2 and DD caught everything going and I had to take a lot of time off - back in the day before home working

We had that recently too - I think those home ones aren’t good for little fingers. My son was reading as 88, so we took him in (asthma and a nasty virus). At first in the hospital he was still reading as low, but then it jumped up, once the machine had settled. It’s annoying, because I only really got it for him! (It seems accurate for the rest of us).

Have they given you a salbutamol inhaler for him?
DS had several hospital trips with bronchiolitis from 8 months to 3 years old and once he turned 1 they treated with salbutamol in hospital and prescribed a blue inhaler for at home use. Was handy when he started to get a cold and to treat on the way to hospital.
It’s awful though, so scary - I hope he improves soon

DS1 was the same as soon as he started nursery he caught absolutely everything. Got bronchiolitis twice, both times ended up in hospital on oxygen and the cough and wheezing lasted for ages as well, he was basically labelled a 'happy wheezer' as he would happily run around all day wheezing away. When he turned two he massively improved and hasn't wheezed since (he's about to turn 6) but I remember how hard it was for that year or so constantly having to call into work to tell them I couldn't come in. As said previously if you feel he isn't right take him into A&E. The only way to know for sure is to get his sat level checked.

It’s a horrible illness when they’re tiny, I feel for you. DS was in hospital with it over Christmas for a week aged 2.5 months :(

what scared me was how difficult it was to know what was ‘normal’ and what wasn’t. The day he was admitted I took him to GP, she listened to his chest and said just a virus, all sounds ok. My parents came round that evening and my mum said she didn’t like the sound of his breathing and said to call the out of hours- they sent us straight to hospital where he stayed, and where we spent his first Xmas.

The admitting doctor was really brusque and basically berated us for not bringing him earlier as his sats were low and apparently if we hadn’t taken him in he may have stopped breathing. I was so upset as GP had checked him out and assured us he was ok. But the point I’m making is, if you’re worried don’t be fobbed off or afraid to ask for them to check him again. It’s reassuring his sats were normal though.

things to look for - ‘sucking in’ between the ribs when breathing, flared nostrils etc, obviously no wet nappies etc. But I found it hard to tell if there was ‘sucking in’ when he breathed, so if you’re at all worried I would call 111 for advice- don’t worry about wasting their time .