Baby in hospital on holiday, hand hold needed

Glad you’re home @glassofbrancott and hoping your DS makes a full recovery and you get a decent consultant. My DD has had two recent hospital admissions (one on holiday) so you have my fullest sympathies. I hope as the days go on your nervous system is able to relax a little and your DS grows out of whatever it is that’s causing this

Having allergies is very normal in children who suffer from bronchiolitis and wheeze. We had them too (but DS1 grew out of them). Unfortunately it’s a sign that it could be asthma, but he’s way too young for that to be confirmed.

Good luck OP!

Oh @glassofbrancott - you have my sympathy! Also done bronchiolitis on holiday but in an Italian hospital with a 18 month old. If it gives you hope 2 of my 3 constantly suffered with bronchiolitis/chest infections/constant coughing when under 4. One was eventually diagnosed with mild asthma which they grew out of by age 14, the other was over it by age 7. Inhalers do help, my gp also had a nebuliser at the practice and we could go there as a first port of call and if improved after an hour we were allowed home again…cuts have prob done for that now😔… Don’t panic - hospitals are good at managing this, you do need to nudge your gp into making a sensible plan though if it’s regular!

Just to let you know what we have tried, it’s been the brown inhaler, two puffs twice a day. DS1 benefitted greatly from it. DS2 not so much, and he started young at a lower dose before we moved to the normal dose when he turned two.

We also tried Montelukast and had no benefit for either of mine (which I am somewhat glad about because I was concerned about side effects). We also use the blue inhaler at the very first sign of a cold, rather than once they start coughing. We also have a humidifier we use every time they’re sick, and try and keep their nose clear when they’re snotty.

Oh OP. As scary as it is, it isn’t that uncommon. DS1 was hospitalised perhaps around 6 of 10 A&E visits but mostly grew out of it at 2.5 after going on a brown inhaler.

DS2 is now 2.5 and is hospitalised every two months or so, for at least two nights.

For both of them, every single cold caused bronchiolitis or a wheeze, no matter the underlying virus.

The care is awful on this. It’s very much “thank you, see you next time”. We’ve seen a private consultant for both and they’ve said the same thing - just need to wait and see if they grow out of it or are asthmatic. We’ve tried everything. Every single holiday has been cancelled or delayed, and we have also had the experience of being admitted abroad. It’s truly incredibly stressful so sending lots of love your way. But seeing how DS1 grew out of it is reassuring that children do grow out of it.

Aww thank you for updating @glassofbrancott wishing you all the best.

I’m so sorry to hear this. I have been through this exact same thing with my DS and this went on for the first year of his life, however for us we did have an underlying condition we were aware of. He was born with tracheo oesophageal fistula (tof) and tracheomalacia. After I don’t know how many admissions including 2 on NICU where he was intubated, he went for a procedure when he was a year old that he needed to be intubated for and they couldn’t get the tube down. Turned out he had narrowing of his airways. He had a procedure to stretch them and he has been fine ever since. We have been under the respiratory team and still are but he now lives a normal life. I would keep pushing for a referral to respiratory.

Hope you're home now

How are you and DS @glassofbrancott?

That’s good to hear that he’s improving, hopefully not too long until he’s discharged now and you can both get home to the rest of your family. I can only imagine how stressful this is for you OP. It’s hard enough with a little one in hospital in your own country. I hope they’re taking good care of you both and you’ve been able to eat and sleep ok. Hang in there. Hopefully in time this will all be a distant memory but I hope you manage to get some answers

How are you doing today?

Poor boy, sounds like viral wheeze or bronchiolitis. Perhaps he will have a brown preventer inhaler prescribed and seen by a paediatrician when you are home too.
The salbutamol will increase his heart rate too.
Fingers crossed he makes a steady improvement to come home.

Can you not ask at the hospital for who you might be able to get an appointment with? Surely your travel insurance will cover it as well. And while this isn't the holiday you had hoped for with your DD, she's probably not experiencing it as you are possibly perceiving she is. The important thing is your DS recovers and you both get home safely.

I hope your son is starting to improve now. I know a few people have said this already, but I would also really recommend when you get home asking for referral to/appointment with asthma clinic. We had 3 hospitalisations with similar brush off by the consultants that DS was considered too young to diagnose. But asthma nurse said ‘if it looks like and duck and walks like a duck…’ and said it’s the asthma nurses that specialise in the current diagnosis and treatment options. Once he started taking the brown preventative inhaler daily he hasn’t been in since and we have a blue inhaler for if he gets ill and starts wheezing as viral illness seems to be his trigger. They are very confident he’ll grow out of it too

Exactly the same with two of my sons. Eldest is 10 and is much easier to manage now. Other one that suffers is 9 months too. Weirdly enough both have a dairy allergy. 10yo had his adenoids and tonsils out at age 3 and this made a huge difference. Been told they both have very narrow Airways so as soon as they get a minor cough their Airways is irritated, swells slightly but they struggle breathing fully and wheeze. Croup like cough. We got given salbutamol inhaler which helped a but. Game changer was when a sympathetic doctor gave us a bottle of dexamethasone to keep at home. First sign of a cough and we give a small dose for three days in a row. Not had an a and e visit since or any chest infections.
Hope you're OK xx

Ipratropium dose sounds right, and can start working younger. Salbutamol may or may not work, as the receptors in the airways that it works on grow between 6 and 12 months, but if it’s helping there’s loads of scope to temporarily give more. Was he very young when he had bronchiolitis the first time? As if so, then tend to get it again, to some extent, with every bloody cold in the first year of life, which is such a pain.

Sending love ❤️

Son Espasses is where you would be better off. They're world class.

Hope things keep moving in the right direction. If I were you, before your child is released, I’d ask the Spanish consultant through Google translate or translator, what further tests or follow up he/ she would be instructing if you were in Spain - explain that it’s so you can ask for these when home in U.K. Will let you understand what prudent paediatric service would look for as U.K. sometimes behind on such matters sadly.