Baby in hospital on holiday, hand hold needed

I would say that he's in a far, far better place in a Mallorcan hospital than in the UK. Son Espases in Palma is the best, but any hospital there is a very safe place to be.

A friends DC was born in Mallorca and had health problems and the care was far in excess of anything in the UK. They take no risks and are shit hot on anything paediatric (adult care too, but...).

I don't know about how you go about obtaining that level of care in the UK though. Maybe a private referral?

Big hugs and hope you’re all home soon.

My boy was hospitalised for pneumonia at 2 weeks old and had a lingering cough for several months after. As the cough never cleared, we were offered the following tests by the nhs:

• sweat test for cystic fibrosis (not all types are tested on skin prick)
• blood tests for autoimmune issues
• chest xray for any abnormalities
• ecg for heart conditions
• urine sample (think this was standard rather than specific for his symptoms)

All came back normal - bugs just seem to hit him harder. Perhaps some of these you could ask your gp about and fingers crossed nothing more serious going on x

Wishing him a speedy recovery OP, it sounds awful but I am sure the hospital will be fine.

My son was in NICU for oxygen when he was born and I remember having to take him to the hospital a few times when he was a baby for respiratory related illnesses. A normal cold always seemed to go on his chest and he ended up having the brown and blue inhalers. Winters were AWFUL.

He is 7 now and he is fine, he gets the odd cold but it is nothing like when he was a baby/toddler. It is awful , but most do seem to grow out of it as they get older. He no longer has/or needs the inhalers.

So sorry OP. Only silver lining I can see if potentially Spanish healthcare has their shit together better than us and actually gets to the bottom of it?!

Will be thinking of your ds

This sounds very stressful, I hope he recovers quickly and you are all reunited soon.

My son had repeat infections, inc chest infections as a baby/young toddler, he sounded similar to your son in that he seemed to get quite poorly very quickly (with very high temps, off food, lost weight and dropped centiles due to not eating enough when he was poorly, persistent coughs in-between illnesses, etc).

He was referred to general pediatrics due to this, who did a chest x-ray, and various tests, including bloods for iron, and immune system ones. His iron was very low and they established he also needed the pneumococcal vaccine repeated.

The x-ray showed a bit of shadowing on his lungs, likely to be from the infections. He also had a persistent night time cough, which also got worse when he was running or if it was cold and he was given the blue inhaler initially, and later also needed the brown inhaler for a year or two. He no longer needs that now he's 4 and a half, as some children so grow out of the wheezing/cough symptoms/
(The pediatrician called it pre-school asthma).

When you are home I would go back to your GP and ask them to do blood tests, and also see if they would consider referring to pediatrics again.

Hope he gets better quickly.

If it’s any comfort, Spanish healthcare -
especially for children - is very good. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery for your little one.

💐 hopefully hes on the mend soon....
Your intuition sounds good and I would also suspect something underlying.

This won't help you now...But once back in the uk get your gp to give you an open referal - do some research and find a great private pediatrician.
Once you get to the bottom you can switch back to nhs...

It isnt cheap but it isnt as much as you think.
Might be as little as £200-400, max £1k should get you answers.
For me it would be worth it and i'd rather skip a holiday abroad and know i did what I could to get to the bottom of it.

Dd has the exact same start in life @glassofbrancott although no hospital admission abroad.

I knew in my heart she was asthmatic, she has always had silent asthma as do I so I knew it when I saw it. She was diagnosed officially at 2, keep pushing for the referral. Don't let your GP fob you off. Tell them they are failing in their duty of care, that if the refuse a referral you will report it as a safeguarding concern.

Sending love & hugs but be prepared for one of you to remain with him in Spain for a few days because I cannot see any airline allowing him to fly when his breathing is that brittle.

My son is 2:8, and is on the brown inhaler after three A&E admissions for rib sucking. Is he on the brown or blue inhaler?

We were seen by the asthma nurse at the GP rather than by a doctor.

If he hasn't had them before, please be aware that the steroids will really mess with his behaviour the next 2-4 days - my son was biting and hitting like he never does when he had them. And very sensitive and emotional too.

If it's allergies, it could be something that has a different season to a plant in the UK, but it's worth considering all kinds of air pollution like traffic, strong scents and fireplaces/open cooking etc

Good luck x

My daughter was in hospital numerous times from aged 11 days to 6 years with viral induced wheeze/bronchiolitis. Every admission for around 4 days whilst her SATs stabilised. I was beside myself as we lost my nephew to asthma. We did have both blue and brown inhalers but not sure how much they prevented. I was convinced she would have asthma, but she's now 12 and no asthma at all. It's truly awful, especially these early years where they pick up everything

My daughter had bronchiolitis as a baby and was hospitalised with it once, we were offered a daily preventative inhaler, ask about that when you get back home. Hope your baby is ok and soon back with you xx

Hope he on the mend quickly.

DS2 was like this as a baby and toddler. They kept telling us he would grow out of it - and he has it took til he was 11/12 ish though.

No advice OP but wishing your boy a speedy recovery xx

I feel your pain. My third baby had four hospital admissions with his chest in his first year. Any little virus would set him off. He was in for 9 days with RSV it was so grim. I had to stay with him for every second as he’s breastfed.
his second year of life has been much less dramatic. Plenty of cough and wheeze. -just less severe. So hopefully this will happen to your baby too.
mine was investigated for underlying conditions, he had bloods chest x ray and cardiac echo, but my boy ended up losing weight with all the illness so it was felt that investigation was warranted.
Hope your baby picks up soon, poor guy and poor you the worry and anxiety when a child is sick is something else.

So sorry to hear this op. We had a similar experience with our dd - she was eventually diagnosed with double aortic arch (which compressed her windpipe and caused breathing issues with any cold type virus). It’s very rare. Worth asking for investigations.

Hope he’s soon back with you OP. DD when little would get croup often, was awful watching her trying to breathe. We would spend time in the bathroom with the shower going to raise the humidity as it was dry air that made her worse.

She grew out of it, but I remember how worried I was with it all. Sending hugs.

I have been in your shoes!
my youngest boy had repeated hospital admissions for bronchitis, chest infections etc from being a baby and always resorted to oxygen, nebs, steroids and antibiotics and later inhalers.
his last hospital admissions was in Covid when he was nearly 3. Some winters we were in every 3 weeks. He eventually grew out of it but even now at 9 every cough or cold goes on his chest.

we also had a hospital admission abroad when he was about 18 months.
it was really scary but they were good.
he had an xray and nebs and an antibiotic injection.
we were going home the following day and the dr agreed we could fly home as long as we went straight to a and e when we landed.
try not to worry (I know it’s easy for me to say!)

if you are on Facebook there’s a really good page called viral induced wheeze support parents network. They were a godsend when I was in the trenches.

Sending hugs, sounds very stressful
the Spanish docs will be great I’m sure

if possible once home I’d be paying for a private paediatrician if at all possible

unfortunately, though they are usually great with kids I think the nhs are masters at fobbing people off unless symptoms present a certain way. It may be some kind of intolerance but he may well grow out of it. I certainly know a few babies who were sickly when very small but are now totally healthy

Here’s the biggest hand hold possible OP.
Hope the other posters have reassured you that the hospital is a good one.
Hope he’s out soon.

Keeping Everything crossed for you,
perhaps they will do more tests there than you’re even getting in the UK.
I had a sick baby a few years for completely different reasons (urinary tract) and chose holiday in Majorca as I’d heard the hospital you mentioned was a good one and I’d done my research at the time for a suitable place should we need it so I hope that give a small semblance of reassurance he will hopefully get good treatment.
I have chosen to only go abroad to France or Spain so far, as I trust their healthcare when it comes to littles (and the short distance back home!).

Hand hold OP, it’s so awful having a little one in hospital. Spanish hospitals have a good reputation and they’ll be taking good care of him. I hope he makes a speedy recovery. Please look after yourself as well 🌺

So sorry to read this. If it’s any consolation (I know it won’t be), my DS was hospitalised on a regular basis from the mildest of colds. I found him foaming at the mouth last winter and he’s almost 7. The doctors know what they’re doing, your baby is in the best hands possible, get some sleep. Sending prayers for quick recovery your son’s way. X

Really sorry to hear this where are you? I’m nearby at the moment if you need anything? (Cala mandia)

So sorry to hear about your baby. I know it can be very very scary but doctors are so experienced at dealing with this. Please try and remember that he will be in good hands and hopefully with a bit of treatment will be on the mend soon.

My little boy had episodes of bronchiolitis like this. Was hospitalised repeatedly in the early years. Needed oxygen at birth but I don’t think that’s the reason really - it seems to be family tendency (his cousins get it badly too). He is four now and hasn’t been in hospital with it for over a year. Has an inhaler daily but I don’t think he has asthma, his bronchioles just seem to be bigger and his lungs and immune system cope better.

My love. I cant help but I feel so sorry for you all. Good luck xxx