Can you talk to me about your experience with bronchiolitis?

[LittlestOne1]

My 8 month old son has been diagnosed with this on Monday at the children's hospital. He started with a temp which reached over 39 and was audibly wheezing so took him in early Monday morning.

He's been discharged and is currently being seen by the children's nurse team at home daily until Friday.

I am obviously reassured that they are coming and checking on him and am grateful for that but I'm still so worried about him. Even the nurse who visited today was quite surprised with how audible his breathing / wheezing was and said it could go either way and they are coming back again today to check him later. At the moment his oxygen levels are okay but he has a slightly elevated heart rate.

They seem mainly concerned with hydration, he is having wet nappies although certainly not as many as he was and wants his milk but will throw it up if it's more than an oz or so.

I'm just freaking out that he's going to end up in hospital for his breathing and they keep telling me it could get even worse yet as it probably hasn't peaked yet.

He seems so poorly and I feel so useless

If yours was admitted, were they not having anything to eat or drink or did they admit them anyway regardless?

Hello, sorry your DS is unwell, it’s good that they are coming to visit very regularly though.

My DD had it twice around 11-14 months. The first time she wasn’t admitted. The second time she was admitted, I think it was due to her oxygen levels which were very low, even when she was hooked up to oxygen they dropped very low when she was asleep. She had been throwing up but as I recall it was the oxygen and breathing they focused on. Have they measured oxygen levels?

After that we were given a salamol inhaler with a spacer to use at home any time she got very coughy or wheezy. That helped a lot. And we were told what to watch out for ie sucking in under the ribs and at the base of the throat.

My ds had this at 8 months and spent the night in hospital for a very high temperature, increased breathing and heart rate. He also wasn't eating or drinking and they were considering whether he needed an ng tube or iv fluids. Thankfully they offered him the highest sugar yoghurt he had ever had and that did the job!

If you are worried in-between nurse visits then take him to a and e. Have a Google of signs of respiratory distress in babies. The lullaby trust also has a good app for checking if baby is unwell.

My DD was only 12 days old (after being born at 36 weeks) when she caught it. We had to ring an ambulance at 3am when she couldn't feed and went blue around her mouth/eyes. She was admitted straight to the childrens ward (SCBU wouldn't have her back as she'd been discharged) and was given oxygen via a headbox and tube fed for 5 days. It was really scary at the time but she soon picked up again - the worst part for me was having to express milk! It was also hard going as she'd dropped from 6lb 2 at birth to 5lb 1 and it was a long old road to get her weight back up in the weeks after as she got really tired when feeding.

Hope your little one is feeling much better soon

Hi
I haven't had a child admitted with bronchiolitis but I am a paediatric nurse and have looked after plenty of babies with this.

Usually the illness peaks or is at its worst around 3-5 days. The wheeze and increased work of breathing can take up to 7 to 10 days to resolve. The cough can then last up to four weeks.

With bronchiolitis we focus on two main things. Their work of breathing/ oxygen saturdation and their hydration. It is a virus, so there is no direct treatment, it just has to run its course with supportive cares.

The nurses sound like they are assessing regularly. When you look at work of breathing, you have to look at the baby as a whole. Are they awake, alert, interacting or are they sleepy, reduced movement, starting to get tired etc.
If breathing gets a lot faster, sucking in on the ribs or abdomen gets deeper, any gasping, flaring of the nostrils, tracheal tug, stridor, reduced oxygenation are all signs that breathing is deteriorating and you should ask for him to be seen sooner.

With bronchiolitis because they are breathing faster, when they take a full feed their diaphragm pushes down on their stomach and can cause them to vomit. Babies with bronchiolitis can become dehydrated quickly if this keeps happening. Usually we recommend small feeds often, so that the stomach isn't over full and to reduce the likelihood of vomiting. You want to make sure that he is taking up to 50% of his usual intake and still having regular wet nappies,
If he has no wet nappy for longer than 12 hours then contact the team to be reviewed.

I hope that helps, sounds like your doing a great job. It's so hard when they are sick.
I always say the child's mother knows best and if you think he is deteriorating, then take him to be seen. I would much rather nurse a baby that should of stayed at home, than to have to nurse a baby who has deteriorated because the Mother was worrying that she had presented to the hospital too many times. If in doubt always get them checked.

Thank you.

There is a bit of sucking in which the nurse agreed was there but as his oxygen levels were okay she said she wasn't concerned at this moment in time but they are coming back later on to check him again.

He just looks so full of it. The cough is awful, his nose is streaming and his eyes are so red and gunky.

@nameisnotimportant

Hi I haven't had a child admitted with bronchiolitis but I am a paediatric nurse and have looked after plenty of babies with this.

Usually the illness peaks or is at its worst around 3-5 days. The wheeze and increased work of breathing can take up to 7 to 10 days to resolve. The cough can then last up to four weeks.

With bronchiolitis we focus on two main things. Their work of breathing/ oxygen saturdation and their hydration. It is a virus, so there is no direct treatment, it just has to run its course with supportive cares.

The nurses sound like they are assessing regularly. When you look at work of breathing, you have to look at the baby as a whole. Are they awake, alert, interacting or are they sleepy, reduced movement, starting to get tired etc.
If breathing gets a lot faster, sucking in on the ribs or abdomen gets deeper, any gasping, flaring of the nostrils, tracheal tug, stridor, reduced oxygenation are all signs that breathing is deteriorating and you should ask for him to be seen sooner.

With bronchiolitis because they are breathing faster, when they take a full feed their diaphragm pushes down on their stomach and can cause them to vomit. Babies with bronchiolitis can become dehydrated quickly if this keeps happening. Usually we recommend small feeds often, so that the stomach isn't over full and to reduce the likelihood of vomiting. You want to make sure that he is taking up to 50% of his usual intake and still having regular wet nappies,
If he has no wet nappy for longer than 12 hours then contact the team to be reviewed.

I hope that helps, sounds like your doing a great job. It's so hard when they are sick.
I always say the child's mother knows best and if you think he is deteriorating, then take him to be seen. I would much rather nurse a baby that should of stayed at home, than to have to nurse a baby who has deteriorated because the Mother was worrying that she had presented to the hospital too many times. If in doubt always get them checked.

Thank you that's really helpful.

One of my biggest worries is I just don't really know what I'm looking for. Things like "sucking in at the base of his neck" I was certain he was doing this but the nurse doesn't seem concerned. So I worry I won't know properly when something is wrong if that makes sense.

My DS had it when he was 16m. Spent the night in hospital as he was struggling to breath, he had sucked in tummy breathing, wheezing and high temperature but his heart rate and oxygen levels were good. He was given a shot of steroids and a blue inhaler and once his breathing was stabilised (6hrs obs) we were ok to go home. Continued the inhaler at home for 4 days and once the viral infection cleared, he was back to normal, no more inhaler or wheezing. It lasted around 10 days all in, 4th day was our trip to A&E. Hope your little one gets better soon!

Thanks, an inhaler was suggested by one nurse at first but then was told by someone else there is no evidence they help and they are no longer prescribing them for this.

I am sure they are doing everything they can. It's just horrible hearing your baby like this. I appreciate medically/stats wise he may not be really struggling to breathe but he certainly sounds it to me and it's really upsetting

@LittlestOne1
The biggest indicator is how he is overall.
If he is sucking in now and fast breathing but is awake, alert, trying to play, feeding, passing urine etc then he sounds stable. It sounds like he was like this when the nurse last saw him.
If it then gets worse with even faster breathing/sucking or blue lips and then is a bit drowsy or limp/floppy, not wanting to interact or play or feed, not passing urine etc, then he should be reviewed quickly.

It’s horrid. My eldest never had any noticeable issues and didn’t really know what it was but my second had a hospital stint. Poor love also had a secondary infection so was on antiobiotics for 2 weeks which made her vomit multiple times every day. It really was bloody miserable. Hopefully you’re little one will be better soon and you can take some relief from the home visits. When we were in the wards were full of babies with it so it must be really common.

[quote nameisnotimportant]@LittlestOne1
The biggest indicator is how he is overall.
If he is sucking in now and fast breathing but is awake, alert, trying to play, feeding, passing urine etc then he sounds stable. It sounds like he was like this when the nurse last saw him.
If it then gets worse with even faster breathing/sucking or blue lips and then is a bit drowsy or limp/floppy, not wanting to interact or play or feed, not passing urine etc, then he should be reviewed quickly.
[/quote]
Thank you really appreciate that