AIBU to wonder about the decision made by this out of hours doctor re my son?

[working9while5]

Sorry I guess this should be in Child Health etc but it is Sunday and I am wondering what to do. Ds is 23 months this week, he is generally hale and hearty but he has suddenly developed a very severe sounding cough, seemed last night to be really struggling to breathe, couldn't sleep etc. Dh took him to the doctor today who said chest was clear but his ears were swollen and infected, he looked unwell, his glands were swollen, he had white spots on his tongue/th he had a temp of 38 and that from the description of the cough it could be croup. Ds's cough/breathing hasn't been as bad today as last night when really I was a bit worried by it..

I am not a GP, yes, I know that.. but he seems to really be struggling/ill and I am nervous as I myself am a moderately severe asthmatic and I am finding it really hard to watch him struggle with his breathing at night. I was surprised that there was no advice given really, just Calpol to lower temperature... is this normal? AIBU to be concerned, is this pfbitis? Thanks...

If the coughing is more sever at night then it probably is croup.
Best thing I found to help was steaming.
I hope tonight is better

You're his mum. If you don't think it is normal, then call NHS direct and they'll more than likely ask you to take him to your local walk in center/A&E to be checked over again. They won't laugh at you for being worried about your son. A GP's is human, they can and do make mistakes so if you aren't happy with his advice, see someone else. Hope he feels better soon x

Thanks.

Rmm, how do you do steaming with a toddler? Any tips?

I think coughs always worsen at night because of laying down.

Can you prop him up with some cushions so he's not laying so flat?

If you think he is struggling with his breathing take him to A&E. Much better to err on the side of caution. IMO.

It's croup season so sounds likely.

the other thing that helps as my DD had bad croup at about 18months and what we were told is strip him down to nappy and go outside for a few minutes the cold air helps, it did help a lot

I agree it sounds like croup if it does not improve they may give very short 3 day course of steroids it is not infection antibiotics worse than useless

Asthma is virtually unheard of in kids under 2 because I thought she might have been having an attack, she has had 2 first a 11 months then again at 18, and just like DS she is a very healthy child normally. I think Dr was right just monitor and make sure his bedroom is on cool side

the cold therapy was told us by paramedic and NHS direct

Run a hot bath and put a couple of drops of olbas oil into it and play in the bathroom with them for a while, always do this when DD has a cold. We fill the sink with water and bath toys and have a little play for half an hour whilst the steam off the bath gets to work.

Croup can be very serious as in some cases can stop them breathing - keep a close eye on him at night and take him straight to A&E/call an ambulance if he struggles to breathe.

I should have said not necessarily an infection

Ignore my suggestion of steaming then DD has never had croup so wasn't aware of that although I did always think it'd help for some reason!

Cold therapy sounds like something from the Victorian ages ! Hope he's feeling better soon OP.

If your child ever has an attack of croup - cold air does wonders. Needing steroid treatment is very common too, if you have a spacer and ventolin, give a couple of blasts of that. If not, get to A&E. Finding it uncomfortable to breathe can be very distressing and it is not something to muck about with.

My DS has been in intensive care twice due to respiratory problems that started with croup. Now i'm getting better at spotting respiratory problems and the last time he was just on a normal ward with 'wheeze'.

Taking my ds into a steamy bathroom for 10 mins did help when he had croup. Only 1% of cases require hospitilisation so try not to panic. Hope he gets better soon.

Thanks. We will go to A and E if he is as bad tonight I think, I was hospitalised once for 14 days at this time of year/was in ICU because of my asthma and know too well it's not something to mess about with. I would rather be safe than sorry and there is too strong a history of respiratory trouble on both sides of the family. Dh was kept in isolation in an oxygen tent for 6 weeks at ds's age with croup, when he came home he hadn't seen his mum or dad and didn't know who they were! No steam, cold air, I feel much better equipped now! Thanks!

NHS website info on croup states "Although there is a lack of scientific evidence to support its use, it may be of benefit to supervise your child while they breathe in steam from a hot bath or shower in a closed room.".

My son had croup every winter for about five years, eventually he grew out of it. Apart from the baths, my method for steaming was a little untraditional - I used to boil the kettle in his room repeatedly, just to moisten up the air in the room. It seemed to help a little. I think the "do not steam" refers to the method of breathing in from a bowl of hot water, towel draped over your head and bowl.

Croup is very scary.

Oh and the phrase "lack of scientific evidence" - that doesn't mean it doesn't work, just that there's been no actual experiment/study conducted.

Which is true of a lot of treatments, as it would be unethical to withhold treatment from some individuals in order to provide a control group against which the individuals who had been treated could be compared.

I agree that you should go straight back to A&E if it gets even a little worse tonight.

It's interesting to read all this about steaming though. When ds1 has croup at about a year old, we were told to use steam by the doctor at A&E. Although that was ten years ago so I appreciate advice may have changed.

We just took him into the bathroom for a little while with the hot shower on, so there was no risk of scalding and it helped immensely.

Is it just the head over a bowl of hot water that is not recommended or is it steam of any kind?

If your child is struggling to breathe then call an ambulance. They can assess your child, give oxygen and safely take him to hospital if needs be. If it's croup he can be treated with steroid medicine, if it's wheeze he can be treated with inhalers, if it's infection he can be treated with antibiotics. No-one replying to this thread has seen this child so none of us can say what is wrong with him or give treatment advice and breathing problems can be due to any number of things and should be taken seriously.
Steam treatment doesn't really work with croup although it can loosen secretions and make the child seem a bit better for a short period. Ventolin does NOT work in croup as croup is an upper airway problem and ventolin works on the smooth muscles of the lower airways, may make things worse as scaring a child who is not used to it with an inhaler and spacer may make the child panic and make things worse. Apart from this, none of us know if the child even has croup!

If your child is struggling to breathe call an ambulance.
(I am a paediatric intensive care doctor)