Viral induced wheeze? Experiences

[VIW]

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DS, 16 months, has developed a viral induced wheeze. He has a history of bronchiolitis but this time it’s apparently a viral induced wheeze. He has been working really hard to breathe so we came to A&E this morning. They keep giving salbutamol but it only lasts couple of hours before he is struggling again.

I know it’s a common illness so does anyone know what happens next? It seems that since we’ve moved from A&E to the ward, doctors are simply not around so I have no one to ask.

Can’t you ask the nurses? They can contact the Drs. If salbutamol is not enough, maybe he needs steroids.

I know that Lucy Meck's son had it. Look her up on Instagram (z list celeb but nice)

How do you know it's viral? Has he had a chest x-ray? My DS suffered similar the first year of his life. They always said it was viral, but it turned out not to be. It's worth checking if they're just making an assumption.

Nebuliser, with salbutamol I presume, steroids, maybe magnesium sulphate (I think that's right). They kept doing it until they got an blood oxygen saturation happy with.

They do sometimes do a chest x-ray as well.

Most children grow out of viral wheeze apparently.

They do grow out of it. Suddenly you realise it's 8 months since you last had to worry. Until then it is a worry.

I think steroids might be needed too. My dd always had oral steroids and salbutamol in hospital. She'd be poorly with wheeze every couple of months so they started her on singlair. Worked a treat.

Same with my son, first had bronchiolitus at 3 months and just kept on getting it. He really struggled for years but he has pretty much grown out of it now by 7. Still have to odd episode but nowhere near as much when he was younger.
We know when it happens it's always autumn and he will get a cold/virus that goes to his chest and then turns into a chest infection that just doesn't go without antibiotics. He was given salbutamol on prescription and also the brown inhaler (steroids) to take long term to build his lungs up. He very rarely needs it in summer, but I expect come September/October we will need to start it again

My son was like this (he grew out of it at about age 6) - generally he would be put on a nebuliser in hospital and then sent home with oral steroids (liquid) for a few days plus intensive use of an inhaler which we decreased slowly over a week or so (we were given exact instructions by the hospital).

He was given a chest x-ray the first time it happened.

My son has had various episodes with long periods of time between them. They were most severe around 3-4, now he's 6 he seems to be growing out of it though it is associated with higher risk of asthma and they will ask you a lot of questions about wheeze in other circumstances (only ever virus for us). Definitely ask the nurses and if you're at all concerned ask if a doctor can check - kids can deteriorate very rapidly and it can be very severe so trust your instincts. Generally they will give salbutamol either through a nebuliser if oxygen sats are low, through 10 puffs of inhaler if not, as often as needed (usually starting with three lots back to back in A&E, then moving to the ward once they can last an hour), and keep them in till they can go 4h between inhalers. There's a lot they can do if it gets more severe but hopefully it won't and you'll be home in a day or two with instructions to keep him on 4h inhalers. I would guess they probably won't give oral steroids or preventer medication if it's his first episode and not too severe.

You definitely did the right thing going to A&E - GPs often not much help, and if you're worried about your child's breathing they need urgent attention.

Hope he's better soon!

There's a viral induced wheeze support group on Facebook, but a lot of people on there have had very bad experiences (children needing to be ventilated etc) which are very unusual so might freak you out. I know lots of people who have just had occasional hospitalisation with inhalers and observation - it is very common but usually mild.

My ds was diagnosed with viral induced wheeze at 14 months, by then he had already been admitted to hospital three times. He had no allergies but every time he picked up a virus he was so poorly. He has three inhalers back then, green, blue and one I can't remember, and a nebuliser at home. Endless prednisolone. Every year he got older he was less prone, frequency and severity reduced. He's now 12 and has not used an inhaler for four years. The consultant told me he would likely grow out of it and he did

Mine had that! Anytime she had a virus (usually a cold) she’d end up in A&E for nebuliser, oral steroids, then to children’s ward for a few days on oxygen. The monitor clip they have was a “special fairy light” and staying in the ward was “the most exciting camping ever, just imagine the curtains are a tent, isn’t this FUN?”. Good luck & try and sleep.

Sent home with inhaler. We had a 6 month period when she was hospitalised for a few nights about every 6 weeks; but this is unusual and it’s often a one-off.

After about 4 or 5 admissions they prescribed her a preventative steroid inhaler & called it asthma. GP also gave us steroid tablets to be used if absolutely necessary when surgery was closed (eg weekends) before things got bad enough for hospital stays.

Shes now grown out if it, just v occasionally uses her reliever inhaler with a bad cold.