To take baby to hospital and demand an answer

[notsurewhattodo7]

Hello

Regular user but changed names.

Baby is 7.5 months old and nearly 3 weeks ago, she started coughing, nose running etc. she also cut her 2 bottom teeth around the same time. We started calpol/nurofen, baby Vicks, humidifier, snot suction etc.

Within 3 days her cough was so bad and she was taking less than half of her usual feeds so I took her to GP and they listened to her chest, diagnosed RSV and sent her to paediatrics to be checked over.

Her oxygen levels and temperature were fine at the hospital, they monitored for 6 hours and sent us home with an instruction that if she had dry nappies etc to bring her back up.

A few days later, her chest was vibrating, you could feel it when holding her so DH took her back to GP who started antibiotics as she said the infection had moved lower and was now a chest infection.

5 days of antibiotics, cough went but still wheezy and rattling chest/snotty nose and unhappy.

30th December, called 111 again as she was so unhappy, no calpol or nurofen seemed to help and just a feeling that something isn't right. They sent us back to paeds, they listened to her chest and told us she should never have been given antibiotics and it's still RSV and will improve.

It's now 2nd Jan, still really unhappy and crying/fussy most of the day which is not like her, she's always been such a happy and content baby, snoring, hates being laid flat, sleeping more than usual, chest still sounds like it's rattling and hasn't had a poo in 2 days which isn't like her.

I'm so worried that something is being missed. I hate seeing/hearing her like this. We've got the humidifier running all night, calpol is still being used, she's pale and her eyes have dark rings around them but I feel like if I take her back to GP or hosp or call 111 they are going to think I'm an absolute pest, overprotective first time mum and not listening to them that it's "just RSV".

I'm worried she has pneumonia or something more serious and I can barely sleep at night.

What would you do in this situation?

My 3 month old has just recovered from RSV, going through all the stages you describe. Before they discharged her from hospital the doctor sat me and my partner down and explained that she was likely to go through some quite distressing coughing/wheezing before she recovered, and to only worry if nappies were dry. It was a very stressful few weeks, and she lost weight through difficulty feeding. She is fine now and back to her old bonny self. So it may be all fine. Having said which if you are really worried then go back to A&E.

You are your baby's advocate and as her mum you know something isn't right. There is a new protocol in place where you can ask for a second opinion and they have to let you see someone else.

Please do not worry about what medics think of you. This is about your child. Too many tragic things happen because parents don't want to make a fuss. This is your time to calmly, firmly politely make a fuss.

I would be going back too =( poor little baba!

Better safe than sorry, OP.

Following your instincts as a mum is the only thing you can do here. I'm sure that most doctors would far rather see a healthy child unnecessarily than miss seeing one who needs treatment.

Sounds like the antibiotics caused constipation; go to the GP for some advice but a bit of fruit juice (yes, even for a baby) and clockwise tummy massage helps. GP might offer lactulose to get her moving.

RSV then bronchiolotis takes recovery time unfortunately. It isn't that they are saying "just" anything to you, they are telling you what's wrong and it needs recovery time. If she is getting slowly better then great, if not then she might need an inhaler or more antibiotics, so well worth being seen. Think of it this way, if they told you that she had a broken arm, then that doesn't mean they think it's healed as soon as you go home, but they tell you how to manage the recovery and you go back if anything changes.

The most relevant thing here right at the moment is that she’s being sick after all food and drink. Is she just spitting up a bit or properly vomiting?

I had a baby with RSV, about that same age, be seen in the morning and sent home, at home I felt something wasn't right, went back a few hours later and was sent straight to hospital and put on oxygen. Babies are small, vulnerable, and things can change quickly with them, so don't feel that you're doing something wrong if you take the baby back in.

Once we got out of hospital it was about a month until full recovery. We had nebulized albuterol every few hours for the first week or so, if i remember correctly. He wasn't quite himself for a couple of months really.

Make sure you are keeping the humidifier clean. Sometimes if they are running full blast for a long time they can make the bedroom a bit damp and grow mold in the corners.

Why are you still using calpol? Is she still running a fever?

When our DC were small we had a wonderful GP who would say ‘If mum is worried, I’m worried too’. You know your child best, take her back.

Yes i would categorize the vomiting as a new symptom if it just started the last few days.

Aw OP hugs! My little one was preemie and had a collapsed lung when born so I’m always so worried about him getting sick! We went to hospital twice with RSV when he was 9 months or so and the staff was always so nice to us, they don’t mind at all! They always told us to come back if anything changed or we were too worried! Good luck!

I'd call gje GP to get same day appointment so she can referred directly to assessment unit at hospital (if applicable in your area?) Rather than having to wait in a&e unless you are worried it's too urgent to wait for appointment. When my little boy has RSV they were talking about doing blood tests to check things like infection markers (can't remember what else) if he didn't improve after a certain length of time. There could also be more than the RSV going on, and RSV can be bad enough by itself anyway for a baby/young child. Hope you get answers. I

I would take her back and ask them to actually swab her. I don't think you can have a definitive diagnosis of anything without having labs. There might be multiple things going on. If she's not feeding normally, they should take it seriously.

If she's been on antibiotics, it'll upset her tummy. Start her on probiotic drops (Optibac do ones for babies).

Teething and sickness can really screw things up. It's been back to back for us for months. But if you feel she's not right - not eating, struggling to breathe, it's affecting her sleep, by all means advocate for her. Good luck

Oh and humidifier - if you're in the UK, I've read that it's usually a bad idea to have a humidifier running all night as we have such bad damp/mould problems, which can of course make things worse. If you have trickle vents in your windows, that should be enough.

It took five trips to A&E and a call from them for taking her in too frequently before they found sepsis setting in. They called because after x amount of trips it flags as a safeguarding risk.

Go back if you are worried, always.

That said, ds caught RSV when he was two. Admitted to hospital on Christmas Eve for 17 hours, with a sky high temperature & vomiting, discharged very late that evening.

He was wheezy & snotty, and didn't eat until 3rd Jan. He would take fluids but not food, and was skeletal by the time he finally said he was hungry.

It was horribly stressful. I was frantic. I hope your dd is better soon.

This is very relevant. If her weight and growth are affected by the vomiting, it’s counted as a failure to thrive and warrants intervention urgently. It’s often the difference between a doctor making a specific treatment decision or not.

Take her to be checked. Trust your instinct - very valuable. Best wishes OP, hope she’s better soon xx

RSV can be really nasty and go on for ages and I second what other posters have said about babies deteriorating very quickly. Definitely better to get her seen, I do understand how you feel about not wanting to appear OTT but push that to one side. A good doctor would always rather you come in.

And to all the posters telling you not to be demanding - this is literally the one thing you need to do when you’re advocating for yourself or someone else IF you feel like you’re not being listened to. My experience with the NHS for chronic illness has been terrible, to the point where it affects my condition negatively. Asserting yourself can be a requirement if you want to receive even the most basic level of care / treatment.

Exactly! And you can be assertive without being rude

Oh your poor little baby. I'd definitely ring 111 and stress that she's also being sick now. Oh and it's not 'just' RSV if people tell you that. I used to work on a children's ward and we often had very poorly babies with it. Trust your instinct and don't give a second thought to what anyone thinks of you!
I hope your baby feels better soon

I would go to the GP this morning if open, otherwise go back to paediactrics. You know your baby and she is unhappy and unwell. It doesn't matter what the staff/GP think, you are worried and need help and so does your baby. I would certainly worried if no pooh for 2 days, too.

I think it's relevant

I'd try for GP rather than hosp tho
Or UTC

Hope little one is better soon, but definitely go back, you know your baby the best. Get her seen today OP.

My little boy (8months currently) had RSV and broncholitis back in July, he got progressively worse and we ended up with a 4 days hospital stay.
As mama you know baby best, if you’re not happy definitely back to GP or to hospital don’t feel like a pest! X

Do go back. As medics we were trained thus: "If mother says something isn't right, assume that something definitely isn't right."