To take my baby to a&e

[waryandbored]

I probably am but my anxiety is sky high at the moment for a number of reasons and I am panicking a little. I am getting help for my anxiety and have my first appointment on Tuesday as it’s got a little out of control but that’s another story.
8 month old had a swimming lesson yesterday. The teacher ‘swims’ the babies to us and dips them underwater slightly, for up to 3 seconds. Yesterday, DD seemed to try and take an intake of breath underwater. The teacher was sorry, not too worried. DD was a bit shaken by it but not overly upset.
Overnight she has woken up 6 times and got progressively more congested and begun to cough a little. Happy in herself just snotty!
I have convinced myself that this is because of the water she inhaled and she needs to go to a&e. DH says I am overreacting and it’s just a cold. Probably is.
Any (hopefully reassuring) thoughts?

Sounds like a cold to me. If she were ill, you would know about it.

Take her. It's probably nothing, but there is a tiny possibility she could have inhaled a bit of water and this has irritated her. Better to check.

Gently OP you are over reacting. It’s really common for babies to get a bit stuffy, snotty etc after going swimming- it’s the chlorine in the pool, it is a respiratory irritant. Totally normal.

It sounds like she’s just got a cold. Does she have a temp? Struggling to take breath? Noisy breathing? Sleepy?

Nobody on here can tell you if you should take your baby to A&E because we can’t see her.

I struggled terribly with anxiety with my first. It was crippling. I normally asked my mum or sister to help me make the right decision. Do you have any family or friends that could help you decide?

No need to go to A&E with snuffles and a mild cough.

Op, it’s very likely nothing, and the fact she’s snotty would suggest it’s probably just a cold, but why not call 111 and get an assessment as she is coughing after a possible inhalation of water. Better safe than sorry as they say, and it will hopefully help address your anxiety about it too.

Would a GP appointment via 111 not be more helpful and reassure you? I would imagine you would have a very long wait in A and E. Is she behaving normally? Eating and drinking?

She’s got a cold. She’s well in herself. She’s just a bit snotty.

she’s not had an accident.
it’s not an emergency.

get some snufflebabe.

If it's anything like our children's A&E and you go with a minor thing, you'll be there for 4 or 5 hours on a plastic chair and baby will certainly have picked up a cold or similar by the time you leave!

Taking your child to A&E exposes them to other unwell children.

It also possibly will lead to unnecessary painful and distressing tests that cause them harm and pain.

If this is necessary then it is necessary.

If it is because of your anxiety, then this is causing your child harm to make you temporarily feel better.

No one gets this right every time - if it's just once or twice that you do this, it's okay.

If you're taking them weekly for medical assessment then this could indicate a bigger problem.

No I wouldn't do anything as she sounds ok..you have another adult at home to ask for options and to also monitor in case things change.
If you still think that she needs to be seen then I would call 111 for advice. If they think she needs to be seen then they might book an out of hours doctors appointment for you which would be better than going to A&E (where you will be around very poorly people and might be triaged as low priority so there 4+ hours).

I would call 111 for advice - they may well make you an appointment with an out of hours GP. A&E is for emergencies, which this isn't.

Have you been to A&E recently?

Quite possibly the worst advice, even if she has inhaled a bit of water and is "irritated" - thats not something that warrants A&E

By all means take her to A&E if you are worried. However, it sounds like a cold and she is happy in herself. Sick babies are not happy in themselves.

Ask yourself this. If the NHS was not free at the point of delivery, would your concerns warrant you spending as follows: £250 for triage and initial consultation, £150 "chest XRay, £200 fee for a nurse to monitor vitals for 90 minutes prior to discharge. If you think it warrants a transfer of £600 from your personal bank account, go straight to A&E and make an equivalent donation to your local hospital when they have put your mind at rest.

Think about it.

Did she swallow any water?

it sounds similar to the cold I've got - I haven't been anywhere near a swimming pool, but I've been out on holiday. I've been congested today and coughing.

Suspected water in the lungs needs to be checked, especially in a baby. I'd take her and I wasn't an overly anxious parent.

ALL good parents have a level of anxiety about their children.

I’m surprised at these comments. Yes OP, I think you should get her checked. If she’s aspirated water and started coughing within 12-24 hours she should absolutely be checked by a medical professional. She could have developing pneumonia. Better to be safe, she’s tiny.

I am sure my children swallowed plenty of water when we did baby swimming lessons (I am assuming this is water babies) and both are fine. Unless they were held underwater for a prolonged period then I think the last two comments are a bit over the top.

There's a difference between swallowing water and breathing it in, aspiration.

Especially if coughing and mucus follows aspirated water. She's a baby.

I would do some research on secondary drowning and then decide

https://www.motherandbaby.com/family-life/parenting/all-you-need-to-know-about-secondary-and-dry-drowning/All you need to know about secondary/dry drowning

The op hasn't noted those symptoms.

She will be reassured then