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sickly child...need advice

10 replies

haven · 30/09/2005 23:28

DS has been the topic here several times before. He is now 2.5 and history of asthma. He has been hospitalized several times for upper and lower respiratory track infections. All including the flu, RSV, pneumonia....heck he even came down with MONO one time. The last time he was admitted was with in the week. He started off with a cold and within the week he had full blown pneumonia, and was admitted for respiratory distress.

This can not be right. I understand that children get sick. But, when someone with a runny nose walks into a room I feel sick because I know that DS will end up very very ill. PED. keeps telling me that DS will grow out of this (premie) but, I have yet to see any real progress. He doesn't stay congested, but a cold is the devil. The babysitter I think quit, and I don't know whether or not to stay in school. I had to miss several days for this bout and it isn't even flu season yet.
They have never ran any test for immune problems they simple say that he has asthma. He suffers from multiple environmental allergies as well. Only problems from the asthma diagnosis is that it falls a little short from the symptom guide line. It doesn't get worse at night at all. His wheeze is not predictable, niether are his allergies.

For instance, this bout of pneumonia showed no signs of asthma. He was is respiratory distress but not like previous situations. He has yet to wheeze. There just is no real air passing through the left lung. If anyone has gone through this sort of thing would you please please tell me what to do.

I thought about taking him to see a pulmonary specialist, his pediatrician hasn't mentioned it, but hell he hasn't much except prescribe medication.

OP posts:
auntymandy · 01/10/2005 00:10

Sorry I cant really help you but didnt like the fact no one had replied. I think I would be looking for a second opinion.
He clearly needs help sorting this out, you cant go on like this. He may grow out of it but when. You need some help and answers. Go and chat to your GP or HV

mymama · 01/10/2005 09:44

Don't really have any advice either but understand your frustration at wanting to find the answer. I hope somebody comes along soon to help you.

Lonelymum · 01/10/2005 09:51

I cannot really advise, but I can tell you that one of my children has asthma - quite mild at the moment - and when he catches colds, which he does more frequently than his siblings, they last a long time. A cold that might go on for two weeks with one of the others, he will have for two months, well the coughing part anyway. Obviously this is nothing like on the same scale as you are describing, but I do think asthma makes respiratory illnesses much worse. Also, the younger the child, the worse the respiratory infection - that is what it seems like to a layman like myself.

foxinsocks · 01/10/2005 10:05

are you in the UK?

I think it would be worthwhile seeing a pulmonary specialist (make sure it's one that sees children).

The problem is he may well grow out of it but there can't be any harm in checking. I saw a pulmonary specialist when I was an adult and he was fantastic - I have to say, the children in his care were very very poorly children but I'm sure they would see your ds (have you thought about getting a private appointment?).

Is he in contact with lots of other children? It may be that he keeps picking up bugs all the time.

potty1 · 01/10/2005 12:19

Haven - has he had pnuemonia vaccine/flu jab/RSV jab. All worthwhile thinking about.

Agree about seeing a pulmonary specialist, poor thing.

geekgrrl · 01/10/2005 12:36

hiya haven,

my dd had immune issues and was on full-strength antibiotics for a year from age 2-3 or so. Every time we took her off the antibiotics she's develop all sorts of nasty bacterial infections, usually several at once.

No air passing through the lung sounds like a collapsed lung to me (we've had a few of those) - something quite serious that the hospital should pick up, really. It can happen with repeated bad infections.

Have you ever heard of something called IGa deficiency? It's when the body doesn't produce a certain immune substance - IGa is the one that protects the airways. It can be quite common in toddlers but most outgrow it.

If it's any consolation, it took us a year to get a referral to an immunologist. My dd has Down's syndrome and it's common for kids with DS to have a poor immune system, but her paediatrician wouldn't test for immune deficiencies either. Thankfully she outgrew it all at 3.5 years old.

Good luck.

haven · 02/10/2005 14:32

thank you for all the input...

He has had vaccines for the RSV, the Flu as well...But he ended up with them both that season...

He did go in for a check up yesterday...He still has the pneumonia, but now the croup is wanting to settle in the upper respiratory area...BUT good news...the pediatrician he saw today is referring him to see a specialist.

I did a lot more reading and I did run into a few areas where they said repeated bouts of pneumonia can be caused by asthma. But, I guess I just get so damned scared sometimes when I think of how much worse it can get and what the outcome could be if we don't get it under better control than what we have here.

He is still so sick...this morning the wheeze had arose from the dead. The retractions or still quite evident....but, he still had energy to fuss and hollar. Problem is with this is, there is absolutely nothing that the doctors could do for him now, atleast nothing that we are doing anyway but it can get ugly so quickly.

What do you think about a portable Pulse Ox meter...my husband and I were thinking of purchasing one....sometimes we think he is worse off than he is and other times he doesn't appear to be as bad off as he is....my DH says they are do expensive but, i think it is worth the debt.

OP posts:
haven · 02/10/2005 14:32

wow, when i get started with my children I seem to be breathless myself. LOL

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jabberwocky · 02/10/2005 14:57

I agree with geekgrrl about checking into IGa deficiency. Especially since he got RSV after receiving the vaccine. Maybe check with an immunologist since he has issues fighting off exposure to colds, etc.

haven · 02/10/2005 21:44

o.k. question about this defiency...can you have allergies and still have defiency. I am confused about that because allergies are from over active immune system....? I would thing yes, but I really haven't got a clue...

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