Emergency doctors in the morning or am I just panicking?

[Nevereatyellowsnow]

Ds is 15mo, hes had a cough and runny nose for the last 3 days. Hes teething atm too so thats obviously causing him pain as well. The last 2 nights hes hardly slept which (thankfully!) is not like him at all, he will sleep for between 10 - 30 minutes then wake up screaming. Hes so congested, I've been running the shower and standing in the bathroom with him so he can breathe in some steam several times a day and he has a vaporiser next to his cot but hes still wheezy and distressed. Hes had a mild temp on and off but I've been giving him calpol which seems to help. I'm not sure if its down to his teeth (2 have just cut through and 2 more are almost through) which obviously a doctor can't help with or if its a bad cold or maybe a chest infection. Our gp surgery is closed until tues and I'm not prepared to wait that long if its something that he needs to see a doctor for but don't want to waste an out of hours appointment if its just a cold and teething pain. Any ideas anyone?

Sorry for epic long post - can you tell hes my first baby?!

Hes normally such a happy little boy but the last few days hes been miserable

If he is struggling to breathe/wheezing you should at least call NHS Direct (who I have found v v reassuring on this in the past) but they will probably tell you to go to OOH.

Aside from anything else, they can pop him on a nebuliser and stop the wheezing very quickly.

Hope he's feeling better soon.

wheeing can be helped so easily :) I'd go along to OOH as the others have suggested.

bother. wheezing not wheeing!

It could be something completely different like earache which is a classic issue when they decide not to sleep at all - because it's more painful when the lay down.

I was caught out with this with my dds on several occasions!

Anyway def go to the drs as it's his breathing that's being affected.

I should say, there is a really evil evil cough doing the rounds - my DD2 had it and was v wheezy indeed. In the end I took her to the GP who gave her an inhaler which I really wish I had done sooner as it would have saved her a lot of distress.
Does his cough sound croupy (like a barking dog)?

Thanks everyone, I'll call OOH doctors.

He had a bad cough and wheezing once before and I called nhs direct but they said to leave it a week and see gp if it was no better so I'm not going to bother with them this time. Hes asleep atm (at last!) and his chest sounds clear so not in any immediate danger but I'm glad no one thinks I'm being silly!

SlightlyTubbiHalli it doesn't sound like a bark, more like hes got some phlegm there that he can't quite shift iyswim.

Check the base of his neck and under his ribs. If they dip in when he breathes, then he needs to be seen.

Good news that he's sleeping - he must be quite comfortable to do that. Have you raised the head of his cot? That can help too.

If you get worried, take him in to A&e or a walk in clinic. They will never think a parent bringing in a wheezing child is silly, honestly.

If he is breathing rapidly, or the skin is sucking in between his ribs or around his throat you need to get him to A&E. My ds managed to hide how much he was struggling to breathe when he was around that age. I took him to the doctors and he ran around the surgery so I thought I was wasting their time and then they sent me to A&E! I was rather shocked.

Mumtoone it always shocks me how well DS hides he is poorly! Last time he was in hospital he was bouncing around the cot while on oxygen!

I agree with the advice about taking him to be seen if at all worried. If you have a peads A and E take him there are they are used to dealing with these things x

I'm back from the walk in clinic, hes on antibiotics and an inhaler and the doctor thinks he may have asthma . Thanks so much everyone for the advice, I can't believe I was going to leave him like that overnight, I feel like a terrible mother

Totally agree with what mummytoone and sirzy said about them hiding how ill they are - when the dr checked him his temp was 38.8

A rapid temp and fast breathing is not always a reason to take a child to A&E. DS1 had a temp of 39.3 on Tuesday night and was breathing v fast. We phoned the out of hours service, while also giving him calpol - the doc was v reassuring and said the calpol should bring down his temp and that would regulate his breathing. It did after about 3/4 hr.

It would have been a waste of everyone's time to take him to hospital, not to mention traumatic for him.

nevereatyellowsnow So pleased you have got some help for him, hopefully he feels better soon.

Does he has a history of chest problems? Im surprised they have mentioned asthma otherwise as its rare for it to be mentioned for one so young.

Pickyourbattles You have to judge it from what you are facing. Improving quickly like your son did in most cases wouldn't need A and E but anything that carries on (or has other symptoms) then getting checked over will do no harm at all.

Sirzy I asked the doctor about asthma because quite a few members of my family have it and I'm quite concerned by the fact that every time he has a cold he gets a chesty cough and wheezes (this is the 2nd time hes been on abs for it). He said its too early to diagnose it but he thinks he probably has it.

He seems much better today but still not right, I'm going to take him to our gp in the week to see what he thinks, I think he should have a flu jab but will see what the doctor says.

could he have croup if you say he is phlegmy. try some saline drops up his nose as it reduces the viscosity of the mucus in his nose.

some children get vira asthma after a cold virus...it is really common.