can a baby get bronchiolitis more than once?

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hi my son had bronchiolitis rsv at 9 weeks and was very very poorly, he then went onto have 7 chest infections in 5 months. he is now 15 months old- before christmas i am sure he had bronchiolitis again and took him to the doctors- all the signs and that crackling noise. the doctor told me he was too old for bronchiolitis- he received a course of oral steroids then a week later penicilin. this week he has been at the doctors evey day- with breathing problems, coughing, crackling, fast breathing, he was sick 3 times on wednesday, is pale and wont eat but has started to breastfeed again- today the doctor said he had Classic bronchiolitis crackling at the bottom of his lungs but then said YOU CANT GET bronchiolitis more than once- anyway after a weeks course of oral steroids my son now has a course of amoxociclin again.
i am aware that bronchiolitis is a virus- i thought you could get virus' repeatedly?
i am really confused.
do you think he is receiving the right treatment-i feel a bit fobbed off by the doctors.

to be hinest i think he should have been in hosital at the beginning of the week when his breathing rate was fast and he looked like he had gills when he breathed. the hospital is more thatn 25 minutes away and does not have a goor reputationl.
my son is under a paedatrician for probable asthma due to his inital bronchiolitis at 9 weeks and has 200mg brown inhler morning and night and blue inhaler 2 puffs 4 times a day.

I am in hospital with dd who is only 10 days old. Is she likely likely repeat attacks of this? Or asthma? Been here since Friday and it's just awful.'

Only something like 3% of cases of bronchi end up in hospital and when they are unlucky enough to get it more than once it is generally much less severe.

When Ds had it first we were told because it was so severe (10 days in hopsital, 5 on cpap) chances were he would have future problems. There is various views on it leaving you more Likely to have asthma. We were told if you get it badly twice there is some evidence to suggest they will have asthma and this is certainly the case
With Ds.

Most cases they have it and then no other problems though. Hope you get home soon x

neepsandtatties it is most likely the case that your dd has it badly just because she is so very little. Have read up extensively on this after our experiences! It is horrible being in hospital with a sick baby I know. x

Mine was on a ventilator with it for 8 days, and we were still told for a long time that he was just very unlucky and there wasn't an underlying cause. Actually there was, but thankfully a fixable one. As I said, he hasn't had any problems since then, in spite of catching a lot of colds (I don't know if he has had rsv though as kept him in during flu season!)

We were very unusual though, in most cases if there is an underlying cause I think it is asthma. Often they grow out of this. But as Sirzy says mostly it is a one off.

Tholeon, do you mind me asking what your lo birth defect was and how it was picked up?
I keep getting the "he's just unlucky speech' 20 odd admissions in.

hi there. He has a vascular ring (double aortic arch) his trachea was being squashed by his aorta. They did bronchoscopy, found it, and operated within a few days. He had always been a bit of a noisy breather and I think the combination of that and the severity of his illness/ length of recovery made them do the bronch. It was all horribly traumatic but in retrospect we were lucky that they found it so quickly and dealt with it.

Tracheamalicia (floppy trachea) is a more common problem which can mimic asthma in some cases.

pm me if you want any more info. I remember you are a doctor though so I'm sure you can hold your own with the ones that look after your DS!

Sorry should of said had a vascular ring, not has!

Thanks Tholeon, honestly the doctor thing counts for nothing with your own kids. Any semblance of logic or rationality goes out of the window, especially when you are sleep deprived and in hospital for the umpteenth time. Other doctors don't really like treating other medics I think so it can mean that you can end up getting worse treatment sometimes.
Glad your lo is well now.

The main risk factor for getting hospitalised with bronchiolitis is being born prematurely (due to lungs not having had a chance to mature). Breast feeding is protective in that it both confers immunity and exercises the lungs.

I saw the word bronchiolitis and it made me feel cold my DS had this at about 6 months and then various resp probs. But theyalways said he would grow out of it. At the time I could not imagine being free of the wheezy, crackling sounds and trips to A&E

But he really did grow out of it and is so hardy now. I just wanted to say that really.
X

thank you for all the responses. i too often think my son has something else which is being overlooked- he has had the cf test which came back not positive/clear. when he was born he had a heary murmur and strange spots-at 5 weeks he had breathing problems bronchiolitis not rsv, at 9 weeks he was rsv positive and in for 10 days- then had 7 chest infections, febrile convulsion, 2 chest infections this month and has been anaemic since 9 weeks old. as i siad erlier really i have coped myslef with his breathing problems and many a time have sat and wondered if i should ring for an ambulance. he is breastfed, was a good eater but recently dropped from near 91st to 50 th centile.
maybe it is just small pipes-he is being treated as probable asthma but i just have a bad niggle!

You have probably said and I have missed but if he treated by a pediatrican? If so when you have your next appointment take a list of your worries. If not push for an appointment

Ratherbe, that is very reassuring and thanks for sharing that. So good to hear

hiya. thought you might like to have a look at a website called patient.co.uk. it has great information on bronchiolitis. Apparently they can get a post bronchiolitic wheeze for years afterwards that can be mistaken for asthma. My 9mth old has now got if for the second time in 3 weeks :(

I hope you don't mind me asking but I saw your message on here about your son, and all his illnesses. It sounds exactly like my 6 month old baby boy. I just wondered if he ever recovered from it all or did they find an underlying problem. I am going out of my mind with worry. My son caught bronchilities at 9 weeks, then again at 14 weeks, then again at 17 weeks (of which he was hospitilised for 12 days with oxygen and tube fed). He is just under 6 months now but has had another 2 chest infections, and is always wheezy and congested. Any help would be so much appreciated

Has he been tried with inhalers?

With my DS he had a very similar history and was hospitalised with chest problems 5 times before 1 and inahlers made a massive difference.

With so many problems i would be pushing for a referral to a paediatric specialist.

He has an appt with paediatric team next week, following his stay in hospital. He is on inhalers now, and they do seem to help if we give him at least 5 puffs. Everyone keeps telling us it is 3rd child syndrome, and that he is picking up all the illnesses the others have, but I am just not convinced. I hope they are right, but next week I am going to insist they do some tests on him. I hope they don't find anything, but either way I need to know

I would talk about a preventer inhaler rather than just a reliever which is what I assume it is if taking 5 puffs.

Sirzy, did you son just grow out of it or did they find something wrong?

He has developed asthma (was diagnosed at 1 but showing signs much earlier) - wether the asthma caused his bronchi problems, the bronchi caused his asthma problems or they are unrelated we will never know!