Bronchiolitis advice needed - 3 week old, had it since few days old :-(

[MummyOnTour]

Hi all, my son is 3 weeks old and has had bronchiolitis since he was a few days old :-( We've been to a&e twice in the first week and doctors surgery since then too, and have always been sent home again (he is still feeding fine and oxygen reading was okay). Think he's too young for any of the meds so just been advised to give saline drops and that's all we can do. It's now been 2 and a half weeks and he still sounds really congested and his cough sounds even more phlegm-ey if anything - does anyone have any experience of this - does cough usually sound worse before it goes away, and do I keep on giving saline drops?? Was really expecting it to be gone by now. He hasn't got a fever and is still feeding well, just really congested and sounds really phlegm-ey coughing. Thanks for any advice x

It's actually quite normal.

Many babies are born quite congested and it can take ages for them to clear out. DD was probably around 2-3 weeks before hers all went and i'm sure my boys were the same.

Midwife actually gave us a leaflet explaining it all. They appear to have a cold and cough up some awful stuff but it's just them having to clear themselves out after being inside you.

Hope he feels better soon, but try not to worry. You've had him checked out and they've said he's fine too.

Good luck. x

It sounds like he is coping well with it thankfully. Normally it takes 3-5 days for bronchi to start getting better but the cough can last for up to 6 week after. Everyone is different though and Ds never recovered in the expect timescale (but his cases where all serious)

When he is sleeping try to keep the head of his basket raised so he isn't lying flat.

At that age if you are still worried then getting him checked again won't do any harm. Although with him being so young Unfortunatly there isn't a lot you can do as bronchi is viral.

if he was ging to get worse, he would have done so by now. If he stops feeding, then worry. Ditto watch his temp. He coul develop a secondary infection.

DS2 had RSV at 4 weeks and ended up in PICU for a week, as he also contracted HIb. :(

The mucous is very sticky and can take ages to clear from chest and tubes - DS2 was deaf until 4 months, and really chesty for at least a month/6 weeks.

We were advised to tilt his cot mattress up slightly to help keep his throat clear of muck, also use a humidifier in his room to help moisten that muck and help him clear it.

We raised the mattress rather than the cot, putting a couple of folded towels underneath the top end to raise it about 2 inches. To stop DS2 sliding down the bed, roll a towel lengthwise and fold into a horseshoe/U shape. Position baby bum in the bottom of the U and legs over.

Thanks very much for all the advice and support. I've bought a humidifier this afternoon x