6mo baby with hacking cough for 7 weeks. I can't take this anymore, please help

[Zara87]

7 weeks ago ds2 age 6mo got diagnosed with bronchilitis and an ear infection. He had a cough and high temp. Put on antibiotics for ears which all cleared up.
However the cough hasn't gone and is getting worse by the day.
I have been back to the docs at least once a week for 7 weeks now, which may seem ridiculous but everywhere we go everyone is telling me how poorly he sounds. It's relentless, day and night. I see different docs most of the time who all listen and say he doesn't sound infected and put in steamy bathroom and just wait for it to to.
This weekend has been particularly bad. He's now off his milk and food.
I took him to the out of hours docs yday morning who checked everything. Said his throat looked inflamed but his oxygen level was 100% and normal temp, chest still clear but constantly hacking cough while we were there. Doc diagnosed croup and put on steroids for 3 days.
However since yesterday he is so much worse. He can't sleep, he's coughing and coughing and coughing. He won't stop crying, I can't stop crying. He looks in so much pain and so sad. I have a ds1 age 2 who is fed up of us staying in all the time but when ds2 so is this poorly I don't feel we can go anywhere!
I know I have 2 days of steroids left but listening to croup coughs last night on YouTube, this doesn't even sound like what he has.
I should add, his temp often goes up to 40 and he's been quite violently sick 3 times in the last week too. Totally unsure if it's related.
If anyone has any advice as to what the hell I should be doing id be very grateful :(

You poor thing and your poor baby :-( My DC was susceptible to this kind of thing and it is terrifying.

1. Has the doctor ruled out whooping cough?

1. Has blood been taken?

1. Trust your instincts, remain vigilant and don't be afraid to insist on your baby being seen whatever the time of day or night. Babies' condition can improve or worsen very quickly. Read up on recognising breathing problems if you haven't done so already:

www.blf.org.uk/support-for-you/signs-of-breathing-problems-in-children/breathing-problems-to-look-out-for

1. Keep a log of his symptoms, temp if you see different doctors

1. If he seems to be getting worse not better (off food and wasn't before, temp) go back to the doctor. In your case I wouldn't hesitate to go back today as he seems to be getting worse not better.

1. Strongly recommend having your baby in the same room at night so that you can keep an eye on him.

I’ve just had this with my 2 year old. Over 5 weeks we went to the doctor 3 times, walk in centre once and A&E twice. They all just kept listening to his chest and saying it was clear. In the end they arranged blood tests which showed an underlying infection and then sent him for a chest X-ray. This showed pneumonia and they then admitted him to hospital for IV antibiotics.
I know how stressful it is. We were told so many different things and just had to keep going back any pushing.

I went through croup with my dd two weeks ago (it was definitely croup) and the steroids did make her restless and she slept terribly for a couple of days, and she also took to waking up confused and panicky, not sure if it was the steroids or part of her being ill. This sounds horrible but when my dc are ill I hold off the Calpol until they have seen the doctor as some will say, oh they don't have a fever it can't be too bad... Even though I tell them they've had calpol they don't seem to listen. So I don't give it before going. It sounds to me like he has chest infection possibly. Sometimes you get more joy from out of hours gp.

Thanks everyone that's really helpful.

@summerdays I'm really worrying about pneumonia. Is it possible then that this doesn't get picked up just by listening to their chest? Did a&e do the xray while you were there? Were your little ones oxygen levels always good?

His temp is up sometimes and then totally normal sometimes and it seems to the whenever we take him anywhere his temp is normal! And because he's not been sick regularly that's been swept under the carpet despite the fact he's not a sicky baby.

We've had no offer of bloods or anything, all we have been given up till the steroids was gaviscon which the out of hours doctor was horrified at.

Even the 111 call handler was shocked at how poorly he sounded when she heard him down the phone. So fed up now now just want him better :(

Also @summerdays sorry for all the questions but how was your 2yo otherwise?
My ds goes from appearing to be absolutely fine and quite happy to just totally miserable and inconsolable. But again when at docs he is usually fine. So they just tell me "he doesn't look like a baby that's very unwell and babies struggle to shake coughs. He'll get there".

^^This.

He said "he doesn't have a whoop"
How can they rule it out? Apart from listening to various videos nobody has checked anything.
Would I be massively unreasonable to take him to a&e?
I've sat with him all day crying his eyes out as he is coughing so bad he can't catch his breath.

We took 10mo DD to A&E last night, persistent cough, vomiting mucus fever on and off, sleeping lots, not eating or really drinking for a week.

Found she had low blood sugar (had to syringe fluid in every 10 mins) and raised temp. Suspected tonsillitis, she now has a course of antibiotics to take.

If he’s off milk and food he’s potentially at risk of dehydration; I would take him to be checked out.

They listened to his chest at every appointment and said it sounded clear. I insisted on a blood test and when it came back abnormal he was sent to hospital for a chest X-ray. His temperature was up and down for 5 weeks he had a fever most days but not all day everyday, he was pale, tired easily, off his food and emotional. His oxygen, heart rate everything they checked was always fine. Sometimes he would think he was picking up but then he’d get worse again. He didn’t want to go out, ride his bike etc or go to nursery - most unlike him. His cough got worse and worse. He also kept complaining of tummy ache - apparently they have lymph nodes in there which hurt when they have an infection, But just like your son sometimes he would seem ok. It was a horrible 5 weeks. One night when we went to A&E the doctor asked what exactly we wanted him to do?!? They also described him as a medical mystery before doing the blood tests and X-ray. He’s now got diarrhoea as a side effect from the antibiotics/iron medicine so we’re stull not completely sorted. Lots better though. Hope you get sorted soon. X

I’d take him to A&E.

This happened to my first child. It went on for months!
At one point her nursery manager called me in to the office and said she would come to a and e with me ! They knew and I knew it was more than croup, bronchitis etc
I was at the doctor weekly.
Turns out it was whooping cough. It all came to a head at 4am one morning when I ended up having to ring and ambulance because she was not breathing.
Not saying that will happen to you or it is what your son has but my advice is follow your instincts

Leaving for a&e now. Will update later. Thanks so much all xx

I would take him too. I think you're doing the right thing. Pneumonia can be hard to detect when my daughter was 4 a couple of winters ago she had a febrile convulsion at school (she had a history of them so the fit wasn't unusual for her) she was taken by ambulance to a and e.
When we arrived they checked her over for all the usual stuff and found nothing except for a raised temperature.
She was sent up to the ward to be monitored for a bit and they got the temp down with paracetamol.
The doctor came over and suggested it was probably viral and were we happy to go home (again this had happened before so we said yes) they were just preparing her discharge when she had another fit so she was admitted.
She had no rattle on her chest, no cough, her oxygen levels were 100%. She was really poorly but they couldn't find what it was. They woke me at 3am the following night to take some more blood from her vein as they were concerned that her infection markers were so high they said they said they thought it was meningitis.
They finally did a chest X-ray they next morning as the blood showed no meningitis and they were utterly stumped.
Her whole left lung was white a really bad case of silent pneumonia. 24 hrs into her course of antibiotics she was like a different child.
Such a scary experience.

Sorry that was an essay

Really hoping you get answers tonight OP and don’t have to wait too long to be seen. You have my sympathy, we have been through endless croup/ bronciolitis/ chest infections with ds and it is so stressful.

"Your child just has a cough". And sent home
Ffs

If like to add that I'm not one of these that's in the docs/ a&e for anything. Ds1 is never at the docs and has never been to hospital. Ds2 has only been to hospital once before now and that was due to breathing difficulties when he was a few weeks old (and he had 2 nights in hospital)

Back to GP and insist on antibiotics. Don't mention A&E. Tell them you're annoyed that no one seems accountable for your baby's health - that it has persisted for long enough and you think it's in your child's best interests to get some actual tests run or antibiotics.

I'm so sorry OP. Please keep listening to your instincts. Keep a close eye on your son and insist on further tests tomorrow.

You are a second time mother and not the type to overreact by the sound of it. Don't be shy in pointing that out.

How is he today?

Thinking of you.
That's a long time for a cough.

Have they done any other tests and if not ask xx

No other tests. He is the same today, my husband has told me I'm starting to look like I want there to be something wrong with him to the docs now so I need to just listen to the advice and wait for him to get better

You've hardly got Munchausen by proxy. Tell your DH if he isn't part of the solution, he's part of the problem. I've had the same from my DH - he was wrong and I was right...and in the end, he was sorry he doubted me not sorry enough.

I can't take this much more. Temp of 39, screaming all day. Won't eat or have his milk still. How much longer do i have to put up with this

He said "he doesn't have a whoop"
How can they rule it out?

My DS had it at 9 and didn't have an actual whoop for weeks, he was vomiting from coughing before the whoop started. It's bacterial, they took a swab and sent it off for testing.