Toddler chest infection - am I being precious?

[JalapenoCheeseOnToast]

DD is 2 at the end of the month and was diagnosed on Monday eve with a chest infection. GP saw us in person, listened to her chest for quite some time and said he could hear her rattling and wheezing. Her oxygen was 95-96. He prescribed amoxicillin and she has been taking it since Monday eve (9 doses up to now) - looks like maybe another 6 doses left in the bottle.

DD had been listless and sleepy all day Monday but since then she has been a bit perkier, although still very emotional, easily upset and not quite right. She has been off her food too but seems hungrier today which is good.

DD's cough is sounding worse and she seems a bit wheezier. She has been to nursery and they also commented on it being worse than yesterday. Should the wheeziness be easing by now? I called the docs but they said no appts available and try again tomorrow or call 111 - I just want to check she is okay before the weekend and I don't want to waste a hospital's time.

Am I being OTT? DS hasn't had a chest infection before so don't know what to expect and what is normal or a concern. DD is sat on my lap and I can hear her making a noise when she breathes in like it is catching a bit in her throat but she doesn't seem too distressed.

Any help appreciated!

Don't mess about with breathing, especially in young children, if you feel she is getting worse I would want her seen today. I think it is really poor that the surgery won't see her, call 111.

@bloodywhitecat thanks for your comment - even though she is happy at times (now being one of them)? Sorry to ask these questions, I just don't know what to do right from wrong. If it were me I'd just put up with it and not make a fuss but she can't tell me what is wrong so I don't know if I'm over-worrying and this is normal for this stage in chest infection treatment

I have a DD (now an adult) who is asthmatic and suffered lots of chest infections (and still does), I would expect to see an improvement after 36-48 hours of antibiotics so if she is now getting worse again I would be pushing for a review.

Yep. Call 111. She will need a different antibiotic prescribed

I agree with PP. I’d ring the surgery back and say you need her seen today. If they refuse, explain you’ll need to take her to A&E, they may suddenly find a space. I’d they won’t see her I’d either take her to A&E or ring 111 at 6pm to get an out of hours GP appointment.

@bloodywhitecat thanks so much, I'll give 111 a ring. Like I say, she is better than Monday when she was listless but I can still hear it in her coughing, after she has been crying (she sounded out of breath) and when she is just sitting quietly enough for me to get a proper listen.

Never feel your over reacting or being precious about your child. Your her voice, if you don’t feel that everything is ok then call the dr or 111.

Children can change so quickly when they are ill.

I can’t give you specific advice other than follow your instincts, if you feel the antibiotics arnt doing the job then take her back. I remember the first time my daughter had croup it was so scary. But you learn with each illness they go through.

I hope she feels better soon x

Defo insist she is seen again. If no joy with usual gp then try ooh and a&e if needs be. Mum knows best. Better safe than sorry, need to rule out any secondary infection setting in.

Thanks all, 111 are having a clinician call back in the next hour

That's good @JalapenoCheeseOnToast I hope she feels better soon.

Spoken to clinician and a registered nurse who have agreed and arranged an ASAP appt. Just waiting for the call with the time - was supposed to take 5-10minutes but it's been half an hour...
Will chase it if it doesn't come through soon

Pleased your getting seen to!
As pp anything to do with off breathing you don't wait.
Hope you get some more meds for her and she's ok.

Based on the stuff that's doing the rounds (no, not Covid, all the other viruses), and you mentioning wheeze, may well need an inhaler and spacer, to help open up the airways.

Have you COVID tested her?

My DS had a bad chest the other month, we got prescribed an inhaler and it made a massive difference.

Hi all, thank you so much for all your comments. We are back from OOH with great news - the cough sounds bad but her chest is nice and clear so she is fine to continue on the antibiotics she has and should be right as rain, although the cough may last a while yet. Of course, if anything changes then we can call back.

I'm so so relieved and I'm glad I took her in to be safe - I'd rather make a fuss and have nothing wrong than be too worried about making a fuss and something be horribly wrong. A very late night for DD but I think she enjoyed it - when the poor doc asked me to take her top off she shouted "TADA!" and started giggling away and got up to general mischief during the examination

I'd rather make a fuss and have nothing wrong than be too worried about making a fuss and something be horribly wrong

Exactly this op, can never make too much fuss when their poorly.
Pleased her chest is clear and she got up to some mischief with the dr.
You will all sleep well tonight.

Do keep an eye on her breathing - DS is 2 and when we went into Urgent Care to get antibiotics he ended up being admitted to hospital with "viral wheeze". He now needs an inhaler every time he has a cold/ear infection/chest infection.

Sometimes they don’t seem to get better until the very end of the prescription. Sometimes it’s the wrong antibiotics, so she will need a different one.
If she’s not better in herself, ie eating better, sleeping better, more interested in play, I’d be taking her back.
You can always use the excuse that nursery expressed their concern.

Sorry, just seen your update 🥴