Baby Bronchiolitis

[Stanley1099]

Heya. My toddler (2.5) was diagnosed with a chest infection on Thursday. She has been prescribed antibiotics and although still coughing, she is much bette r and heading into the right direction (she was DIRE at the peak of it).

My 5 month old went to the GP at the same time and he said she was just viral. No chest crackles etc. Since then she went downhill, coughing more etc so went to emergency GP yesterday who said her vitals were all fine (ears, throat, oxygen levels and temp etc) and that her chest was clear. I refused to leave without him listening for longer and after a while he said there was a tiny crackle. She'd been sleeping all day and struggling to feed (but still wet nappies) so no signs of dehydration. I keep feeding her little and often.

However when she's breathing, it crackles. And it just sounds awful in-between her coughs. She's uncomfortable and a bit restless (although more alert now than she was the other day) and there is no breathing struggles by the look of it - no sucking in etc. She just screams after her very small feeds with wind / pain and then the crackles continue with her breathing.

She does seem better. She's now on antibiotics but has only had two doses but the crackling breaths just sound bad. But I read online it can be normal. But this baby loss momma is being neurotic and anything to do with breathing gets to me. But I also don't want to sit in A&E unnecessarily for hours, exposing even more bugs when two GPs have seen her and she's now on her antibiotics.

I guess I'm just asking is the crackling thing normal? Have you experienced it. It sounds like she's eaten a load of those sweets that crackle in your throat once you swallow them!

Phone 111 and they might be able to book you into a clinic. Honestly if you're concerned please get them checked as no-one can know without seeing her. 'Crackles' (I know the exact sound you mean) can be fine, but for a baby so young their airways are so small that if you have a niggle then it's always worth being seen.

Did the GP performed any tests to determine the cause? Antibiotics won't help much if it's viral, GPs seem to hand them out like sweets these days. Given COVID prévalence that's a possibility.

Check out on Instagram an account called Sick Happens, it has useful guidance as to what is respiratory distress, videos showing what it can look like, and suggestions when to go to hospital. I'd trust your gut personally.

Also at A&E protect yourself by wearing a tightly fitting mask and if possible wait by an open window (open it yourself if necessary, hospital ventilation is often dire) or preferably outside to protect the baby....

The baby check app from the lullaby trust is really useful for helping you to assess when you need medical attention and how quickly.

my son was admitted to hospital with bronchiolitis we took him in when we saw that his breathing was really laboured and I think that’s the thing they really worry about. You can see videos online showing the way their chest moves when their breathing isn’t right.

No one here can really tell you the answer. If you are worried and/or you think her condition has deteriorated then you need to call 111 or go back to A&E.

Babies can crackle quite noticeably with bronchiolitis and also have a very wet cough. It's feeding (keeping up enough feeds to pass urine regularly, generally at least 50% of what is taken) and work of breathing (drawing in ribs, panting continuously) that matter rather than what the breathing sounds like.

Oral antibiotics are a complete waste of time in such a young baby. They either have serious bacterial infection usually with listlessness, very poor feeding, fever etc in which case they need to be in hospital on IVs, or they don't. They don't absorb oral antibiotics terribly effectively and they're hard to give. Bronchiolitis is a viral condition that doesn't respond to antibiotics. It gets worse for 3-5 days and then gets better.

I suggest googling "bronchiolitis advice sheet" and click on any NHS link for some good information on what to look out for.

Thank you all. I rang 111 who sent me to the out of hours GP who said she was wheezing a lot so they then sent me to the pediatrician doctor in A&E - luckily only next door.

They were happy with her. Mild chest recessions but not dramatic. Expected. Told me what to look out for. She was only feeding about 25% of the usual feeds but she was showing no signs of dehydration so told me to try 2oz every 2 hours just to keep on top of her. Talked me through everything to look for. Said might as well keep doing antibiotics as been prescribed them but they won't speed up the process of getting well. Her lungs are full of it but little they can do. Crackles and wheezing are unfortunately normal and expected.