Hi all. My little boy (age 3) was admitted to hospital on Saturday night with constant coughing and vomiting from the coughing. This was his second admission in 2 weeks, as he'd only just been sent home a few days prior aftwr recovering from what they thought was walking pneumonia (his X-ray was clear but they treated as such).
He'd recovered ok, and then 2 days later after being home a dry continuous cough started. By the Saturday it was constant, and he was also developing a fever. We saw an out of hours GP (I was obviously worried seeing as he'd JUST gotten over this walking pneumonia), but she was very dismissive. Made me feel like an idiot and said go home his chest is clear.
Well on the Saturday evening he coughed so much in his sleep that he vomited so much all over his bed. We went to a&e who said they could hear faint crackles in the lower left lung, and ordered bloods and a chest X-ray.
Chest X-ray was clear, bloods were non remarkable. He was admitted for the high temperature, crackles, and vomiting. He got swabbed for rsv, flu and covid on admission, and then a few hours later the nurse said he'd come back positive for RSV (most likely picked up whilst in the ward the week before). By this time his nose was full of congestion.
We've been in hospital ever since (3 nights), and today the consultant says he can go home with recovery at home to take at least 2 weeks. They're going to phone us on Thursday to check him.
Whilst in, his oxygen SATS overnight when asleep have dipped to 89 at times. They've hovered at around 92/94 most nights. The nurses don't seem to be bothered and I've told his consultant every morning and she said it's to be expected to dip, as long as it doesn't remain low for a period of time. In the day his oxygen SATS are always 95+. He's not pulling in at the ribs anymore, he's not having high fevers anymore (although is having regular paracetamol and ibuprofen), he's eating and drinking.
Today we have to go home and I'm terrfied. I think this may be the 5th day of the infection so I am worried the worst is still to come. I'm also scared he'll get a chest infection / pneumonia again and he'll need antibiotics. I keep asking for antibiotics and they keep saying no - Even though his chest sounds crackly. The X-ray on Saturday night was apparently clear again. The bloods were apparently fine on Saturday night (when admitted).
Last night he had a coughing episode and it went on and on and was actually so scary for me. When he sleeps I can hear Rice Krispies type noises and that scares me too. I don't want to be at home and panicking and wondering when or if I should bring him to a&e.
Like I said when he's awake he seems ok in himself now, but he SOUNDS bad. And I get so scared of that.
What am I looking out for at home? How do I know whether he's getting pneumonia? How do I know if he needs antibiotics? I hate battling with the drs when they say no he doesn't need them. Is he likely to now get worse and then better? We're on day 5 today. How did you manage your anxiety at home when caring for them through this? How long did they take to get well?
Sorry for the long post. Im exhausted, drained and worried sick. It's been a total of 13/14 days of non stop worrying and lack of sleep what with the cold, walking pneumonia, and now the RSV. I really want him to just get well.