Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Children's health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

Never ending illnesses

28 replies

LilacPomPom · 07/12/2025 23:57

Hi everyone 👋🏻

I hope you’re keeping well and getting Christmas ready. I just need some advice as the situation is making me feel incredibly low and I’m a bit lost on what to do.

I have an 19mo son, started Nursery in Sept this year for 10 hours a week. I work Long Days & Nights and my partner works from home so we made the decision to give him some social interaction to help develop his skills. He thoroughly enjoys nursery.

When he started nursery, I was told all about the bugs, viruses and colds that he would bring back but I didn’t realise how bad it actually got (and keeps getting). In September, after a total of 15 hours in Nursery, he developed RSV & then Bronchiolitis. He’s since had a cough which has progressively got worse. It gets better for a week, if that, and then comes back. He’s been in and out of GPs, Out of Hours Centres & A+E. He’s been admitted on two occasions for respiratory support, steroids and inhalers within the last two months. I pushed for us to have a steroid inhaler at home and finally got given one. He’s never tested positive for RSV or Covid when he’s been admitted and has only ever been diagnosed with Viral Induced Wheezing. The steroid inhaler worked beautifully and I had my, albeit a bit grotty from general cold season, bouncy boy back.

He then woke up with a rash last Tuesday and subsequently the cough has returned but it’s a lot drier and he is just not sleeping. I’ve restarted all the inhaler plans as a preventative but I’m exhausted. I can’t bear to think how my little one feels.

I don’t want to take him out of nursery as he loves it, it’s our only form of childcare for those few hours and nursery is so expensive to then not utilise it unless he’s not well enough.

I feel so overwhelmed by the illnesses and my anxiety is through the roof. I suffered with PND/PPA and was in therapy up until August this year (ironically right before this whole thing started). I don’t know whether to go back to the GP and ask for more investigations and support (previously been fobbed off) or to just see how he copes. I want to be taken seriously before my baby has to be rushed to hospital, again, but this time with poorer outcomes.

Does anyone have any advice for how to help a 19mo cough, advice for comfort overnight, advice for how to tackle healthcare professionals?

What makes it worse is I am also a healthcare professional and they definitely know I am (not that it should change the pathway of care but I do have some degree of clinical understanding).

OP posts:
Oneearringlost · 11/12/2025 23:12

OP, did you stop the steroid inhaler recently? And now he's caught a virus and is coughing?
He sounds like he really needs it all the time, even when well, like older children or adult asthmatics....it's called a "preventative" to "prevent" the cough/wheeze returing. This almost always happens when a viral illness occurs, so to have the constant/background protection of his airways, from the steroid inhaler, is vital.

As a PP said, RSV/ Bronchiolitis v much predisposes to ongoing Asthma, even when they are reluctant to diagnose it in a little one.

Restart it, but don't stop it when he's well.
Oh, and don't worry about stunted growth from the inhaled steroid...it is a tiny dose and very, very little is systemically absorbed to the point of getting growth side effects. But, more importantly, his vulnerable airways are no longer narrowed from inflammation, ( thus causing the cough/wheeze), but open, patent and healthy, and he will be better at coping with all the other viral illnesses nursey/life throws at him.
You may have a few more months of illnesses, and then find he goes month, years, being largely well. But keep up that steroid inhaler, especially through the winter months.
If you drop it, wean him off gradually, ie instead of say, 2 puffs twice daily, reduce to one puff twice daily, then one puff once daily, then 1 puff every other day, and so on.

I would try and see a respiratory nurse/GP at your surgery for ongoing advice and reviews.
Whatever I say, I'm just a 'random' person, on the Internet, do get proper specialist advice.
I am, actually, a respiratory nurse though.

All the very best
I hope you get your bouncy boy back.🌻

Original poster
LilacPomPom · 11/12/2025 23:33

Oneearringlost · 11/12/2025 23:12

OP, did you stop the steroid inhaler recently? And now he's caught a virus and is coughing?
He sounds like he really needs it all the time, even when well, like older children or adult asthmatics....it's called a "preventative" to "prevent" the cough/wheeze returing. This almost always happens when a viral illness occurs, so to have the constant/background protection of his airways, from the steroid inhaler, is vital.

As a PP said, RSV/ Bronchiolitis v much predisposes to ongoing Asthma, even when they are reluctant to diagnose it in a little one.

Restart it, but don't stop it when he's well.
Oh, and don't worry about stunted growth from the inhaled steroid...it is a tiny dose and very, very little is systemically absorbed to the point of getting growth side effects. But, more importantly, his vulnerable airways are no longer narrowed from inflammation, ( thus causing the cough/wheeze), but open, patent and healthy, and he will be better at coping with all the other viral illnesses nursey/life throws at him.
You may have a few more months of illnesses, and then find he goes month, years, being largely well. But keep up that steroid inhaler, especially through the winter months.
If you drop it, wean him off gradually, ie instead of say, 2 puffs twice daily, reduce to one puff twice daily, then one puff once daily, then 1 puff every other day, and so on.

I would try and see a respiratory nurse/GP at your surgery for ongoing advice and reviews.
Whatever I say, I'm just a 'random' person, on the Internet, do get proper specialist advice.
I am, actually, a respiratory nurse though.

All the very best
I hope you get your bouncy boy back.🌻

Ahh thank you for the advice!

I weened him off of the steroid inhaler and then, he got ill so have restarted it and will continue to use it. He has an appointment with a respiratory specialist at the end of the month so hopefully will get some further advice and management.

OP posts:
Oneearringlost · 12/12/2025 06:42

Ah, excellent @LilacPomPom
Hoping he'll have turned the corner by Christmas, too. X

New posts on this thread. Refresh page