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Flip

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Original poster

URGENT - Advise needed for sicky baby again!

45 replies

Flip · 05/04/2004 21:10

Previously pipb before I start.

Ds2 is four months old and has always had problems with his breathing. He was admitted to hospital and the consultant diagnosed small nasal passages and said not to worry he'll grow out of it. But he now has a pretty bad chest infection and his cry is barely a squeak. I took him to the Emergency Doc last night and he gave him some antibiotics. He's also got an eye infection so I'm putting in drops for that.

He's normally such a laid back baby and I don't know I've got him half the time. But the last few days he's been very clingy and crying a lot. When he coughs he's sick and it's really thick. Tonight after his bath he was wheezing quite badly and I noticed his chest was sucking in and I could see his ribs. I'm pretty sure that's one of the things the doctor said to keep an eye out for. Does anyone know if this is something to be concerned about? He's also breathing a lot quicker than normal. I keep going in to him and he looks so peaceful but he seems to be taking twice as many breaths as normal.

When do I panic? I'm trying not to but it's difficult. Please, any advise on what to look out for.

OP posts:

luckymum · 07/04/2004 11:45

Flip, Hugs to you. Sounds like bronchiolitis to me too. The hospital is the best place and I'm sure they'll sort it out pretty quickly. Dd had it twice (typical of her to be greedy!) and it is really scary for you when they struggle. Glad you've got your mum for support.

LIZS · 07/04/2004 11:54

Flip

Sorry he's taken a turn for the worse but hospital is probably the best place for now. They may need to run blood tests to see if there is an underlying virus causing it. It all seems very daunting when they are so little.

Glad you've got your mum for support until dh arrives. Take care and hope the little one recovers soon.

glowbuster · 07/04/2004 12:05

Flip - thinking of u & your ds

I will send some little glow worms now that they under control to light his room and help speed his recovery

(((hug)))

suedonim · 07/04/2004 13:30

I hope your little one is getting some relief by now, Flip, and that you are feeling a bit less tense. We went through similar situations with our ds2 and to this day, hearing a child coughing makes my blood run cold. Take care.

kiwisbird · 07/04/2004 14:29

Good luck at the hospital I really hope your little chap makes progress and that he is ok, and that you are coping ok too
If I could send you a hug I would
xxxxxxxxx

luckymum · 08/04/2004 18:36

Flip......just wondering how things were.............

Original poster

Flip · 09/04/2004 10:23

Thank you all for your support. I was exhausted when I got home from the hospital yesterday and couldn't post. I took ds2 in on Wednesday and they checked his oxygen satuation levels and took bloods from him. They also took a nasal swab to check for whooping cough and sucked some mucus from his nose to check for bronchialitis. He had a couple of the bad coughing fits while he was there and was sick everywhere. They were concerned by the amount of milk he was taking because he was hardly keeping anything down with coughing.

Dh arrived from London just after eight thirty and I was quite upset because ds2 had just had another coughing fit and he'd gone blue. The nurses were lovely and made me go and have a break from him. So it was decided that dh would stay with ds2 over night and I went home to see to ds1. They monitored ds2 all day yesterday checking his oxygen levels and how much food he was taking and they allowed him home last night with open access to the ward for 48 hours. Dh hadn't seen any of the terrifying coughing fits and I'm sure he thought I'd over reacted. that was until we were home last night and he had one and turned blue. Dh wanted to take him back to the hospital but I calmed him down and we had a reasonably good nights sleep.

The doctors don't think that it's whooping cough they think it's bronchialitis so we just have to keep a very close eye on him. It's a relief to be home in one way but having the support at the hospital when he had a coughing fit was reasuring. So I'll just have to see how he is. While he was in the hospital he also developed the same rash as he'd had before which looks like the menengitis rash. The doctors once again seemed very concerned but I asked them not to over react because he'd had it twice more in the last month and he'd been well each time.

The doctor came to see me before taking ds2 home yesterday and she told me that the consultant was looking into the cause of the rogue rashes because more children had presented with the rash without other symptoms recently. I asked if they were all around my babies age and if it could be linked to the immunisations. She seemed a little bit shocked and struggled for words so I took that as a yes. Doctors are always fearful of putting a scare about immunisations out there. So fingers crossed he's over the worst of it and just needs to catch up on all of his sleep.

Thanks again for all your support. Flip.

OP posts:

papillon · 09/04/2004 10:37

Good to hear from u Flip. Glad he is home now and on the road to recovery.
Bit scary the immunisation comment (there has a recent thread about immunisation)
anyhow, I just wanted to say I have been thinking of u and your family and wish u all the best.

papillon alias glowbuster

Rebi · 09/04/2004 10:51

Flip, sorry to hear your ds has been going through such a hard time. Poor little fella and poor you. Hope he gets better very soon.

Take care
Rebixx

Chandra · 09/04/2004 11:18

Flip

Hope the baby is feeling better now, I only saw this thread minutes ago but reading through it I noticed something that nobody has commented about yet, if the worst chocking takes place at home, is there any chance that your baby is having an allergic reaction to something in the environment? The previous owner of my house had a cat and eventhough there was no trace of it around we noticed that when friends with asthma visited they immediatly would need to use the inhaler, the problem disapeared when we changed the carpet. I'm not suggesting you do this immediatly but if you have pets it really helps to keep them away of the baby and things he uses (the proteins of pet dander which cause the allergies can not be removed by washing), other things that may help is changing the bedding everyday, remove furry toys from the cot and if you can wash the cot mattress thoroughly or at least leave it in the sun for a good couple of hours. Hope it helps.

Clarinet60 · 09/04/2004 12:51

Sorry to hear about what you are going through Flip, hope he improves soon. You must be exhausted with worry.

Original poster

Flip · 09/04/2004 22:29

Still up even though I'm exhausted. Ds2 has been having a difficult day. We decided to take them to Southport for some sea air and so that we could take ds1 to pleasureland because he's been so abandonned recently. Ds2 had a coughing fit while we were eating lunch and was sick. He then slept all afternoon until six and then cried none stop until eight thirty. I've just had to go into him again because he's been wheezing badly and I've given him his inhaler while he's sleeping to see if it will help. Even though I'm tired I worry about not hearing him if he needs me. He's only had about 15 ounces of milk all day and for a four month old that's not a lot. He's also not really interested in his weaning foods.

Chandra - we do have a dog and I have thought about whether or not she could be aggrevating things. She's only here a couple of days a week which is mainly weekends and that's when he's worse. Although she has come back early this week and arrived back yesterday. She loses hair all over the place as well. I also remember that when I was pregnant with ds2 I developed an allergy to her. I'd end up itching and wheezing whenever she came into contact with me. I might see if the GP would consider having him allergy tested.

OP posts:

Ghosty · 09/04/2004 23:05

Flip ...
I only just caught up with this thread and wanted to send my sympathies ...
We have had a bad couple of weeks with DD (9weeks) in hospital twice, once with a tummy bug and then with a similar coughing thing that your DS is having ... she also developed a rash which ended up in her having a lumbar puncture
Re FWIW ... The doctors here won't diagnose asthma before 12 months (and NZ is apparently asthma/allergy capital of the world) so I am surprised that they have given your little DS an inhaler.
Thinking of you and hope that your DS starts to feel better soon ...
PS ... I have found that saline drops in the nose do help to clear her nasal passages a bit before a feed ... have you tried that?

robinw · 10/04/2004 07:16

message withdrawn

Original poster

Flip · 10/04/2004 09:35

Ghosty - I'm so sorry that you've been having a tough time of it with your dd. My sympathies to you... ... a lumbar puncture! The doctors have said they can't diagnose asthma at this age but they gave me the inhaler to help him when he wheezes.

We've had a terrible night with him. He's hardly slept and several times in the night we had to leap out of bed because he was coughing and choking. I still have open access to the ward at the hospital until three o'clock today and I want to take him in so that a peadiatrician can check him over.

Am I over reacting or do you think I should get him checked out before I have to go back through the GP or A&E?

OP posts:

luckymum · 10/04/2004 09:47

Flip, I think that if you are worried you should take him back to the ward. Your GP may send him back anyway so I would just go. My dd has 24 hour access to our local hospital and I would say make the most of it while you can, plus they may extend it for you especially because of the bank holiday. Did they confirm bronchiolitis in the end?

papillon · 10/04/2004 10:06

Shoulds like u should explore every possiblity - the dog allergy and as you said take him to be checked again.
This has been happening for 5 days now so you are definately not over reacting.

twiglett · 10/04/2004 10:08

message withdrawn

stace · 10/04/2004 10:42

sorry to read about your nightmare and really hope that things start to improve really soon. I think the link with the dog may be something and just in case can you not have your dog go stay somewhere else for a week or so to see if it helps. Its probably best to do so sooner rather than later.

IMO i would definetly go back to the hospital to put your mind at rest and with any luck they will extend the open access for you too!!!

Good luck and (((()))))

karenanne · 11/04/2004 09:50

hi flip sorry to hear little ones still not right.hope hes on the mend soon,can i ask when youve had the jabs and how long its been till hes poorly?
its just my ds is same age as yours and his bout of broncholitis was about 10 days after his 1st jabs.its now been about the same since his 2nd lot and his chest is bad again.not as bad but enough to have to use the inhaler again?
i had been wondering about the jabs and his chest,also nurse at nhs walk in centre asked the same thing last time.

Flip

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