ds1 fighting for breath, very bad chest infection

[Greensleeves]

ds1 has got a chest infection (caught from me) . I spent most of last night going in and out of his room giving medicines/rubbing Vick on his chest/back/reassuring him. He is much worse today, his breathing is really laboured, his chest is sucking in with the effort to breathe, he can't talk properly because his breath catches at the end of each word. I can hear his chest rattling and wheezing all the way down his back, but he isn't coughing anything up. I have had a serious chest infection myself for the last week (I thoughti t was gone, but it has come back) and it has been a really bad one, for the first few days of it I didn't cough up anything either but then started coughing up really rock-hard infected lumps of blood-stained green stuff. (Yes, I know, TMI, but I am worried ). I assumed mine was worse because I used to smoke, but ds1 seems to be in an even worse state than me.

I have a GP appointment for him later this morning (dh is taking him, because I have no voice at all this morning) but it's not his own GP. I am really worried, crap lungs run on both sides of our family, in fact dh's father died of emphysema, they think his lungs may have been weakened by a severe infection as a child

Does anyone have any advice on how I can clear his chest/halp him to breathe/get him to eat? I don't care what he eats at this point, I have asked dh to get chocolate buttons in case he will eat those - he really is so ill and he's very miserable.

ambulance now, dont wait. i made that mistake once. dd1 ended up being admitted overnight.

Greeny, I hope the fact that you are not answering means you have called an ambulance ... must be very worrying for you, hope he is ok!!

DH has just rushed out the ddoor with him, I think he will insist on the doctor seeing him immediately, it is only about 3 minutes up the road if he runs I would have been happier with an ambulance, but you know what bloody men are like, he doesn't want me to call one

OK I am being out voted here.

999 and pronto

greeny I am not a worrier but I would ignore my dp and get him to a and e either in the car or by ambulance

In that case you need to stay online with us whilst we keep you calm

the doctor will call an ambulance on him anyway if it warrants it

poor you .. it is so scary

how old is he?

ooops, x-posts - hope he's ok greeny

I am pisssed off with dh actuially. if he had told me how bad things were Iw ould have come back from London earlier, I had no idea the poor little sod was this ill, he was fine when I left

I would phone doctor's surgery and warn them that DH coming in with DS and he can't breathe

They've gone Enid, I think the GP willl call an ambulance won't he? Am going to get dressed and then call the surgery and ask if he has been seen yet and bend the receptionists ear about how ill he is, it's the only thing I can do from here, he has left me with ds2 not dressed too, we wer meant to be having a cosy day in after the Londno thing , I really feel I have let ds1 down

You know your child best - if you take him to the GP, they'll see his condition for themselves and it's likely he'll be seen very quickly and referred immediately to hospital. You will know yourself I'm sure whether an ambulance or GP will be best. If you're not mobile, I'd either call a taxi now or phone 999 tbh.

Greeny

DH thought he was giving you a well earned break, my DS was poorly, mind you not as poorly as this, but I was given abbreviated information because DH was of the opinion I needed the break.

He was right.

now you're being maudlin and daft .. of course you haven't let DS1 down .. don't be idiotic because you're worried ..

dont be daft greeny

but get dressed and ds2 dressed so you are ready to go if you need to

calm down, everybody, the GP WILL have the necessary stuff to treat him, and can call an ambulance if reqired. GP surgeries have nebulisers, oxygen, saturation monitors anything that an ambulance would carry.

if your gp surgery has a neb, then he may be treated there initially, but may get transferred straight to a+e for assessment.

our surgery carries a neb, so i go there with dd1 as its closer than the hospital.

aww Greeny, don't beat yourself up. We've gone straight from the GP to the hospital for chest infections, too (and I'd even doubted whether to 'bother' the GP). They can get worse so quickly...

Good luck. Hope he won't have to stay in too long - he does sound very poorly though, poor lad.

don't forget that none of us are diagnosing here and we can't see DS1 .. all we can see is what you're posting and relating that to our personal experiences

is DH the type who will insist on being seen immediately or will he sit silently waiting his turn?

whenever I have turned up at surgery short of breath I have been seen immediately and given a neb

has dh got his mobile with him?

you lot are great I HATE it when my kids are ill, I could rip him limb from limb for not telling me, he put him to bed before I got home last night and when I went in to sort him out I was shocked by the state he was in, he is considerably worse this morning and dh had just sat him at the table with his porridge as usual!

Bloody arsing sodding men

Also, if he is able to talk,he IS breathing.

My dd was like this when she had a chest infection (last winter). After a nebuliser she was as right as rain, and was extremely pissed off when the hospital kept her in for 3 nights!

they kicked someone out of their nurses appointment(non urgent) to get dd1 a neb quickly last week. like i said, i go there as its closer than a+e.