Any advice on 10mo with chest infection and not eating?

[Hayls]

My dd is 10mo and seems to have ben ill forever. She got a cold 2 weeks ago and went off her food and then started to get a bit better last weekend only to wake up on Monday morning really wheezy and with a chesty cough. GP gave her antibiotics, which we've just completed but she still isn't fully recovered- still got quite a cough, although a bit 'looser' and not as phlegmy. She's a bit happier in herself but not the happy girl she normally is and I'm still worried about her. Should I take her back to the GP or is the one course of antib's likely to be enough? She's barely eaten anything for nearly 2 weeks now and is waking contantly during the night either because she cna't breathe or is hungry. I'm still bf so it's difficult to try and get a lot more fluid into her as she's not impressed by bottles or cups.

Are there any tips to encourage her to eat or even how long this might last for?
Any advice would be much appreciated!

[moondog]

My ds went through a period of not being well at about this age, and I was a bit bothered.
I knew that frequent antibiotics are not a good thing and realised that what she needed was a lot of TLC and breastfeeding. They will get enough liquid like this and it is lovely to know that you are doing something for her that she really enjoys and is so comforting.
So my advice would be to stay with her as much as you can, breastfeeding whenever she wants it, making sure she gets some fresh air every day, and tempting her (but not forcing her) with good things like freshly squeezed orange juice.

My sister's ds is just like this at the moment, and hardly eats foer weeks on end, but is fine on just breast milk.
It's a foul time of year generally isn't it? Hope she gets better soon!

[foxinsocks]

if you're worried about her breathing at night, I would go back to the GP.

Having said that, my ds (who is now 3) had bronchiolitis when he was barely 4 weeks old and was in and out of hospital (only as a day case) and they told us that quite often, children cough for weeks after nasty chest viruses and true to form, ds coughed for another 4 weeks after his infection!

[MarsselectionboxLady]

Have you got any olbas oil? I find that that helps. They do a children's version. Sadly it's par the course in winter. Keep an eye on her and if she gets worse go back to the gp. My DTs are battling colds at the moment. This is when I long for Spring!

[Thecattlearemerloting]

I wouldn't worry too much about the food (easier said than done heh? )

My ds1 was just like your dd and ds2 has only just recovered from a flu bug (he didn't eat for three days), but as long as you get the fluids into them bf or other, they will make their weight up when they feel better.

Ds2 is now eating like a horse