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Original poster

This afternoon I will be taking ds1 back to the doctor's for the fourth time in two weeks ...

34 replies

Miaou · 05/03/2008 14:20

Not sure if there is anything they can do but I'm worried about him, poor soul. He has had one cold after another since before Christmas, and by that I mean streaming nose, bunged up, waking up at night unable to breathe properly etc etc.

After picking up a bit over the weekend, on Monday morning he was streaming again. Got worse yesterday, now off his food, and overnight developed a horrible barking cough. One eye is so bloodshot that the white of his eye is totally red, and it is all swollen. He's not eating and has hardly slept because of his cough (neither have I!). He is clingy and miserable, so unlike him.

I'm sure it's just yet another cold but the dds were never ill so I'm just not used to this!

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Original poster
Miaou · 05/03/2008 14:59

Nobody cares [sob]

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cmotdibbler · 05/03/2008 15:07

We had the same sort of thing with DS where he was coughing and coughing and coughing. After many, many GP visits it turned out to be asthma.

MediSed does do wonders when they are all bunged up and coughing as it dries all the snot up.

Big sympathy to both of you

Original poster
Miaou · 05/03/2008 15:11

Never used medised - might give it a go now though!

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suedonim · 05/03/2008 15:53

Aw, horrid! But you've a way to go before you beat my record, Miaou, which was taking ds2 to the doctor every day in one week. He was a bad asthmatic and had an awful week. We even managed to move house that same week.

Hope ds1 feels better soon.

cmotdibbler · 05/03/2008 16:43

A Karvol diffuser - the plug in sort- also is fab for degunking.

If he sounds like a seal barking, it might be croup which needs moist air, so shut yourselves in the bathroom with the shower on full blast.

Califrau · 05/03/2008 16:53

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster
Miaou · 05/03/2008 16:57

oh blimey he has croup

no treatment but told to go to a and e if it gets worse

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Original poster
Miaou · 05/03/2008 17:00

no shower - will give him a bath and put a bowl of water in his room

any other advice?

(suedonim, I have made friends with your old next door neighbour's daughter )

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scattyspice · 05/03/2008 17:04

Its been a bad year for colds (not a proper winter). I've had one since Oct.

Milliways · 05/03/2008 17:04

When DD had bad croup we almost moved in to the bathroom, if she wasn't in the bath we were in the steamy room.

We were also told to keep her sitting up, so she had to sleep in her carseat (grunting all night next to our bed). Makes it easier to breathe apparently.

Original poster
Miaou · 05/03/2008 17:08

Right, I will find him an extra pillow, thanks

Steam will not help my asthmatic dh !! argh

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QuintessentialShadow · 05/03/2008 17:11

Hi Miaou,
Sorry to hear this. I hung moist towels on the radiators at night, and kept him very upright in bed.

Karvol seemed to irritate him, though.

Califrau · 05/03/2008 17:11

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

reikizen · 05/03/2008 17:11

Have you tried taking him to a homeopath? worked wonders with dd1 when the GP could/would do nothing for various childhood ailments.

Milliways · 05/03/2008 17:13

How old is he Miaou?

I asked about pillows in bed (DD was only about 6 or 7 months) and he said NO - she could roll off, needed to sit up, hence car seat. She was borderline hospital admittance though.

Hope you get some sleep tonight.

suedonim · 05/03/2008 17:21

You can put the pillow underneath the mattress, which raises it up without the baby actually being on the pillow, iyswim. And/or put books under the head end of the cot.

Original poster
Miaou · 05/03/2008 17:56

he is 2.5, so rolling off a PILLOW NOT A PROB oops sorry caps

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Original poster
Miaou · 05/03/2008 18:26

sorry, went to eat tea

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Original poster
Miaou · 05/03/2008 18:28

the eye infection is all part of the same virus, apparently - I have fusidic acid drops for that

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Original poster
Miaou · 05/03/2008 18:28

(grr, that should be 4 stars in the name )

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WingsofanAngel · 05/03/2008 18:36

Ds2 used to get croup. The cold night air can help them too. Just stand at the back door. I put on of those vapour plug ins in the bedroom.
They do seem to grow out of croup ds2 is now 5 and hasn't had it for a while.

PanicPants · 05/03/2008 18:50

A warning about croup.

Ds had this back in october, with the barking caught etc (he's 2.5), we went to the out of hours dr and they said he's fine it's just croup, so we brought him home, and within 5 minutes he was struggling to breath, lips going blue and chest being pulled right in, we debated whether to phone an ambulance, but in the end just got back into the car and raced up to the hospital.

He was a resusitation for 4 hours, with 2 doctors and 2 nurses fighting to control his breathing and stabalise him enough to be admitted and go up to the ward. He needed a nebuliser, steriods and eventually they gave him adrenaline. They kept asking if he could have swollowed something which was lodged on his lung, even though I was adament he hadn't.

They did get his breathing under control in the end, and we were admitted onto the ward but they were very worried and had begun to say things like 'he's beginning to give up' which was very very frightening.

Afterwards I asked the doctor if this was a normal reaction to croup, and he said no, but that about 1 or 2 children in 100, will have this severe form of croup, and that it can be dangerous.

I don't want to frighten you, but everytime I think about it, I wonder what would have happened if we had put him down to bed, and not been there when he started to struggle to breath. They said at the hospital that we should have called an ambulance as he would have started to get treatment asap.

What I'm trying to say is, keep an eye on him!

I d

Original poster
Miaou · 06/03/2008 00:13

oh pp, I remember that

The gp told me to look out for signs and told me to bring him straight back or go to a and e if out of hours if he was struggling to breathe. I keep going in to check on him.

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NorthernLurker · 06/03/2008 00:27

Croup is scary - dd2 only had it once - but it was tough! Is there anybody who can take over for you in the day so you get some rest - between watching them and the sheer noise they make - it's just about impossible to get any sleep! Another vote here for night air - dh took dd1 to the out of hours docs when she had it - it came on quite suddenly and she has a heart defect so we were very freaked out! Anyway - the trip out in the car did her the world of good!

Original poster
Miaou · 06/03/2008 00:32

not really nl, but ds2 wakes up regularly during the night so will use those wakeups to chack on ds1. Then we will all nap during the day tomorrow

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