Bronchiolitis

[hsanders]

Just wondered whether anyone had endured a 5 month old/young baby who had bronchiolitis? My DS has been ill for ten days now and cough is getting no better, still has temp [despite Calpol], not eating great, and right now is sleeping in his cot and all I can hear is wheezing.

Lovely nurse at the walk-in centre this morning said to go to GP to confirm Bronchiolitis on Monday, but he could have it for up to a year and that it's highly contagious for other children!

Great - as I returned to work two weeks ago and last week, my boss kindly, but through gritted teeth [understandably], let me work from home to look after DS.

What have you found that has worked?

Do any natural medicines work?

Please help if you can - any advice gladly received.

10 days is rough - you must be exhausted.

My babe (almost 6 months) had bronchial pneumonia at 2.5 months then bronchiolitis at 4.5 months which needed hospitalisation. He recently became sick again - caught it early this time cuz I'm so weary - its just in his sinus/throat ears now. Interestingly, since we changed his formula to lactose free (in last 24 hours) his snuffling and "tight chest" seem to have gone - he is a lot happier. Doctors would not really agree that it could be a dairy allergy (he is partially breast fed too - I just can't produce enough) - but a homeopath confirmed my suspicions and it seems it could be the thing. He is also intolerant to soya.
Is yours on formula? If so, I would check that out, if bf, remove dairy from your diet.
Only things that helped my babe get over the bout in hospital was saline nebuliser and physio - extremely effective.
Hope this can help. Hang in there - but also accept any help thats offered - you need your rest to take good care of your babe.

ditto what fairi said, and to add that when when he is particurly bad you can take him into the bathroom and run the hot tap to make it steamy, if you just sit with him on your lap the steam should ease his breathing.
I didn't think that you could catch it but if they are prone to it they can have reacurances. It also makes them prone to croup, which has an awful wheeze.

My dd2 had bronchiolitis at 3 weeks - very poorly - ended up in intensive care. He is now 8 months and fine.
It is highly infectious and contagious and is more prominent Nov - March. It tends to last a couple of weeks - day 5/7 is usually the worst. Cough can linger for longer. I was told so many different things by so many doctors - but most said expect him to be weazy for a good while afterwards ( one said up to seven years!)He is not infact weazy at all now unless he has a cold. tokk about 2 - 3 months for cough to go.
In terms of helping him sleep / breath I used to put my electric veg steamer on in the bedroom which I found really helped. Also tip head end of cot slightly.
Hope he gets better soon - it is so horrible when they are ill!

My dd1 has this at 4 months old, ended up in hospital in a o2 tank for a week. Horrible illness

DD had it at 4 months, ended up in A+E on boxing day, wasn't given anything just has to keep a close eye on her. She was ill for a bout a week before making any improvement. Hope yours gets well soon xxx

Thank you so mcuh for your messages and thanks for the advice - he is sleeping but wheezing and coughing every 15 mins or so at the moment.

Sent husband off to a friend's wedding so at least one of us can get a night's sleep - am not sure how much I am going to get because I worry he cannot breath properly.

Hang on...coughing again...

He stopped as I was going upstairs!

Anyway...interested to hear about the whole dairy thing as he was breastfed for 2 weeks but I failed miserably...and very quickly developed ezcema [Dad has it to]...and we have eventually given in to steroid cream for when it flairs up. But anyway, my point about the dairy issue..at the moment, DS is not able to have full formula [SMA] - I have to weaken it such as 6 oz water to 4 scoops.

Anyway, I am rambling on...delirious with no sleep but listening to Paul McCartney on the Live 8 gig...actually, thinking about it...what am I complaining about!

hsanders - don't worry too much about the dairy thing. ds was breastfed till 15 months and had bronchiolitis about 5 times.

Not much you can do, except give baby expectorant and ventolin (prescribed for ds). humidifying the room helps.

this may be useful from NHS Direct

My ds had bronchilitis repeatadly and although inhalers and humidifiers helped it just kept coming back again and again. It got very wearing as he was like your hsanders, awake every 15 mins. It was also a problem for me with work.

In the end I took him to see a Homoeopath and saw an immediate improvement. He was wheezing badly the first time I took him and the remedy she gave me (Lycopodium (sp?)) helped tremendously and enabled him to sleep for several hours at a time. Once that bout was over she gave him Tuberculinum to strengthen his lungs. I now have a remedy I keep at home which I give him immediately he gets a cold or cough and this keeps things from escalating. He hasn't wheezed at all for 4 months now.

She also cleared up an outbreak of eczma he had and helped him with separation anxiety. I can't recommend it enough!

Wow FatMomma - v. interested in what you have to say as I have alreday asked the Gp to refer me to our Homeopathic Hospital in Bristol for his ezcema - not sure how long the wait it - I'll look into going privately tomorrow morning.

That sounds like it is a good move.

Thanks so much.

I don't suppose anyonw knows how long I need to keep him out of nursery? He has recurring bouts of conjunctivitis with this illness too - the nursery are never going to take him with that as well as a terrible cough! They have a responsibility to the other children understandably.

I thought I had finally gone completely mad when I clicked on this thread (as I was sure I had posted on it - but then realised you created 2 threads and I posted on your other one!).

Conjunctivitis - obviously the nurseries won't take the child with this. They always took dd back when she had stopped producing discharge and was on antib eye drops. (in the end, I think I was hardly at work for her first 4 months in nursery). With the bronchiolitis, my ds coughed for weeks after he had finished the illness so I would use your judgement for whenever you think he is well enough to go.

Dd had it at four months old (over 4.5 years ago now), but I remember hospital sent us home because she could catch more bugs there with a weaken immune system. She had antibiotics and for the next couple of years had a couple of courses every winter as nearly every cold went straight to her chest. The first time she was being looked after by my mother so I do not know at what stage nursery would have taken her back

The second winter she was at nursery, which was very good and after the first 24 hours antibiotics would let her back. I would suggest you check with your nursery what their procedure is for this time and any subsequent.

I am not sure if you have done this already but raise the head for your ds, we used telephone directories under the feet of the cot. Not sure what age you can use Iburophen from, but if that is an option you can alternate that and calpol (ie one at 1pm, the other at 3pm and the first again at 5pm) for one day, some times we have been told to do longer when dd was older. I would double check with doctors that this is still valid, nhs direct I found were not very good with babies but maybe try and get to A&E if you cannot see your GP Monday am.

dd had it at 3 1/2 months. The worst for us was the sickiness (she had reflux anyway) and lack of appetite which of course can lead to dehyration, then she got a UTI and ear infection as she recovered.

Agree with the advice so far. It is however viral so ab's won't help unless there is also a bacterial infection presetn too. Ventolin as a syrup or an inhaler would help open the airways if he is wheezy, raise the head of cot (up to 60o, we used Ikea toilet training steps) and use a humidifier and/or damp towels left on radiator at night. Fresh night air sometimes helps too.

Not sure about the may have it for a year. It is caused by the RSV common cold virus so I suppose it may repeat with each cold although ease as their tubes grow. dd only had the one bout. Friends's dd had it and then had several bouts of croup.

Thanks for all your advice.

Have spoken with new boss today and she has agreed for me to work from 1.20pm until 8pm tomorrow only - and my husband has arranged to work until 1pm tomorrow. I have no family near so cannot rely on them and the mother-in-law always has a cold and smokes 40 a day so is always coughing!!! So we cannot use her services although she'd love to look after him!

I am probably being way too protective but he has been in bed since 7.30pm, Calpol assisted and he's coughed every 10-15 minutes. His conjunctivitis is still not going either so will definitely be at the GP tomorrow and make arrangements to see an homeopath who specialises in treating babies - if anyone knows one in Bristol, please let me know.

Thanks again for all your assistance.

DS had bronchiolitis when he was 3 months old and has only just stopped coughing now hes 10 months, they gave him an inhaler for bedtime which really helped and the gave a nebulizer so all he had to do was breath with a mask over his face. he was also a hell of a lot better off cows milk and dairy i know its horrible but it will get better keep on at your gp if it doesnt get better soon thats what i did as they kept saying that he would have to get rid of it himself - but in the end they gave him the inhaler and it really helped. i hope he feels better soon. x

Good luck with the doc's tomorrow hsanders.

My homoeopath has a lot of experience with very young children, she is just outside of Yeovil but also does a clinic one day a week in Taunton. CAT me if you would like her details.

Just to give you an idea of what to expect I paid £35 for the first session which lasted around 90 minutes and pay £23 per session thereafter. We went back after 6 and 12 weeks and now only if we have a problem.

sick for a long time is grueling for mom or dad, whoever takes care of baby. up all night, oh man. funny thing is by the time they are better it doesn't seem that bad 10 days after that.
ds has never been well for more than 3 weeks, so i understand. good luck. and just enjoy it really, because when they get bigger they don't want you to baby them.

SenoraPostrophe - about the dairy issue from your earlier post - did you have dairy products while you breastfed your babe? I ask as they can affect your breastmilk too if baby is allergic. If you yourself have ever tended to sinus probs/postnasal drip or tonsollitis, then it is likely that you are intolerant too.

Fairi - funny you should say about the sinusistis thing for me as I am off to the ENT clinic at hospital today as have had sinusitis for eight years.

Did not have dairy while breastfeeding as a)was off all foods/completely lost my appetite since 37 weeks until about one month after DS was born - hence fact could not feed DS properly and he lost over 10% of birth weight very quickly. So gave up on BF and moved to formula.

b) normally, due to sinuses, did not drink mil but whilst pregnant craved for at least 3 pints a day of Organic semi-skimmed!!! So I has sinuitis all through pregnancy and maybe DS developed an intolerence whilst I carried him!

As for work, boss is not so understanding, which I understand as I only went back two weeks ago. So I have had to take holiday today and probably for rest of week as DH cannot get time off.

As for GP - he said he thinks it's not bronchiolitis but the beginnings of asthma so have given us ventolin so help him - did not do anything last night but I am sure it's going to take a few days!