Bronchiolitis coughing, anyone with any tips?

[Charlie4491]

So my little boy is 8 months old.
When he was 6 months he developed bronchiolitis and had to go to hospital for a few nights, was on and off oxygen and had a few saline nebulisers which seemed to help, fever was all over the place and he was clearly struggling to breathe sucking his tummy under his ribs and dipping near his windpipe head bobbing etc.
The consultant told us any cold would likely go straight to his chest, and yes that has been the case. He always has a persistent cough especially during the night but when he gets a cold it’s dreadful. He’s just getting over one now and he seems to wake in the night and it takes about 2-3 hours of coughing to the point he’s almost sick. (He did actually sick up a load of mucus the other morning aswel). Is there anything that anyone has tried to help their baby to cough up quicker so they aren’t coughing for hours on end. His poor ribs must hurt so much after all that coughing and his throat must be incredibly sore. I feel so helpless just cuddling him and patting his back whilst he’s coughing.. surely there must be something that can relieve his symptoms it can’t be considered normal from a medical point of view for babies to suffer like this. He seems to get a cold almost every other week so just as he’s gotten over one he’s got another one. So far we’ve tried the usual calpol ibuprofen for the discomfort, tried giving him milk when he wakes but he just coughs and splutters, we’ve tried calpol vapour plug ins, I’ve tried olbas oil drops on a Muslin tied to his cot, I’ve tried saline nasal drops, we brought a warm mist humidifier that contains vicks, we’ve tried letting him sleep with a pillow so he’s propped up, honestly if anyone has tried anything and been successful I would love to hear it.
I’m beyond exhausted now seems everynight is a battle.
(And yes before I get any negative comments, I do take him to the doctors every time he starts up with another cold just to check it’s nothing more serious, the drs must love me in there every fortnight!)

Humidfier, raise head end of cot on thick books

Can you get him to take a small drink immediately after he coughs each time. It will help soothe his throat a little. If the coughing is so bad that it is interfering with his feeding then giving milk after each bout of coughing will get the nutrition into him.

Raise head of cot. Cool mist humidifier better than warm one I believe. Probably too young for an inhaler but might be worth discussing with a doctor? Oh and plenty of fresh air wherever possible as all the central heating indoors doesn't help at this time of year. Hope he's feeling better soon x

Put the pillow under the mattress rather than on top. I’ve also once resorted to strapping one of mine into the buggy to sleep.

The only thing that has helped my daughter is a salbutamol inhaler. She had bronchiolitis as a baby and has struggled with colds and nighttime coughs both winters since. The GP prescribed an inhaler last year and I give it to her when she starts with the nighttime cough. It might be worth asking the GP, although my daughter was over one when we got the inhaler so he may be too young?

If your house is heated a warm bath before bed can be good (opposite to the advice in olden days when cold and damp were a problem)

Also- when mine were mucusy I used to put them tummy down on my lap dropping one of my legs lower so his head was down and pat his back to being up mucus. I can’t remember whether he was coughing too or not (long time and sleep-deprived memory loss) so maybe check with gp or hv first

My youngest used to struggle with her chest. Our doc usually prescribed ventolin for the nebuliser mixed with a steroid to open up the lungs. Will the doc not prescribe anything for him? Always cleared ours up in a couple of days, and now she is bigger things don’t go to her chest as much.

Run an extremely hot bath with the door closed/fan off if possible, then sit in the bathroom with him for a bit to breathe the steamy air (not in the bath)

I do back therapy with my DD when she has her lung episodes- not CF but very frequent lung infections. A respiratory physio showed me how to do them, really helps bringing up mucus

Also try piriton, it can help with persistent coughs. Doc recommended it to me and I now tell everyone.
Obviously he still needs milk but would get as much other liquid into him as possible to help disapate the phlegm.

I second salbutamol inhaler. Made the world of difference. And be aware you can give a lot more puffs than thestandarstwopuffs when they are ill....can't remember the numbers now but make sure the gp gives you proper training.... ours didn't!!

Also don't hesitate to call ambulance ever if you think he's struggling a bit for breath... I Don't mean to alarm you but I also wish someone had told me it could be a possibility and it's ok to call! I had never called an ambulance before and wasn't sure whether I should the first time we needed one.

I second the PP who said definitely call an ambulance if you think his breathing is struggling. We have asthma in the family and they don't diagnose until older. So don't hesitate go with your instinct.

My DS had bronchitis at about the same age and we had an inhaler and spacer which helped slightly, and a cool humidifier.
We couldn't raise the head end of the cot as he is such a wriggler he does laps of the cot.

I do feel for you as its a horrible time with such a young baby. 💐

Completely agree with anyideasonthis about the ambulance. We’ve had to call one numerous times. The general rule for DD’s breathing is if no improvement after 10 puffs of inhaler through the spacer then it’s ambulance.

We also have one of these for her bed- wedgehog.co.uk/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8aGLl57L3wIVypPtCh2gDQ37EAAYASAAEgKpyfD_BwE

Salbutamol inhaler worked here too, but DS was 2, nearly 3, when he had bronchiolitis (hospital overnight) and was subsequently prescribed the inhaler. He now takes a brown steroid inhaler twice a day as it’s likely he has asthma (although it can’t be formally diagnosed until he’s 7/8, he’s nearly 4 now) and that has made a huge difference to nighttime coughing.

My daughter has asthma and this is is exactly what we went through for the first two years especially the coughing at night and vomiting to clear the mucus. She was then diagnosed asthmatic and put on flixitide inhaler daily and ventolin when required. We also have an asthma plan. Could you ask to be referred to the asthma clinic for a follow up review? I dread the winter but so far this winter with the correct medication and use of the asthma plan she is a lot more settled.

Wow thank you all for your replies!
I never knew about this salbutamol inhaler, I just googled it and it says it can be used from any age? Im not sure why my dr hasn’t prescribed anything yet. Since he was admitted to hospital about October time his chest has never cleared since but every cold he gets just makes it so much more difficult for him. I’m definitely going to try and book him in tomorrow and see what they will do for him. I’m honestly really grateful for all of your replies, we are so sleep deprived and upset to see him like this it’s so nice to know there’s something he can have (clearly if I’m pushy enough because so far we’ve just been turned away each time and told he will get better)
Thank you! X

How did you get on with the doctor?

MummaGiles,
I took him yesterday morning, explained we was on day 12 of coughing spluttering and being up all night with him, she said it could be reflux so prescribed him gaviscon ... I didn’t feel happy so I just said it outright that I felt he might benefit by trying an inhaler because the coughing I can feel it in his chest I can hear the mucus in his chest I’m 99.9% sure. I said I know I’m
Not a doctor but I know my boy well. He had mild bronchiolitis last month and again this month that means he’s had it 3x in the past 3 months. We’re lucky to have a understanding doctor, she said she could see my point and it could be benificial trying the inhaler, after waiting in the waiting room for the prescription she said she’s not sure he can have the inhaler because the guidelines say it’s for over 1s (& should really be for children under 3?) so she needed to have a chat with the other doctors at the surgery and she would get back to me...so I basically take the hint that the answer is going to be no, completely heartbreaking I wish someone would listen and give him a chance with an inhaler. My friends baby was prescribed it at 3 months.. I don’t understand how he is meant to cope with his breathing and coughing each time he catches bronchiolitis without any help. If I took him to a&e (like we have done) he’s put on oxygen and given saline nebulisers, but when they discharge us home I don’t have access to those things so surely he’s entitled to something?!
She said if the gaviscon didn’t work the next step would be to refer him to the children’s hospital for a chest X-ray and some bloods... I don’t know why because if he’s not in the middle of suffering with another bout then his lungs would look 90% clear (he never sounds 100%).
Just feel helpless...

That’s so frustrating. When DS was suffering we had follow up from the community nurses who helped us with managing and then weaning off the inhaler. There seems to be a real disparity in care depending on who you see / where you are.

Yes I completely agree. I think it depends on the doctor doesn’t it, it is frustrating though because he will just carry on suffering until they do give him something or until summer starts (I’m assuming it gets better then)

I’d second all of the PPs advice re an inhaler. DD got bronchiolitis twice at 10 months and it was awful. She’s never really gotten over it completely but using an inhaler (properly - pinning down with a nebuliser) and a strong steroid (flixitide) has improved things. She still gets colds that got to her chest immediately and still coughs at night but so much better. It’s soul destroying and ime GPs just don’t know how to manage it. Are you under a paed at the hospital?

All the other tips also apply re. Raising the cot, humidifier, olbas oil on Muslims and snuffle babe on feet and chest.

Good luck - it’s awful and so distressing.

Please, OP and anyone who has mentioned Salbutamol or piriton - get your child skin-prick tested for dust mite allergy.

My DS had a couple of winters of what we thought were repeated chest infections/colds and started with a bout of bronchiolitis

I should add with his inhaler, it takes a while to fine tune a dosage but since then we have had zero recurrence of these symptoms (last 2 or 3 winters)