Breathing Problem

[steveA]

Our son is now 13 months old and has upper respitory congestion for nearly 4 months now. We have been told by several different GP's that he has a cold/viral infection/a bug going around. We have tried different antibiotics, decongestants, vapourizer and raising the end of his cot, but all only have very minor effect. We can here his breathing clearly at his doorway. What is wrong with him or do we worry too much?

[Sharon]

Hopefully you are worrying about nothing at all.

But for peace of mind you could perhaps try calling the children's hospital and speaking with one of the doctors or consultants in the paedatric respiratory department. There's no harm in trying, especially if you are not satisfied with what the GPs are telling you.

[Gemma]

Hi Steve,

I would not panic, I am a respiratory nurse in an adults hospital and
I would defiantly call your local children's Hospital, to ease your anxieties, there is no harm in bringing him in to the emergency dept at night when his breathing is audible so they can see what has been happening.

What other respiratory symptoms does he have?

- is the breathing audible on breathing in or out, or both?
- does he have a chronic runny nose?
- does he have a cough? If so what does it sound like?
- does he have a fever?
- has he lost any weight?

Make sure you mention these to the medical officer or nurse you speak to.

Also bringing him in and getting checked out will also ensure there is nothing else going on, never let any health care professional tell you not to go with your gut instincts as parents, as you know your child best.

As a nurse and mother my gut feeling is in the absence of fever and or general lethargy (ie ruling out bacterial/viral infections), and he has had this for four months, it is not compromising his breathing significantly (if it was it would have escalated by now) and it will most probably subside as the air at night becomes warmer. The night air really plays with any respiratory condition. If his breathing is only wheezy at night try to heat the room and have the vaporiser going, even though is having minimal effect a small effect is better than none.

My other suspicion would be is he allergic to anything in the house? Have you considered a dust, food, pet allergy or are there any plants outside his window that have any odours? (this would be more significant in spring with pollen but anything is worth a look at) Is his room dusted and vacuumed regularly? Another thing to try would be an air purifier to filter the air he breaths (but I would exhaust all other options as they are expensive).

Also try a GP that also incorporates Natural Medicine. They can be hard to find but they tend to have a more holistic approach to health care.

Best of luck, hang in there. But I would urge you to go to the kids’ hospital as if there is nothing wrong, you did not lose anything by bringing him, and if there is something wrong he will be in the right place for it to be sorted out as quickly as possible.

(Please note that I can only give advice based on what I would do, and this does not take preference over a medical opinion.)

[steveA]

We started to try the emergency department because we were fed up with no results. I think the order went Croup on Sunday;Tonsilitis on Tuesday; Vomiting on Wednesday; Diahoera on Friday. He stayed overnight on Friday at which he showed minimal congestion(typical) while all the time the doctors weren't interested in long term problem only the current problem- leaving us more stressed. Then finally on the following Tuesday we were able to see a Paediatrition( after a months wait). He sent him for x rays and blood tests to find- at the moment- pneomonia his left lung. Something that can affect his whole immune system.
The last few nights we can hardly hear him- and he won't stop eating!!!
It has left me with a lot of doubt about the ability of medical staff to listen.

[jakobsmum]

Glad to hear that you are finally getting somewhere. I nearly died from pneumonia when I was 5 because the doctors thought that my mother was a neurotic parent. They finally took X rays of my chest and came crawling back to my mother saying that I needed to be admitted to hospital immediately. Because of her fighting I am here today. Good on you for persisting and believing in yourselves as parents. :)

Hope things improve soon.

[Gemma]

Hi Steve,

I'm so glad you finally found a diagnosis.

Interesting that he had no tempature or pain when breathing. Pneumonia usually has high temps, pain on breathing, shortness of breath - so decreased lung function, +/- cough. I wonder if the antibiotics kept the pneumonia at bay...not strong enough to fully treat the infection but enough to stop it from getting worse? I would love to know.

My advice with medical staff is to always, always, be persistant (+++) if you as a parent believe your child is not right. But they do have to go off clinical data and unfortunatly they didn't have a lot to go from as he didn't have temps, or cough, pain, it is winter and many kids have perstistant upper respiratory problems until it is summer (like my bub :rolleyes: ) and he decided not to have the congestion in the hospital...so typical makes you (and all other parents in the same boat...including me at times) look like neurotic parents. It can be really hard sometimes for them if they don't have a great deal of clinical data to go from and they have parents wating for an explanation of why their kid is sick. At least you were able to get to a consultant and find a diagnosis.

Sounds like you had a hell of a week though. Dont you just love it when kids get everything at once. :rolleyes:. Last week Grace was vomiting on Wednesday, Thursday was Tonsilitis and middle ear infections in both ears, and Friday we got chicken pox :eek:

I hope both our kids get well soon!

[steveA]

From what we have experienced lately, I'm sure doctors read straight from a medical book because it is the "well travelled path", much easier and simpler for them.
He's been "fine" for 5 days(I even had to make sure he was breathing), but last night he started tossing and turning trying to get a good breath in; this has started to coincide with him reverting back to 2 sleeps a day. This time their is no coughing or runny nose- so it has to be something "physically" wrong behind his nose.
Fortunately fait was with us slightly. Earlier yesterday-being one of "those" fathers- I was trying to record with a cordless mic a few of his first words. That was a disaster, but I was able to take the mic into his room and record his breathing- we have undeniable proof, if the doctor has a cassette player.
He goes to the GP tomorrow to check on the Rotovirus( I don't even think I've mentioned that one) and the Peadiatrition on Thursday; so the saga continues....

[Gemma]

Really think you are being a bit harsh. But best of luck with it all. Let us know what transpires at the appt. :)