Reoccurring chest infections in 10 month old

Elrose12

Hi

I am looking for advice and anybody who has been through similar experenices.

Since my 10 month old son has been born he keeps suffering from reoccurring chest infections, bronchilitious has had the croup and near phenomena.

Every couple of weeks it comes back starting with a runny nose wheeze then coughing so hard he is puking his food back up again he gets a break of about 10-14 days before it all starts again.

I have been back and forth to 2 different GPs and he has been on 3 different courses of steroids antibiotics on inhalers then off inhalers again been to A&E twice he has had X-rays done and I keep been informed infection on lung it's viral etc we are now waiting on an appointment with a respiratory specialist.

My husband says he feels it is not asthma as he suffered with it as a child and that our son doesn't have the symptoms of shortness of breath all the time etc

Can anyone please share their own stories as I am not happy that these are just viral and am worried it could be something worse that could possibly be missed.

Thanks in advance to anyone can help

mirrorwall14

Elrose12 wrote: »

Hi

I am looking for advice and anybody who has been through similar experenices.

Since my 10 month old son has been born he keeps suffering from reoccurring chest infections, bronchilitious has had the croup and near phenomena.

Every couple of weeks it comes back starting with a runny nose wheeze then coughing so hard he is puking his food back up again he gets a break of about 10-14 days before it all starts again.

I have been back and forth to 2 different GPs and he has been on 3 different courses of steroids antibiotics on inhalers then off inhalers again been to A&E twice he has had X-rays done and I keep been informed infection on lung it's viral etc we are now waiting on an appointment with a respiratory specialist.

My husband says he feels it is not asthma as he suffered with it as a child and that our son doesn't have the symptoms of shortness of breath all the time etc

Can anyone please share their own stories as I am not happy that these are just viral and am worried it could be something worse that could possibly be missed.

Thanks in advance to anyone can help

Is he coughing up fluid? I have cough variant asthma (adult onset though not childhood). I don't have the 'classic' asthma wheeze but when I have an attack I cough to the point of throwing up, pulling muscles in my chest etc.

paddybarry

Our little fella was getting frequent chest infections. He was found to have silent aspiration. A trickle of fluid was getting into his lungs and the bacteria was triggering the infections. We now use carobel to thicken his fluid.

Maybe worth mentioning to GP.

cyning

The thing with asthma is it's different for every child. They don't and won't diagnose under twos: my little girl is on an inhaler 3 times a day and singulair (it's a crushable tablet that helps dry up phlegm) since she was 8 months (13 months now) and intermittently on them before that. I've never heard her wheeze. We've been told we are heading down the asthma route but that they won't know until she's older.

Sligo1

My little guy 2.5 has had an awful chest This winter as has my little girl (1). Boy was admitted to Crumlin a couple weeks ago with pneumonia aswell but girl was sent home. And she is still no better. Boy is better but I'll bet my bottom dollar he has asthma as we have a strong family history of it (even if my husband and I don't have it). With asthma you may notice an expiratory wheeze which my son has a lot. Recurrent chest infections can sometimes also be a possible sign.

Anyway, I am bringing them both to see a paediatric respiratory consultant in the next week or 2 to get them both fully checked out. My girl still had a terrible raptly chest which has been going on 2-3 months now! And they keep feeling me it's vital. Maybe it is but at this point I'm taking her to a specialist to out my mind at ease of nothing else.

yellow hen

Our 2 yr old sounds very like your son. We've been to a&e so many times and doc has had to call ambulance as his breathing can get so forced. He then sounds like he's drowning in mucus for several days after. We've been to a respiratory consultant and have had allergy testing. He's allergic to cars/dogs, dust and mould which is classically asthma. Again he can't be properly diagnosed for a few years. We recently got his inhalers changed from ventolin and bectide to flixotide and I forget the name of the reliever. Anyway, he's been ok the last few weeks so fingers crossed we've found a formula that works. When they're bad, it's the most trying time. My heart sinks when I hear him coughing because I know what's coming. There's no history of respiratory problems on either side of the problem so we still hope he'll grow out of it.
Hope your little guy improves soon. X

dori_dormer

That sounds very like my husband when he was a baby. Turned out to be very bad asthma. He was sick every winter and in hospital a few times a year with it until his teens. He has thankfully grown out of it for the most part.

There is nothing antibiotics will do except weake his immune system worse if the infection is viral. It leaves them more susceptible to catching something else right after. Have you tried some probiotics like Udos choice to boost his immune system when he is on anti biotics? I got it in the health shop for my boy recently, the doctor recommended it

Elrose12

mirrorwall14 wrote: »

Is he coughing up fluid? I have cough variant asthma (adult onset though not childhood). I don't have the 'classic' asthma wheeze but when I have an attack I cough to the point of throwing up, pulling muscles in my chest etc.

Hey thanks for the reply no not coughing up fluid but can cough so much he pukes mucus type fluid depends On how bad he has been hit with it

Elrose12

yellow hen wrote: »

Our 2 yr old sounds very like your son. We've been to a&e so many times and doc has had to call ambulance as his breathing can get so forced. He then sounds like he's drowning in mucus for several days after. We've been to a respiratory consultant and have had allergy testing. He's allergic to cars/dogs, dust and mould which is classically asthma. Again he can't be properly diagnosed for a few years. We recently got his inhalers changed from ventolin and bectide to flixotide and I forget the name of the reliever. Anyway, he's been ok the last few weeks so fingers crossed we've found a formula that works. When they're bad, it's the most trying time. My heart sinks when I hear him coughing because I know what's coming. There's no history of respiratory problems on either side of the problem so we still hope he'll grow out of it.
Hope your little guy improves soon. X

Sounds like your having a tough time hopefully we both find the answers soon 😓x

Elrose12

Sligo1 wrote: »

My little guy 2.5 has had an awful chest This winter as has my little girl (1). Boy was admitted to Crumlin a couple weeks ago with pneumonia aswell but girl was sent home. And she is still no better. Boy is better but I'll bet my bottom dollar he has asthma as we have a strong family history of it (even if my husband and I don't have it). With asthma you may notice an expiratory wheeze which my son has a lot. Recurrent chest infections can sometimes also be a possible sign.

Anyway, I am bringing them both to see a paediatric respiratory consultant in the next week or 2 to get them both fully checked out. My girl still had a terrible raptly chest which has been going on 2-3 months now! And they keep feeling me it's vital. Maybe it is but at this point I'm taking her to a specialist to out my mind at ease of nothing else.

Omg you poor thing you sound like you have had the run of it hopefully we both get somewhere x

steppen

He's been tested for CF by GP yeah?

mirrorwall14

Elrose12 wrote: »

Hey thanks for the reply no not coughing up fluid but can cough so much he pukes mucus type fluid depends On how bad he has been hit with it

Dry cough long term like that is definitely an asthma symptom. It's possible to have it without the classic 'wheeze' just rarer. Inhalers have helped me a lot

Sligo1

steppen wrote: »

He's been tested for CF by GP yeah?

OPs baby would probably have had a heel prick (Guthrie) test as newborn to rule out any metabolic disorders such as CF. It would be rare enough that a baby would be missed due to this. however, it is possible to have a sweat test done if OP or his/her doc thinks it could be CF. But I'm more inclined to think it would be very rare for the Guthrie test to miss a baby with CF. But always a very small possibility I suppose....

Rose35

I feel your pain....... been through this with my son, in the end after seeing a consultant in our local hospital he was admitted for tests, he has had the sweat test done and it was clear, numerous blood tests, chest x-rays, barium swallow to check for aspiration, everything came back clear, conclusion is he suffers from nasal drip this can cause coughs that sound very much like he has a chest infection, he is on an anti-histamine to help keep the nose dry. We attend the consultants clinic every four months to keep an eye on this and will be attending for a few more years to come (so i was told at last appointment), babies with nasal drip often develop allergies when they reach age 5/6 so will have to wait and see how it develops. Having him seen by a specialist was the best thing we did because he was on so many antibiotics for chest infections that weren't really chest infections. My son is now 2yrs and 8 months, was seen by consultant at 18 months.

Sligo1

Is there any recommendations here for paediatric respiratory consultants? I've been given the name of a Dr. Greally in Blackrock (Dublin). But any other recommendations would be appreciated. .

pwurple

I was through the mill with my daughter when she was around two, with recurring respitory issues. Ended up hospitalised twice. Slight runny nose would turn into awful cough, then pneumonia. We went to two private consultants on it, and both said the same thing to us... Respitory induced wheeze, which is apparently very common in children up to the age of 5. It's where the child's lungs overeact to a slight cold (virus), going into mucusy coughing overdrive. We were told to "manage" the minor colds and runny noses, before they get to the cough stage. Gp explained that mean treat them.

So, the Treatment was the same as for asthma. Two inhalors over the winter period. Preventer (brown one) every day from about october, and switch to reliever when a cough appears. I make sure she gets plenty of sunshine and the vit d drops too. She hasn't had a cough since, she is 4 1/2 now.

I'd get referred to consultant if i were you, completely changed things for us.

yellow hen

Sligo1 wrote: »

Is there any recommendations here for paediatric respiratory consultants? I've been given the name of a Dr. Greally in Blackrock (Dublin). But any other recommendations would be appreciated. .

Pm'ing you now Sligo.

Rose35

We never experienced pneumonia thankfully but if it starts with a runny nose and then develops into a cough then it is not asthma, so our consultant said, a cough that is not associated with a runny nose to start is something more and should be looked into. Just wanted to add this on reflection to my earlier post, good luck with it OP.