Bronchiolitis - tips

[Bella_Bee]

Hi all,

little one (7months ) struggling with what the A&E doctors say is bronchiolitis. I went there quite worried when I noticed him taking short, sharp and v frequent breaths. Blood oxygen levels normal and lungs ok. Tbh I felt quite patronised with the usual "first time mum"looks, not to mention the DIRE state of our NHS. And sent home with a "ride it out"pat on the back. OBVIOUSLY little one has been waking every hour. Cough, blocked nose,fever (up to 38). At the moment I have Calpol and calprofen going alongside the calpol plug ins to try to clear the nose when sleeping,saline spray and nose suction when awake. What has your experience of bronchiolitis been? I've read somewhere that often it is just undiagnosed asthma? And any tips for surviving it? He's so miserable and I'm broken seeing him this way. Love

[Pnw2020]

Hi. Sorry to hear your little one is unwell. Can you raise the end of the cot so baby is not lying completely flat when sleeping? Try smaller more frequent feeds so they stay well hydrated.

Both my twins are recovering from this and it has taken about 10 days with each. It is normal for cough to linger for a few weeks but speak with GP if concerned.

Wishing your baby a speedy recovery x

[Seb9]

We found having a humidifier really helped with clearing noses and would even run the shower to steam up the bathroom for a bit to help and sit in there. We also used some vicks baby rub

Try to get them to take as much fluids on as possible, I gave my little girl Ice lollies/ ice cream to help with fluid intake.

Hope they're feeling better soon

[Bailey135]

Morning!

did they discharge you with an inhaler? Keep using it as and when they need it- keep a log of when you use it and keep updating gp- if they’re needing it too frequently it will help you get referred to a specialist.

Prop little one up a little when they’re stuffy, can they roll both ways? Try and encourage sleeping on the front the hospital told us that’s the easiest way for the lungs to get oxygen when they have bronchilitis.

Also they say bronchilitis peaks at about day four so hopefully your out of the worst of it now xx

[Bella_Bee in reply to Bailey135]

Today is day 4 so, erm, yay?! 😄😫

No, they were all useless at the local hosp. Never going back there. There is another one 10mins further away I will use next time.

Inhaler with what ? I could ask the gp.

He can roll both ways but interestingly he coughs a lot more when belly down and his nose seems considerably more blocked so if anything I have been encouraging the opposite. 🤦‍♀️

Thank you, that's all so useful

[Sparklylife]

Our little one had it when he was 8 months old. It was awful. We needed a nebuliser for a bit in ED and got send home with inhaler and spacer. It took about 3 weeks for him to improve, but we only needed the inhaler for just over a week and less and less every day. I think last 3-4 days it was mainly just before bedtime. We raised his cot a little at head end, not a lot, but used some books under its legs, but made sure it was stable. He has had a cough on and off ever since, he is now 14 months. I don’t think it is the same cough, but he improves for such a short time in between it almost feels like it is constant 😅 bless him. He has needed the inhaler on two occasions since with a cold. He started to wheeze, but they say it is not Asthma. Their airways are just so small, so when they get inflamed with viral infection, they swell a little and hence the wheeze. It is so tiring! I hope your little one gets better soon!! And I hope you are ok!

🧡

[Bella_Bee in reply to Sparklylife]

oh no.. do the doctors say the cough is directly related? I haven't slept in 4 days, don't know how many more sleepless nights I have in me but how can you sleep with a baby who struggles to breathe? OK, will try the cot. Can you remember what the inhaler has in it or if you could send me a pic? I made an appt with gp this morning. Also, did your little boy ever stop breathing with it or anything scary? I want to be prepared, whilst trying not to freak out.

[Sparklylife in reply to Bella_Bee]

No, he never stopped breathing. Was just wheezing and coughing, but we have been in ED twice and out of hours GP once after calling NHS 111, so if you are worried, best to get checked out. Hence why we went every time. Just me worrying. I would rather be seen one time too many than wait too long.. did not care what they thought.. but felt more reassured after we had been seen and advice was given.

I have slept on the floor next to little ones cot a few nights, but it is tough. Have you got any family that can help during the day? So you can go for a nap? That is how we managed. At night he just wanted me for comfort. But during the day he was better, so my partner took him or my mum/dad and I could have a nap in the day to catch up with myself.

He was given Salbutamol inhaler. And a cylindrical spacer to help administering it.. but it is still really hard! Don’t know how much he got every time, but we did our best 😅

Hopefully he will never need that again 🤞

Sending you a hug and hopefully you are over the worst! And perhaps GP can help today! 🥰🤞

[Bella_Bee in reply to Sparklylife]

Interesting. Look at what NICE says about salbutamol though. I've started second guessing everything doctors say. I don't know any better but sometimes they give me no confidence whatsoever. It is so exhausting.

nice.org.uk/donotdo/do-not-...

[Sparklylife in reply to Bella_Bee]

They said it was not to treat - it was symptoms management, because his chest was wheezy. So not licensed, it therefore had to say for Asthma on the prescription he was given.. but it was all done while we were away in Norway visiting my family, so don’t know if rules are different there. They did specify they don’t think he has Asthma and was more management of his symptoms at the time. It was viral and just had to wait it out, but at the same time trying to ease symptoms he had. Luckily he did not need admission to hospital as his observations were all good - oxygen level etc. I felt quite supported and nebuliser while we were in hospital before we went home did help. So all we needed at the time. 😇🥰

[RI90]

Hi Bella,

Is it your little ones first time with bronchiolitis? My wee one had it numerous times when he’s younger and it is unfortunately a case of ride it out. Everything you are doing is great and keep doing it and as others have said raise the cot a bit and maybe try a dehumidifier.

It’ll be unlikely that you will get an inhaler for the wee one because of his age - my wee one had pneumonia at 4 months old and unfortunately has asthma as a result but we didn’t get an inhaler for him until he had an asthma attack at 1.5years old due to them not wanting to diagnose. Signs of asthma are typically wheeze, night time cough being one of the tell tale signs whether well or not. If he starts getting a wheeze or any trouble with his breathing - ribs retracting, completely off his feeds and if temp doesn’t settle then I would 100% take him back to be seen.

Hope this helps to reassure x

[Bella_Bee in reply to RI90]

thank you so much for your response, that is so helpful. Do you mean wheeze/cough even when well being a sign of early asthma? I wouldn't describe it as a wheeze for now, more like slightly crackly short breaths. He seems better today actually, I think we peaked at day 3. It's just so scary anything to do with kids' breathing.