Sick baby

Umpalumpa

Looking for advice

Brought our 9 month old to the doctor with a chesty cough and a running nose.He said he wasn't giving her anything and just to lump through the sickness.The little one hasn't slept in 2 days and I've tried calpol and nurofen but with no joy

Anyone out there with any tips?

farmchoice

2 nights of that carry on is enough if she is not getting better by tonight call the doc in the mornig and ask him to prescribe something, steroids antibiotics or a ventlin inhaler preferably all 3. its all very well and good struggling on without meds but why have the poor child suffer if there is no need.

we have gone through this about at least twice if not 3 times, the doc refuses to prescribe anything, 2-3 days of hell for all involved ,then back get the prescription and 24 hours later on the road to recovery.

Annabananna

Hey i know where you are coming from but your doctor may be right not to give antibotic as they are been overused. Has your baby a temperature if so i find paralink good the chemist will give you the best option for a child that age also there is a baby version of vick vaparub and that help the chest if you rub it on before bed and a bit of vaseline on the nose works a trick also make sure she drinks loads you should def go to chemist and they advise you best. I know it terrible with a sick baby i have two under 3 so have had my share of these doses

Mellio

Umpalumpa wrote: »

Looking for advice

Brought our 9 month old to the doctor with a chesty cough and a running nose.He said he wasn't giving her anything and just to lump through the sickness.The little one hasn't slept in 2 days and I've tried calpol and nurofen but with no joy

Anyone out there with any tips?

You shouldnt really need the calpol unless there is a temperature, there has been a bit of chesty coughs going around, our 3 year old had one quite recently but it did go after 4-5 days.

We use actifed but I dont think you can give to under 1 yrs of age.

its always worse at night time cos there little bodies are winding down and the cough gets more aggrevating for them.

I would see by tomorrow if there is no improvement then go back to the docs and tell him/her the cough is still no better, they will check if there is any sign of infection but suggest an antibiotic just in case it gets worse over the weekend but say you wont give it unless you need to.

Thats what we say just in case it does get worse and there in more pain especially two more days over the weekend could be a nightmare.

Lola92

Umpalumpa wrote: »

Looking for advice

Brought our 9 month old to the doctor with a chesty cough and a running nose.He said he wasn't giving her anything and just to lump through the sickness.The little one hasn't slept in 2 days and I've tried calpol and nurofen but with no joy

Anyone out there with any tips?

We are currently in the middle of a dose of this. From experience what works for us is a combination of - snuffle babe chest rub, sterimar nasal spray for a stuffy/blocked nose, karavol capsule in a bowl of steaming water in the room - especially at night. Also we tilted the mattress by putting a pillow under the head of it to help with the cough a little I only give my daughter calpol or neurofen if she is running a temperture that a cool drink won't bring down.

How Strange

I know you want the gp to give you something but the doctor is right not to prescribe antibiotics unless they're necessary.

We've found that the olbas vapouriser is great for night times or some karvol on the sheet in the cot.

My son had what I thought was a very chesty cough for 2-3 months from 8-12 months. The gp listened to his chest a few times and said it was clear each time.

cbyrd

Run your shower for about 20 mins and then take baby into the room for a good whil (sauna effect). Saline spray chest rubs karvol .. hugs . .. The only reason the doc would give you and antibiotic is if your baby has a bacterial infection.

The difference between a viral infection and bacterial infection is the temperature.. viral a temp will come and go with bacterial it remains raised formore than 24 hours even with calpol.

It could be an irritation from pollen or teething.. there's a lot of bugs going round at the moment.. we had the tummy bug 2 weeks ago and we had the cold doing the rounds just before.:(

You won't do your baby any favours by expecting antibiotics every time she gets a dose.. sometimes their immune systems work better being challenged, when they start creche or school it's gets bad :eek:

Good luck with it

crazy cat lady

Mellio wrote: »

We use actifed but I dont think you can give to under 1 yrs of age.

Not to be given to children under the age of 6 I believe. This is quite a recent change so I'm not sure all are aware of it.

mesu

I would second using the snuffle babe, karvol and tilting the mattress. My one year old has had bouts of a cough and a runny nose for months at a time. She was coughing so much we bought a humidifier to give her a bit of relief following advice we got on boards. Our GP listened to her chest each time and said it was clear and she would have to get over it herself. It's very difficult listening to them coughing away all night, I hope your little one gets over it soon.

Umpalumpa

Thanks for all the comments.It is pretty horrible listening to her the way she is.At the moment the only chance of sleeping is when she gets put in her buggy.I think she has slept a total of 2 hours in the last 2 days.When she lies on her back it sounds like she is going to choke.
Might try out a humidifier tomorrow or if she gets worse I'll bring her to the doctor

Lola92

Umpalumpa the reason she probably gets relief sleeping in the buggy is because it doesn't lie completely flat, hence putting a pillow under the cot mattress to emulate the same sort of scenario. It would be well worth giving it a try.
My lady is 17 months and on her third bout of this now. It seems to coincide with teething each time for us, could that be a factor with you? She has gotten over it each time without ever needing antibiotics, brought to the doc the last two times just to be told it was viral and as her chest was clear nothing that could be done by her. Steam and keeping them wrapped up to get over it is the only way I think unfortunately! I would love to be sick for her instead but alas that is the way these things go, It is hard to see them not well!

Umpalumpa

Ye. Tried the pillow under the mattress but my little one likes to move a lot in her cot so after a few min she would be sideways and flat again

How Strange

The vapouriser and karvol really worked the best for us. Btw I also found it coincided with heavy teething.

lynski

i took my little man to the salt therapy place in newbridge today, our second visit. took him a month ago and he got 3 weeks of relief.
he is a bad cough that is URT - no action as far as docs concerned, unless i want to start him on steroids or inhaler. decided not to and work the steam, karvol and salt options, so far so good. i am also cutting out dairy again to see if that helps

mesu

I found teething also brought on a runny nose and I think this would drip down into her little chest at night and cause the coughing. That's just a theory. I've also removed most of the dairy in her diet. She no longer drinks straight cow's milk, although still has yoghurts and I'd put milk in her food if needed too. She's definitely improved since I did this, but it's difficult to know if she was just getting over her last bout anyway.

We used to lay a flat pillow about half way up under her mattress and then another on top of that so she wouldn't be too tilted as she moves a lot in her sleep too.

We got the humidifer as she was getting coughs and colds so regularly, it definitely helps ease the cough at night and would help with a blocked nose too, although I was always wary of how warm the room got with it on all night.