# 7-month old coughing, wheezing, low fever, but happy and playing- call dr.? UPDATE



## Amila (Apr 4, 2006)

My little guy has had a bit of a junky cough for about 4 days, and has had a low-grade fever on and off for 2 days. (Maybe 100ish degrees). Today and yesterday he has been wheezing slightly when he breathes out. He doesn't appear to have any trouble breathing, and is eating ok, playing, and acting normal. He has been crankier than normal and waking up a lot at night. This morning he prefered a bottle of breastmilk from daddy to the boob, but Dh warmed it up more than usual. He does not have that "sick" look to him. Is this probably just bronchiolitis? Should I bother calling the Dr.?


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## mbbinsc (May 8, 2008)

If you are concerned call. Sometimes they can tell you what is going around in your community (I always find it helpful if I know what the course of illness will be like). I have a 3yo DD who gets asthmatic with colds, I'd be concerned if the wheezing got worse. And it always gets worse at night for her.


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

It doesn't sound like anything I would call for.

-Angela


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## Lordy5 (Feb 8, 2009)

Hmmm.. respiratory issues in a baby so young make me worry. I would definitely call the Dr. for some direction. He/she may just tell you to wait this out with some pain reliever or may want to listen to his lungs. The fever + junky cough could be pre-pneumonia, rsv, etc.

Best of luck with this! I am sorry your baby is unwell.


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## sbgrace (Sep 22, 2004)

Wheezing would make me call. Breathing/asthma stuff can turn bad fast. I've got a kid who is only asthmatic with resp. infections. I'd call because, if nothing else, I'd want a rescue medication/inhaler in case we needed it. And I think untreated asthma is damaging to the lungs.


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## stik (Dec 3, 2003)

My 21 mo dd just spent four days in the hospital with RSV following what initially appeared to be a minor illness with symptoms just like you describe.

Wheezing and fever are symptoms of RSV, and that can get bad and scary really fast. So yes, I would call your HCP.


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## MoonWillow (May 24, 2006)

Yup I think wheezing warrants a call. Before I knew about dd's asthma, she had a bad cough once with wheezing. I called the doc (something I don't normally do but it was pretty bad) and they said that they always want to see kids who are wheezing. I went there thinking that I might get some medicine for her (again something I would not normally do) and was shocked when the doc said that she might send us to the ER.
I do not think that most illnesses need to be treated by a doctor. We almost never go. But when my babe starts wheezing you bet I have her in asap so they can listen with a stethoscope. A true wheez can be hard to hear so if you are actually hearing it, it may be bad enough to warrant treatment.
You just can't mess around with breathing. It's too central to life.


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## Amila (Apr 4, 2006)

I called the doc, and he didn't seem too concerned...said it was probably just a cold, and to give 5-6 drops of robitussen if I wanted to. (probably won't though). He said as long as he is happy/playing/pooping/eating we could just ride it out. Thanks!


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## sbgrace (Sep 22, 2004)

Wow. Robitussin (and other cough/cold medicines) aren't supposed to be given to kids under age 6 (let alone infants). See FDA judgment.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/10/19...fda/index.html

They aren't effective in kids and they can be dangerous. Even our horrible, med pushing ped. we used to have didn't recommend cough medicines for kids and that was four years ago.

I'd really question your pediatrician's judgement. I know that's not what a person wants to hear. But in my opinion you got dangerous advice (ignore a wheeze and give a cold medicine).


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## Lordy5 (Feb 8, 2009)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *sbgrace* 
Wow. Robitussin (and other cough/cold medicines) aren't supposed to be given to kids under age 6 (let alone infants). See FDA judgment.
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/10/19...fda/index.html

They aren't effective in kids and they can be dangerous. Even our horrible, med pushing ped. we used to have didn't recommend cough medicines for kids and that was four years ago.

I'd really question your pediatrician's judgement. I know that's not what a person wants to hear. But in my opinion you got dangerous advice (ignore a wheeze and give a cold medicine).

Totally agree with this. If my infant were wheezing on the weekend, I'd be in the ER. Robitussin is NOT acceptable medication for infants. Also "a few drops" is in no way an appropriate way to tell a mother to medicate her child. Correct dosing of medication to a tiny infant is important and "a few drops" of Robitussin is an egregiously irresponsible way to dispense dosing info.


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## stik (Dec 3, 2003)

I'm also concerned that your doctor isn't checking out the wheeze and is recommending cough syrup in a child so young.

As long as your lo is active and playing, you probably don't need to pester the doc until Monday, but be on the lookout for lethargy. If your lo is unusually sleepy, please go to the ER - lethargy is a sign of compromised lungs. It's also a sign of a slightly sick baby, but you can't tell which it is without checking blood O2 levels.


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## MoonWillow (May 24, 2006)

I am also surprised at the advice. Our doc has us in there asap at the word wheeze. I do believe that many doctors are not very knowledgable about asthma (not that your lo has that), but that is very basic. The cold medicine advice is bad advice and outdated. Is there another doc in the practice? I'd demand that the wheez was listened to... of course, if they don't know what they are listening for then I don't know...


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## Amila (Apr 4, 2006)

Yea...I mentioned something about the new info for the cold meds...he said it isn't the cold meds that are bad for kids, its the parents overmedicating their children and not dosing correctly. I didn't give the robitussen.

He is officially acting sick now, poor guy. Was up every hour last night. The wheezing stops when he is sleeping. No fever yesterday or today...just the bad cough and mild wheezing. Do you really think he could have asthma? Or just bronchiolitis? I don't feel like a trip to the ER is necessary at this point...


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## mbbinsc (May 8, 2008)

I would take him in to see ped today. The wheezing needs to be checked out. If you can hear the wheezing without stethoscope, it may be worse than you realize. It could be ok but wheezing in such a little one can get problematic quickly. Do you know what signs to look for if he is not getting enough oxygen?


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## MoonWillow (May 24, 2006)

I don't think he'd be diagnosed with asthma that young without repeated episodes, so yes they would call it something else, bronchiolitis or reactive airway disease probably. Or maybe you are just hearing congestion, but a wheez can turn serious very fast. A true wheez can be hard to detect...dangerous because it is evidence of constriction/inflamation. You ARE hearing wheezing though which to me, means that he probably needs to be seen. If it turns worse (which would happen very fast) you are not equipped to deal with it.
Hopefully this is all just overreacting but better over than under reacting when it comes to breathing. Hopefully having him seen will be a big reassurance for you that he is fine. But he needs to be listened to by someone competent and it just doesn't sound like your ped is that person.

ETA: Didn't mean to be redundant with the pp.


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## Amila (Apr 4, 2006)

I am going to take him in. I can see his chest indenting when he breathes







He's still a happy little guy though despite it all.


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## MoonWillow (May 24, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *Amila* 
I am going to take him in. I can see his chest indenting when he breathes







He's still a happy little guy though despite it all.

Please update when you can. You are doing the right thing. You guys will get through it.


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## mbbinsc (May 8, 2008)

Hope he is OK. You made the right choice.


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## Amila (Apr 4, 2006)

So it is asthmatic bronchitis







The doctor said its pretty rare in exclusively breastfed babies. His one ear was also red. He gave me an amoxicillin script because of the way his chest sounds (infection) and liquid albuterol. My poor guy has been wheezing all day. So I am confused...does this mean he has asthma? The dr. said not necessarily permanently, just right now.

I am concerned though because when he was 3 months old he had a little cough (no other symptoms) and was wheezing at night.

Ugh! I hope he doesn't have asthma for his whole life









Thanks for the posts- I am glad I took him in.


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## Lordy5 (Feb 8, 2009)

I am so glad you got him some medical attention. You did absolutely the right thing. Hope he is better soon.


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## mbbinsc (May 8, 2008)

Keep a close eye on him. Liquid albuteral did not help my DD, it just made her hyper. We ended up using a nebulizer, which was much more effective (though it can get costly). I had a neighbor whose DD only had one episode and fine 2 years later. My 3 yo DD has had 5 episodes but not asthmatic unless sick or having an allergic reaction. You may want to investigate allergies, esp if your DS has other stuff going on (like eczema or poor sleep).


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## Amila (Apr 4, 2006)

Thanks. No he has not had any allergic reactions to the food I have given him thus far, or through anything I ate, and has never been colicky or anything ever. Great sleeper, easy calm baby. No eczema. No family history of allergies. 100% unvaxed.


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## sbgrace (Sep 22, 2004)

You did the right thing. I'm sorry it was asthamatic sounding. We needed a nebulizer too--so if he's not responding to the liquid ask for a nebulizer.

As far as whether he will struggle with this in the future--focus on now. But not necessarily. Especially if he doesn't have allergies I think he's got a greater chance of outgrowing it. My son still has asthma but we rarely use his inhaler now and he's not on any daily medications at all for asthma or allergies and hasn't been for a year. So he's getting better it seems. He had a lot of asthma with colds up until age 3 or so. He is still asthmatic but he's very mildly affected now so I hope he'll be one to outgrow it.

My sister wasn't asthmatic until high school and is still very asthmatic. Her husband was asthmatic as a young child and isn't anymore.http://www.webmd.com/asthma/news/200...outgrow-asthma Boys might be more likely to outgrow than girls it looks like. But kids can outgrow asthma.

But focus on now. Right now you need a rescue med and to be aware of signs of difficulty (like the retractions you saw







).


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