Wheeze, Rattle, Cough-Cough-Cough-Cough June 4, 2008
Posted by Mistress B in Ramblings.trackback
Sorry dear internets for my inattention this week but my baby is sick and he’s disturbing my sleep.
A few weeks ago my young fella had a sore throat. It went away after a few days and then he started coughing a little at night. I put him on his preventer and reliever inhalers immediately. It got a little worse, but only at night so I started putting Vicks on his chest, putting eucalyptus oil in the oil burner and put the vapouriser in his room. It helped some, but still the wheeze, rattle, cough-cough-cough-cough did not go away.
Over the weekend it got noticeably worse and with the onset of a colder spell there has been no relief from the wheeze, rattle, cough-cough-cough-cough during the day. He scared his teachers on Monday who expected him to have a full blown asthma attack the next time he cleared his throat.
Can’t say as I blame them. It scares the crap out of me at night to hear the wheeze, rattle, cough-cough-cough-cough. Hoping that it doesn’t get worse, trying to sleep while still keeping a listening ear out for him. Remembering when he was little having to take him to hospital after his lips had turned blue because we couldn’t stop the wheeze, rattle, cough-cough-cough-cough.
Back then they called it croup. I’m not sure what they call it now that he’s not a toddler anymore. The result is still the same though – sleepness nights for me and restless nights for him as the wheeze, rattle, cough-cough-cough-cough continues.
And our family GP isn’t here at the moment. We had to see another doctor who doesn’t know TJ’s history. Always my worst nightmare when it comes to this stuff because as bad as he gets at night, by day his chest is usually clear. Some doctors don’t take the symptoms I describe seriously until we show up in the middle of the night at casualty for help. This time though, he was wheezy when examined so we got what he needed without having to go through a whole lot of bullshit.
We started the prednisone yesterday and already his cough has changed.
It’s becoming more chesty now though. If the usual cycle runs true to form by this time next week he will be on antibiotics for a chest infection and I’ll still be worrying at night about his soaring temperature. What a great start to winter.
I just hope my own wheeze, rattle, cough-cough-cough-cough doesn’t start up anytime soon.
Comments
Sorry comments are closed for this entry
Full posts
Dances to the beet of her own drum 
((HUGS)) to you.
Praying this is it as far as winter flus go for you.
Yay that the meds worked immediately.
Your right it’s a Viscous cycle. Here is hoping mommy doesn’t stay sick.
Blessings.
Dorothy from grammology
remember to call gram
http://www.grammology.com
Praying he gets better soon and you don’t get sick.
Heidi got croup last year and was put on the toddler steroid for it.
I grew up with asthma and my brother had asthma also. That kind that really only gets bad at night and you mostly don’t notice during the day. Heidi seems to have it as well. I hate that doctors don’t believe it.
There’s 2 things that I especially hate – re-hashing details of previous issues to new teachers each year and going over medical history with a new doctor so that they don’t think that you are a fruit loop or imagining that you have the latest thing that you saw on A Current Affair.
Hope that the cough, weeze and rattle is gone soon and that he doesn’t need AB’s for a chest infection. And that you stay well too.
(HUGS) I keep forgetting your season is off from ours. We are just starting summer. You are just starting winter?
Hugs. Biggest hugs.
I am so there with you.
Hoping that things improve and if they don’t that you get all teh right medical attention you need. There is nothing worse than knowing your baby is sick but nobody will listen to you because they ‘look ok’.
Also, hope you’ve stocked the cupboard for those prednisone munchies!!!
That is so like what my son used to get when he was younger…..cough, cough, cough all night long. It would start at around midnight and go for hours. And no, or hardly any, cough during the day! It drove me nuts.
Our GP always treated it as a form of asthma….and apparently croup and asthma have similar treatments….predmix or prednisone! After he was on it though, he would be as high as a kite and then we’d have to wean him off it!
Thankfully, he is over it now but does get similar symptoms if he has a cold.
Oh, and he still suffers from mild (wheezy) asthma and has had blood tests for allergies that show allergies indicative of asthma.
Hope you get some sleep though. There is nothing worse than the coughing nights! I feel for you!
Oh how terrible, for all of you 😦 My eldest was like that and fortunately seems to have outgrown the asthma and regular coughs. Let’s hope TJ does too.
Hugs
xxx
oh that is the worst.. sleeping with one ear open to make sure you baby is still ok with every breath they take, or don’t take as the case may be!!
I hope the pred makes life better soon and that this is an isolated case!
My son is 10. He still gets ‘croup’ and it’s still called ‘croup’. Hope your little one feels better soon.
Let’s grab everyone who has sick kids, and go to Darwin for the winter!
Hope TJ is on the mend soon with Pred. It can be so frightening in the middle of the night. Hope he has a smooth run over the rest of winter too.
Kids are always worse at night
hope you get some sleep too.
(((hugs)))
Hope TJ is feeling better soon, he must be exhausted along with you!
Feral Teen used to get shocking asthma at night, it was the cold air that triggered it, and I’d have to wrap her and Feral Queen up and drive to the (tiny country) hosp in the wee small hours for a doctor to have a look see coz she’d be reasonably ok during the day.
Fingers crossed you don’t start coughing too, Bettina!
How’s that ‘barking seal’ boy today, B?
Hope you and yours are on the road to recovery soon. The croup sucks.
WS – Thanks love. Don’t even mention the flu! You’ll jinx us!
Dorothy – Thanks, it is a viscous cycle. I’ve got myself on echinacea and Vit C to try to help ward anything off.
Leechbabe – yeah, that night time asthma is what both TJ and I get sometimes. Very hard to get diagnosed when you/they are fine during the day.
Gemisht – Yes, I hate those two things too! Especially with doctors. I just want to yell at them “It’s all there in the frickin file if you’d just be bothered to read it!”
Darla – Thanks hon. Yes we are just starting winter
Tiff – Thanks hon. I’ve not noticed the prednisone munchies, but then he’s only ever on it for 3/4 days at a time. Hope you and your girl are doing better this weekend.
Brissiemum2 – Yes, it does drive you nuts. They used to treat it as croup, but now he’s older they treat it as asthma – all the same though. The symptoms haven’t changed, just his age.
Suze – thanks hon. I hope he grows out if too.
Kate – Thanks darl – unfortunately this seems to be winter for us.
Alice – I dunno why our doctors here can’t call a spade a spade. That’s how I managed to get the appointment actually – rang up and said it was croup so they fitted us in presuming he was a baby lol
Tracey – Sounds like a plan!! Ready when you are! lol
Trish – Thanks hon. Yes, nights are the worst. Always catches you when you are half asleep and not thinking clearly too.
Jayne – thanks love. Yup that night air is what does it. TJ was disgusted with me on Wednesday when we had such a nice sunny day and I shut him inside as soon as the night air started coming in – he figured he still had an hour of light left to play in lol
Anja – much improved now thank you. Barking seal boy lol – that’s a very apt description!
Evyl – thanks, yup. Croup sucks alright!
Linked over from anja’s, hi. My brother had croup as a youngster, mum would take him into the kitchen and close all the doors, then boil the kettle or a couple of saucepans of water and let the room fill with steam. The steam would ease the coughing, he would breathe easier and sleep comfortably. Years later my own son had croupy wheezy nights and I bought a vaporiser. Fill it with water as per instructions, add medicated liquid to the little bowl shaped space indicated, plug in, turn on, easy breathing and comfortable sleeping all night. It does make the walls run with moisture so they have to be wiped dry in the morning, but I found that a small price to pay. J grew out of his croup when he was about 8 or so. I think these old fashioned treatments are worth exploring before heading down the (possibly unnecessary) steroid highway.