My 5 Week Old Was Just Diagnosed W/ Pneumonia and a Touch of RSV-I Need Advice

Do you have humidifiers in their rooms? We have one in our 2 year old's room and another in our room where our 3 week old sleeps and another in our family room. When they are not on I can definitely tell a difference. We also use the vapo bath stuff when they are congested and do baths right before bed. We have in the past also put some drops of the vapo bath into the shower, closed the door and ran hot (HOT) water in the shower and sat in the bathroom with the door closed breathing in the vapo steam. This has helped too!

Sorry that you have to go through 2 sick kiddos at the same time! We are battling the stomach flu here so I can relate!

K.

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Hi J.,

I am sorry your babies are sick! My three have a nasty little cold at the moment too and it is certainly no fun! For both of your kiddos when they lay down in the beds prop them up. Place a pillow or something similar up the crib mattress of your 5 week old. Obviously not too high that he might role but just enough to elevate his head. It will help keep the drainage from running down his throat and will keep his air way open so he can breath better. You can do the same thing with your two year old with a couple pillows stacked on top of eachother. Goodluck!!!!

M.

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Good Morning J., I am so very sorry your little ones are ill. For your Baby I wouldn't put the vapor rub on their tummy or chest, put it on their Jammie's, T-Shirts. They can still get the benefit of the vapor. The humidifiers are good also to help with the breathing. I can't believe they sent you home with a 5 wk old with pneumonia. That is so scary to me.

We just found out last week through autopsy report one of my hubby's cousin's little girl was misdiagnosed in Nov. ER Nurse on Sunday, said she only has the croup she will be fine, give her OTC cough medication etc... She died in her sleep Tuesday AM or was found in her crib Tuesday AM. Chloe had just turned 1. She never saw a Dr in ER just a nurse which has been fired and Dr. on Reprimand. Chloe died of Pneumonia

I didn't share that to frighten you, just wanted you to be aware of the dangers to babies with this awful illness.
Pneumonia can damage the lungs so quickly.

Praying for Complete Healing for both of your precious children
K. Nana of 5

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For the 2 year old, I also recommend the vapor bath. Johnson and Johnson make a good one. I would also give him an expectorant. My dr recommends the Robitussin products but our girls don't like the taste so we get the Musinex for kids. It will help clear out all that junk that is making him cough.

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I am wondering why this baby isn't in the hospital? If it is viral, the antibiotic isn't going to help at all, but if it turns bacterial anyway, that is what the ABx is for, however, even the best oral ABx can sometimes not do a thing for the bacterial pneumonia. If the baby is struggling for a long time, you NEED to take her straight to the ER. Tiny babies can get bad REALLY fast!! Do NOT hesitate to take her in. With both of these diseases, I just cannot believe she is still at home.

J.
My son had this when he was a baby to. Just watch for breathing issues that have coughs with it. After my son went through this we were told he had asthma. So I have been dealing with that for a few years. Then my youngest had a hard time breathing and eating at the same time so I took him to a ENT and they put tubes in his ears and took the adnoids out and he does alot better now.
Hope this is some help to you
Thanks
K.
www.youravon.com/kstaab

I'm really sorry that both your little ones are sick. A 5 week old with pneumonia must be tough. My daughter had it twice, six months apart, then I had it! It takes a long time to get over. I was in bed for a long time, stayed home from work for a week and only went back part time the next week. There really isn't a whole lot you can do except make to him as comfortable as possible and keep him hydrated.

Unfortunately, your 2 year old with the cold is pretty much in the same boat. Colds have to run their course. Keep him rested and hydrated too. I would watch to see if he doesn't develop pneumonia. Fever and the shortness of breath is the red flag rather than the coughing.

Don't forget the chicken soup! And, take care of YOURSELF!

My 2 year old son was diagnosed with pneumonia yesterday by his dr. Then I got a call back later on in the day that he does not have pneumonia but RSV. They put him on an antibiotic for the pneumonia but it is also good for the RSV. He was running a temp from Friday night to Wends. Because of the weather (8 inches of snow, sleet and some freezing rain) the office was closed on Wend. so I had to take him yesterday. They took some of his snot and did some kind of lab work on it to find out that he had RSV. He has had a runny nose that just turned green yesterday, a cough, and a fever.
I am also suprised that your son is not in the hostpital with this. If you think that he is having problems breathing I would either take him back to the Dr. or to the ER. I did not get anything when I was at the Dr. office on RSV so I went on line to www.mayoclinic.com then I typed in RSV into the search engine. I know that if I was you and your 2 year old has a runny nose I would ask the Dr. to check him for RSV. I do not know what your Dr. put your son on but mine put my son on Biaxin. The generic name is Clarithromcycin. My son has hardly eaten anything since Friday night however he does drink. I am even letting him drink chocolate milk just for the callories. I told the nurse and Dr. that it is only 1% they said that at least he is able to get callories from it. They are not too worried about the eating as they are with him drinking fluids.
I know what you must be going through with it being both of your babies. Try to take care of your self and get as much rest as you can.
L.

Poor sweeties. There is nothing worse than watching your kids suffer. I would ask your peds if you could get a home nebulizer, if you don't already have one. It can help deliver the inhaled medicine to the baby so much more effectively than a regular inhaler and it should really help with the breathing and the ability to clear the secretions. If I had a wheezy child, I would insist on one! As for your 2 year old...he sounds like he does just have a rotten cold virus, especially if he's acting ok. Those coughs can sound HORRIBLE.
If you have any concern about the 5 week old, DO NOT hesitate to go back to the doc or the ER. They can go downhill very quickly...so it's good that you are being vigilant.
Sending hugs.

That RSV is nasty!! My middle child (the only one who was ever in daycare when she was little) contacted that, and she was sick her entire first winter. Since then, she has had lots of respiratory problems. I'm not trying to scare you, she's basically fine and we are controlling her symptoms with Singulair (sp?) For now, I would just try to keep them home and you could use a humidifier. We finally had to get a nebulizer for my daughter when she was little. Don't use the cold medicines...they don't really help and are no longer recommended for small children.
I am surprised your baby got RSV if you are a SAHM. My two kids that were home all the time have been fine. Usually day care centers are the cuprit. Were they at PDO or something? My kids get sick every time they go to PDO, and i finally gave up on that. I hope yours feel better soon.

If you don't already have a warm or cool mist humidifier in their rooms put one in you'll notice the difference it'll put moisture back into the air that the furnance has taken out.Also use nose saline for infants and toddlers they are fairly inexpensive but get one for each of them so for no germs are spread,Vicks vapor rub use it on their feet back and tumies a little on the nose for your 2 yr old their is also a Baby one just for babies 6 months old and older I used on my kiddos before they were 6 months just a dab and it helped them breath better and reduced coughing.Your oldest put an extra pillow under his head to help him with the drainage and cough at nap times and nite time,also turn the furnance down at nite while your sleeping mine I go down to 66 and they are fine and less coughing

Believe me....if you feel like it is getting worse or your baby is struggling to breathe...I would go back to the doctor. My daughter got RSV at 3 months and she went back to her pediatricians office a few times because it kept getting worse. I won't go into details about my daughter because while she was in the hospital they diagnosed her with 2 lung conditions so her case was a little different. So...my suggestion is to trust your mommy instincts and if you feel it's getting worse or you feel your 2 year old needs some meds....go back to your doc. Good luck, hope they getting better soon!

I have a hard time understanding why your 5 week old is at home and not in the hospital! When my son was 12 weeks he had RSV. He was immediately put in the hospital! he was given around the clock albuterol treatments in a nebulizer. You have a combination of both, which has to be even harder on those little lungs! I have asthma and now all of my children(I was hopeful that youngest wouldn't but was diagnosed a year ago)have asthma. We are just now starting my 4 year old on a trial use of inhalers! Our Dr has said that they just don't get enough of the medicine with an inhaler when they are younger!

Humidifiers are good to have in their bedrooms. Also rubbing vicks(there is baby vicks now too) on their chests to help with their breathing. I would try to find medicine with a suppressant for night time only for the 2 year old. During the day, use an expectorant. I would definitely ask your Dr about getting a nebulizer to give albuterol treatments to your 5 week old!

Hello!
My son was 8 days old when he was diagnosed with RSV. He had a very serious case and almost did not survive. RSV produces a very thick mucus that can clog up the airways. The smaller the child, the smaller their airways. All you can really do is keep them as comfortable as possible and watch for signs of resp distress (breathing more than 60 breaths per minutes, retractions - sucking in of skin in between the ribs - bluish color around mouth and/or fingers, wheezing or just struggling to breath). Take him to the ER immedately if you feel he's in resp distress - little guys like this can go into resp failure very quickly.. my son was hospitalized upon RSV diagnosis because of his age and it's such a good thing, otherwise, he would not be here. Even at his worse, his PICU dr said all they could do was "keep him alive" while his body fought the virus.

I would suggest having your baby sleep upright in a swing or carseat. A cool-mist humidifier may also help and use saline spray and suction his nose often. I'm kind of surprised neither of your kids was sent home w/ a nebulizer and albuterol treatments.. you may call and ask your dr if that's an option.. I had a friend w/ a 6 mo old w/ RSV and they did albuteral treatments every 4 hours for days. Othwerwise, I would watch your kids, especially your baby, like a hawk! It can take up to 2 weeks to fully recover (my son was 2 months, but again, he had the "worst case scenario").

Also as an "fyi", the virus can live on surfaces for up to 12 hours and is VERY contagious.. it's possible you and your husband may also get it, but more than likely, it would just be a severe cold for you guys. I would wash your hands like crazy and use hand sanitizers and lysol everything!! If you have any questions, please feel free to send me a message! Best of luck!

I don't know what you can do except give them lots of love and just make them comfortable. BUT...My 10 year old had RSV when he was 9 months old and was hospitalized for a week. He had to be in a croup tent the whole time and had an IV with fluids (he couldn't eat because of the inability to breathe through his mouth while he was eating)and antibiotics. Along with being in the tent, he had breathing treatments every 4 hours. This was after a week of the symptoms you are describing in your children. He had labored breathing, his respirations were rapid, and he would only sleep on my chest. At two, he was hospitalized again with pneumonia and after two years of respiratory problems they finally gave him a diagnosis of asthma. They told me he was more susceptible to asthma, pneumonia, bronchitis because of the RSV. If you have been told they have it, I would push for a more aggressive treatment if you are not comfortable with what they are receiving at this time. Not trying to scare you, but just make sure the dr is thinking about how this will effect them in the future. Hope your babies feel better soon!

My son had a diaper rash that didn't want to go away. I took him to the doctor and they gave him a perscription for Nyastatin. This worked really well.