My son was a premature baby. He is 1.5 years old now and doing fine.But I am still worried about RSV this winter. We were careful last winter but this winter I am taking him out everywhere and he also goes to daycare.
I know RSV symtoms start pretty much like cold symptoms. So would like to know what's normal and what's not , so I can decide when I should take him to the doctor.
Last saturdaywe were out for a kid event , it was VERY crowded. Sunday morning he woke up with a cough and cold. Was very cranky all day.He seems to cough more when he sleeps (but not when he is in deep sleep). And I have noticed he coughs a LOT as soon as he wakes up in the morning. He does have a runny nose. During the day he coughs on and off - not a lot.
I had asked this to his pediatrician and she had told me to bring him in when he has a bad cough and cold. But I am not sure if this is bad or just normal cough and cold. How do we know?
Thanks in advance!
It is a dry cough or a wet cough? Does it sound like a seal barking?
Try giving him a honey based cough syrup (they contain less than 1% alcohol) and can be found at a health food store, immune support vitamins, saline nasal spray, cold mist humidifier, and a good balanced healthy diet. Also it is never to early to teach him good hand washing methods.
If he doesnt have a fever then (generally) you are just dealing with a run of the mill cold.
Bad cold (to M.) means that you can see they are having trouble breathing, coughing interferes with normal play or is extended, and they generally feel bad and show it by being cranky, irritable, and lethargic. Watch him closely, make sure you are paying attention to how well he can breathe, and take him to the doctor if you feel like there are any issues with that. It is better to be safe and take your son in so the doctor can help you understand the difference between what he has and what is severe (IF it is not), than to wait and have it get really, really serious.
Good luck and hope he gets healthy soon!
With children that are young and especially premature babies it is better safe then sorry, my friends son was just a few weeks early and got RSV bad at 14 months of age, she thought he just had a simple cold and it turned bad real quick.
Better safe then sorry!!!!
My kiddos, if they cough, typically do it at night when laying down. The sinuses drain a bit then and cause the coughs. My pediatrician was never that worried about it, even with my infant (who seemed to have a cold/cough for the entire first year of her life).
If the cough continues throughout the day and sounds like wheezing, then I'd get worried.
if he's coughing at night, has no fever and his runny nose is clear, not yellow, its probably not a cold but allergies. regardless, keep a close eye on him and if he looks like he's wheezing (his chest/stomach will look like it's working hard when he breathes in/out), take him to the doctor to him checked out. it's always hard for M. to tell if my son is wheezing or not but that's the description our pediatrician gave us.
UPDATE: my son had RSV at 6 months of age and went from being fine to stopping breathing within one day. he was in daycare, fever went from normal to 104 and he had to go to hospital in ambulance. scariest moment of my life (he's fine now). so if you can't tell if he's wheezing or not, take him to the doctor.
