hello my son is 14 1/2 months old and we were in the hosp over night because he was weezing and breathing heavy. he was diagnosed with bronchitis strep throat and a ear infection. i was sent home with antibiotics a steriod and a breathing treatment for 1 month. i am very worried this could be seomthing else coming up such as asthma? or does bronchitis do this to you?? i hope someone out there has had the same issue ( i know that dont sound nice) i just want to know if this will go away soon. its been 5 days.
he always has had colds but not like this. and first ear infection too.
thank you!
Bronchitis is no fun! It can really mess with the breathing. Just because he has bronchitis doesn't mean he will develop asthma, though. It's hard watching them not being able to breath right! I hope he feels better quickly. It sounds like they have him on some good treatments. (((hugs)))
Bronchitis and Asthma have similar symptoms.
But, Bronchitis is due to illness and usually follows a cold and is caused by a virus/bacterial origin.
Asthma, is a chronic disease and cannot be cured.
Bronchitis may lead to Asthma, in some cases. But not all people who have Bronchitis, will have Asthma.
In cases that Bronchitis leads to Asthma, this is called Acute Bronchitis or Asthmatic Bronchitis.
However, in the case of Asthma or Asthmatic Bronchitis, it is not a virus or bacteria that causes it. It is external environmental triggers, that causes it. Typically.
For your son... if he does not get better nor show improvement you NEED to go to the ER.
If he turns blue or his fingernails/skin, or if his chest is sucking in as he breathes, this is not good.
And, you NEED to make sure, he does not have Pneumonia. This is dangerous.
I have had Asthma, since I was a child.
I have also had Bronchitis.
I have also had a cold, that developed into Bronchitis... which then turned into Pneumonia.
So, there is no singular manner, in which chest illnesses, can or cannot develop. Or worsen.
But the bottom line is: you MUST keep up with his medication requirements.
This is, imperative.
The medications, also serves to strengthen his lungs and help it heal.
It is needed and necessary.
It can take awhile... for the person to recover, and for their lungs to heal... and for them to get better.
Try to have him stay away from anyone that is ill. Don't want him getting a relapse etc.
I, stay away from people that are sick, if I can. Because, I have Asthma. Which gets worse, when I am sick with a cold.
Poor little guy. Work closely with your pediatrician and ask any & all questions....there are NO stupid questions to ask a doctor!
If you don't feel comfortable asking questions or if you feel like your pediatrician is rushing you--that's a good sign that it's time to switch docs!
Hope he's better soon!
My little guy had pneumonia at 3 months. I tool him to the ER because I suspected bronchitis, which the doctor said it was. They'd taken x-rays and I wasn't aware that a radiologist had not viewed them. I started him on his course of antibiotics and was shocked when the radiologist called me a day and a half later to tell me she saw a spot on one of his lungs, and to bring him back to the ER. I took him back, was told he had pneumonia, prescribed new meds, and told to follow up with his pediatrician.
I took him for a one-week check-up and he was doing good, at his next check-up his doctor said she heard nothing wrong with his lungs, and he's never had any additional problems and is now 26 months.
If your son continues to have respiratory problems you can ask to be referred to an ENT (ears, nose, throat) for further tests for allergies, asthma and such. But hopefully this will clear up and he will have no further problems.
my son has emergency inhalers about 1x a yr and has had breathing treatment but does not have asthma. there are serious allergies here in IL right now that's causing many issues w/several people i know that don't normally have allergies, but that is a possibility too. i would imagine those 3 things are related cuz all the tubes are connected and full of fluid. i wouldn't worry until its a pattern, or get him allergy tested if you want (doesn't hurt)
bronchitis is often diagnosed when it is not bronchitis it is actually asthma. I am asthmatic and hear all the time you have bronchitis. And then I get a second opinion and get steroids. The only way to tell if he is asthmatic or not is a lung function test. If the steroids aren't working after 5 days march his hiney back to the doctor and demand a diffrent medication. Bronchitis asthma or whatever 5 days on steroids should be easing it if not something is wrong.
Bronchitis is usually viral. The antibiotics will stop any secondary infections.
I agree to work closely with the pediatrician.
It sounds like he has a weak immune system, so you may want to work on that. It is very important to make sure you are not using any toxic cleaning or laundry products that will irritate him. Do you have pet he might be allergic to?
If you are interested in what I use, let me know.
Good luck and God bless.
Both of my kids were hospitalized with RSV when they were younger in the winter months (I believe January time is high time for RSV), but only one of them has ongoing issues. My oldest had no more symptoms, but my younger one (just turned 2) i think will have some ongoing issues. He needs albuterol when he gets just a common cold...he doesn't have full blown asthma but just the symptoms when he gets a cold. The breathing treatments really do help so don't hesitate to use them if you think he needs one.
Also, just an FYI, the steroid (I'm assumming you got prednesone) will/may make him a bit hyper...it;s a side effect. So try to give him his doses in the morning...or whenever he isn't ready to go to sleep! we found that out the hard way! lol also the breathing treatments may also have a similar effect as well but not as bad.
SH's answer was excellent and I just want to add to that to keep an eye out for "belly breathing" which is when they pretty much are using their whole abdemon to help them breathe...you will really see their belly moving in and out to try to help with getting air in. If you see that and the breathing treatment doesn't help, get to the ER. Keep him away from dampness, smokers, etc. anything that will hurt his breathing. this may take a good month to heal so stick with the treatments/meds and know that there are others that have gone through it too!
My sister's baby was breathing very heavy and wheezing. Is his stomach large and hard? If so, there could be something wrong. Have they done any X-rays of his chest or stomach or just checked his breathing?
Bronchitis will do this.
At least you caught it before it became pneumonia.
Make sure you follow the directions for all the medications and have a humidifier running in his room.
My son had pneumonia just after his first birthday.
It was hard dealing with a nebulizer and albuterol and making sure he took his medicine, but he healed up and had no further problems.
Hope your son gets well soon.
My son was just in the hospital for 4 days in March. He had bronchitis, croup, whopping ear infections, and he also had RSV infection. He was in there with 3 infections so I know the feeling. I took him to the doctor and they said he was okay just had a cold, then took him again a day later and they said he had croup and gave him a steroid to help. I waited about three days and it got worse, so I took him to the hospital where he was diagnosed with all the above. He was on steroids, antibiotics, breathing treatments, and iv fluids the whole time he was there. They sent him home with all of them but the iv. He got better about two weeks later, I dont think you should worry about the asthma as much because all those symptoms you decsribed are from bronchitis also.
Oh, yes! My oldest dd used to get this when she was little. We found that a lot of the reason for her getting the bronchitis was because of our old damp and moldy basement. We were fortunate enough to be able to get replaced some years ago. But yes, the breathing treatments are all part of it and they do work great to help them to breath. I don't think it will necessarily be the start of asthma. She is almost 16 now and very healthy and plays softball all the time, so she has no issues with asthma. But if you do have issues with mold or something like that you may want to look into getting something like a dehumidifier to run to help get rid of the dampness.
As an adult I have had bronchitis and it can really wipe you out and you need lots of rest. My guess is that they gave the nebulizer and all that they did because he is still so young and they want to nip it in the bud befre it becomes pneumonia. Pnuemonia is much much worse than pneumnoia- I have had that 2 or 3 times as well. Hang in there and do as the dr recommended and go from there!
