PLEASE HELP me get my LO's to take their meds

i am desperate. :headbang:

my pedi today told me one of my LO's has RSV; the others' nose just began running today but no coughs yet. im freaking out over here!
he told me to give him robitussin and everytime i try and give it to him he throws it up. should i mix it with something else? i also have to give him an albuterol/vistaril mixture. should i mix it all with apple juice or something?

please help.

 

Have you tried to gve it from a regular bottle nipple? How about mixing into rice cereal? Just throwing some ideas

 

Yes...I tried to give it to him in the nipple. it didn't work (he wouldnt drink it probably because who likes the taste of robitussin, lol?)
then i attempted just squirting in in his cheek and sort of making him drink it. then he threw it up.

 

Hmmmm, just thinking out loud here...Does it HAVE to be Robitussin? Ask your pedi if you can give him Triaminic. They make a thin strip that you just place in the mouth and it dissolves. Both medicines have warnings that say "do not use for children under 6 (Robitussin) or 4 years of age (Triaminic), so maybe if he's been given the okay to have Robitussin, he might be allowed to have Triaminic. But ask the pedi. Good luck and sorry y'all are going through this.

 

not sure...doc said 1/2 tsp of robitussin dm.

 

Hmmm. So, I'm not familiar with Vistaril, what is it for? A couple of my kids have had RSV and cough meds like Robitussin(we were given Donatussin(RX version)) were not all that important and even less effective in babies. If they are throwing up the Albuterol, I would see about getting that in nebulizer form.

One of the most important things with RSV is hydration, so you don't want them throwing up...I know, not what you want to hear. :hug: But, if the cough meds are causing it, I wouldn't give it. Also, if they have really thick mucous, I would give them Pedialyte if they have trouble with drinking their bottles. Milk/formula can cause that mucous to be thicker, whereas Pedialyte will thin it out. Also, saline drops in their noses.

 

When my LO had RSV, my pedi didn't even mentions meds like robittussin..didn't think babies could get that. But we did get an inhaler. Unfortunately, my LO ended up in the hospital (know you don't want to hear that), BUT, the only thing they did there was give him a nebulizer (and some steroids via mouth). So, I would try to get a nebulizer if you can. Your pedi can get you one....it has been extremely effective the rest of this winter season anytime he gets a cough/cold. I didn't think the inhaler was very effective..they barely get any meds in them.

Good luck--I know it's stressful....

 

I'm suprised your ped wants you to give them robitussin since it is no longer approved by the FDA under the age of 2 and effectiveness in infants is questionable. Rather than giving them oral albuterol, talk to your ped about albuterol nebulizers that they inhale, I personally think they work better. If they are wheezing an oral steroid like prelone works well in combination with the nebulizers. Brand name prelone tastes better. Hope this helps. We're currently dealing with another URI on our end here too, so we're back on the nebs AGAIN.

 

This is the info on the vistaril:
http://www.medicinenet.com/hydroxyzine/article.htm

he said they wouldn't need a nebulizer unless their breathing or their bronchiolitis got worse. he has a nasty cough and said that the robitussin dm would help. he said to give a 1/2 tsp, 3x a day.
on top of that we are doing an albuterol/vistaril (which is the hydroxyzine) mixture in liquid form. 1tsp, 3x a day.

my other LO is *just* beginning to show signs of a slight cough and a runny nose. i gave him a 1/2 tsp of the albuterol mixture this evening before bedtime to help him. or to profilactically (sp?) cancel any wheezing that may occur.

i am nervous about the robitussin now. could it hurt them? why would he tell me to give it to them if it isn't FDA approved, etc?

 

Like Leslie said cough meds are no longer approved(I should have mentioned at the time we were given the Rx, they still were), and in my experience with them, they are not at all effective in babies anyway. I would not give the Robitussin at all.

I have never heard of the Vistaril, it sounds like Benedryl with it's antihistimine effect? Personally, I probably wouldn't give that either, but that's me.

I would give the Albuterol, and if they are puking that up, I would most certainly be on the phone, hounding them for a nebulizer.

 

i was nervous about the robitussin. it says its not for children under 2. i just figured the doc knew what he was talking about, etc. i have a pit in my stomach right now that i just overdosed them or something!!!!

as for the vistaril it's in a mixture WITH the albuterol. they are together in the same liquid.

i am just trying to do everything i can to make them feel better and more comforatble. : (

 

I'm sure that the Robitussin dose that the doctor Rx'd was fine. Just from my experience, those types of meds just don't work well on babies. I'm sure there are dr's that might still recommend them even though they are not FDA approved, although I would think that would be risky business.

As for the Vistaril, OH! Now, I get it! I didn't realize that a combo type thing like that existed with the albuterol! I would give it, and if they are throwing that up, I would definitely push for the neb.

Hang in there momma! Of course you are doing what you think will help them feel better faster! :hug: RSV is no fun no matter how you cut it. You will probably have a few rough days/nights in there. Hydration is key. :hug:

 

yes it's a mixture that the pharmacist mixes. it's liquid vistaril and liquid albuterol in the same bottle. they get 1 tsp 3x a day.
as for the robitussin i was shocked that i was to give them 'grown-up' medicine. i asked the pharmacist if there was children's and he said, no.

they are drinking their normal bottles. we do soy formula so there is no dairy in them. i assumed that soy wouldn't produce extra mucous like the milk would? i've also been doing bottles in between their formula of watered down apple juice. i figured the vitamin c and water would help them. sometimes they drink the whole thing and other times they only take a few sips. i'm trying to hydrate them as best i can.

ETA - the doctor also said he had bronchiolitis.
he began having a slight cough on saturday; how long does this usually last? should i expect his brother to have this full-blown like he did?

 

We didn't have to do any liquid meds (just the inhaled albuterol), but we had RSV in January...not fun at all! And my son had it turn into bronchiolitis and coughed so hard he threw up any and everything he ate, so I feel your pain. :gah: But I wanted to let you know he dealt with the cough for about a week I'd say and then was good as new. AND that my daughter had RSV also but it never moved into her lungs, thank goodness! One at a time was plenty with that. So it's not a definite thing to share. Good luck!!

 

As someone mentioned above, I would give them pedialyte. You can give it alone or with formula. When my DS was puking everything up w/ his coughs he was able ot keep pedialyte down and its better than water. AS long as he is having enough wet diapers, then you are fine. Both of my DS had colds/coughs, but only of of them turned into full blown bronchiolitis (most cases of bronchiolitis is caused by RSV). This was also Baby B who had a few more issues in teh NICU. The coughing usually gets worse before it gets better---mine got worse after about 3-4 days and the worst of it lasts about 3 days. I had to take him to the ER when he just wasn't keeping anything down and he was breathing very fast. You could count his respirations and it was pretty high--like 60 or more a minute. WE also used albuterol (just w/ a nebulizer).

 

should i add pedialyte to the their isomil formula? is the watered down apple juice ok to do in between formula feedings? he hasn't been eating his solids too much.

i am hoping that his brother does not get the RSV/bronchiolitis. or if he does, it isn't as bad as his currently is.
i will make a note of counting his breaths as well. i keep praying and hoping that everything will just get better.

question. does RSV turn into bronchiolitis?

 

I don't want to say anything bad about someone else in the medical profession, but liquid albuterol has not been standard of care for about 10 years, even in children with wheezing due to reactive airways. In RSV, nothing but time, humidifiers, saline nasal drops, and suctioning has been proven to help. If they are not "bad enough" to need inhaled albuterol, my opinion would be to give them nothing at all. Albuterol can make them jittery, irritable, and have rapid heart rate. Vistaril is used in adults for anxiety and in children for itching, but I have never seen it given to a baby. Your ped likely felt the need to prescribe something but all of these things you have should be as needed, so if the baby is just puking it up it is probably not worth the hassle. It would be different if you were on an antibiotic or a steroid, but these meds are only to make symptoms better...they won't get rid of the bronchiolitis

 

Actually, according to the Robitussin website they do make a children's cough & cold medicine, but it says it's not for use in children under 6. I've never seen it in the stores though so maybe it's new. I thought it was weird he'd be prescribing the adult stuff for an infant too. I'm keeping your LOs in my thoughts. :hug:

 

: ( im worried now. should i not give them these meds? he's a good doc in our area, too.
it was not infant robitussin, either.

he isn't actually throwing up the meds. he threw up the robitussin. the other meds (vistaril/albuterol) he drinks fine through a nipple.

 

The albuterol is safe and if it seems like it helps I would continue as you feel they need it. It won't make them better any faster but it may make them more comfortable. I would pass on the robitussin because they actually need to cough some to clear the mucous...everyone is different but recently trained docs usually won't prescribe cough meds under 2...I'm sure he's a good doc. Is he older? It might just be an age difference in what they did when he trained.

 

yes he's an older doc.
they took the robitussin dm. it said it was to help loosen the mucous and stop the cough? (it was both an expectorant and a suppressant)

 

Sorry, I don't have any thoughts or information regarding what medicines are best to take or anything, but you might want to try this bottle for dispensing any liquid meds:

www.reliadose.com

It was recommended to us by a homehealth nurse we had for the 1st few weeks our LO's were home from the NICU. At that time they were taking vitamins everyday and it was a nightmare trying to get them to take it and keep it down. This bottle was a true lifesaver. We bought ours at Kroger grocery store and paid too much (I think it was $12?). We found others on Ebay for less than 1/2 that price (of course, then you have to wait for it to arrive).

Anyway, good luck! I hope your LO's start to feel better and are off meds soon!

 

I agree with this, if the illness is mild, skip the meds altogether and enourage formula and pedialyte, okay to hold of on solids until feeling better. If wheezing, don't hesitate to call and ask for albuterol nebs. Its viral, it usually takes a week to 10 days to completely clear. Since they are 8 months, they should handle it a little better than a younger infant, so that is the good news. Try to relax, sounds like your doing a good job. We're battling a similar illness on our end here. The wheezing got worse during the night last night, so the PA is calling in some oral steroid for them to take in addition to the nebs........ but all in all we're hanging in there.
I agree with the PP that it is probably an older Dr. and has a oldstyle way of doing things. Just do your best to stay informed on the current recomendations for what your kids are dealing with and advocate for your kids. Don't ever feel bad about letting a provider know that you don't want them on certain things because you know it is no longer recommended. If he gets defensive about it, find another provider.