? For those of you that have had children with RSV

Kylee woke up this morning very wheezy and coughing, so I called the pedi and made her an appointment. I took her in and the pedi said that he lungs sounded OK, but she was retracting quite a bit so they gave her an albuterol treatment in the office. After the treatment she was still working pretty hard to breath, so he sent us over to the hospital to have a chest x-ray done. I got the results of the x-ray and took them back to the office. The x-ray was fine, and she doesn't have pneumonia but he is worried that she may be experiencing the beginning stages of RSV. He wants us to come back tomorrow and if she is not better he wants to admit her in the hospital for the weekend. He said that RSV gets progressively worse the first 6 days. I really don't know that much about it...they both have been getting their synagis shots monthly since being discharged from the NICU. Any insight into this would be greatly appreciated! I am super worried!

 

Oh I hope she isnt sick! I have no experience with it just wanted to wish her well.

Have they gotten the rsv vaccine drink? We had it at the 2mo and 4mo appts with their shots.

 

The hospital should be able to take a nose swab and tell you if it is RSV positive that is how we knew what DS son had back at the end of DEC we spend 6 days in the hospital and it does get worse at about day 3 and then will get better. I hope that she does not have RSV and just has a little cough. GOod luck

Rachel

 

My little guy started out that way, but like the pp said, Day 3 was the WORST for him. He was really sick Days 3-5 & then started to get slightly better. It took quite some time. My DS's chest XRay also was clear, but his lungs were quite wheezy. He also had a LOT of retractions & was working really hard to breathe. The albuterol updraft didn't help him & he was ok without oxygen (not GREAT, but 'ok'), so we were sent home to deal with it. Had he been younger, a preemie, not taking in oral fluids (I was syringe feeding him often...he was working too hard to breathe to suck), or lower weight, we probably would've been hospitalized.

It was super scary & I hope your little one isn't getting it! KEEP HER FAR FROM HER SISTER, as RSV is HIGHLY contagious! Our Ped said there was less than a 1% chance that my other DS wouldn't get it and he sure did...but not nearly as severe.

Good luck!

 

The boys got the Synagis shots all last season but did not qualify this season. But the Pulmunologist told us that even if they contracted the virus it would be a much more mild case due to the help with the vaccine. If she has it, I hope this is the case. Keep us posted on how she is doing. :hug99:

 

Please tell me I am experiencing a severe case of Preemie Paranoia... She is just not herself. I could hardly get her to eat anything, and she just went right to sleep. She slept through her diaper change and swaddling...both of which she usually fights me. Do you think it could because we had a long day running around? Or should I be concerned and call the Dr? DH is at work, and I am alone with the girls. The childrens ER is over an hour away, so I really don't want to go in if its not neccessary, but its not worth risking anything. Im a mess. I just want my baby girl to be OK. Please help me!

 

Looking at the big picture...how was she today?? Fever, trouble breathing, lots of coughing, cranky?? Or was she feeling better and just overtired and needs some sleep?

 

QUOTE(DATJMom @ Mar 6 2008, 07:00 PM) [snapback]656836[/snapback]
Looking at the big picture...how was she today?? Fever, trouble breathing, lots of coughing, cranky?? Or was she feeling better and just overtired and needs some sleep?


This morning she was really wheezy and coughing a lot...thats why I made the Dr's appointment in the first place. During the day she seemed fussy, but we were also out taking care of the appointments and x-rays etc for about 4-5 hours. We got home and then she took a nap. I woke her up after I was done feeding her sister, and she didn't make a sound. Then I got them both ready for bed and she was still pretty lethargic. But I don't know if its because she doesn't feel good or she is over tired.

 

I would probably just give the Dr a call and let him or her know your concerns and see what they think based on the appt and tests today. If you think she is worse (even just a little bit) then I would take her in. Sorry I cant be of more help. I hope she and you feel better. I hate preemie paranoia...i still have it!

 

We had RSV here starting the end of Jan and well into Feb. They got well for a couple weeks and now again they are coughing, stuffy and sneezing.

For us it started with DD being stuffy with a little cough. Then DS got stuffy and a bad cough with runny nose. His ended up infected and we had x-rays of his chest (all clear). Finally they dried up a bit, but then DS had an ear infection at the end of Feb.

Now here is it March and they are sick again. They tested positive for RSV back in Jan. They have had the synagis shots all winter. The ped says it helped them fight it because they had been building antibodies. It doesn't keep them from catching it, that's for sure. I wish it did.

Is she running a fever? That was when I was worried the most. If they can take a bottle or eat, I suppose it could be interpreted, then they are doing okay. When they stop eating it is from respiratory distress. I feel so fortunate that both of mine remain good eaters even when they are stuffy and sick. DS just scares us with his cough and chocking on the phlem.

I hope that you don't have RSV at your house, but even a cold is treated the same. Elevate her head when she sleeps (bouncy seats have worked well for us and propping the mattress), run a vaporizer, suction the nose, and we do the albuterol treatments as much as I can stand.

I took them to the Ped 5 times in one week. I called them all the time. When in doubt - call! :hug99:

 

I will start off by saying my guys are not preemies so I know there is an increased risk when they are preemies.

My son was admitted to the hospital for 3 nights for RSV. The main reasons he was admitted was because he was not eating well and when he did eat he was throwing it up (plus he was only 2 mths old). He also needed oxygen as his levels were dipping too low especially when he was sleeping. Some of the things my doc told me to be concerned about were not eating & if he was having a hard time breathing. Not being in the medical community I asked for specifics on what would be considered trouble breathing. He said if he was taking more than 45 breaths per minute that was working too hard. He also said to watch his chest/stomach & if his stomach/sides were moving when he was breathing that he was working too hard. He was doing 65 breaths per minute when I brought him into the ER.
This is what my doc told me...I hope it helps you.

Like the pp said they can collect fluid from their noses to check for RSV. We didn't get our results back until the following day. His twin brother (who often shares his bottles) did not have RSV. They kept telling me how contagious it was so I was very surprised that he didn't get it as well.

I hope your daughter is feeling better soon.

 

I'd say trust your instincts and stick to it. Don't think you're sounding paranoid. Get it checked out and have them do the nose swab to see if she is RSV positive. My boys had stuffy noses and low grade fevers. We took them to urgent care to rule anything else out. They took chest X-rays and those were clear...they sent us on our way. That was on a Sunday. By Thursday, the boys weren't any better and one of the boys started running a bit higher fever. Their congestion wasn't better and a cough had started. We ended up taking them to the ER on that Friday on the advice of another doctor. I felt horrible because I hadn't noticed if their breathing was any more labored. They took more chest x-rays and they both were cloudy. We were admitted, the boys were put on oxygen and we were there for 5 nights. They've been out of the hospital for a week and a half and they are still coughing and don't feel really good. The poor boys cough so much in the morning trying to get up that gunk that has built up over the night. It's frustrating to see it go on for so long...

I wish I had been more adamant with the ped. We were just told to give it more time each time we called. I'm know she'll be fine! The RSV nose swab test is simple and didn't bother the boys at all and we knew for sure what was happening.

Thinking about you... let us know how it goes...

Shelby

 

How is she today Krystyn?

 

My girls have never had it, and had Synagis all last winter. But I'm pretty sure there is a nose swab test they can do to test for RSV. My niece was sick last winter and my sister had them do this swab test to make sure she didn't have RSV before coming around my girls.

If she's getting the Synagis, even if it is RSV it should not be as serious as it would be if she weren't getting the shots. But I hope it is not RSV and she feels better soon. Poor baby.

 

My sons both had it at 2 weeks old. I blogged about it on my myspace page. You are more than welcome to read it. I hope your baby is doing ok now.

www.myspace.com/emtgodess

debra

 

My DD Karlie just got out of the hospital on the 2nd with a diagnosis of RSV after being admitted for 4 days. I have to agree with the other pp that the third day is the worst. The day before she was admitted I took her to the doctors and they said she just had an upper respiratory infection and then that night she became increasingly worse so I took her to the ER and they sent me home with the same diagnosis as the doctors. The next night she began wheezing and retracting really bad, poor eating habits, fever, clear runny nose so off to the ER we went again and this time they took her right back and low and behold the RSV test was positive. I knew it was something more than just an upper respiratory infection. Go with your gut instinct and if you feel like it is getting worse take her in because being preemie and so little she can tire out quickly. I hope everything is ok and you don't have to deal with a hospital stay and all of that. If you need to talk just PM me.

 

I am staying in the hospital right now with one DS who has it, and the other DS is here so he can eat!

I took both boys (4 wks) to the ER. One had a clean X-ray, and the other looked like pnemonia. The swabs all came back negative (flu and RSV for both) so only one DS got admitted. Once we were up in the room, the nurse did another RSV test where she went in and got the sample, instead of just a swab, and that one came back positive. I am pretty sure other DS has it too, but he never had a fever and he didn't struggle to breathe as much so we are just watching him like a hawk!!

Some other things I have noticed other than the obvious symptoms of congestion, coughing, and fever are that they are very sleepy. They also would throw up pretty good, because they swallow all the mucus. Count the breathing (over 60 for age 6 wk and under, over 45 for 6 wk to 1 year, I think!), watch their chest/belly when they breathe. You really don't want to see babies struggle. If they are pulling too hard it kind of looks like their belly is really popping up, and you can see the muscles between their ribs. I don't know if I explained that very well...just my observation from this week--I'm not in the medical field!!

I would agree that it is most scary around day 3...the Drs had a very concerned look and we got transferred to a CHildren's Hospital. After that everything has gradually gotten better. We are still here as we are waiting for his oxygen levels to even out when they take him off. THat is what makes hospital stays so long for RSV.

If there is no fever, and they aren't struggling too hard to breathe, I think you just have to wait it out. You can give salene drops in the nose to help break up the mucus, and make sure they are hydrated.

I wish I didn't have to learn all of this! But I hope some of it made sense and was helpful. I am pretty tired!!! :blink:

 

I took her to the Dr on Friday and she was seemingly doing better. The Dr said that is was probably a mild case of RSV (thats to the Synagis) but it could get worse before it gets better. Well today she spiked a 103 temp, and I got it down to 101 with tylenol and for now I am just watching it. Since she is a preemie she still retracts quite a bit when she breaths, so it is hard for me to tell if it is worse or not. I am going to call her Dr again in the moring and see what she says. I am really hoping that she does not have to be admitted. Thanks for all the helpful hints, they have helped so much!! I will keep you updated.

 

I hope she gets better quick Krystyn. Hang in there. :hug99: