Baby with RSV

That was 3 1/2 months ago. There could be other things going on now like other colds, asthma, secondary infections, etc. Time to find some new doctors.

Again sorry, but what is RSV? A few of us might be able to throw in some help but I am unable to put his one together...

time for a new doctor & soon!

Take your baby to Children's Medical Center downtown. My daughter had RSV at 6 months and we were sent there. They are wonderful. Sounds like what she needs is some deep suctioning for a few days to get all the infected mucous out of her lungs. You are your childs voice just refuse to leave till they do something to help your child feel better.

What is her oxygen at? My daughter needed two back to back doses of albuterol to see a difference. Do you have a cool mist humidifier? If not, get one. Rub Baby Vicks on her feet and put socks over them. It breaks up the mucous and she won't wake up coughing. Saline spray also works pretty good, although she may need a steroid nasal spray. 3 1/2 months is ridiculous, although she may be getting colds on top of the RSV. I would go straight back to the doctor and not leave until the do something else! I recently went through 3 months of sickness with my 2 year old, it took multiple trips and second opinions and other paths, but she is finally healthy. (We found out she has allergies, which the ped basically told us, no way, that's not it, so we went to an allergist on our own- point is, go with your gut! Get a second opinion!) Also, you can call and get an appt with a pediatric pulmonologist for a second opinion. It's so hard to see them suffer when they are so young, I really feel for you because I know what you are going through!

My son had this when he was 3 months old. I ran a cool mist humidifier constantly (day/night). I used saline drops for his nose and the suction bulb non stop. The cool mist humidifier should help loosen her air ways so it is easier for her to breathe. You can also put a thin pillow under her crib mattress so she sleeps propped up. (I did that with my son and he slept very well.) Keep her away from all cigarette smoke or any other fumes that would make it hard for her to breathe. (Strong cleaning chemicals, paint etc). Don't give your baby an over-the-counter cold remedy unless the doctor says to. These remedies may seem to work in the short run, but they can actually make the problem worse, and they can also have serious side effects. Since she is under 2, it is not recommended you use cold meds anyway.
Your baby has had RSV for a long time. Usually babies don't keep this longer than 1 - 1 1/2 months. I would find a new doctor ASAP. RSV is a highly contagious and serious virus. I hope she gets well soon and you are able to sleep peacefully soon. I hope some of this helps.

You definitely need to take her to an ER or Children's Hospital. My daughter at 6 months was diagnosed with RSV. I took her to her pediatrician and he gave her a breathing treatment and it didn't work so he sent us to the ER at the Children's Hospital. The first person didn't believe anything was wrong but i was adament to see another doctor and the gave her another breathing treatment and put her on another machine to suction the mucus from her nose. Im sure that will help your daughter

My younger son got it around 6 months and it lingered for several months. It is scary and frustrating and exhausting. If your doctor has not already referred you to a pulmonologist, he might want to ask. This is a bit out of the scope of a regular pediatrician. (It also bothers me that they are not more supportive, even if they can't do anything--my doctor gave me his personal number and even called once in a while to see how we were doing and wanted to do everything possible to avoid the ER with a little one.)

We did end up having chest x-rays (nothing bad showed up) and started having regular pediatric pulmonary appointments. Now that he's almost 2 1/2 we've been able to back off the quarterly appointments and had been doing only periodic maintenance medication for asthma in the winter and emergency-only or illness-only medicine the rest of the time. I slept with my son up on my chest a lot because he was so mucousy with coughing up and had a hard time keeping milk down after nursing even. It did help to prop the head of his bassinet up to help with the drainage when he was in his bed.

If you are not happy with the pediatrician, find a new one, but it sounds like time for a specialist to me.

the only baby I knew that had rsv spent 2 weeks in an oxygen tent and then was sent home with an alarm. find another hospital get a second opinion. asthma has similar symtoms to rsv too.

Hi R.---I am so sorry your little one is suffering. I have some ideas I could share with you on how to help strengthen your daughter's immune system so that her body could do a better job of fighting the rsv all on it's own. If you would like to discuss it, please feel free to contact me. There is a lot to share and would take too long in this format. But basically it has to do with making sure you are consuming an optimal diet and NOT eating foods that challenge your health.

I am taking a series of wellness classes, taught by a Naturopath who has her PhD in Nutrition. I am commited to helping others take control of their health. I can share what I am learning and we can see if anything might make sense to you. Good luck! D.

WOW, that is scary. I love my pedi and would HIGHLY recommend you visit her. She is a holistic pediatrician and has referred me to Dr. Chalmers for some things as well, which I now use as my doctor. He has helped me with my children, especially my daughter who also has respiratory reactions to any illness she gets. I wish I knew what to tell you except I wish I had found these two offices sooner!! They have changed our life, our health, and our healthcare. The most recent thing Dr. Chalmers did for my baby niece was to recommend a nutritional sea salt ($13) for my niece and it correct her reflux...amazing. I wish I had know about that when my lil' one had it. No Rx, nothing. Just give her that a little each day in her bottle or my sister would take it and it went in the breast milk.....problem solved. Something so simple worked better than any Rx my daughter was on. So, I am not sure what his recommendation would be for your lil' one, but if medical field can't help; I am certain he can.

www.healthykidspediatrics.com
http://chalmerswellness.com

My daughter had RSV last year (she was 1 at the time) its a virus so they "SAY" you cant do anything for it which is true but they CAN do things to ease the symptoms. Kind of like a cold...its a virus but you can take meds to help with the symptoms until it passes. My doctor gave us a breathing machine with a liquid that is suppose to open up the bronciols (sorry about the spelling) that helped SOOOO MUCH. when you go to your ped, you should ask to see if he can give your DD a dose of it. Also what helped us is a steamy room, nice warm bath at night and an elevated mattress..
Having said that, I dont think RSV last more than a couple/few weeks at the most. It should not last 3.5 months. Something else seems to be going on. How does her tummy look? Does she look "puffy". not to scare you but my friend had similar long patterns and it turned out it was alot more than just RSV or a cold. I would take her to a childrens hospital...especially if this is something thats been going on for 3.5 months. that is way too long.

My oldest son was hospitalized with RSV for 4 days when he was about 8 months. You definitely need to get a new doc and take her to a different hospital. Document everything so you can show a doc what she has been through for so many months. We luckily had a wonderful ped, he was then diagnosed with asthma. Continue suctioning her, do you have a nebulizer, give her saline breathing treatments as often as necessary. You can get saline over the counter at the pharmacy. Also look at what you are using in your home for cleaning and laundry products, there are so many chemicals in products that make asthma and other health conditions so much worse. Please do some research on this but for your daughters sake, seek a second opinion today. If you wnat to know more about chemicals in store products, go to my website and I will contact you today, you need a safer and healthier home for all of you.

S.
www.LiveYourDreamsAtHome.com

Have you taken her to a pediatric ENT? Dr. Biavati in Plano is awesome. She may need to have her adnoids removed. My son stayed congested and had trouble breathing for 12 months before we finally figured out that his adnoids were enlarged. It has made a huge difference. See a Specialist - General Pediatricians aren't good with these kinds of things...

Good luck!

I wonder whether she needs and asthma maintenence med at this point. The nebulizer MAY be working, she might actually be worse is you didn't have it. RSV can be a VERY serious illness for the little ones.

At this point I might bring her to an Allergy/Asthma Pediatric specialist.

Other things not already mentioned here that might help, tapping on her chest and back may help loosen the mucus. Extra fluids too. Consider environmental factors, pets, smoke, dust, dairy allergies, etc. A specialist would go over all these things with you. Can you call her doc's office and ask for a referral?

My thoughts are with you, it's so scary and exhausting to have a sick baby for that long.....

:)

*Added RSV is Respiratory Syncytial Virus, I've heard it called just bronchiliolitis as well. My son, a 25 week preemie, had it when he was 2. He aspirated while coughing and was in the PICU on a ventilator for 2 weeks. He DID recover, but it was a long road. After which he continued having mild intermittent asthma symptons. He is 16 now, has not been on a maintenence med since he was 5 and rarely uses his inhaler.

Do you know what her 02 levels are at? (oxygen?)
Our youngest was diagnosed with RSV almost 2 yrs ago & was hospitalized for a week with low 02 then it turned into pneumonia, a common thing with RSV.
If the inhaler isn't helping, she needs to have a neubilizer treatment and if her 02 stats stay low, they may prescribe a course of presnoid but only if the rsv is severe.
It's a nasty virus.

I'm not sure that this is still RSV. Our second son got it and was over it in a few weeks w/o other complications. We may have been lucky and caught it early, but I don't recall our dr warning us about months of symptoms.

Perhaps she has reflux? Many times reflux symptoms are wheezing, congestion, and coughing when laying flat.

I hope you get to the bottom of it soon.

My daughter had RSV when she was 4 months old, and we were told that RSV was an indicator for asthma later in childhood. Well, later, we found out she has Cystic Fibrosis. CF is a very treatable, genetic disease, though not to be taken lightly. See a Pediatric Pulmonologist asap, and keep after it. Mom knows best! Pediatric Associates of Dallas (also an office in Plano), has GREAT pulmonologists (Dr. Prestidge and Dr. Brown).

It sounds like your daughter has reactive airway disease which is very common post RSV. I would take her to a pulmonologist to be checked out and followed. More than likely she has something else now a cold or what not that is excerbating things. Best of luck.

Take her to a pediatric pulmonologist. I had twins that were born early and had breathing issues. They are now 4 but one of them still needs to be evaluated every 6 months.
The one I see is in Frisco.
Let me know if you need anything else.