Bronchiolitis?

Ok, DD (nearly 11months) has had a blocked/stuffy nose, temperature, off her food and really horrible wheezy breathing the last 2days and after taking her to the doctors today we were sent for xrays of her chest. The doc then told me to take her straight to the hospital so they could make sure she was getting enough oxygen because she has bronchiolitis. Well she is which is good but no one will tell me what i can do to help her, she cant sleep cos she cant breath properly. I have been using vicks on her but it doesn't seem to help. And panadol for her fever.
I hope that makes sense... Has anyone ever had one of their bubs have this? What helped with your little one?

Thanks

When my son had bronchiolitis we used a vapouriser - the steam seemed to help him breathe. When he was at his worst, I sat up with him during the night and propped him up on my shoulder. Being upright helped him as well. Perhaps you could try a pram or rocker that is slightly elevated? or maybe put a pillow under the cot mattress to create a slight slant upwards?

Hope she gets better soon :hug:

My DD has had bronchiolitis several times. There isn't much you can do to help.

Here's what we did - elevated one end of the cot so it drained the mucous, bought a steam vaporisor for her room, the extra moisture seemed to help her breathe and stopped her coughing quite so much, Fess Little Noses can help with getting the mucous out of the nose as they can't blow but be warned they hate it!

It will run it's course, there is no treatment as it's caused by a virus. The only thing a hospital will generally do is give oxygen support if your little one is having trouble breathing so keep you eye on her.

Just a quick addition, I also sat up with her in her rocking chair for hours at a time overnight as it helps them to sleep in an upright position.

Second all of the above. i think we were given steriods but can't remember, poor little mite had so many chest infections in the first year they have all blurred together

Pretty much bronchiolitis is the viral (non-bacterial) form of bronchitis. If not managed, it can lead to bronchitis which is so much worse.

Our doc recommends using ventolin to remove the mucous (which is what can lead to the bronchitis) and after 3 days if there's no improvement, a steriod (cortisone) around lunchtime to boost the immune system during the circadian rhythm downtime at night.

Having said that, it's what my doc recommends and works for us. As Pip's in daycare, we needed a prescription to get them to dose him with the ventolin.

Unfortunately, it's something we deal with a couple of times a season, it just keeps coming back. And for us, as Kris mentioned, I will often sleep with Pip on my shoulder on my jason recliner to let him breathe during the night.

Good luck.

Hey there Jessey. My sympathies go out to you, there's nothing worse than a baby with a blocked nose...

The two main problems in bronchiolitis are breathing and feeding. You need to be on the look out for breathing problems - signs that your baby may be having breathing problems are seeing the muscles underneath the rib cage draw inwards with each breath, "grunting" as she breathes, or bobbing her head and flaring her nostrils to try and breathe.

You will probably find that bub will cope better with small, frequent feeds as long as she has the laboured breathing. It sounds like she's got a pretty bad case of bronchiolitis, so consider feeding her little bits every 2-3 hours. The rest of the time, encourage her to rest as much as possible. Lots of quiet cuddles will help. If she is really blocked up and has lots of snot coming out of her nose, you can try saline nose drops, saline nasal spray, otrivin junior (which is a mild decongestant) or if you really need to, you can use a nasal aspirator (gently).

If she has a wheeze, then it is possible that ventolin will help, but it often doesn't, so your doctor may not suggest it. There's also no proof that vapourisers work, but I have used them before with my own children, so feel free to give it a try.

Watch wet nappies - if they start becoming less frequent, it is a sign she is getting dehydrated. Some babies with bronchiolitis need to be fed through a tube in the nose for a couple of days or to have IV fluids while they are at their sickest.

There is no specific treatment for the virus that causes bronchiolitis - antibiotics don't work. The best you can do is control the symptoms and let her get better on her own.

Good luck.

Thanks so much for your advice everyone.

She's starting to breath better, now she's just got the most horrible cough :(