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Ds2 has had a cold the last few days and a high fever. Just been giving him nurofen and getting him to rest but he's not all that phased. He developed a cough yesterday that doesnt sound too nasty but just in the last hour his lips/around his mouth is turning a shade of blue/purple! I keep thinking Im imagining it but its there.
What should I do? I have no car so Im stuck unless I call exhusband but I dont want to do it unless its really important.
Anna, that doesn't sound good. Could you call the A & E at your local hospital and see what they say... will probably turn out to be nothing, but any blue around the mouth is a little dodgy.
i would say it could be pretty important especially since he has been sick and had a cold. i would go to the GP at the very least. hope its nothing!
Blue lips can be a sign of poor amounts of oxygen in the blood. If its not going pink again or other sensitive areas of high blood flow are blue (tongue, genitils) - get him to a doctor to be sure.
call an ambulance if you are concerned he sounds like he isn't getting enough oxygen. Or call this number 1800 022 222 it's the health care number and you can talk to a registered nurse.
What is he doing? is he listless are his testicals blue?? i would be getting some medical attention asap just in case.
I would definitely be calling the emergency department of my local hospital. Can't hurt ? Hope it's nothing
I hope you have been to the Drs by now.
The little girl across the road had this and she just had a severe upper respitory infection.. She didn't act that sick really but she was.. Her Mum just thought it was a cold but no..
Anyways I hope Ds2 will be ok
I'd be calling an ambulance if you can't get a car - at the very least, the paramedics will check him out at your home and determine whether it's worth taking him to the hospital. That way, if it's not anything potentially life-threatening, you can still get him checked out without the hassle of organising how to get home (eg if you get there by ambulance).
I wouldn't hesitate to call the ambos - when it comes to children, better safe than sorry, I reckon. It's not like it's a stubbed toe or a grazed knee, kwim?
Give nurse-on-call a ring: 1300 60 60 24. Are his finger tips (under the nail) bluish?
Yes to above nurse and health line numbers
No to ED's - they wont be able to do anythign for you over the phone and it will just frustrate you hun.
Hope it is nothing major ... let us all know how you went ...
i find those health numbers to be a bit of a waste of time because most of the time they ask you about a million questions and then say to go to the doctors anyway. especially since having a blue mouth can be very serious, they will want you to see a professional i would think. i would just go straight to a doctor. get your ex to give you a lift, is your Ds his bub? i'm sure he would be concerned about bubs health too.
A friend of mine her DS was only a week old and was really cold she changed his nappy noticed his testicals were a bit blue and smaller than usual didn't think much of it noticed he was a little blue around the mouth she was going to take him out in the sun to warm him up and decided at the last minute to take him to the Dr they went to the hossy in stead and as soon as they walked in a Dr saw him and screamed for help, he was airlifted to sydney and was in ICU for over a week. He has some sort of respiratory infection (can't remember exactly what it was).
She since has called 000 for another incident and they told her never to worry about calling them even for something minor cos they have different graded ambulances they will even come out to dress wounds. So my point is don't ever worry about calling an ambulance especially if it could be something serious.
Agree with what everyone else has said. Hope everything turns out fine.
Tell me about his breathing?? Is he using extra muscles (between the ribs, bottom of the neck sucking in)?? Is it fast?? Is he blue all the time or after coughing / exertion??
Nope no extra muscles, he isnt coughing that much. Its a little wheezy. I can hear him rumbling when he takes a breath in. He just has a purple-ish bruise-like tint between/around his nose and mouth, its not as bad as I first thought when I look at it in sunlight. The purple hue under his eyes doesnt help with the whole purple look he has happening.
He ALWAYS get a cough and looks horrible when he gets even the slightest runny nose.
He's playing right now so Ive left him be after we had a hot shower with some euco to see if that opens up his lungs a bit. He's still got a 38deg fever though, very warm to touch.
Anna, as the other girls have said, any kind of blue around the mouth isn't good.
I'd really take him to the gp to get the once over just incase.
take him to a doc. or atleast ring. My stepmothers grandchild had the same thing, 8 hours later he died (dramatic i know) but it was from him not gettting enough oxygen, tho he was only 6 months. Get it checked out, better safe than sorry.
I think there is enough to be concerned about here to warrant ringing exhusband re the car. OR catch a taxi. Or phone a friend. He really needs to be seen by a doctor today, IMO. Don't burn up your daylight, much easier to get him seen in the middle of the day than 8 pm tonight when you finally get concerned enough, kwim?
If at anytime he gets worse - starts to struggle, makes a barking noise, or tummy sucks in when he's trying to breathe in, call an ambulance!!!
I've been mulling over this... and yes, I think you should see a doctor with him. Sometimes breathing problems can creep up slowly... a respiratory infection reduces lung capacity not suddenly like choking but as the oxygen saturation level of the blood falls it can be similar to a gradual choke. Just because you can take in a breath doesn't mean that you aren't in trouble. A body needs to maintain a certain amount of oxygen in the blood and it really does sound like you DS doesn't have optimum levels of oxygen in his system. This will make him very vulnerable. I don't drive and I know how inconvenient it can be bundling them all up and calling a taxi to get to the doctors but I've done this. Once just because my son was suddenly tugging on his ear and wouldn't stop crying... I didn't know what was wrong... he was well in every other way. I felt a bit stupid at the doctors because he had stopped crying too. But when the doctor had a look in his ear using an instrument he said that the canal was full of blood!!! :o I said "How???" doctor couldn't tell me why... but said he might have even punctured him ear drum. Well I got home and then found a bit of a toy in the port-a-cot where he was playing and put 2 and 2 together. He must have shoved it in his ear.
Anyhow enough about us... but honestly it would be better to have your DS tested to check out his blood oxygen saturation levels now in the middle of the day than have a sleepless night tonight. Little kids can go downhill fast.
ETA: snap MD!
I so agree with MD on not burning up the daylight hours hun - especially a Friday with the weekend coming and school holidays starting or already started - people are travelling etc - try and see someone today.
sounds to me like he might have croup....
def get him to a doc asap - my little man was in emergency on the weekend with it and he went blue :(
Called local GP down the road and spoke to practice nurse; she had a listen to his breathing/cough and said to just give him the vapouriser/panadol and watch him for awhile. He doesnt sound too bad and the blueness isnt as pronounced as it was so she wasnt in a rush to try and fit me in (you have to call BEFORE you get sick to get a GP appt up here *sigh*).
I hope that you have seen someone already, but if not I'd personally be seeing someone if he's getting blue tinges around his mouth. I found when Oskar had bronchialitis and croup that during the day he was a lot better and hardly seemed sick at all but once that night air started up again he really went downhill very quickly indeed. They only have little bodies and it doesn't take much at all. Hope that everything is ok and that's he feeling better.
Just saw you'd posted before I got a chance. It's like that everywhere in winter really and it's seriously a problem! I'm lucky that my doctor will always squeeze bubs in.
yeah thats a bit odd, they usually dont take chances with little ones and squeeze you in.
Hmmm I dont like that response either AnnaT. Maybe I am being a paranoid mummy, but I know my doctor will squeeze me in if I am worried about the smallest of things. Keep an eye on him, I'm sure you are, & dont hesitate to get a second opinion, what about calling that health line?
I agree, bluish tinge around the mouth is reason to have someone look at him, particularly if he has a fever and has been unwell.
Hope it's nothing but I wouldn't risk it.
Yeah, croup seems to be the thing going around right now. My dad found out today he has it... and my sister just had a baby! He is paranoid about the baby coming home because my older brother had croup as a baby and the doctors practically wrote him off - gave him last rites and everything. He obviously bounced back but there is so much more they can do for it now than there was 36 years ago.
Wheeze is an indication of airway narrowing. With viral type symptoms, croup is a possibility and if so it is likely to be worse at 2am. You know him better than anyone - if you think he is sick, get him checked!!
Things to look for (besides the discolouration which may be like the purple hue you get when you are cold - in his case, potentially as he was brewing his fever)
* increased work of breathing - using extra muscles such as tummy, between the ribs, little notch in the neck (trachea)
* noisy breathing - may sound like crackles, rattles or wheezes. If it is croup he will bark like a seal when he coughs. All of them should be checked. If he has stridor (google for what it sounds like) he needs to be checked ASAP (ambulance)
* decreased interaction / lethargy / unusual drowsiness = ambulance
Basically, if you are worried at all then get him checked. Pre-warn ex-DH about needing the car, a lift, someone to look after the other 2 and tell him it may be the early hours of the morning. Don't be afraid to call an ambulance. 'Tis the season for respiratory stuff!!
Anna I rushed Emily up to the hospital last week as she was wheezing and a had a slight tinge of blue around the mouth. Fortunately by the time we arrived at hospital she'd improved and her airways were 100%, but that sort of thing I would go straight to the hospital for. I'm an asthmatic, have been my entire life, so I know what it's like. I'm not saying it's asthma, but when it comes to respitory conditions, they need to be attended to straight away.
I hope he's improved by now, or improves in the next couple of days. :hug: