Asthma/chest infection/pneumonia confused

[LoveKnowsNoBounds]

I'm so confused. DS become really sick last night. Congestion in the chest, wheezing, runny nose, bsd cough. He vomited his panadol. Didn't want to eat.

By morning DH took him to the doctor who wouldn't treat him until he had a chest X-ray. He doesn't have a fever but the congestion was do bad and he wad so lethargic he needed some antibiotics.

We took him to another doctor who checked his ears. The other doc didn't. He has a middle ear infection in both ears. One is worse than the other. He is on antibiotics. She said she could hear a wheeze and gave me a puffer for him.

He has had a cough on and off for a few months now. Is this a sign of asthma? Or can it pop up when there is an illness? Is this a different type of asthma or how it starts?

We are going to go to our usual doctor this week where hopefully we can get this sorted. But I wanted to get some info as I have no idea and it's stressing me out. I don't want my little guy to have asthma

Thanks for reading

[Lolpigs]

Bronchitis can flare up with illness. That is what I have. I dont take any medication for it, unless I get a chesty cough or infection in winter, then it can get so bad I'm on a ventilator, however that only happens once every few years. Otherwise I only have issues when I do strenuous exercise. I detest medications so don't take anything for that LOL but I wouldn't stress too much Normally it is hereditary I thought unless it is allergic Asthma, my mother has Bronchitis so this is where it comes from for me.

They can test his lung capacity when he is well, to see how he is going its a simple test where he blows into a tube. Your GP should be able to do it for you.

Perhaps this bug has just been hanging around for few months? Or it was just allergies? There has been lots of yucky things around in the last few months so it might just be one of those.

Hope he feels better soon xx

[Chrispe]

Hi SPJ,
How old is DS? I only ask as babies & toddlers can wheeze for many reasons. It sounds to me like your little tike probably had a virus (cold or flu bug, or similar) and it has gone to his ears & possibly his throat.

With Asthma there is a particular wheeze which is not only heard in the throat (by our ears) it is heard clearly in bronchioles (upper branches) of the lungs with a stethoscope. 2 of mine have mild Asthma & I also have a brother with sever Asthma.

Unless your DS is having trouble taking breaths I wouldn't worry about it too much, as it will probably disappear when he is treated for the ear infection (which is common in children & babies)

Hope DS is better soon.

Ps I know Asthma sounds scary, but when controlled properly it's not that bad.

[kelebek]

DS had a real problem with a cough everytime he got a runny nose or he would run or was in cold air. Took him to the dr's numerous times and a big culprid was his ears. We were treating him for astma just in case cause the cough just seemed to linger and our dr said it was hard to do a definitive test for astma at his age. DS's dad always thought he had a chest infection but his chest was always clear when they checked it.

We did have some mould growing on our cielings which I finally took care of, within a week his cough had disappeared and I stopped using the astma medication. It has been about 2 mnths. He did get a cold on thursday last week and that is usually when his cough would return but it hasn't. He has started to cough but I suspect it's his ears and will be taking him to the GP tomorrow.

It's really hard not to worry but all you can do is keep taking him back to the dr's and getting him checked. If you do suspect a chest infection though I would try and get him to another dr just for a 3rd opinion just in case.

[LoveKnowsNoBounds]

Thanks for your replies they are so helpful.

Chrispe he is 4.5 years old. He had two doses of the amoxicillin last night and was so much better. Not as much coughing. Can't hear the wheezing anymore. Lots of energy today.

Would asthma pop up when he's sick or is it more likely to be related to his eat infection and congestion?

DH has asthma but got it as an adult. DS has allergies to nuts. I'm wondering if he's allergic to something else. Could that cause the problem? I think I need to get him retested again.

[Lolpigs]

I would think it would be most likley related to him being sick. Unless he was having trouble breathing before he got sick? As being sick can excasserbate symptoms.

[Chrispe]

Thanks for your replies they are so helpful.

Chrispe he is 4.5 years old. He had two doses of the amoxicillin last night and was so much better. Not as much coughing. Can't hear the wheezing anymore. Lots of energy today.

Would asthma pop up when he's sick or is it more likely to be related to his eat infection and congestion?

DH has asthma but got it as an adult. DS has allergies to nuts. I'm wondering if he's allergic to something else. Could that cause the problem? I think I need to get him retested again.

Sounds like the amoxicillin is doing its job! It could possibly be what they call 'viral asthma' which means it might show when he has a flu, ear, or chest infection. Or it could be that a bit of mucus was just in the passages (which is different to asthma)
So glad to hear that's he is on the mend!

[LoveKnowsNoBounds]

Hi Lolpigs
Normally he doesn't have trouble breathing. He does cough when the temperature changes sometimes like in the early morning. Though that could be because it has never really cleared up. He is sensitive to air conditioning sometimes and will cough on and off. Maybe he needs two lots of antibiotics to get rid of it once and for all. I'm also thinking of stopping swimming for a few weeks to get his immunity up again. He seems to be sick every fortnight

[Lolpigs]

Hmm could it be something he is coming in contact with at swimming?