RSV in 8 week old

[Ashley1021]

My almost 8 week old tested positive for RSV today. RSV put ds1 in the hospital for a few days when he was 7 months so I'm a little freaked.

He has a terrible cough, is wheezy and seems like he's really working to breathe. At the doctor they said his oxygen was fine and we could go home and keep an eye on it.

He's so sleepy, and doesn't really want to eat. My ds1 had fine stats until he fell asleep and then they plummeted. I'm so scared and don't really know what to do.

Part of me wishes they just would've kept him so I know he's being watched even when asleep

 

[wish4baby]

So sorry! I know that's scary...my older daughter got the flu when she was just 6 weeks old (a couple years ago). They sent us home too, even with her high fever & everything. I was feeling just like you are now.
I'm sure you know all this, but I'll tell you what we did, just in case!
I just sat in a recliner with her for days - I kept her upright to help drain all that congestion. I monitored her fever every couple of hours, and cooled her when needed (less clothes, cool water, etc).
We kept the cool mist humidifier right next to us, and a couple times a day, we steamed up the bathroom & sat in there with her (didn't get her wet, just inhaled the steam). I used saline nasal spray & that nose sucker constantly (the gross one where you suck with your mouth lol, it really is way better & doesn't actually get anywhere near your mouth!)
I kept my boob easily accessible & tried to feed her constantly, even though she just wanted to sleep.
A few days-week later, she was fine. I hope it's the same for y'all!
I was sick with the flu at the same time (which I read was good, all the antibodies were going to her), and I took medicine that was safe for breastfeeding, I was hoping a little would pass through to her, just enough to help a bit. Who knows if it actually did!

 

[Hopeful27yrs]

Currently freaked out and sitting up with DS - 1 month old. My DD (3) is going through croup and ended up in a dash to hospital at 1am last night with bad stridor. Ended up being monitored for a few hrs with adrenaline nebulisers and steroids before finally improving and being discharged. Second night of it and and she's currently sounding a bit croupy already when she cries out in her sleep. Absolutely worried my DS will get something - he's one side of me in his Snuzpod and she's in the middle of the bed propped up. Keeping the room humidified and giving DS nasal spray to keep him decongested.

The paediatrician told us RSV is worse this year and has started earlier in the cough/cold season

 

[Ashley1021]

I brought him into the er because of retractions and a lack of wet diaper for 8 hours. The er doctor made me feel like a complete idiot. His blood tests were normal and the doctor said if he hasn't peed in 8-12 hours that those tests would've showed it.

I explained he's having trouble eating, but he didn't care because his oxygen was fine.

Such a wasted trip for no peace of mind

 

[Babybump87]

oh no sorry about your a and e visit. if your still not happy take him back you will probably end up seeing a different doctor. .

DD2. had RSV when she was 12 days old ended up in hospital for just over a week I think on a oxygen and feeding tube. Was truly awful so know how you feel.

Keep close eye on him as you will do anyway! Take him back a and e or GP . Can't takr any chances with little ones. I take mine all the time either GP or hospital if I am worried xx

 

[ashknowsbest]

I want to first say I'm not doing this to scare you but to share my experience so that people can push doctors and not end up where my family did.

I had twins in September and both of my twins ended up getting RSV (pretty sure my husband was patient 0 because he had a diagnosed upper respiratory infection - but with twins how was I supposed to make him leave the house and how was I supposed to know how bad RSV can get). My son got a mild case and even though he was having retractions he was able to get through the worst of it without support (since that's the only way they can help babies with RSV since it's a virus. However, my daughter ended up intubated at the children's hospital for 5 days - being there a total of 8. It was the most devastating thing I have ever been through and she even suffered a collapsed lung through it all. Just horrible watching your 7 week old baby go through all of that.

So let me back up a little. We went to the ER 3 times! We first went to the pediatrician they said yes they have RSV but their o2 is still 100% so come back tomorrow and we'll see what direction this is headed. So we went back the next day and their o2 was hanging around 95%. The pediatrician sent us to the ER to be checked out and possibly admitted for observation. At the ER they decided to keep us for observation overnight and everything was fine. We were discharged the next day even though they did say our daughter's lungs still sounded questionable with another checkup at the pediatrician the very next day just to make sure all was still well. At this point our son was past the worst of it, his lungs sounded clear. So, we went home happy that day being grateful that everything seemed ok. Well, that night I noticed that my daughter was taking pretty long pauses in her breathing and when she would start up breathing again she was breathing incredibly fast and her nostrils were flaring (sure sign of difficulty breathing) so I had my husband rush her to the urgent care while I stayed home with our son. At urgent care (and this part was just told to me) her o2 level was dropping into the 80's. The doctor there suggested my husband bring our daughter back to the ER so he did. While there her o2 levels were dropping into the 80s but mostly were in the 100s so they sent her home at 3am. We went to our pediatrician at 4:15pm that day and sure enough my daughter completely stopped breathing in my arms. She started to turn pale-blue so I hit the emergency button and sure enough every pediatrician in the office rushed in, took her from my arms and tried to get her breathing again. They were able to get her breathing again and called 911 to get her transported to the hospital. While there she had more spells of apnea and they decided it was time to intubate her. I was devastated, still am, and am definitely having some PTSD (really!).

I guess my point in writing this is to say, if you're unsure and not trusting the doctors go somewhere else. Through this whole ordeal we spoke to many doctors and each of them told us that RSV can go 2 ways. A cough, little difficulty breathing, and nose discharge. Or it can turn into the worse case which is where the child stops breathing periodically, eventually to not breath at all. It was the scariest thing that has ever happened in my life and had I not already been at the doctors office I'm not sure my daughter would have survived.

Best of luck with everything, really. And if you have even the slightest intuition that something isn't right you should definitely go back to the hospital or doctor and demand them to take you seriously.

 

[Ashley1021]

I ended up going back last night because he was wheezing terribly. While I was laying next to him in bed I would hear him pause for a few seconds and then start up breathing again so I brought him in. His oxygen was fine so we were sent home again. I just don't get it! I don't feel safe caring for him at home. I've tried explaining this but because he's eating and has good o2 levels no doctor is taking me seriously. I've seen four of them!

 

[noon_child]

Sorry, what is RSV?

 

[ashknowsbest]

ashley - if you read through my post you'll see that it took 3 visits to the ER and then my baby to stop breathing for them to take it seriously ... sort of ridiculous. I know what you're going through. It's really tough and definitely I did not feel safe being home with my babies either. Just keep a really good eye on your baby (which i'm sure you're already doing) and if you notice anything different than what's going on right now keep going back to the ER. That's what me and my husband did.

 

[Ashley1021]

I'll be bringing him back tonight I think. I just feel like they think I'm crazy!

 

[Ashley1021]

It's terrifying because when ds1 had it his oxygen was fine until he was asleep and then it would drop into the 80s. I've gotten no sleep watching him the past few days.

 

[ashknowsbest]

you're not crazy. you're doing the right thing. RSV can get bad really fast and you have to do what's right for your baby, even if that means bringing him to the ER over and over again.