My darling little girl developed a cough in March, very shortly after being sick for a week with the flu. It was a simple little cough, easily ignored by her and able to be left 'untreated'. After 2 weeks it got worse, and it stayed that way for about a week. Over our Spring Break I was planning to take the kids to the pool (indoor, heated) but her cough was sounding crummy, and we were starting to give her a cough suppressant at night. Our family doctor thought she sounded alright, and it was most likely allergies. We were given the thumbs up to go swimming. (Only that didn't happen and it's an entirely different story)
Another week goes by with the cough only getting worse, she was starting to gag with her coughs, not all of them but 1-3 times a day. I took her back to the doctors when I had an appointment for me, and we listened to her chest again. Decided to treat with a short round of antibiotics, hopefully that would help. It didn't knock the cough out but it did change it a little. At first I thought, for the better, but it wasn't long before she would vomit with her coughing. At least twice a day, and finally on Monday she threw up 5 times between midnight and 3 pm. The doc wanted to see her first thing in the morning and wanted to order a chest x-ray. So we got up and got ready to go and made it there hoping to get home sometime around 11.
So, she had her chest listened to, and she was prescribed a nebulizer with an albuterol inhalant, and an oral steroid. We headed out to drop off our prescriptions then went back over and had her x-ray done. She was such a big girl! I was expecting a fuss, but she powered her way through it, listened to the tech and did exactly what she was asked. Then we went back to pick up the prescriptions and came home. Around 3 the doctors office called, the x-ray results were in, and it looks like she has asthma. I'm taking her back to the doc on like May 4th for a follow up. Hopefully we can drive the cough out, and maybe get a repeat x-ray or some other test to double check on that whole asthma business.
I'm also considering having some allergy testing done on her. We had discussed it a week or so ago, and I wanted to wait until she was older, like at least 5. But if it looks as though things are different, and I need to do the testing sooner so we can help prevent her getting bad like this again.
She had 3 treatments yesterday and did NOT start coughing until after midnight. So, there is improvement. But I'd like to sleep through the night!!!
1 comment:
My heart goes out to you!!! We went through this with my first daughter (now 5), we had to fight to get her diagnosed and get the nebulizer, but it made a world of difference. She would cough at night so badly, she would begin to vomit. Now she is on Singulair nightly and only needs the Albuterol every once in a great while. It is amazing what the right meds can do!!! Good luck, just be patient with the little one, stay calm when they can't breathe, and be the best advocate you can be!!!!
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