Baby wheezing do I need to go to the doctor?

flyingmum

Thu, Jan 03 2013, 11:24 am

My baby(5 months old) has a chesty cough and is wheezing a little she has no fever and has no other symptoms and she seems to be happy. Do you think I need to take her to the doctor?
(Her older siblings all had coughs with fever etc. which the doctor said was a virus.)

B"H YOM YOM

Thu, Jan 03 2013, 11:29 am

Yes-now! It might very well be viral (as so many resp issues are) but at that age, it needs to be closely monitored, see if she needs some intervention to help support breathing etc... Babies under a year or even two are to be treated more religiously any time it comes to coughs, wheezing etc (ie: respiratory issues). Refuah Shelaimah.

newmother

Thu, Jan 03 2013, 11:37 am

yes. please go wheezing can be very serious! my ds starts to wheeze whenever he gets sick and if we don't give him the medicine he needs he can get so congested that he would not be able to breathe. I once had the dr scream at me because I brought in ds and the dr was livid that I had not called hatzala and instead waited in the waiting room.

busydev

Thu, Jan 03 2013, 11:44 am

I had my baby wheezing twice.

when he was 4 months it was a problem and he needed nebulizer treatments. he was totally happy and no or very mild fever. the dr called him a "happy wheezer"

the other time he was wheezing it was fine (upper respiratory not lower) and we were sent home with nothing else to do but wait it out and come back if it got worse.

I would certainly say to bring him in to your dr.

IMHopinion

Thu, Jan 03 2013, 11:53 am

Immediately.
Wheezing can close the lungs. Please go.

flyingmum

Thu, Jan 03 2013, 12:14 pm

thanks for your replies. I thought only with fever its more serious.
I live in the UK and the surgery is hit. Do you think that she needs to see an out of hours doctor/ out-patient hospital tonight or can we wait till tomrrow

MaBelleVie

Thu, Jan 03 2013, 12:15 pm

YES, wheezing must always be checked by a doctor.

busydev

Thu, Jan 03 2013, 12:19 pm

flyingmum wrote:

well how bad is the wheezing? can she breathe? is she congested? is it slight or very loud? Does your dr have after hours answering service? If yes I would call and tell them the symptoms and describe how your child is doing and they will ask the appropriate questions and advice you if you should go to the ER or if it can wait till first thing in the morning.

cbsmommy

Thu, Jan 03 2013, 12:21 pm

flyingmum wrote:

Sometimes they can't wait. Sometimes children with wheezing can wait. It REALLY depends. Nobody online can make that call without hearing your baby.

Does your doctor have a phone number for after hour care where you can talk this out with a medical professional?

flyingmum

Thu, Jan 03 2013, 12:38 pm

It's very slight wheezing. And she's happy and fine other wise. I think I will just call the out of hours doctors and see what they say.
thanks

amother

Thu, Jan 03 2013, 12:40 pm

Please do, this happened to my baby and it got really dangerously bad. I was never so scared in my life and she had to be on a nebulizer for 3 months.

Liba

Thu, Jan 03 2013, 12:44 pm

Is the wheeze from the lungs or a stuffy nose?

MommytoB

Thu, Jan 03 2013, 1:11 pm

Ok, you sound like you are pretty on top of your baby's virus. Here are my thoughts (from a mom whose just 2 year old has been on a nebulizer 5 times since fall started).

Doctor's look at child's behavior as an indicator. Happy baby means that they are most likely not compensating for difficulty breathing by using different muscles. Good sign. Grumpy, clingy baby is a problem.

Count her breathing for one minute (not less as breathing gets faster and slower in the minute). A count of one is in and out. A virus itself can cause fast breathing, as much as 10 over normal. For a baby up to 6 months b/w 30 - 60 breaths per minute is normal. Well above 60 would mean an immediate call or visit (cant give you an exact number as my little one is older -- for instance, a 2 year old would be normal up to mid 30's and anything 60 and over would require an immediate visit). If her breathing rate is in the normal range that is also a good sign.

Sometimes congestion does sound like wheezing. I find it easier to hear the difference by putting my ear on my little one's back and listening to the breath sounds on intake.

A warning sign would be if their skin is retracting around their ribs while breathing. Don't pay attention to 'belly' breathing as baby's do this. Look from the back and sides at the skin around the ribs. If there is pulling in between the ribs, don't wait. It would be noticeable and if you saw it you would understand what it looked like. Again, if this happens it means baby is using different muscles to breathe and most likely you would have a cranky baby.

The issue with wheezing is that it can progress. Unfortunately, I have had to use steroids twice this year because the nebulizer/albuterol has not been effective enough. The reason to treat a happy wheezing child showing minor symptoms would be to avoid that progression (we are under orders to start treatment at start of cold regardless of wheezing now to avoid that progression) -- but that progression certainly would not happen in a lot of cases!

For a first time wheezing they will probably want to see baby a few times to monitor progression, to decide if treatment is necessary etc. As to whether you have to call now, I would first observe breathing, breaths per minute, look for skin retracting at ribs etc. Then I would probably give a call and present all those findings and ascertain whether your doctor thinks it came wait until morning and if so are there any warning signs you should look for at night.

Good luck!

flyingmum

Thu, Jan 03 2013, 3:00 pm

thanks MommytoB for taking time to reply.
I finally got to speak to a doctor on the phone and he seems to think it's probably her version of this virus. Because she's happy and no fever and the other kids had virus too.
He did say if it gets worse or doesn't go away in a few days to check her out.
Thanks everyone

B"H YOM YOM

Thu, Jan 03 2013, 4:18 pm

One more nudge to take her to the doc. A doctor who "diagnoses" a child over the phone(!) based on "other children" is flipant and irresponsible at best! Babies under 2 need much closer monitoring. A simple virus in an older child can easily turn into something more severe (bronchiolitis etc) in an infant. And a "happy" baby is wonderful, yes, but absolutely does not rule out sickness! A coughing/wheezing baby (ie: with ANY respiratory distress) must be evaluated by a pediatrician. IY"H it is nothing serious but there is no way of knowing without an exam. Refuah Shelaimah.