Trusting my mom instinct with sick DD

amother

Tue, Feb 04 2020, 7:53 pm

2.5 year old DD has been under the weather since last week shabbos. Sneezing and a terrible sounding cough. Brought her to the doc 3 times already. First time they said she’s fine, just a cold. Second time he said congestion is definitely getting worse but not doing anything about it. Third time they discovered an ear infection and put her on meds. It’s 3 days since she started the meds and there is no improvement. (It’s a strong medication also) if anything she is worse. Extremely irritable and cranky. Coughing like crazy. She vomited today and wouldn’t eat. They did not do a flu test cuz she has no fever and they said it’s unlikely that she has the flu without fever. (Even though her sister just got over it.) I KNOW something is wrong with her but can’t get a doc to take me seriously.

thunderstorm

Tue, Feb 04 2020, 7:58 pm

Vomiting can be from the excess mucus and coughing but it may also be an allergic reaction to the antibiotics.
I would think that there is a chance of a sinus infection which can take two weeks to clear even on antibiotics.
If your child is wheezing have the child’s chest listened to again by the doctor and perhaps request a chest x ray to rule out pneumonia.
I’m not sure why your doctor didn’t take the flu test. My doctor said that some flu patients didn’t have fever this year but tested positive.

amother

Amber

Tue, Feb 04 2020, 8:01 pm

thunderstorm wrote:

Agree with all of this.

Also, is there a different pediatrician in your area you can switch to at some point? It's really important to have a good pediatrician you can rely on. Sorry you're dealing with this. Refuah shelaima.

Miri1

Tue, Feb 04 2020, 8:04 pm

Refuah sheleimah Sad

Have you contacted your doc again to discuss the cough?
The vomiting could be related to the strong antibiotic.

It's also possible that she is dealing with a very bad cold (which could last 7 - 10 days), and the ear infection is a result of the congestion - so the meds would take care of the ears, but not the virus.
I would bring her back for the cough, to make sure there's no wheezing.

FTR, my son once tested positive for flu without ever having any fever.... don't know how common that is.

I hope she feels better soon Sad

turca

Tue, Feb 04 2020, 8:04 pm

thunderstorm wrote:

The mucus is dripping at the back of her throat and making her throw up (post nasal drip). She would benefit a lot from steam baths/ nabulizer with saline.
I would request a blood test: they can see if it’s viral/ bacterial infection and take it from there. And yes, u could have pneumonia without fever!
Refuah shelema!

amother

Jetblack

Tue, Feb 04 2020, 8:16 pm

Most likely it's a bad cold. The coughing is part of a bad cold. The ear infection likely developed from the cold =fluid in her ears= ended up getting infected.

The vomiting, if it's new, is very likely related to the antibiotic itself. Antibiotics are hard on the stomach and you said it's a strong antibiotic. Make sure you give it to her only after eating a meal and make sure you supplement as well with probiotics. Stick with the name brand Florastor. It's a tremendous amount better than the other brands.

If it's flu, there's nothing the doctor can do to help her at this point anyway, so why torture her with the flu swab? It's too late for Tamiflu, which by the way can also cause terrible nausea and vomiting, so it doesn't sound like she'd be a good candidate anyway.

Sinuses are really not developed in a 2 year old so unlikely to be a sinus infection.

Nothing wrong with rechecking every 2 days until she is well. I do that often, because things change/develop.

amother

Amber

Tue, Feb 04 2020, 9:10 pm

Babies are born with much of their sinuses developed, especially those around their nose. My pediatrician has diagnosed sinus infection in my kids when they were two and younger.

amother

Linen

Tue, Feb 04 2020, 10:37 pm

Always trust your instincts and take extra precautions for you dear children!
Maybe its side effects from meds shes on now
Or maybe it is something else
I'd suggest you bring ur dd back to dr get a flu test to rule that out and get blood work done.
Refuah Shelaima!

tweety1

Wed, Feb 05 2020, 3:58 am

My pediatrician told me this week, he said flu does not have to come with fever. He told me abt a kid who in a span of 2 days tested positive for both strains a and b and kid did not have fever. He said he's been seeing it alot. Parents are convinced it can't be the flu cuz of no fever yet the flu test is showing positive.

amother

Floralwhite

Wed, Feb 05 2020, 5:14 am

Sounds like a post nasal drip.
Put a humidifier in her room and rub vaporub on her chest around the clock.
And switch pediatricians. Like, permanently.

amother

Beige

Wed, Feb 05 2020, 5:33 am

tweety1 wrote:

My baby had both strains with no fever. She was only tested because we were at the dr anyway for a well check up and we had to make sure it was nothing more than a cold for her to get her shots.

notshanarishona

Wed, Feb 05 2020, 7:16 am

At least 75 % of the time these things are viral and there is nothing the pediatrician can do /give you. A week is not such a long time. Knowing what it is I.e. flue won't help you . I wouldn't push for blood tests for such a young child unless it was going on for a while.

amother

Jetblack

Wed, Feb 05 2020, 7:22 am

amother [ Amber ] wrote:

Babies are born with much of their sinuses developed, especially those around their nose. My pediatrician has diagnosed sinus infection in my kids when they were two and younger.

That's actually incorrect information.

Yes, plenty of docs diagnose sinus infections in small children but it's usually to get the mothers off their backs/give an easy answer. By the time they finish the medication for a sinus infection, the kid has typically gotten better already. Go research at what age sinuses develop.

WhatFor

Wed, Feb 05 2020, 7:22 am

If I went to the same doc three times in a row and didn't feel like they were taking me seriously, I wouldn't waste one more second of my time with that doc. Take your child to someone else. You know your child better than anyone on this message board. If you feel like something's off, something is probably off.

amother

Amber

Wed, Feb 05 2020, 7:31 am

amother [ Jetblack ] wrote:

Ok, since you asked: https://pediatrics.aappublicat.....3/798

And in my case the doctor never believed it to be bacterial, and did not prescribe abx for it.

amother

Lime

Wed, Feb 05 2020, 7:41 am

My kids were misdiagnosed recently with sinus infection, asthma and croup. What they actually had, complete with vomiting and turning blue, is whooping cough (despite a full course of vaccines). Google kids your kids age w whooping cough and if it looks similar insist on a test. You will have to quarantine her until you get results but it's better than suffering 6 weeks until diagnosis. If it is whooping cough, it improves tremendously after antibiotic.

amother

Lime

Wed, Feb 05 2020, 8:09 am

amother [ Lime ] wrote:

The best website with videos and audio is by Douglas Jenkinson www.whoopingcough.net

amother

Plum

Wed, Feb 05 2020, 10:28 am

amother [ Lime ] wrote:

Wow, that’s crazy. My nephew was also misdiagnosed for weeks with whooping cough, a couple of years ago.
Do you care to share which city you live in? I had heard of a couple kids in my daughters school with WC and my daughter was put on azithromycin in case she’s a carrier to my kid on chemo.
Just curious if we live in the same city where apparently WC made a comeback (my ped was shocked as she said they haven’t seen it in a while)