I stayed home with him yesterday after he was up a good part of the night on Wednesday/Thursday coughing and just acting all-over uncomfortable. He took a great nap Thursday morning, but sounded awful after he woke up. I managed to work him into our pediatrician's schedule for the afternoon, and I'm glad I did.Turns out that he heard some wheezing in Ethan's lungs, as well as a crackling sound. He prescribed breathing treatments (albuterol) and a steroid (prednisone) for the wheezing and an antibiotic for the crackling, which could be indicative of an atypical pneumonia. He's on the albuterol and prednisone until we go back on Tuesday, and the antibiotics for the next 10 days. The first breathing treatment in the office was an absolute nightmare. You would have thought we were poking him for an IV. Thankfully, they've gotten much better since then! Whoever thought of disguising the machine as a fire truck is my hero!
Ethan even likes to help hold the mask from time to time. Makes me wonder what's in that stuff that keeps him going back for more!
I'm not convinced that any of this is helping, though. He still sounds "junky" to me, and I guess I was expecting to see more of an improvement. Do any of you have experience with these post-croup coughs? How long do they tend to hang around? Should the meds be providing more immediate relief?His poor little tummy is also having a fit. On top of the antibiotic he's taking for the pneumonia, he's also on another antibiotic for his finger. Mr. Ethan decided to rip the healing scab off of his amputated finger with his teeth on Tuesday. Because his mouth came in contact with open skin on that finger, the surgeon wanted to play it safe and put him on a 7-day course of antibiotics.
Say it with me, now ... never a dull moment.
All of these medicines are creating quite the comedic relief, though. I have a really funny video of Ethan after a breathing treatment, a dose of both antibiotics, some prednisone, and, of course, some chocolate pudding! Vimeo is taking its sweet, precious time, though, so that will have to wait until later!
I have a feeling this is going to be an interesting weekend, indeed.
4 comments:
I am SO JEALOUS!!! Dagen has been on a nebulizer for the past 2 1/2 years and she has the ugly (scary) machine. I so wish we had a fire truck one!!! I have to hide hers in the closet to decrease the sound (do to sensory issues) and to make it invisible...or she FREAKS or tries to negotiate!
Dagen is on Xopenex and Pulimocort...so her issue is a little different, but I can say it takes time. (Probably not the news you wanted to hear!)
Jack had a double ear infection and a bad croup cough last Saturday and is still sounding yucky with the cough after a dose of steriod and antibiotics for a week. I took him back Thursday and the doc said it takes a bit to clear up a strong croup cough. But his lungs looked ok and the ears are better. Hope Ethan feels better soon!
Jay's on the same two for recurrent pneumonias... but his nebulizer isn't nearly as cool! He just has a plain ol' gray box (though he has a "fish face" mouthpiece which is really cool!)
Treatments DO get easier after some practice and with a little Yo Gabba Gabba (the promise of a treat after treatment helps too!) Stock up on chocolate pudding!
The croup cough does take a while to go away. It tends to sound worse before it gets better. I know that's not what you want to hear. What helps my boys is a vaporizer at night in their rooms. You'll need to get the ok from Ethan's doc before using one. The hot steam really helps to open their airway. Croup causes their airway to narrow which is what creates that unique cough. You can also sit him in the bathroom right after someone takes a hot shower so he can breathe in some of the steam if you don't have a vaporizer.
I sure hope it gets better for you guys SOON! Otherwise I might have to sit down and have a heart to heart chat with Ethan. You need a break! {{{HUG}}}
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