[Matty's Mum]

Hi everyone,
My 8 month old DS had a cold 3 weeks ago and the symptoms went away after a week but the cough stayed and became worse. He was seen by a dr 1 week ago who said it was croup and could last anywhere up to 3 weeks.. however because DS is still quite happy in himself and is not having trouble with his bottles or breathing issues, he said to keep up neurofen and that was all. He then gave me a fact sheet on croup which i read later and it actually says croup should only last a few days, a week at the most!
Anyway after the doctor visit, DS cough has been getting worse by the day. To begin with it was really only noticeable at night but now he has nasty coughing fits all day and wakes up several times during the night. He has refused solids since he has been sick but dr said this isn't anything to worry about as long as he is keeping his bottles down.
Late saturday night he awoke and it seemed he was trying to cough but couldn't and turned bright red struggling for breath. When he was able to cough he threw up a lot of muck and was very upset. While all this was going on, OH was on the phone to a nurse on call who asked a million questions and after hearing DS cough she said it didn't sound like croup to her as it was too wet and to have him seen by a dr again within 4hrs.
So off we go to the local hospital where a nurse examines DS, who is of course now perfectly happy and has a good chat and giggle to the nurse, Nurse says everything is fine, yes the cough isn't very nice but his breathing was good, heart rate etc etc and decides not to call in a dr because in her opinion it was not an emergency but if we were to get concerned again, see a dr during the week.
So the coughing is still as bad as it was last week, DS is his normal happy self, still scoffing all of his bottles like usual, playing happily without an issue and you wouldnt know anything is wrong with him until he coughs.
So while I am waiting to find out if he can see our family GP today or tomorrow.. has anyone else had a bub with 'croup' that has lasted so long? and appears to not be getting any better?

Apologies for the ramble and if it doesn't make much sense.

Thankyou

[POPP!NS]

When my daughter was nearly 1 and we thought she had persistent croup, it turned out to be whooping cough. I would suggest asking the doctor to test for that.

I hope your little one recovers quickly from whatever it is x

[Matty's Mum]

Thankyou SarahPoppins,

I was under the impression that because my son is fully immunized, he cannot get whooping cough. Is this not the case?

[imamumto3]

even if a child is fully immunised they can still get whooping cough, just not as serverly as an unimmunised child. I would be going to the doctor & asking for your ds to be tested

[winkywonkeydonke...]

sounds alot like whooping cough. My son was immunised and still got it.

[Matty's Mum]

even if a child is fully immunised they can still get whooping cough, just not as serverly as an unimmunised child. I would be going to the doctor & asking for your ds to be tested

ah ok, thankyou i wasn't aware of that.
DS will be seeing a GP tomorrow and I will be sure to ask about whooping cough

[Bel Rowley]

The other possibility I think would be bronchiolitis. My son has had probably 5 or 6 bouts of it since he was born, he's now 14 months. Every time he's had it it will be particularly bad for the first 2 or 3 days, particularly at night time when he struggles to breathe, but the cough seems to linger for a week or two afterwards.

[CharliMarley]

Let us know what you find out. Whooping Cough is doing the rounds and even vaccinated kids can get a mild dose

[kittycat01]

I was gonna suggest bronchiolitis too if it's not whooping cough. If the coughing leads to some vomiting .. Definite indicator. DS had it at 4mths old. Ladt about 4-6wks. Ask GP to swab test for RSV virus which is what causes it.

[POPP!NS]

Thankyou SarahPoppins,

I was under the impression that because my son is fully immunized, he cannot get whooping cough. Is this not the case?

My daughter was immunised and was still so so sick. I hate to think how bad she would have been if she hadn't been immunised