Jump to content

Menu

Would you take this 7 month old back to the doctor?


Recommended Posts

DD (who just turned 7 months today) has been sick. Ten days ago she came down with a fever in the afternoon. It was the first time she'd ever been sick. Within a few hours I could hear the beginnings of a barking cough. My middle DD had issues with reoccurring croup when she was an infant/toddler so I had a feeling this is what my baby was currently coming down with, as the cough was very familiar sounding.

 

I made an appointment for the next day. Good thing since the following morning she woke with an extremely barky cough and loud breathing. Doctor agreed that it was croup, said she'd seen quite a few cases lately. She gave a 3 day course of steroids

 

Fast forward three days....croup sound is gone, fever is gone....but now baby is coming down with what seems like a cold. Oldest DD (8) is coming down with what I guess is the same thing. Both are congested, coughing (not barky), snotty, etc. Infant DD is a bit cranky on Friday and Saturday due to the cold.

 

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and today she's not cranky....but she's still very congested. She's active, nursing fine, tasting baby food, crawling around. Congestion may be slightly better but it is still there.

 

Tonight she begins having eye goop.

 

What does that mean? I looked online and it mentioned if there is eye goop along with cold symptoms, it is probably a sinus infection. Seriously??

 

Should I take her back to the doctor? Our insurance plan isn't the greatest right now and it will be over $100 to take her to the doctor. If it's needed, then I'll definitely go....but I hate to get there and have them say that it's just a virus that needs to run its course.

 

If she's active, nursing, smiling most of the time, and doesn't have a fever, would you take her in? Or just wait a few days and see if the congestion clears up? She still has a sort of junky sounding cough and lots of discharge from her nose....TMI but a yellowish/every so slightly greenish tint.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was always told w/ all mine that the yellow/greenish gunk in the nose or if they were coughing it up was infection. Plus the goop in the eyes would make me think that probably too. I know our insurance is horrible too and our peds office won't call an Rx in w/out seeing the dc. We also have some pharmacies that have walk-in Nurse Practioneers that are actually cheaper - my oldest has gone that route a few times bec it wasn't a long wait.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Eye goop can mean sinus or ear infection. I would watch her for a day or two and see if she seems to get better. Even if she has inflamed ear drums at this point, with no current fever, they will probably just want to wait to see if she improves on her own because it's likely viral.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Judging by what you said I would wait it out. If her behavior is normal and her breathing is normal (not laboured) and her appitite is normal I would expect it to clear up on it's own. You can pick up some polysporin eye drops over the counter to clear up the eye goop. I usually mix some himalayan salt in warm water and apply to eyes and that will also clear up the eye goop in a couple days.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My girls got a bad virus last spring. They were extremely congested, and had the most horrible sounding coughs. Both of them had goopy eyes. I think it was adenovirus? My older dd ended up with a double ear infection. Both girls had eye drops to clear up the goop. It was so bad they couldn't open their eyes in the morning until they were washed. :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Can't we come to a consensus....there's too many varied answers LOL! :lol:

 

I think I may do what one person said as far as waiting until Friday. An office visit is definitely better than an ER visit! Middle DD never got any secondary infections from croup. However, my oldest DD often gets ear infections from bad colds. Still waiting to see if that happens with her this time...so far, so good.

 

Little DD is just a mystery since she's so new. :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My girls got a bad virus last spring. They were extremely congested, and had the most horrible sounding coughs. Both of them had goopy eyes. I think it was adenovirus? My older dd ended up with a double ear infection. Both girls had eye drops to clear up the goop. It was so bad they couldn't open their eyes in the morning until they were washed. :(

 

Infant DD did get what I thought was pink eye a few months ago. Her eyes got goopy for a few days. I put breastmilk in them and they were fine. Did this for oldest DD as well. I never knew if it was really pink eye or just some other sort of short lived virus. I may try some breastmilk drops in her eye in the morning if she wakes up goopy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Infant DD did get what I thought was pink eye a few months ago. Her eyes got goopy for a few days. I put breastmilk in them and they were fine. Did this for oldest DD as well. I never knew if it was really pink eye or just some other sort of short lived virus. I may try some breastmilk drops in her eye in the morning if she wakes up goopy.

 

You have breastmilk- get it in her eyes, you can even squirt it in her nose. That stuff truly is liquid gold. Keep her hydrated. I like to keep a vapor rub on the chest, back and soles of the feet. We use a natural, non-petroleum one, but baby Vick's will work in a pinch. It helps keep them moist and lubed. Garlic oil works great if you think it's her ears. Or, you can buy drops at the store. If she shows symptoms of not feeling well or isn't showing improvement by Friday I'd call just to give the dr a head's up before the weekend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would wait, too, especially since she doesn't seem to be miserable. Our pediatrician doesn't prescribe antibiotics for an ear or sinus infection anymore unless it just won't go away on its own after a couple of weeks. Then you have all the potential problems with antibiotic use at a young age - they can cause problems with tooth enamel formation, digestive issues (due to killing off good bacteria), etc.

 

:grouphug: Whatever you decide, I hope your little one feels better soon.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would wait, too, especially since she doesn't seem to be miserable. Our pediatrician doesn't prescribe antibiotics for an ear or sinus infection anymore unless it just won't go away on its own after a couple of weeks. Then you have all the potential problems with antibiotic use at a young age - they can cause problems with tooth enamel formation, digestive issues (due to killing off good bacteria), etc.

 

:grouphug: Whatever you decide, I hope your little one feels better soon.

 

Wow, that would not fly with me. I'm all for being careful with not overusing antibiotics, but not at the expense of a possible ruptured ear drum! And neither ds #2 nor I would have gotten a decent night's sleep while he had an ear infection--for two weeks!! (Heseems to be growing out of them some). Sinus infections can turn serious too. Days, maybe. Weeks? I'd be finding a different doctor!!

 

OP, I'd probably call tomorrow and see what they say. It does sound like a sinus infection to me, especially since she's already been sick. That seems to be how my younger one goes--he gets a cold, mostly gets better, then we're in the office for an ear and/or sinus infection. But I know that's his pattern. If it were my older son, I might wait and see.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

OP here....

 

Well, I'm taking her in at 1:30.

 

I got her to sleep last night and she didn't sound too bad. But then she woke up gagging and coughing so much that she started throwing up mucous (sorry, TMI, I know). She's so congested. And she woke up with her eyes matted shut. I put breastmilk in them last night and will do it again today. She's a bit more subdued than yesterday, but still gives out big smiles and was crawling around. Her poor eyes are red and she's all snotty and has a junky sounding cough, so I'm going to go ahead and take her in.

 

I imagine they'll probably prescribe antibiotics with how long this has been going on. I'm usually pretty against antibiotics unless absolutely needed but I'd be surprised if she didn't have a sinus infection. Although, she doesn't have fever, so we'll see.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...