I take care of a two month old baby boy.
He has been sick for the past week - very
congested, especially in his left lung.
His breathing seems tight, somewhat noisy
and occationally labored. His mother took
him to the Dr. a week ago and was told
that it might be asthma or allorgies, but
also prescribed an antibiotic. He also has
a cough. He does tend to spit up a bit
after feeding him his bottle. Today when
he spit up it was clear, and seemed to be
mostly mucus - there was enough that at
first I thought that he had thrown up. My
concern is that this means that the fluid
was coming from his lungs, not his stomach
(he did this more than once). As a side
note, he also has a rash - red and
blotchy, somewhat raised - on his cheeks
and chest. He is red under his arm pits
and neck. He does not seem to be getting
any better. I expressed my consern about
fluid in his lungs to his mom. Am I right
to be concerned?
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mominashoe
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Joined: 04 Dec 2007 Posts: 1554 Location: , USA
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Posted: 05-09-08 15:46pm
Yes I think you are very right to be
concerned. It is possible that the excess
drainage is making it into his stomach and
that is what he is spitting up. He can't
"spit up" from his lungs. If he is
coughing up mucous, it is hard to tell
where it is coming from: his nose or his
lungs. You can gently syringe his nose
before you feed him and you can syringe
his mouth and nose every time he seems to
be choking or snorting too much to
breathe. Letting him sleep in his car
seat will help too.
Babies that small usually don't have
allergies like adults do or asthma.
Asthma in babies is too difficult to
diagnose because it is difficult to tell
how well their lungs are supposed to be
functioning with the various tests they
have for asthma.
The symptoms your baby is experiencing can
have so many other causes. I would put
Allergies and asthma far down on the list
and RSV or some sort of infection closer
to the top.
It is possible that the rash is unrelated
and just a case of eczema. Is she feeding
him formula? Perhaps he is also lactose
intolerant. In this case, changing
formulas would get rid of some of the
excess fluid build up. I have also found
that milk and milk based formula can cause
eczema.
Trust your instincts. If the baby seems
lethargic and stops eating and loses
intrest in his feedings, then it is really
time to call the doctor. If he is losing
color or not breathing, call the ER right
away.
I hope the baby gets better soon so that
the both of you can enjoy him
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