Is it Walking Pneumonia? Bronchitis? Or Asthma?

Sweet Baby Tate has had a cough for weeks now, at least 4.  It was a dry cough at first, and I was doing much the same thing.  It always felt like I had a frog in my throat that needed clearing.  I just thought we were both suffering from allergies.  The weather here unpredictable at best, with rain and wind blowing all the pollen and mold etc about all the time, 30 degrees one day and seriously 83 degrees the next.   As last year it never froze or truly got cold none of the spores died.  So now double the crap is flying about in the air.  People are miserable.

In any event, I just thought we were suffering from allergies.  While we were in Dallas in early January I was on a Z-pac that I requested from my friend as I felt like I had a sinus infection (Note to self who is a pediatric dentist, don’t ask S for a specific antibiotic for something of which you know nothing about; let her choose as apparently a Z-pac is not the drug of choice for a sinus infection.  But I digress.  Are you reading this S?).  I just felt a little gunky and had that strange yucky taste in my throat and was congested.  I suppose it helped as I never got a fever and I felt better a couple of days after we returned.  I mostly didn’t want to get my girl J sick who was possibly going to need to start chemo soon after the weekend (Sadly she got bad news and has finished one round. I’m so sad for her, but I’m positive she’s going to be cured!)

Then Tate started coughing;  the dry cough.  It was  sort of constant, but never seemed to bother him and it would be one hack and then 10 or 15 minutes later another hack.  Nothing concerning though.  He just seemed to always need to clear his throat.  H also had one fantastic screaming fit and became hoarse about 3 1/2 weeks ago.  But the hoarseness has never gone away.  Again I just thought well maybe it was coincidental to the screaming fit, and his little voice was going to be changing.  Now of course when I hear him I can barely remember what he used to sound like, so I’m wondering if there has actually been a change.

However, for about a week and a half now I’ve been given him an anti-histamine at night, usually Benadryl, approved by our allergist, for the cough.  It alleviated the cough and his sniffling while Zyrtec does not.  I’ve been keeping him on his Singulair now almost constantly since September where as last year he got a break November – March.  (I hate him constantly being on medications).  But when he goes off he tends to get a bit of a dry cough (ahhhh…asthma warnings right?.  Sigh)

But then this past Monday his teacher texted me twice saying he had been coughing all day long, so much so that he wasn’t able to nap.  He was doing fine, but poor baby had red eyes and looked so tired.  She asked if she could put a small piece of peppermint in some cold water to have him sip to help soothe his throat.  I gave my blessing of course.  He finally fell asleep after everyone else woke up, and she let him sleep an hour while keeping the other 4 kids sort of quiet, so he could rest (I love her!).  That night Tate told me “Ms. JoAnnie gave me some peppermint water, and it made my throat feel ‘bedder’.  I’m going to give her a little hug tomorrow.”  Not a big hug mind you, a little hug

Monday when I picked him up his cough was very wet and productive sounding and he coughed constantly.  I loaded him up with Benadryl and Singulair and he happily played as usual and went to bed just fine.  Yesterday, Tuesday, I called and made an appointment with his pediatrician for today.

My parents, who are AWESOME!, picked him up from school this morning and took him to his appointment.  I wrote the following note for them to give to his pediatrician…

Dr. R….

Tate’s tantrum behavior stopped about 2 days before his half year birthday on January 23.  It was as if a switch had gone off.  I’ve chalked it up to the half year disturbances.  His sleep went back to normal…which is minimal sleeping and fighting naps and he’s reasonable again.  Thank you so much for calling me and talking me off the roof.

This cough of his doesn’t have me terribly concerned as I’m thinking it’s just a cold.  But it’s been present in one manner or another for the past 2 1/2 weeks.  It was a  constant (all day long) dry cough (and his teacher called me twice concerned) until yesterday evening when it became productive and wet sounding.  He’s been afebrile and no change in behavior.

He takes 4mg Singulair in the evenings, though I ran out and he didn’t have it Friday-Sunday and that is when his cough worsened.  I’ve given him Benadryl (12.5mg) the past 3 evenings to help alleviate it otherwise he coughs all night.  He’s very congested and sniffing right now as he’s trying to go to sleep.  Dr. A said I could give him the Benadryl as it works on his cough better than Zyrtec or Allegra.

He had another skin test about 3 weeks ago and is still allergic to eggs and oranges.

Thanks so much!

(Dr. A is the allergist Dr. R referred us to).

She examined my Tate this morning and diagnosed him with having either walking pneumonia or bronchitis!!!  He had rales in his  chest. She also mentioned that sometimes the first episode of asthma can sound like this. (This was my biggest fear!  Though I wrote in that note I thought he had a cold, I knew it could be asthma simply from the way he was sounding)  She knows I’m desperately praying he doesn’t develop asthma as those medications to treat asthma have so many horrific side effects, but I will do what I need to do.  

She called in a prescription for a Z-pac and if he isn’t better by Monday or Tuesday I need to take him back in.  

I so pray he gets better with the antibiotics which would mean he has pneumonia or bronchitis.  He has more of the symptoms of bronchitis (to me) than walking pneumonia as he has no fever and he has the hoarseness commonly associated with bronchitis.  But who knows?  I just want him to stop coughing and I want him to be fine.  Absolutely fine.

So, if you pray, please pray for my sweet boy.  Pray that he is healed and that he isn’t developing a possible life long condition (asthma).  I’m also praying he continues to be his happy go-lucky train loving self and that he’s completely well soon.  

I do know that if he’s not better by Sunday, I’ll be taking him in to see his pediatrician on Monday myself.  While I’m so very glad my parents are so willing to take him to any and all appointments, I know that if he’s not better, it’s something serious and I need to be there to get all my questions answered.  I’m his mother after all.  

He’ll need his mother.  He deserves his mommy.  

When you’re ‘sick’ (his ped said he could return to
daycare!) Mommy lets you have a hot dog
AND hot cocoa in your Polar Express cup for dinner!

Health Care Tips Facts- Bronchitis Treatments, Symptoms, Causes

Bronchitis refers to an inflammation of the mucous membrane lining the bronchi and bronchial tube within the chest. It is breathing disorder affecting the expiratory function. Some Infection also occurs in the nose and throat. It’s a disease endemic to cold, damp climates, but may occur anywhere.

Bronchitis Causes:-

The main causes of bronchitis are viral and bacterial pathogens. Viral pathogens include adenoviridae virus, influenza and rhino virus. The adenoviridae virus can also cause pains in the abdomen. Viral pathogens are the main causes of bronchitis. The symptoms caused by these pathogens disappear in a few days time. They therefore do not require treatment. Bacteria caused bronchitis needs to be treated with antibiotics and an expectorant cough syrup.

Pollen, dust, chemicals, smoke, pollutants, and second-hand smoke can also bring on a case of bronchitis. These causes usually trigger rather mild symptoms of bronchitis, though.

Fungi infections can also be one of the causes of bronchitis. Cocciodioides immitis, Blastomyces dermatitidis, Histoplasma capsulatum, Candida albicans, and Candida tropicalis are some of the more common ones. Bronchitis triggered by fungal organisms produces effects that are milder and less serious.

Bronchitis Symptoms:-

General bronchitis symptoms are: cough, wheezing, throat pain, difficulty breathing, chest discomfort and soreness when breathing, fatigue and headache. If these bronchitis symptoms are accompanied by sweating, high fever and nausea, it means that the illness is caused by infection with bacteria. Bronchitis symptoms that might indicate an aggravation of the illness are: severe cough that contains yellowish mucus, spitting blood.

Bronchitis can be either acute or chronic.

Acute bronchitis symptoms can be very intense, but they usually ameliorate in a few days. Acute bronchitis symptoms include coughing, wheezing, chest pains, fever, fatigue and headache.

Chronic bronchitis symptoms are usually of moderate intensity, but they are persistent and have a recidivating character. Chronic bronchitis is an infectious disease and needs specific, long-term medical treatment. chronic character of the illness are: persistent cough, cough that produces mucus, mild or moderate fever, shortness of breath, pronounced difficulty breathing (due to obstruction of the respiratory tract with mucus), recidivating chest pain, nausea and headache.

Bronchitis Treatment:-

Antibiotics only if bacterial infection

Bronchodilator

Cough suppressants

Homeopathy treatment conditions and remedies:-

(1) Dry, stabbing, painful cough, headache, great thirst, Bryonia 30C

(2) Tight, dry, tickling cough, pale look, anxious, wants reassured, frequent water, Phosphorus.

(3) Sudden attack with dry, staccato cough, fever, worse cold dry air, chilly, restless, anxious, Aconite.

(4) In the elderly a rattling in the chest and too weak to cough up, Antimonium tart

(5) Sudden onset, high temperature, pounding headache, flushed face, worse night, Belladonna

(6) Nausea, vomiting, suffocating feeling in chest, Ipecac.

(7) String Phlegm, difficulty coughing up, worse 4-5AM Kali Bichrom.

(8) Gasping for air, cold and clammy, wants to be fanned, elderly Carbo veg.

(9) Coughing cause’s involuntary passing of urine, Causticum

(10) Choking, chilly, irritable, cough, worse uncovering, Hepar sulph

Bronchitis, Croup, Strep, Asthma anyone....

Yeah, Micayla has all the above except strep.. as of right now.. they did a 24 hr. culture for strep and we’ll know tomorrow on that one.. She seems to get this way every year. I hate it because nothing really seems to help it. Her inhaler does the best so they have raised her puffs on that from 2 to 4 for now.. and, she is not happy about missing school today at all….
She is cleared by the doctor to go to school tomorrow if there is no fever tonight. She sounds really cruddy when she coughs, but she has her whole life, and sometimes it sounds way worse than it is. It is extremely loud, like a barking seal kind of except maybe more painful.. hard to explain but it just flat out stinks overall.
Well, that’s my blog for today and if you happen to stop by here and read it just say a prayer for her to clear up quickly. Thanks

Acute Bronchitis

Acute Bronchitis
Definition
Bronchitis is an acute inflammation of bronchi or trachea of the respiratory system/ lungs. Bonchitis may be either acute or chronic.

Incidence
Internationally, it is one of the top 5 reasons for childhood physician visits in the countries that track such data. In America, the frequency of visits made bronchitis just slightly less common than otitis media and slightly more common than asthma. However, in children, asthma is often underdiagnosed and is frequently misdiagnosed as chronic or recurrent bronchitis

Pathophysiology
Acute bronchitis leads to the hacking cough and phlegm production that often follows upper respiratory tract symptoms. This occurs because of the inflammatory response of the mucous membranes within the lungs’ bronchial passages. In bronchitis, there is a hypersecretion of mucus in the bronchi due to hypertrophy of submucosal mucus-producing glands and increased number of goblet cells. In most patients, this is strengthened by smoking. Mucocillary clearance is delayed cause of excess mucus production and loss of ciliated cells.

Aetiology
Bronchitis occurs most often during the cold and flu season, usually coupled with an upper respiratory infection.
• Several viruses cause bronchitis, including influenza A and B, commonly referred to as “the flu.”
• A number of bacteria are also known to cause bronchitis, such as Mycoplasma pneumoniae, which causes so-called walking pneumonia.
• Bronchitis also can occur when you inhale irritating fumes or dusts. Chemical solvents and smoke, including tobacco smoke, have been linked to acute bronchitis.
• People at increased risk both of getting bronchitis and of having more severe symptoms include the elderly, those with weakened immune systems, smokers, and anyone with repeated exposure to lung irritants.
• Bronchitis may also occur when acids from your stomach consistently back up into your food pipe (esophagus) and a few drops go into your upper airway, a condition known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).

Signs and symptoms
• Cough – In acute bronchitis, cough can linger for several weeks after bronchitis resolves.
• Production of mucus (sputum), either clear or white or yellowish-gray or green in color
• Shortness of breath, made worse by mild exertion
• Wheezing
• Fatigue
• Slight fever and chills
• Chest discomfort

Investigation
Doctors diagnose bronchitis generally on the basis of symptoms and a physical examination.
• If the doctor suspects the patient has pneumonia, a chest x-ray may be ordered.
• Examine nasopharyngeal secretions for Chlamydia species and for viral culture or antigens of respiratory syncytial, parainfluenza, and influenza viruses to guide appropriate antimicrobial selection.
• Doctors may measure the patient’s oxygen saturation (how well oxygen is reaching blood cells) using a sensor placed on a finger.
• Sometimes a doctor may order an examination and/or culture of a sample of phlegm coughed up to look for bacteria
• Bronchoalveolar lavage may reveal numerous monocytic or polymorphonuclear inflammatory cells.
• In children with chronic aspiration of gastric contents, lipids may be present within macrophages.

Differential Diagnosis
• Asthma
• Pneumonia, Bacterial
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Emphysema
• Pneumonia, Mycoplasma
• Bronchiolitis
• Laryngotracheobronchitis
• Pertussis
• Tubercolosis

Management
Basically for acute bronchitis, the management target at controlling the symptoms and ensures that the patient feels better throughout the course disease.
• A cool mist vaporizer or humidifier can help decrease bronchial irritation.
• Drinking fluids is very important because fever causes the body to lose fluid faster. Lung secretions will be thinner and easier to clear when the patient is well hydrated
• Acetaminophen (Feverall, Panadol, Tylenol), aspirin, or ibuprofen (Motrin, Nuprin, Advil) will help with fever and muscle aches.
• Antibiotics and antivirals can be prescribed to relieve the infection but it has not proven any considerable benefit.

Prognosis
• Acute bronchitis usually completely heals, with excellent prognosis.
• Patients with chronic bronchitis and established diagnoses of asthma, structural airway disease, or immunodeficiency need careful periodic monitoring to minimize further lung damage and progression to chronic irreversible lung disease.

=) not sure if it is but oh well xD was doing this during practical lolx xD