Well poor little Patrick has been battling a cough on & off for over a month. I reluctantly took him to the doctor a few weeks ago...I didn't want to hear that he had his first "real" illness. Well it turned out our pedi said his lungs were perfectly clear! She said just continue to "ride" it out unless it started disrupting his sleep. Well, it did just that - he was up at night a lot despite humidifiers, etc. etc. He has NO other symptoms...it's not a cold, he's not congested, he's not sneezing nor has he been prior to this. But I took him back to the pedi about 3 weeks ago and she said she really wanted to give him his first course of antibiotics (ever) ....I reluctantly agreed. Dr. Champoux NEVER pushes antibiotics - even when Matthew has been actually ill she'd rather have us let it run its course, which is my preference of course. But I have to admit...it did indeed seem to make the cough much better...even go away for a few days. And then we had that 24 hour bug in which Patrick threw up for the first time. I didn't give him the antibiotic for 2 days since a.) I didn't really want to take the chance of pink vomit stains and b.) I put him on the BRAT diet right away & was concerned the meds would upset his stomach. We did finish the course of antibiotics but by the end the cough was creeping back.
Now the cough IS back - completely & with a vengeance. I can hear him hacking away right now while he is supposed to be napping. He's still not sick in any other way - I am just so on the fence about taking him back. I would prefer not to have him on another course of antibiotics...first off - if it isn't bacterial it won't "really" help and secondly, Matthew is highly allergic to 2 types of antibiotics & clearly the more times they are exposed to one the more likely to react. It is often hereditary so I don't really want to expose Patrick to unnecessary ones & have him develop a reaction. "why" did the antibiotics seem to help the cough initially??? Was it bacterial with no other symptoms?? Was it just a fluke?? BUT if I don't want antibiotics...what else are they going to do for him anyway? That's why I'm on the fence. Ugh!
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Of course being his mom, you would know better or have a feeling...Do you think its allergies with everything in full circle, the humidity lately might be making it difficult. I have to say, I agree with you, if its not bacterial, antibotics shouldn't be used...But I know with Dr. Champoux's office, if it lingers too, too long, they seem to try it, it a not pushy way...
I really don't "feel" like its allergies but I certainly could be wrong. He doesn't have any nasal drainage or congestion...just a sharp cough. When we were there before she didn't say anything about seeing that telltale red allergy throat. I have been wondering if any of it could be related to cutting molars??? He has been drooling some ....maybe drainage from the drool??? I don't know - still on the fence.
I thought I would answer on your blog in case you didn't go back to mine...Elizabeth goes to Judy's Dance Academy. Joshua Performing Arts is no longer in business. They had moved abruptly a year ago, to Lithia...It was 1/2 an hour drive one way and she was going 2x a week. Too much on her and on us. So we left after the recital and then found out they closed the end of the summer. Judy's Dance is very good for her. She is learning more, etc....And if you remember with our past conversation, there too, no pressure about competing teams etc....
Hope Patrick is feeling better and he has a good night of sleep....
I really don't know what to tell you, Andrea. It makes sense that if he was starting to get better with the antibiotic that maybe whatever was causing the cough was bacterial. Or it could just be a coincidence. Of course, if it was the antibiotics helping, because you took a break in his dosing schedule, it could have caused the more resistant germs to strenghthen up, which would require stronger antibiotics to kill them.
By the way, did they check his breathing? My most apparent symptom from my asthma is the cough. I go through periods where I am coughing all of the time. People say that it sounds like a smoker's cough, though I've never ever smoked.
I hope you get this all figured out soon, and I hope Patrick is feeling better soon, too.
How is Patrick doing today?
Same old, same old! Still holding off on the doctor. Melodie's point was good but no, she said his breathing was perfectly fine & lungs were clear. If we aren't any better by Friday I'll call first thing & we'll see what she thinks.
andrea
Isaac had the same thing (or so it seemed) with coughing and no other symptoms. I took him in to the dr. today, just because it had gone on for so long. Turned out that he has an ear infection. Poor baby never complained, and I felt so bad that I didn't even think to ask him if his ears hurt. So he's on augmentin now. Hopefully that will get him all back to normal. I'm not looking forward to his diapers this week, though... He gets the worst diaper rash when he's on antibiotics.
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