6 month old baby w/ possible whooping cough?

Question

my P told me that my 6 month old baby might have whooping cough and Rx albuterol- AccueNeb via nebulizer and antibiotics. She said it was because I put him in day care too soon. Is this true? am I at fault here? and how do I take care of my son now?

Answer 1

possible but fault? not yours daycare may be you have to, if there isnt anyone to help you with care.i mean what elese are you to do? you have to work unless you have some sort of money tree or are rich. so quit the guilt trip...

Answer 2

All kids in daycare get exposed, not your fault. And certainly kids get infections from family & friends, and even the handles on the shopping carts at the grocery. Most likely you are feeling like a guilty mom & the Peds doc didn't really point a fingers in that way--at least I hope not. Still, it is a fact that before the DPT shot series is completed baby is at risk (especially if not getting any antibodies in breast milk). This does not make it your fault. It's just a reality in pediatric infectious disease.

Now the medications are good, and thats the most important thing right now. Baby could have any number of things, including viruses that cause wheezing. Baby may just also be prone to asthma, some are.

Just to put things in perspective, my own mom had severe whooping cough as an infant long before any of the treatments you mention above existed, & she survived to lead a long healthy life & have many kids.

Your baby will be fine; just keep up the therapies, take good care of baby as you are, & keep your follow up appointments. If you don't have a follow up within 1-2 days, make one.

Most most importantly: stop beating yourself up.

Answer 3

PLEASE....Day care has nothing to do with it. Did he get his routine immunizations? That is how to prevent whooping cough. Is there any other child in day care sick? It is possible to contract whooping cough even if you have had the immunizations. Some strains are more viralent. It is usually a weaken version of the disease. Give him the medication as ordered, make sure he gets all his antibiotic. A cool mist nebulizer can help. It keeps the secreations loose. They don't recommend the warm mist any more, although I have found that when a child is coughing excessively it sometimes helps to run a hot shower or bath to steam up the bath room and sit in the floor with them. Try to get him to drink lots of fluids, maybe some dilute apple juice. If he isn't hungry don't worry, he will make it up later. Treat his fever as needed. Mostly you are there for support. It takes time to heal. If he seems to have problems breathing, turning blue when not coughing or high fever that won't repond to medication, he needs to be seen in ER. Also don't be surprized when he coughs so hard he throws up. It's normal. This is very hard to take as a mother because there is really not much you can do. Just being there with him is the best thing. And do not blame your self. Although in the perfect world all mothers could stay home and care for their children at home, and never expose them to any germs, this is not a perfect world. Mothers have to work, and the only option is to place your children in the care of others. None of us like it, it's just something we have to do to survive. Shame on the doctor that blames a mother for helping support her family.

Answer 4

Dump that doctor now. You are going to have enough guilt raising your child without having someone else lay it on you. Your doctor "thinks" it's whooping cough.....how about a real diagnosis. Again, get a different doctor. You are not at fault for your son's illness. All kids are riddled with all kinds of viruses and bacteria sooner or later. If he didn't go to daycare he would be spending most of his preschool years or kindergarten years sick with the same things. Whooping cough is making a small comeback particularly with older kids whose immunizations are no longer effective.

Answer 5

i had a doctor tell me my daughter had whooping cough too, she was going to admit her into the hospital but i said no, it was not whooping cough it was just a common cold, i verified that with a couple other doctors. whooping cough can be very very serious in infants, and that is probably why the doctor gave your baby all those meds, if i were you i would only use the antibiotics unless if your baby seems like he is having a hard time breathing, then use the other stuff, but definately give him the antibiotics, just to be safe. about you being at fault, NO it is not your fault, babies have weak immune systems, they catch stuff, thats normal. going to daycare they are going to catch more stuff because they are around other kids more, but thats the price that has to be paid for putting them in daycare. a good way to look at it is at least their bodies will build up immunities to it for when they are older. that doctor was wrong to say its your fault, must not have kids himself.

Answer 6

Great bedside manner, that one, huh?
Bet if the doc has kids, she has a nanny (and I'm sure SHE can afford one, with what they make).

Did your baby not get DTP immunization? The P part is Pertussis (sp?), better known as whooping cough. If your ped had your baby on a shot schedule, then he should have been protected.

I would go ahead with the treatments, but definitely find a new doc, and soon. You obviously love your son, and don't have to put up with a condescending doc.
No fault of yours, dear.

Answer 7

woah.. time to change doctors!! It is in NO WAY your fault. Millions of babies are in daycare everyday, and most all will get sick eventually. While daycare may have caused this, you or your husband could have brought home a sickness from work and he could have gotten it that way.

how dare your ped to blame you.

Do as perscribed by the doctor and your son should be feeling better in no time. Dont blame yourself because you are not the only mother in this world that has had to choose daycare over staying home- and you wont be the last to get a sick baby from it.

Answer 8

First, you should make an official complaint about your doctor and go to another one. How dare she make you feel guilty about this, then, not even give you a proper diagnosis?
I'm sorry, but I wouldn't be content to leave a doctor's appointment with a possible diagnosis- Your child MIGHT have whooping cough? How about she learn to do her job properly, tell you what IS wrong with your son, and stop being so judgmental...Wow, I can't believe how angry your doctor made me!
Seriously, stop blaming yourself, change doctors, and know that you are doing a great job with your son.
YOU ARE NOT TO BLAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Answer 9

The question I have after you change Peds is DID HE GIVE HIM HIS DPT SHOTS AS HE IS SUPPOSED TO IF HE DIDNT HE IS AT FAULT NOT YOU and also I would get a second opiniom about what he has there are a lot of bugs floating around and throughout childhood he will pick up and bring home a lot of them it part of childhood we all had them as we grew up because some parents send their kids to school sick and arent considerate of others this has been going on fot centuries it not your fault o.k. Gorbalizer

Answer 10

Don't be blind-sided by the assumption that the DPT vaccine will protect your child. I personally know of 2 kids in my family who got whooping cough and were fully vaccinated. Hmmmmm...

Answer 11

Could have been from daycare, but lots of sicknesses happen from daycare. No one is to blame, the doctor is just probably uncouth about the way he/she days things. Don't be upset, just take care of your baby the best you can.