My 7 year old son has been coughing & wheezing with a low grade fever for 11 days now.?

Question

We have seen the pediatrician 2 times and he refuses to give any antibiotics. My son has been taking Triaminic, Dimatapp & Children's Tylenol all this time & it's not working. Breathing treatments help short term, but both my child & I are totally exhausted with this thing. What can we do?

We have no pets.
He has a twin sister that has bounced back from whatever this is.
The twins were born 11 weeks premature and my son had collapsed lungs, chest tubes etc... for the first weeks after birth. He has had croup symptoms for 11 days as well. I am in the bathroom with him with a shower on hot for a steamy environnment- trying everything I can. I am asthmatic. My husband and I adopted the twins, they have never been diagnosed with asthma. Just this horrible croupy barking cough, weezing and lethargy.

We have no health insurance and must rely on the local Health Dept.

I am very worried about my child.

Answer 1

I totally agree. sometimes we as mothers have to make a choice ourselves. Doctor sometimes only see the $$$$$ and not the problem. Also all they can do is diagnose. sometime they are wron too. But I think that you should get a 2nd opinonion and get that boy better before its too late. fever means infection and although the antibiotics are presents there must be another problem present. good luck!

Answer 2

You need to take your child to see his doctor. Something triggered the wheezing which means he could have asthma. When you say breathing treatments work, do you mean he is using a nebulizer to clear his lungs. If so and it clears it up for a little while, tends to lead me to believe that he might has a touch of asthma. Also, with the fever means he has an infection and although pediatricians don't like to give antibiotics, your child has been sick enough that he could use help some with the fever using a dose of antibiotics. If that pediatrician refuse to help you out with that, then it's time to find another pediatrician. Don't wait to much longer when it comes to your child, get him the help he need now.

Answer 3

You didn't mention what your Dr.'s diagnosis was. I am assuming since he did not prescribe antibiotics, that your sons condition must be viral. Triaminic and Dimatapp are expectorants designed to help suppress a cough. The cough itself can be caused from a variety of factors such as drainage from the sinuses. Normal sinuses do drain constantly, but at times the mucus secretions become thicker, and can cause irritation to the throat, and make you cough more. If your son has a stuffed or runny nose, try an over the counter nasal spray, along with an anti histamine such as Benedryl and see if that helps. Vaporizers can also ease breathing.

Answer 4

Coughing comes in two forms: 1) productive, and 2) unproductive. A productive cough is a reflexive action by which the body attempt to clear the airway or lungs of a secretion, foreign body, or irritation; an unproductive cough, on-the-other-hand, serves no purpose but only to fatigue the patient.

This is the only time a cough needs to be surpressed. If your child's symptoms become worse, contact his physician; it may be an acute case of a viral infection, i.e. pneumonia.

Antibiotic do not help. They are only given if a secondary infection is suspected. And antiviral medication may shorten it duration; but research shows no effect in preventing complications.

It is common for a Physician to refuse to administer antibiotic when a viral infection is suspected. Therefore, if you need to know if your child has a possible bacterial or viral infection, ask his doctor.

Hope this answers your question!

Answer 5

Wheezing And Fever

Answer 6

I had a mild case of whooping cough when I was 10 years old. It sounds a heck of a lot like what you are describing here.

I was not treated with antibiotics either. Instead, the doctor told my mom to treat the symptoms. For chest congestion I was given mustard packs (these have to be done REALLY carefully because it is easy to burn the skin with them). For breathing I was given Vick's vaporub. When I went into one of my croupy spasms, my mom would just put a pillow under my head and rub my back, and talk softly to me until the coughing fit passed.

One thing they have nowadays that seems to work are the Benylin (or is it Benadryl?)vapor plug-ins (these were at my pharmacy, right beside the larger Vicks steamers). My daughter (who was also born premature, and has a host of chest problems because of a childhood illness) says that it works wonderfully at helping you breathe at night, without going into coughing fits.

Answer 7

Typically a virus will only last for 10 days. I don't usually take my daughter until she has been sick for atleast that long knowing they won't prescribe anything. Now that he has been sick longer than 10 days, the doctor should be willing to prescribe antibiotics. You may also want to see about getting your son in to see an allergy specialist if the symptoms return after antibiotic treatment. You cannot force the pediatrician to give antibiotics, but there should be ample reason to now that he has been sick for so long. If you have recently aquired a pet, you may want to limit contact with it.

Answer 8

He doesn't need antibiotics. If he's wheezing, you should take him to the ER. He probably needs a breathing treatment. Coughing like that for so many days can really irritate the bronchial airways. But he doesn't need antibiotics. He doesn't have a bacterial infection. It's either a virus or allergies.

Answer 9

Wheezing? Does he have asthma? Did he have a throat culture? Chest Xray? RSV? Go to your nearest Emergency room and have the poor child checked out

Answer 10

go see another doctor. In the meantime, garlic is a natural antibiotic. Vicks Vaporub helps clear respiratory airways.
I think they even make a plug in now, like the air fresheners you plug in.
good luck, hope he feels better soon.