6 Month old with wheezing and cough?

Question

I took my 6 month old daughter to the doctor on monday because she was coughing real bad and kept grabbing at her ears. They said she has an ear infection and wheezing. They gave her Amoxicillian and Albuterol. How long does Albuterol usually take to work? Today her cough sounds a lot worse and she sounds even more wheezy. She also has a green snotty nose. Should I call the DR again or give the meds a little more time to work?

**she is on the liquid albuterol**

Answer 1

Okay, just to let you know, I have a son with severe asthma (we have a nebulizer at home so we don't have to go to the ER anymore, we can give him treatments right away). Albuterol is the medication in both his inhaler AND his nebulizer and the ENTIRE PURPOSE of albuterol is to immediately relieve the wheezing. It's not working if you don't notice a difference right away.

My guess is you were given an albuterol inhaler with a spacer (a chamber you place up against her nose that she breathes into). If she is wheezing pretty hard, then she's not taking deep enough breaths for the medicine to get deep inside her lungs to be effective. That's why my son (and other kids with asthma) have to have nebulizers for severe attacks...the inhalers just don't work if the wheezing is too bad. For minor wheezing, inhalers are great, but your daughter might be wheezing too badly for it to be effective.

OH, I should also tell you that Amoxicillan doesn't work on my son, and usually Augmentin doesn't either. He had numerous ear infections when he was younger and if Amoxicillan or Augmentin were prescribed first, I always ended up back at the doctors and they'd check his ears and sure enough, they weren't at all better. I ended up buying an otoscope from a local medical supply company (they're not very expensive) so I could look in his ears myself and determine if they were getting better or not. It's saved me lots of unneccesary trips, but also lets me know when another trip to the dr. is warranted.

Anyway, the point is that the Amoxicillan may need another day or two for you to notice a difference, but NOT the Albuterol. The wheezing is a major concern. My son's doctor makes wheezing a first priority in her office, the receptionist is instructed to tell any parent with a wheezing child to come in immediately and the child is seen as soon as they get to the office. Take your daughter back if she's still wheezing, no matter what.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Albuterol should work instantly. It's the liquid version of an inhaler. But it's likely she may have congestion and an infection thus it may take a while using the antibiotic for her symptoms to improve. If you're really concerned about her progress contact your doctor via telephone to discuss your concerns. But antibiotics don't work as quickly as we would like them to so all you can do is be patient and make her as comfortable as possible.

When my three year old gets congestion I use a humidifier, vicks vapor rub and jonhson & johnson vapor bath.

Answer 4

I would call the doctor. Our son is 7 months old, and if we were in the same situation, I would deffinatley call the doctor, just to be on the safe side. Good luck!
Here are some things I found on wheezing for babies 0-12 months old:

Symptoms: What it could be:
Mild cold symptoms that develop into a more pronounced cough and fast, labored breathing a couple of days later. Bronchiolitis
Coughing is worse at night; frequent wheezing; may also have allergies; family history of asthma or allergies. Asthma
A cold that seems to be getting worse; persistent cough; fast, labored breathing; fever; chills, may have wheezing. Pneumonia
Congestion; runny nose; sneezing; possibly red, itchy, tearing eyes; may be coughing or wheezing. Allergies
A deep cough that sounds like a bark; cold symptoms; frequently accompanied by a low fever; sometimes a fever as high as 104; noisy, labored breathing; high-pitched noise on inhaling; may have wheezing on exhaling as well. Croup
Frequent spitting up; vomiting more than twice a day; wheezing; coughing; gagging. Reflux
Throat pain; coughing; wheezing. Swallowed object *Call 911 if your child is having trouble breathing
Persistent cough and throat irritation, especially if exposed to cigarette smoke or pollution. Environmental irritant
May have dry itchy rash on face, kneecaps, elbows; allergic symptoms whenever your baby consumes the offending food, such as: itching and swelling of face, lips, and mouth; hives; watery eyes and runny nose; possibly vomiting, diarrhea, wheezing, or difficulty breathing. Unlikely before 6 months of age. Food allergy *Call 911 if your child is having trouble breathing
Chronic cough; frequent colds or bouts of sinusitis; may cough up yellow or green phlegm; good appetite but growing slowly or not gaining weight; heavy, greasy, foul-smelling stools; salty-tasting skin. Cystic fibrosis

Answer 5

Call the Dr ASAP. Wheezing is nothing to wait on! My 11 mo. old ended up in the hospital with viral asthma for 5 days.

Answer 6

Doctor has prescribed the right medicine but it should be given intra muscularly with cortisone 12 hrly (Ampicillin100mg). It is a serious condtion. As far as ear is concerned it must be washed frequently & should also be checked for any perforation on tympanic membrane and proper antibiotic drop should be applied. Ear infection can cause aoughing because ear is attached to mouth by estachian tube. Infection comes from ear & infects the respiratory tract.

Answer 7

Some of these doctors!!! Please go back to your doctor and ask them to do a nose swab on her to check for RSV!!The weezing and cough alone should be enough for them to look into it.If she does have RSV there is no antibiodicts that will help her.Good luck,you should look up RSV on google and see all the symtoms if you have not heard of it,it may help you out.Alot of doctors pass it off as broncoilitis or pnemonia,but the thing is the meds will NOT work if it is RSV.

Answer 8

There is no harm in giving the doctor's office a phone call in the morning and tell them her symptoms. That's what they are there for. It will give you peace of mind and they will be able to answer your questions. By calling the doctor you know you were doing the right thing for your infant.

Answer 9

Be safe and take her to the doctor so that the doctor can actually see what is going on. He may be treating her for something that she doesn't have and that is why the meds aren't working. Better safe than sorry.

Answer 10

Don't muck around with the health of a baby if you have even the tiniest bit of concern take her back to the Dr even if you feel silly doing it