5 Month Old with RSV

T.,

My son has allergies that trigger asthma. When he was an infant there was a plastic attachment that came with his nebulizer and hooked on to the hose. The doctor told me to place it just under his nose so that he would breathe in the medicine. My son would still be fussy sometimes but maybe this would work better than the mask. Good Luck!

A.

They have a better system then the face mask for the breathing treatments. When my son had RSV, I used this attachment that looked more like a vacuum attachment, but it blew the medicine into his face instead of making him wear the face mask. This worked so much better because he did not fight the face mask and still got his treatment.

I went through the rsv with both my oldest and my youngest boys. My middle boy never got it. It is a nightmare at first, but over time as he gets a little more used to it he should start relaxing some. Both of my boys that had it would throw a fit about using the the machine for the breathing treatments. After about a week and a half they got used to it and were fine doing it. It should get easier as time goes by. Good luck!

that is so hard. my son had to have breathing treatements and hated it . just remember you are not hurting him. he just does not like it on his face. my son screams every time we get blood drawn and it is just when i hold his arm. they have not even touched him yet.

Hi, my name is T.,I have 3 beautiful children. My oldest Chance is 7 now, when he was 6 weeks old he had RSV. He was in the hospital, and that was a very scary time for me, but he pulled through and with a few breathing treatments at home, he was doing great, so I wouldn't worry, your little man should be good to go very soon, Good Luck..

We too did breathing treatments, for a long time, and had asthma problems until preschool age due to the RSV. It did get easier. My son quickly realized that the breathing treatments made him feel better and willing took them. They get fewer and far between, and I hope you do not have long lasting effects...but it does get easier! Hang in there mom! Things that worked with my son was singing songs while we did the treatment. (He learned his ABC's VERY early because of the time we had :)) I also read stories to him. Both seemed to sooth him. The Dr.'s told me its great that they cry...they get really deep breaths that way and the medicine gets way down in there! Best wishes!

Hi T. - have you tried just holding the hose near his nose and mouth instead of putting the mask on? When our son had RSV as an infant that's how we did it. It worked fine and he was a lot more comfortable during the treatments.
I'll be praying for you and your son.
L. T.

I agree with the other post, my son had rsv at 2 months and again at 1. We a breathing machine and when he was younger I would just hold the hose up to his mouth. I know how hard this is for you, my son had to have them every 4 hours for 2 weeks one time because his lungs were so bad. Just remember that even though it's hard to hear him cry that he is taking deeper breaths when he does. My ped. actually told me to pitch him when I gave him treatments to make him cry! Terrible I know, but the alternative was worse. I wish you luck, it does get easier. My son still has to have them on occasion, but he knows the drill now.

I must admit my daughter was never diagnosed with rsv. However, she doesn suffer from reactive airway disorder which requires breathing treatments. She HATED the mask in the worst way. She was just over a year old when I told her pediatrician I couldn't physically hold her down anymore. Luckily, I had an alternative treatment. The best advice I can give you is to just remember it's for the best. I would turn on one of her baby einstein videos, turn the volume up so she could here it over the machine and keep talking softly in her ear and telling her what a great job she was doing while rocking her the chair. It also gave me a bit of comfort to know that the deeper her breath, the better the treatment would work. I know it's hard, but it gets easier. I don't know if they ever take it better, or if we get used to the wiggly cry, but it does get better. Try to relax as much as possible because he feels all your stress and reacts to it as well as the machine. Good luck and prayers for you.

Both of my kids had bronchiolitis, but not RSV. My son had it when he was 6 months and my 8 month old daughter is still fighting with the bronchiolitis. She does better with the treatments than he did. Some tricks that worked for him were putting on baby einstein dvds and turning up the volume, playing with toys, and singing songs to him while rocking him. My daughter likes to have her paci during treatments. Neither one ever liked the mask to be fastened on, so we have always just held it for them.
My son, now 2 1/2 still has to do treatments when he gets colds and he turns it on and holds the mask by himself, which we never would have dreamed of him being so comfortable when he was younger. It does get better!

Our little boy wasn't a premee, but came down with RSV at 6 weeks just the same. He developed asthma and has had to have periodic breathing treatments, anytime he catches a cold. He's now four years old.

At first it's horrible because you can't do anything and you feel like a villain for making them cry.

It does get better. He now tries Give himself the medication with the aspirator. It's still irritating but he does tolerate it. If this saves his life, it's worth the grief.

When m daughter was little she also came down with RSV and ended up in the hospital for a week. She had to have breathing treatments for that and asthma. Like your little one she hated the mask, fortunately for me I knew a wonderful respitory therapist and she said that I could just hold the peice that went into the mask close to his mouth and nose (not against it) and it would be fine and the medicine would not hurt me either. Trust me it is much easier then the dreadful mask. Just get him tested for asthma when he gets older as it can accure from rsv. Good luck and god speed.

HI T., I've been in your shoes. I am a 33 year old mother of 4 ages 7 1/2, 6, 3 1/2 and 19 months. My #2 at the age of 4 months was hospitalized with RSV and then we had to do treatments at home. I know how frustrating it can be when then they tug and cry during the treatments.Something I remember doing is sort of dancing around or standing and swaying( as long as the tubing can let you) while you give him the treatments. Does your boy have a favorite book or stufffed animal, anything to maybe keep the focus of the mask. Another idea is if you have any of the Baby einstein DVDs, those always worked with my #3 boy who also I had to give treatments to when he was 6months old. These videos are pretty good in keeping their attention for at least 15 mins for the length of the treatment. I hope this helps!

Elizabeth

hi i have a 5 yr old that has had asthma since he was about that age
he was scared of the noise the machine made so i alwasy TRIED to put a heavy pillow or a blanket on top of the machine leaving the back open
also the mask i never put on his face just as close as i could
or some of the nurses n doctors in the er close to me at the time said to just use the mouth piece if you have it and make sure its blowing in his face
and as long as hes crying he is getting the medicine in his lungs if that helps you any .:)
good luck

When we had to use the machine we quickly learned to do it (when we could anyway) when the baby was already asleep or ready to go down. We also would put the machine behind the couch or chair to block the loud noise. Turn happy noise and and toys that light up! By then end of our month he wasn't giving the wiggly cry as often. Hang in there.

i was a mom of alil girl who was born with cronic asthma
who's life depended on those breathing treatments and many meds. but i am here to let you know that it does get better
my daughter became so use to doing them she would hold the mask herself. and when done with praise became proud of herself. now my children are grown with children them selves
i have 4 grandchildren all that does those breathing treatment . some are easier them others. but as a parent you need to keep telling yourself that its whats best for your child make a positive thing out of it. play games while giving it or just a soothing song helps. if you can give your child something to take his mind off the mask.
maybe a favorite truck or something like that. my daughter had a baby doll who also got treatments with her. seemed to make her be more relaxed. just keep trying different things and know it does get better with time. my prayer are with you J.

Hello!

My son contracted RSV 5 times between 3 months and 2 years of age. He was born 2 1/2 months premature and as a result, his lungs and immune system couldn't fight anything. We had to use a breathing machine twice a day for most of his first year and we still do whenever he catches a cold. I feel for you--it's totally awful! My son hated it at first and it was an uphill battle just to get him to sit still long enough (as if dealing with the RSV itself wasn't enough). I promise, it will get easier! We did find a few ways to make it easier on all of us. We found that doing it when he was sleepy or distracted with something he liked--books, etc. helped alot. Also, we didn't use a mask attachment or anything that touched his face. Our machine had a mouthpiece (I think it was originally meant for older children) and we sat him on our lap and held it in front of his face and close to his mouth and nose. It seemed to work just as well because the treatments were successful. You could probably find the mouthpiece attachment at a pharmacy (ask at the pharmacy counter) or medical supply store. Believe it or not, he eventually learned to hold it on his own. Hang in there and good luck!

What medicine is in his breathing treatment? If it is Albuterol, they make a liquid that my boys have taken. The doc gave them that instead of the breathing treatments so that they would get the full dosage (not lose it by wiggling around). It is not a bad taste, so they took it just fine. You might want to check with your doc to see if you could try it. They were 4 months old when they took 1/2 tsp at a time. I have twin boys that will be 6 months old Feb 17th.

My son and daughter both had to do breathing treatments when they were infants. I tried to schedule them around naps as much as possible (daughter had them every 4 hours around the clock). But my doctor said not to use the mask, just the tube thing, and hold it in front of their face. He also said if they are crying, they are actually getting more of the medicine because they are breathing more air. Good Luck!

Hang in there, it will get better. Just keep reasuring him of you love and try and be patient. I know some times it is hard especiall being a first time Mom. You are doing a fine job, just remember he is a tiny helpless little boy that counts totaly on you to get through all of this. I do not know you but feel that you will do just fine. When things get to bad just take a little break and say a little pray and God will help you get through all of this. I will also keep you in my prayers and will be waiting to hear all is well.

It will get better. My daughter had this and stopped breathing one night but she is much better now. She was on the same amount of treatments as your little guy. This started in Nov and it she started to get better about three weeks. The doctors at Childrens Hospital told us that this would be something our daughter would have to deal with until Spring. With that said Spring is right around the corner so hopefully you don't have too much longer to go! Using a blanket helps with the arms.

my son had to have breathing treatments when he was about that age aswell. he refused to let us get the mask anywhere near his face, so the ped gave us another topper for the machine. it had a spout to the side and a monkey topper on the very top of it. what helped was to set the base of the machine as far away as possible so that it wasnt as loud, and let him hold onto the top part with me. he still usually cried, but it wasnt as hesterically(sp?) as it was when we tried the mask.
at one point he had to have treatments every 4 hours for 2 weeks :( the ped suggested not to wake him if he was sleeping for some and to just sit next to his crib and hold the breather close to his face.
he will be 2 in may and still needs the treatments sometimes when he gets sick, but now he knows the drill and sings with me or tells stories to the little monkey on the top of it.

good luck with this ^^ it does get easier and shouldnt have to do it forever.
just remember that it is for the best and that when he cries, the medicine is getting deeper into his lungs, which is a very good thing.

My daughter first had RSV when she was about 6 or 9 mos old. She reacted the same way to the mask but the dr. actually said it's good if they cry because at least you know they're inhaling the meds good. She had another bout of it when she was around 2 I think. She now takes singulair and claritan every night for her allergies/wheezing and it's worked great. Now she's 9 and wheezes very rarely when she gets sick with a cough. When she feels like her chest is kind of tight, we just give here treatments every 4 hours for a few days then ween it down to just at bedtime or in the am for a few more days. I'm hoping she grows out of her allergies and wheezing but who knows. She is big into sports and so far, all of the running from soccer and basketball hasn't affected her which is good. Hopefully this is just temporary with your baby boy! Good luck

We just went through that at my house. My son was 6 months at the time, now 8 months. At first for us it was easy giving the treatments. He needed the 4x a day with an extra medicine morning and night. It didn't take too long for him to get sick of his treatments. I bounced with him on a balance ball, he really enjoyed that. I also sang jingle bells to him. Standing and dancing helped too. Whenever I thought I had it figured out I would have to try something new. I hope you find something that works for you.

Hi T.,
I just wanted to let you know that I had a daughter who was 1 1/2 years and another that was 4 months who had RSV at the same time. They were put in the hospital. It was awful. Then we went home a week later and they were put on breathing treatments, 4 times a day. It was awful. This is what I did. I put on cartoons for my older daughter to watch. Then rather than her wearing the mask, I put it right under her chin. All the vapors, she was still breathing in. We made it quality time. In the end, she was holding it on her own, and I just sat with her. We ended up going through the same thing two years later. (Not that you will). I hope that this helps. I will pray for you and your little guy.
T.

We went thru the same thing when our youngest was 10 months old, last February. I called the doctor and broke down because we couldn't get him to keep the mask on. She told us to even just hold it in front of his face, so that it mists towards him. That it doesn't necessarily have to be around his head and stuck on his face. Once we did that, it really helped. Its a pain to keep moving it with the wiggly baby's head, but the screaming and crying was cut almost completely out.
Now we're doing treatments again for the same son, at 22 months and some days he's ok with the mask (I just hold it to his nose, I don't put the thing around his head, he hates that, he also hates hats go figure lol). If he gets fussy about it, I try to make a game out of it for him, by turning the mask around (face towards him, if yours is a face..ours is a rhino) and say "i'm gonna get you", then I "gallop" the rhino towards him, and have the rhino "kiss" Ben on the nose. It usually makes him laugh, and I'm able to turn the mask around and get a few more puffs in him. It's definitely a workout for the parent LOL. Sometimes we have to double team him, my husband and I or my older son and I.
Just hang in there. After a few days, he may calm down and get used to it. I know Ben is scared of the noise that the machine makes, too. He went over and turned it on the other day, and came running and screaming to me, LOL. I had to go turn it off.

My daughter's breathing treatments got easier as she got used to the machine. After a couple bouts of respiratory infections, her pediatrician put her on a daily dose of Singulair. Sarah has had ONE infection since and it lasted only 2-3 days, instead of 7-10.

If this is not in your medical plan for your son, perhaps you can ask about it?

Good luck. It always hurts us much worse when they are in pain.

My baby is a 16 months old and for us its long term. sometimes it was very hard and my husband and I would have to hold her down while she sceamed. it is much easier now she even trys to hold it herself. Just know that he needs this and you aren't doing anything, but everything right. Good luck! keep your head up

My son and first child was 2 and a half months old when he had RSV. I was so scared. He was hospitalized for 2 days in a very crowded pediatric unit. He was sent home w/ a breathing monitor he had to wear 24/7 for weeks. He totally recovered. 15 years later he is a very healthy kid!
I know it's hard to relax in your situation. Just remember time will pass quickly. Enjoy the time you hold your son. It won't be long until he's running around! Maybe try some calm music. Put it on 10 minutes before you give him a treatment and keep it on during the treatment. Slow music can often slow down a frantic heartrate for mom and baby.

I am a pharmaceutical sales rep. One of the meds that I sell is the only inhaled corticosteriod indicated for asthma in children under 4. It is delivered via a nebulizer with either a mask or mouthpiece. I consider myslef very knowledgable in the respiratory area, medications, and devices as I call on all of the allergists and pulmonologists in the southern Cincinnati and northern Ky area. I will tell you that a diagnoses of RSV can often be a sign of asthma. And asthma is not something that you "grow out of." It is a chronic disease that needs to be treated daily. But, if it is children and adults lead normal and active lives. I know that the treatments are not fun as I have 2 children myself and know how hard it is to have them sit. Just remember that what you are doing is the best thing for your child. Their airways are so important and if they are inflamed or constricted it will affect their life. They won't be able to run and play like they want and will often miss school and wake up at night. I am not saying your child has asthma, but in the event that the RSV or other respiratory infections recur, that is a telling sign. I am so happy to hear that you are making the effort to give your child the treatment that they so deserve. Try to read books, put a special show on, offer them a reward after the treatemnt, things like that. Also, the Pari nebulizer is the fastest one so if you have a different brand, it may be taking longer. Good luck and if you have any questions feel free to email me.

Hang it there!! It will get better!! My son had RSV as an infant and he just turned six; we are still doing the treatments, but only twice a day when he has a cold. Try doing the treatments when he is sleeping. Also I sat my son in the car seat to do them and it cuts down on the wiggling. And when he was sick, my doctor suggested I use an old carseat that I kept in the crib to keep my son elivated and it aliveated the congestion a bit. The phonebooks under the mattress just kept him rolling to the end of the crib.

Dear T. C,
I have been through this twice now, with both of my daughters. I understand how frustrating it can be. You want to make sure that he is getting all of the treatment but yet he won't stop moving! This is what helped me: I would place my child in my arms with one of their arms tucked under mine. (Once they are big enough you can put them on your lap facing away from you.) Try the choo-choo thing as if you were coming at him with a spoon. Trying to be faster than they are can be tricky. Getting the mask as close to his face as you can is better than fighting the whole time. The good news...the more he cries the more of the treatment he will suck in. I hope this helps. Good luck to you and your little one. M. B

T. -
My daughter ended up with RSV when she was 3.5 mos old and ended up at Children's hospital for a week. That was terrible. My daughter also has to do breathing treatments (and still does). She is now 18 mos. She has been diagnosed with asthma now though.....and the RSV contributed to that. Anyway, she threw big fits in the begining. She still does love it but is more willing to do it now. I let her play with the mask a little before we start just so she sees it isnt this big scarey thing. Then I also find if we sing songs during (like ABCs or other nursery rhymes) she tends to sit still. Sometimes we read a story. It helps if you can distract them with something else they like.

But overall, like I said, she doesnt quite throw fits like she used to. It just takes come getting used to so they know it isnt something scarey.

Good Luck!

My son who is now 2 1/2 is still on breathing treatments whenever he gets a cold or croup or whatever the illness may be. I do promise it gets better with time...my son now just sits on the couch and I put the mask on and go about my daily routines in the house until he is done. Have you tried getting your little one a toy to hold onto while you do the treatment?? Or something to keep him occupied?? You could even feed him while you do the treatment. You don't necessarily have to have the mask all the way on...just as long as he is breathing in the vapors. Good luck & just take it one day at a time!!

My twins had to take treatments too for awhile. I know it is hard on you but if he is crying that is a good thing because he is getting the medication deeper into his lungs which will be more help. We still use the treatments when they sound like they are getting a cough and it helps alot, now at 3 they hold the mask on themselves and it is alot easier. Just keep reminding yourself that is it the best thing for him now.

At 4 months of age (my son is now 3 and a half) my son had his first bout of croup. Since then, he has had it about 30 times and we have been seeing asthma doctors. We have been through I think about every treatment there is and now he has been referred to an ENT to have his adenoids out because the problem always starts in his nose with sinuses. All that to tell you that he screamed and wiggled through his treatments at first too. Hang in there though because they get easier and he will get use to them. My son now does treatments like it's his job. He got use to it after a week or so, and I am willing to bet your little one will too over the next month. It's no fun, but it will get better!!! :)

B.