Stahp Flare up or Virus??

[mneville]

Maybe someone can help me sort this out? My son who is 2 has been very healthy other than sinus issues which have been under control with surgery and rinses. The past three months he has developed a cough at different times in the month, mostly when he lies down to sleep and when he wakes up. It is accompanied with a runny nose. A common cold? Postnasal? One month he had an ear infection that seemed to cause it. Oral antibiotics always treated it.

He is now on Augmentin prescribed by the pediatrician. Today I got his culture results. Just Staph which he has cultured on/off since birth. When I told the CF nurse he was on Augmentin, she said that wouldn't help the Staph. But I told her the pedi wasn't treating his lungs/Staph as his lungs sounded perfect. Just the cough/cold thing. Should I try to treat the Staph? How does one tell whether it is a CF bacteria causing the problem or just a common childhood illness that would have occurred without CF bacteria?? Are these illnesses causing his lungs any serious damage? Thanks, Megan

 

[mneville]

Maybe someone can help me sort this out? My son who is 2 has been very healthy other than sinus issues which have been under control with surgery and rinses. The past three months he has developed a cough at different times in the month, mostly when he lies down to sleep and when he wakes up. It is accompanied with a runny nose. A common cold? Postnasal? One month he had an ear infection that seemed to cause it. Oral antibiotics always treated it.

He is now on Augmentin prescribed by the pediatrician. Today I got his culture results. Just Staph which he has cultured on/off since birth. When I told the CF nurse he was on Augmentin, she said that wouldn't help the Staph. But I told her the pedi wasn't treating his lungs/Staph as his lungs sounded perfect. Just the cough/cold thing. Should I try to treat the Staph? How does one tell whether it is a CF bacteria causing the problem or just a common childhood illness that would have occurred without CF bacteria?? Are these illnesses causing his lungs any serious damage? Thanks, Megan

 

[mneville]

Maybe someone can help me sort this out? My son who is 2 has been very healthy other than sinus issues which have been under control with surgery and rinses. The past three months he has developed a cough at different times in the month, mostly when he lies down to sleep and when he wakes up. It is accompanied with a runny nose. A common cold? Postnasal? One month he had an ear infection that seemed to cause it. Oral antibiotics always treated it.

He is now on Augmentin prescribed by the pediatrician. Today I got his culture results. Just Staph which he has cultured on/off since birth. When I told the CF nurse he was on Augmentin, she said that wouldn't help the Staph. But I told her the pedi wasn't treating his lungs/Staph as his lungs sounded perfect. Just the cough/cold thing. Should I try to treat the Staph? How does one tell whether it is a CF bacteria causing the problem or just a common childhood illness that would have occurred without CF bacteria?? Are these illnesses causing his lungs any serious damage? Thanks, Megan

 

[NoExcuses]

has he been allergy tested?

many people who have dust mite feces allergies get symptoms at night and morning because their face is burried in a pillow & matress that is filled wtih pounds of dust mite feces.

my allergy symptoms showed up as a cough and runny nose, not watery eyes or sneezing like people think as traditional allergy symptoms.

get your kid an appointment with an allergist (not primary care, not ENT) to get skin tested for allergies tomorrow. Get a skin test, not blood IgE test.

Then, get dust mite covers in the mean time for the pillows and matress (www.allergyasthmatech.com). Get rid of all stuffed animals. Get carpet removed from the bedroom or get dust mite carpet treatment (www.allergyasthmatech.com). Finally, I would get a HEPA air purifier (make sure it's HEPA).

Allergies can cause the nasal terbinates to swell shut, thereby allowing bacteria to grow in the sinuses. This inflammation can also occur in the throat and lungs thereby making these areas more vulnerable to bacteria such as Staph.

How do I tell when its bacteria vs. allergies? It's hard at age 2, but for me, if the nasal discharge is clear, it's allergies. If it's yellow, its probably a cold and green its an infection. My cough is productive when I have a lung infection and my cough is dry, hacking and full of broncho-spasms when I have allergies.

It's hard to draw a line though because allergies lead to lung infections. And viruses can lead to lung infections (bacterial growthg) as well.

Finally, why Augmentin probably won't help staph -many Staph isolets are Augmentin resistant. Perhaps your CF doc had a hold of his recent suseptability testing and new that amox/clav wouldn't be helpful.

Bottomline, antibiotics won't help allergies. I'd try to get to the root of the problem. Good luck!

 

[NoExcuses]

has he been allergy tested?

many people who have dust mite feces allergies get symptoms at night and morning because their face is burried in a pillow & matress that is filled wtih pounds of dust mite feces.

my allergy symptoms showed up as a cough and runny nose, not watery eyes or sneezing like people think as traditional allergy symptoms.

get your kid an appointment with an allergist (not primary care, not ENT) to get skin tested for allergies tomorrow. Get a skin test, not blood IgE test.

Then, get dust mite covers in the mean time for the pillows and matress (www.allergyasthmatech.com). Get rid of all stuffed animals. Get carpet removed from the bedroom or get dust mite carpet treatment (www.allergyasthmatech.com). Finally, I would get a HEPA air purifier (make sure it's HEPA).

Allergies can cause the nasal terbinates to swell shut, thereby allowing bacteria to grow in the sinuses. This inflammation can also occur in the throat and lungs thereby making these areas more vulnerable to bacteria such as Staph.

How do I tell when its bacteria vs. allergies? It's hard at age 2, but for me, if the nasal discharge is clear, it's allergies. If it's yellow, its probably a cold and green its an infection. My cough is productive when I have a lung infection and my cough is dry, hacking and full of broncho-spasms when I have allergies.

It's hard to draw a line though because allergies lead to lung infections. And viruses can lead to lung infections (bacterial growthg) as well.

Finally, why Augmentin probably won't help staph -many Staph isolets are Augmentin resistant. Perhaps your CF doc had a hold of his recent suseptability testing and new that amox/clav wouldn't be helpful.

Bottomline, antibiotics won't help allergies. I'd try to get to the root of the problem. Good luck!

 

[NoExcuses]

has he been allergy tested?

many people who have dust mite feces allergies get symptoms at night and morning because their face is burried in a pillow & matress that is filled wtih pounds of dust mite feces.

my allergy symptoms showed up as a cough and runny nose, not watery eyes or sneezing like people think as traditional allergy symptoms.

get your kid an appointment with an allergist (not primary care, not ENT) to get skin tested for allergies tomorrow. Get a skin test, not blood IgE test.

Then, get dust mite covers in the mean time for the pillows and matress (www.allergyasthmatech.com). Get rid of all stuffed animals. Get carpet removed from the bedroom or get dust mite carpet treatment (www.allergyasthmatech.com). Finally, I would get a HEPA air purifier (make sure it's HEPA).

Allergies can cause the nasal terbinates to swell shut, thereby allowing bacteria to grow in the sinuses. This inflammation can also occur in the throat and lungs thereby making these areas more vulnerable to bacteria such as Staph.

How do I tell when its bacteria vs. allergies? It's hard at age 2, but for me, if the nasal discharge is clear, it's allergies. If it's yellow, its probably a cold and green its an infection. My cough is productive when I have a lung infection and my cough is dry, hacking and full of broncho-spasms when I have allergies.

It's hard to draw a line though because allergies lead to lung infections. And viruses can lead to lung infections (bacterial growthg) as well.

Finally, why Augmentin probably won't help staph -many Staph isolets are Augmentin resistant. Perhaps your CF doc had a hold of his recent suseptability testing and new that amox/clav wouldn't be helpful.

Bottomline, antibiotics won't help allergies. I'd try to get to the root of the problem. Good luck!

 

[mneville]

Thanks very much Amy. We did have him allergy tested but it was a blood test through his PICC line last year. Maybe I will look into the skin test. We have allergy covers on his bed but have to get some for the pillows and our bed b/c he often winds up with us.

We are actually having someone come to the house tomorrow about installing an air purifying system. Supposedly it uses UV light to kill all germs, viruses and bacteria in the house.

Unfortuately he is addicted to his two stuffed animals "Wags" so I don't think I could get rid of them quite yet! Thanks again.

MEgan

 

[mneville]

Thanks very much Amy. We did have him allergy tested but it was a blood test through his PICC line last year. Maybe I will look into the skin test. We have allergy covers on his bed but have to get some for the pillows and our bed b/c he often winds up with us.

We are actually having someone come to the house tomorrow about installing an air purifying system. Supposedly it uses UV light to kill all germs, viruses and bacteria in the house.

Unfortuately he is addicted to his two stuffed animals "Wags" so I don't think I could get rid of them quite yet! Thanks again.

MEgan

 

[mneville]

Thanks very much Amy. We did have him allergy tested but it was a blood test through his PICC line last year. Maybe I will look into the skin test. We have allergy covers on his bed but have to get some for the pillows and our bed b/c he often winds up with us.

We are actually having someone come to the house tomorrow about installing an air purifying system. Supposedly it uses UV light to kill all germs, viruses and bacteria in the house.

Unfortuately he is addicted to his two stuffed animals "Wags" so I don't think I could get rid of them quite yet! Thanks again.

MEgan