Julianne is Sick

Last week we went to the doctor because Julianne was coughing when she got agitated. The doctor said it was RSV, respiratory syncytial virus. Supposedly it only lasts 5 to 7 days and the only treatment is nebulization. So we went and bought a nebulizer and gave her nebulization for 5 days. She is really brave, she only cried the first time we had the mask on her but now she is used to it and just smiles at us, of course I shake my as off trying to entertain her with toys and dolls. This week we took her to the doctor again because she had some vaccines due, and the doctor told us that she still had mucus in her lungs and it was probably due to Bronchiolitis; a lung infection usually caused by the respiratory syncytial virus which produces swelling and mucus production in the small breathing tubes of your child's lungs. The doctor once again prescribed more frequent rounds of nebulization and some antibiotics. The antibiotics is what I don't understand and frankly scares me since this would make the doctor assume it's bacterial and not viral or he is just being overly precautious which I believe to be the case. Something that scares me is that I've been reading about this ailment on the internet and read some very scary cases, one's where babies such as Julianne's age have died because of it. In most cases the pediatricians just diagnosed the cough as a cold but later it  would worsen to pneumonia. This is why you have to really do your homework when you pick your pediatrician, you are practically trusting your child's life in their hands. Another issue is that having Bronchiolitis increases her risk of having asthma when she is older. Worse I had asthma as a kid, and it was a horrifying ordeal, I had to get two shots a week to keep my asthma under control for three years with frequent ins and outs of emergency rooms when I had an attack. I wish none of this for my daughter. What is comforting is that she really doesn't look or feel sick, she laughs all the time and feeds normally. The doctor said that it was a really mild case but it still freaks me out. 

On a lighter note, about a month ago I got my wife an iphone 3g, so she nows sends me an email per day with a picture of Julianne. Here are some of them,