Miracle Skin Script!

Some of you may know that Alex has had his share of skin troubles. We started with a little "cradle cap" that ended up being a full blown eczema flare out! At his four month visit we talked with the doctor about it and he prescribed a miracle in a tube: Triamcinolone Acetonide Ointment

We try to keep only natural products in our home and really limit what we expose Alex to, but his skin was so bad, I was willing to try just about anything.

Here's the little guy's face before we used his medicine.

Here he is after just two uses. I couldn't believe how fast it worked!

We still have some of the cream and use it when tough spots pop up and it takes just a little dab to get him all fixed up!

Not every medication works for every person. Always discuss your child's medical issues and history with your physician and do not make medical decisions based off what you read on the internet.

Scariest Moment of My Life

Around noon on Valentine's Day I got a call from daycare that Alex had a fever of 100.0 and needed to be picked up. He had had a cough for awhile, but hadn't been congested in several days. Still, we go to the doctor. The doctor said that he had Bronchiolitis and probably had RSV seems how we both had some cold symptoms. We did a breathing treatment in the office and the doc sent us home with our own little nebulizer and Alburol script so that we could treat him at home. She seemed confident that he would be better and able to return to daycare on Monday.

This is Roscoe Frog, Alex's nebulizer.
All the cool kids have one. ;)

Things go well Thursday and most of Friday. His breathing was rather labored but the treatments seemed to help. Friday I was getting us ready to go pick up Philip from the airport (he had been in California for business) and before doing Alex's breathing treatment I did a respiration count. He took 58 breaths in one minute and 61 the next. I called the on call doc and she said to do his treatment and if it helps, just keep an eye him, if it doesn't, he'll have to go to the hospital.

I already had his treatment set up so I sat down with him and we go started. He hated it. This loud machine was blowing stuff in his face and this big green thing (the mask) was always in front of him. He squirmed and kicked and fought. The nurse had said that they just more medicine that way because they take more breaths. Well, as he's kicking and screaming and coughing, his eyes started to roll back. I immediately called my mom (she used to be a peds nurse) who told me to take him straight to the emergency room.

I already had the diaper bag next to the car seat for us to leave. I grabbed my keys and as I started to put Alex into his car seat, he turned grey. (My heart is pounding as I type this.) I rubbed on his little chest and his color came back. He started screaming at me again (lately he has hated getting into his car seat). I grabbed the diaper bag and ran out to the car. Later I realized that I hadn't locked the door.

I broke every possible traffic law on the way to the hospital and bottomed out coming over a few hills (no damage to the car). Alex was crying. A few blocks from the hospital he went silent. No cries. No wimpers. No little Alex jabber. I don't know that I ever prayed so hard that a baby would cry.

When I got to the hospital (probably less than three minutes from when I called my mom), I went to get Alex out and he was as white as a ghost. I rubbed his chest and he woke up looking pretty startled and out of it. I ran him into the ER and handed him over the counter to the nurse as I told her that he had Bronchiolitis and had turned grey. She took him straight back.

A few minutes later they let me back to his exam room. I texted a friend to go pick up Philip from the airport. Once they had assessed Alex and saw that he okay, they had me sit on the guerny and hold him. They tested him for RSV and it came back positive. They did a breathing treatment and X-ray in the ER. Philip got there just before they put in Alex's IV and sent us up to Pediatrics.

The doctor and the nurse think that Alex had so much thick mucus in his lungs that when he was coughing during the breathing treatment a piece go lodged in his airway. He was admitted and we spent Friday through Tuesday at Hendricks.

He had two types of breathing treatments every 4 hours: a saline solution to help break up the mucus and the Alburol to help open up his lungs. The respiratory nurses also did chest precussions to help loosen it all up. They did eventually start an IV to keep him hydrated so that he didn't have to eat as his stats seemed to dip while he drank.

He's doing much better now. He's still wheezing and sometimes breathing heavy, but that could continue for up to a month. He's likely to develop asthma now and we've been warned that he could wheeze with any respiratory illness in the next year.

Through it all, he only acted "sick" for about a day. He's been a little extra fussy the last few days but he's also drooling like a hounddog so I think he's getting some teeth in. He's such a strong little guy and I am so blessed to be his mommy.

Alex playing with his yellow block in the hospital.
He still used his IV hand to play so I had to give him toys he didn't have to grasp.

Check Your Medicine Cabinets!

Hey Everyone! We're getting ready to move and I just cleaned out our medicine cabinet/first aid stash. I just wanted to give you a quick reminder to check your medicines and first aid kits and a few tips to help!

You should check your medicine cabinets and first aid kits regularly!

• Throw out any medications past their expiration dates! The dates are the last day that the manufacture guarantees the product to be effective and safe. Some meds get stronger after the date, others get less effective. Some will become dangerous. Don't decide for yourself. It's better safe than sorry here.
• Throw out any medications with damage to the packaging that could have exposed the medication. Holes in bottles, pill packs that have water stains, anything like that should be tossed.
• Check prescriptions as well. Prescriptions are often dated, but if not, should almost always be tossed after a year past the date they were filled. If you have any questions about the safety of your prescription meds or when they expire, call your doctor or pharmacy.
• Flush any dangerous or street-valuable drugs. Any pain killers or hormonal medications should be flushed instead of tossed in the trash.
• Contact your local pharmacy for instructions on how to handle any medications you are not familiar with. Some medications need to be properly disposed of by a pharmacy, specifically breathing treatments and injections. Always be careful with medication if you are unsure of it's proper handling or disposal.
• Check your first aid kit and toss any bandages that are wet or show signs of water damage. These may not be sterile any longer and a dirty dressing is an infection waiting to happen!
• Check that your first aid kit is stocked. Make sure you have any items that you use on a regular basis and that you replace any necessities that may need to be thrown out.
• Check that you are stocked on the basics. Whatever your family uses often, check what you have and make a plan for when to get it. Important items often include cough drops, allergy meds, pain relievers, and creams for rashes/skin issues.

I hope this comes in handy. Remember: it's important to practice good safety habits with medications at all times. When that splitting headache hits or your little one is up with the stomach bug at 2 am, you won't be checking dates before using those meds and that can be dangerous. If you use natural or herbal treatments: talk with your herbalist about proper storage, expiration, and disposal as herbal treatments vary considerably. 

Wishing you all health, safety, and happiness!

Amie