Calling 111
We called 111 on Boxing Day in the early hours of the morning, as I felt my son’s breathing was fast and like sucking in under the ribs (he has an awful cold and cough) for about 5 days. He also had a temperature. Whilst on the phone to 111 he was sick about 5 times from coughing, so they sent an ambulance as we weren’t sure we could get him in our car as he kept being sick. When the paramedics arrived he seemed absolutely fine, but they said as he was under 1, their protocol to get any under 1 checked at hospital. So he ended up having his first ambulance ride. I even said we’d drive him as he’d had a check and had stopped being sick, so they could go to another job but they said they didn’t think that was allowed… It all felt very dramatic and he was discharged after being triaged in A & E and then seen by the out of hours doctor. They said we were right to have him checked if we were concerned about his breathing, but I felt like everyone just felt we were anxious first time parents. A lot of the hospital staff kept saying ‘welcome to parenthood, he’ll be ill lots for the next 10 or so years’. So now I feel silly we called 111, but my husband still says we were right to call as his breathing really didn’t seem right. Has anyone else had an experience like this where they called 111 for advice and it escalated very quickly?! I read to get any breathing concerns checked asap in case it’s RSV, but maybe I overreacted! He has had about 6 bad viruses in the last few months and a chest infection but this was the first time calling 111 for it, so not like we’ve done it for every virus!
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Yes I’ve had a similar experience when my baby was 6 months, they sent us to out of hours then hospital as he had a fever (after being diagnosed and sent the same route 3 days prior with CMPA) at the hospital they gave me a load of leaflets on how to care for an unwell baby at home etc, turned out he had Covid 🙃 hence his fever- his symptoms got far worse the morning after they sent us home
We were deffo right to have gone even though he seemed ‘like his usual self’ while we were there
111 I think will always advise to go and get checked over and personally I think it’s always best to, you never know what could happen if you don’t x
My 2nd child had a pretty severe cough/cold in 2019 right b4 covid and I ended up going to drs with him and they noticed the laboured breathing and immediately got him admitted to hospital. After waiting literally hours cos there were lots of other children with same symptoms, they informed me of the virus and how he was at the peak on day 5 and that it should get better from then on, got me to carry on with what I was doing at home (was having to give him milk in a syringe as he wasn't drinking his bottles and was losing weight) capol etc. And I had open access so if he worsened could come back to hospital. He did indeed get better after that. It was worth going in as just last year he again had a cough/cold laboured breathing etc and when I went to drs they measured his oxygen showing low levels and ended up having him on a ventilator so had i not gone in could have had repercussions. So never a bad idea to get seen
Not quite as drastic, but we did end up at the out of hours GP the other night after calling 111. My son had a cold a few weeks back with the usual cough after. He had it about 3 weeks and it started to clear up, but then over the course of a couple of days it then got really bad...to the point he was coughing so hard he was making himself sick. He then also developed a fever.
At the hospital he seemed fine, but had been wheezing a lot at home. He did projectile vomit on the way back home all over the new car seat.
What it is about hospitals that make their symptoms all of a sudden go away and make us look like complete paranoid parents??
I haven’t had the same experience but I drove my eldest child who’s 2 to a&e last month for breathing difficulties as he was sucking in at the ribs and neck. He’d only started with a cough the same day. He did perk up in the 5hour wait to be seen. (Where pretty much every child was waiting with the same symptoms!) it’s easy to feel like a bit of a fraud. However, during the final observations before we were going to be discharged his oxygen levels dropped to 85 while he was asleep. He had to be admitted and treated for bronchitis, chest infection and tonsillitis for a couple of, whenever he slept his sats would drop too low. Otherwise you wouldn’t have known anything was wrong with him. Never feel shitty for ringing or taking them to be seen. Hospitals would rather treat before it becomes more serious and it gives you peace of mind. You know best so if you’re concerned it’s best go, don’t let any comments put you off 🫶
Similar happened to us when my baby was about 7m. He had a temperature of over 40 and difficulty breathing so I called 111 and they sent an ambulance who did lots of checks and couldn’t find anything wrong but said the usual protocol was to go to A&E as he was under 1 and if we refused we would be put on a safeguarding watch 🥲. We obviously went to A&E and his temp had fallen and breathing was more normal after being checked over so we just went home and saw doctor the next day who put it down to a viral infection.
I too felt soo silly about it and apologised to the paramedics who came out to us, but they said we did the right thing in calling 111. I am not a panicky mum and just wanted 111 to say to me, he hasn’t got anything serious, just do xyz and he should be fine but they obviously followed protocol and sent an ambulance so it was good to be sure nothing else serious was wrong.
I hope your little one is feeling better! X
Please don’t ever feel silly for doing this, I almost didn’t go to A&E for my daughter as I felt like I was making a big deal of things and it turned out she had meningitis and was extremely poorly. Trust your instincts ❤️
Thank you everyone for your kind comments and reassurance. My little one is much more himself today ❤️
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