Thick secretions in nose & trach. sleeping alot, y

Hi all, its been sometime since I last posted abt Aqil. Thanx very much to those who replied in my posts the other times. I guess it was a relieved to know that Im never alone...

Just a quicky question, Aqil has been having thick secretions over his nose and trach. I also notice that whenever these happens, he's sleeping alot, almost 24hrs a day and he hardly wanna wake up even after we stimulate him by kissing, cuddling and massaging him. I get very demotivated looking at him in these conditions. Makes me lousy as a parent. Is there any other way I can lessen or loosen the mucus and secretions, esp in nose & trach. Its thick and greenish in color. I was just wondering, how can he ever wean down the vent coz his noses are all fully blocked with secretions & Ng tube feeding.

I really cant get much info from the docs. They said he just have get over this period and just suction him wherever possible + supply him the nebulizer. Is dat all dat I can do and see as a mum..Its sooo draining to see my baby in NICU for 9mths now and seems like we are back to square 1 during those premature old days.

Pls, if u have advices for me, do drop them in...thank you once again.

[sandra]

If the secretions are that green and thick, he might have an infection. Make sure the doctors are checking to see if he is sick. An infection can be dangerous. The doctors need to check on that.

To loosen secretions ask about chest percussion. You can use a vibrating percussor or a manual method to loosen secretions. Ask them about adding this to your babies treatments. We do this with every nebulizer treatment.

I'm sorry the doctors are not answering your questions. I would insist on knowing why the secretions are green. The secretions should be clear. You may have to be pushy. Please keep us informed.

[Stefan & Jennifer]

I agree with Sandra...green almost always means infection...

I agree about the green secretions being infection. Make sure the doctor does a culture of the secretions to see if/what bacteria is growing. In the meantime keep as much moisture as you can going in the trach. It helps keep the sectretions thinner so that your child can get them up. I used to keep Sean on his mist collar more and give him saline nebs between his medicine nebs. I know these illnesses are tough, take care. Kim

Yes...green or yellow = bacteria. You need to get to a doc for possible antibiotics. Being lethargic also means they are probably sick. Good luck and hope all is well soon!

[christyw]

Also agree on the infection thing. Green, yellow secretions and LOTS OF THEM...that's not a good thing. Tons of secretions can be sign of RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), which can cause hospitalization...but I doubt that's the case if he is breathing ok, and doesn't seem to be really, really sick. ANYWAY, a culture of the secretions should be taken and analyzed for various bacteria and blood work could be done to see if he is fighting off an infection. Good luck to you.


Christy

P.S. Where are you located? If your doctor is not cooperative, try another pediatrican. We had a great pediatrician that we took Gaithy to for all her regular sicknesses. He always did chest x-rays, blood work, urine culture, secretion culture - just whatever was needed, to make sure she was ok! He didn't want to let anything get out of hand, wanted to always stay on top of things so that she would not have to be back in the hospital.