While preventive treatment for bronchiolitis has been offered to infants since September 15, health authorities hope that this season will experience a less intense epidemic than in 2022-2023. Nathalie, the mother of a little girl affected by the disease, looks back on a trying experience.
“It’s the story of a stressful winter!” ». For her mother, Nathalie, and for the whole family, little Marie’s bonchiolitis will be remembered for a long time: what the general practitioner had described, when examining the 5-month-old child from the first symptoms, as “small bronchitis”. resulted in four hospitalizations, moments of great worry and an upheaval in the lives of everyone close to the little girl.
It all started with fairly common respiratory problems; the child was coughing and had trouble breathing. “Marie was in daycare and we thought it was classic bronchitis”says the mother who immediately consulted the general practitioner who usually followed Marie. “He downplayed things a little and in particular he did not measure his oxygen level and only prescribed a few sessions of respiratory physiotherapy”remembers Nathalie.
“At the hospital, little ones coughing, spitting, and parents in panic!”
And it is precisely during these sessions that the physiotherapist is concerned about the child’s condition and takes an oxygen measurement. With a worrying result: “My daughter was in serious withdrawal and at that moment we panicked and he told us that it was probably severe bronchiolitis and that we needed to go to the emergency room quickly”.
Head to the Robert Debré hospital for Marie and her mother. “When we arrived there, it was the court of miracles, there were many little ones coughing, spitting, with parents in panic… I went out of my way to get priority, with the children who were really not doing well”says Nathalie.
There, a new oximetry was carried out on Marie who was directly placed in pediatric intensive care. ” It was impressive, explains the motherdoctors put a gastric tube in her, oxygen tubes in her nostrils and she was monitored with an electrocardiogram.”
“Asthma increases the symptoms of bronchiolitis tenfold”
Despite this care, Marie’s oxygen level remained very low: “They couldn’t wean her, I could see that there was a vital issue, I asked myself several times if she was going to make it…”. While this type of care lasts on average a week, the little girl ultimately remained hospitalized for three weeks. “That’s huge for a child of that age! During treatment, doctors diagnosed asthma which increased the symptoms of bronchiolitis tenfold.explains Nathalie.
Recovered but still requiring regular aerosols, the child was able to return home… and a few days later return to daycare. “After a week, it started again! ». This time Nathalie and the doctors place little Marie in hospital at home. A less restrictive treatment than the hospital but which required the establishment of an entire organization: “A nurse came morning and evening for care but as I couldn’t be away from work all the time, I had to juggle with the two grandmothers and this once again lasted almost three weeks! “.
A fourth hospitalization for bronchiolitis
New recovery, new return to daycare… and a few weeks later, a new episode of respiratory distress for Marie. And this time, a return to the Robert Debré hospital. “ I spent my nights there, the presence of one of the parents is in fact desired by the doctors for the psychological well-being of the children, the rooms are equipped with folding beds”says Nathalie who then participates in the care with the nurses, the little girl needing to be placed under an aerosol every three hours.
Today, Marie’s bronchiolitis – still regularly monitored by a pulmonologist at the Robert Debré hospital – has become a bad memory… after a fourth hospitalization! “She is fragile, as soon as she gets a little cold, the consequences are catastrophic! ». She must continue respiratory physiotherapy and follow basic treatment for her asthma, which is not so simple for a child kept in daycare since the administration of medication can only be done in these establishments by personnel authorized by the doctor.
“It can change very quickly!”
But the whole family remains marked by the episode: “It turned everyone’s lives upside down, on a daily basis it was unmanageable, really very stressful! There was even an impact on her big sister who is two years older than Marie, she had a hard time with the fact that we spent all our time taking care of her little sister.” Above all, his bronchiolitis also had a negative effect on the child’s psychomotor development. “When they have this disease, the little ones focus all their energy on their breathing, during this time, their development is necessarily slowed down”explains Nathalie.
Any advice from the young mother after experiencing this painful winter? “As soon as the child has difficulty breathing, we must not only take care of the fever, which is not a systematic marker of severity, we must also be attentive to the first signs of oxygen decompensation. which notably cause the digging of the salt shakers at the root of the neck. As soon as you observe these symptoms, you must consult a pediatrician… or even go to the emergency room, the situation can change very quickly! ».
