Bad Virus, No Biscuit!

The kids and I all have a cold. SillyBilly woke up yesterday morning with a bad asthma attack. Breathing fast, retracting muscles between his ribs and above his collarbone, splotchy skin tone, audible wheezing. We discovered all of his medication was expired (and I mean years expired) because it's been so long since he's had any trouble.

So, we called the pediatrician, got him to call in a new prescription, and went into his office for a Saturday afternoon visit (bless you, Dr. Zatz!) to avoid an ER visit. Turns out SillyBilly had a 102F fever on top of the runny nose and severe wheezing. I guess I was so distracted by the wheezing that I missed how hot he was.

After several nebulizer treatments, including one at 11:30 last night, SillyBilly was much better today. Still wheezing, but no fever and back to his normal spunk level. I hate to give him that kind of medication (nebulized albuterol is powerful -- it makes my hands shake and my heart pound), but in cases like these I think it becomes necessary.

Now it's my turn to wheeze. All of my medication is similarly expired. Don't tell anyone, but I snuck a bit of SillyBilly's new stuff.

Update: Everyone seems to be on the mend. No more icky medication, though we're all still coughing and dripping.


Tip for getting small children to blow their noses: tell them you're having a contest to see who can make the yuckiest noises while blowing! Worked well for me this morning.


I think my next post will be about health and illness. If I can muster up the energy to write it!