Guest guest Posted December 28, 2010 Report Share Posted December 28, 2010 Hi Everyone, As of today Sam is 3 weeks post op. from his hip surgery. Sam is in a body brace so he is immobile. Ever since surgery Sam has sounded more gunky than usual. However he has no fever and shows no other signs of illness. He has a productive sounding cough when the gunk gets to be too much but he never seems to actually get rid of it. It’s like cough, settle….start sounding gunky and go through the process all over again. I originally thought it was due to the anesthesia and that Sam was breathing so shallow. When he began to take deeper breaths after his respiratory therapy the coughing began and I rationalized that he was finally moving the gunk out of his lungs but the coughing has continued for a week and doesn’t seem to get any better. We live in Wisconsin, so it is cold and dry here and some of the coughing could be from being dry although we run a vaporizer in his room continuously since we have a pellet burner in that room. Checking his pulse ox he will drop into the upper 80’s until he repositions or clears his airway. I try to put him as far upright as he can go in his brace during the day to help him have a more productive cough. Is this just part of being immobile? Do kids with no mobility tend to have more lung issues? Any suggestions on how I can help him? Sue MayerMom to Sam (10) with Down syndrome, Brain Injury, Apraxia, Dysphagia, Respiratory/Immune Issues, Bi-Lateral Conductive Hearing Loss and now Perthes or as I like to say “Yada, Yada,Yada”www.suemayer-specialneedsmom.blogspot.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 28, 2010 Report Share Posted December 28, 2010 Sue, My daughter with Trisomy 10q and 5p- syndrome has the same gunky, gurgly cough. She recently had oral surgery and they suctioned her out and for 3 hours she was cough free! It came back and we haven't found any doctor that can tell us why and what is causing it. This has been going on since birth and she is 8 years old. We've tried everything! Does his fingernails and toenails turn blue or purplish? My daughters does and then I tell her to cough really hard and that seems to help. Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that even though my daughter is mobile, she has this as well. I'm looking for answers too. Mom to Jezeca, Trisomy 10q and 5p- syndrome (Cri du Chat) and to Zephany, Trisomy 21 [DownSyndromeInfoExchange] Question on immobility Hi Everyone, As of today Sam is 3 weeks post op. from his hip surgery. Sam is in a body brace so he is immobile. Ever since surgery Sam has sounded more gunky than usual. However he has no fever and shows no other signs of illness. He has a productive sounding cough when the gunk gets to be too much but he never seems to actually get rid of it. It’s like cough, settle….start sounding gunky and go through the process all over again. I originally thought it was due to the anesthesia and that Sam was breathing so shallow. When he began to take deeper breaths after his respiratory therapy the coughing began and I rationalized that he was finally moving the gunk out of his lungs but the coughing has continued for a week and doesn’t seem to get any better. We live in Wisconsin, so it is cold and dry here and some of the coughing could be from being dry although we run a vaporizer in his room continuously since we have a pellet burner in that room. Checking his pulse ox he will drop into the upper 80’s until he repositions or clears his airway. I try to put him as far upright as he can go in his brace during the day to help him have a more productive cough. Is this just part of being immobile? Do kids with no mobility tend to have more lung issues? Any suggestions on how I can help him? Sue Mayer Mom to Sam (10) with Down syndrome, Brain Injury, Apraxia, Dysphagia, Respiratory/Immune Issues, Bi-Lateral Conductive Hearing Loss and now Perthes or as I like to say “Yada, Yada,Yada” www.suemayer-specialneedsmom.blogspot.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 28, 2010 Report Share Posted December 28, 2010 , I will offer some of what I have learned over the years. Remove dairy, that took away a lot of Sam’s gunkiness before the surgery which did cause his fingernails and toenails to turn blue or purplish. Sam drinks raw goat milk, processed goat milk or almond milk. Our neurodevelopmentalist is asking us to up his respiratory exercises again which includes using an acapela, http://www.smiths-medical.com/catalog/bronchial-hygiene/acapella/acapella.html, She feels the gunkiness isn't necessarily being caused by the immobility but made more chronic by it. Any blowing activity will help so get a tray with edges and a ping pong ball and play air hockey with him by blowing that ball around. When he gets good at it, replace it with a heavier ball. Try having him play a recorder and/or harmonica, blow up balloons that are already almost blown up. They have plastic tips that make it easier to do. Pinwheels are great too. Sue MayerMom to Sam (10) with Down syndrome, Brain Injury, Apraxia, Dysphagia, Respiratory/Immune Issues, Bi-Lateral Conductive Hearing Loss and now Perthes or as I like to say “Yada, Yada,Yada”www.suemayer-specialneedsmom.blogspot.com From: DownSyndromeInfoExchange [mailto:DownSyndromeInfoExchange ] On Behalf Of Jen BolducSent: Tuesday, December 28, 2010 8:03 AMTo: DownSyndromeInfoExchange Subject: Re: [DownSyndromeInfoExchange] Question on immobility Sue, My daughter with Trisomy 10q and 5p- syndrome has the same gunky, gurgly cough. She recently had oral surgery and they suctioned her out and for 3 hours she was cough free! It came back and we haven't found any doctor that can tell us why and what is causing it. This has been going on since birth and she is 8 years old. We've tried everything! Does his fingernails and toenails turn blue or purplish? My daughters does and then I tell her to cough really hard and that seems to help. Anyways, I just wanted to let you know that even though my daughter is mobile, she has this as well. I'm looking for answers too. Mom to Jezeca, Trisomy 10q and 5p- syndrome (Cri du Chat) and to Zephany, Trisomy 21 [DownSyndromeInfoExchange] Question on immobility Hi Everyone,As of today Sam is 3 weeks post op. from his hip surgery. Sam is in a body brace so he is immobile. Ever since surgery Sam has sounded more gunky than usual. However he has no fever and shows no other signs of illness. He has a productive sounding cough when the gunk gets to be too much but he never seems to actually get rid of it. It’s like cough, settle….start sounding gunky and go through the process all over again.I originally thought it was due to the anesthesia and that Sam was breathing so shallow. When he began to take deeper breaths after his respiratory therapy the coughing began and I rationalized that he was finally moving the gunk out of his lungs but the coughing has continued for a week and doesn’t seem to get any better. We live in Wisconsin, so it is cold and dry here and some of the coughing could be from being dry although we run a vaporizer in his room continuously since we have a pellet burner in that room. Checking his pulse ox he will drop into the upper 80’s until he repositions or clears his airway.I try to put him as far upright as he can go in his brace during the day to help him have a more productive cough. Is this just part of being immobile? Do kids with no mobility tend to have more lung issues? Any suggestions on how I can help him?Sue MayerMom to Sam (10) with Down syndrome, Brain Injury, Apraxia, Dysphagia, Respiratory/Immune Issues, Bi-Lateral Conductive Hearing Loss and now Perthes or as I like to say “Yada, Yada,Yada”www.suemayer-specialneedsmom.blogspot.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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