Is RAD a chronic conditon?

My 8 month old son has been living with his father for the past month.  He is now on his third antibotic (antibiotic) and apparently the doctor diagonsed him with RAD.  Am I over-reacting by being concerned that he has been on so many meds, or should I take him to specialist?  I believe that the house he is in is causing his health problems (he was never sick living in my home).  How serious is RAD and what should I do?  My son just seems to be getting sicker and my husband doesn't seemed too concerned.  We are going through a divorce and I would like to bring this up in court.  Is there any basis for my concern and should I take my baby to a pulmonary specialist?

[National Jewish]

This is not so easy. There are many children who have Reactive Airways Disease (RAD). Some of them stop their wheezing. Others continue and are called asthmatic, a form of RAD. It is hard to say why your son has had 3 courses of antibiotics. This could be due to three infections, or due to one infection that has never quite totally gone away and continues to cause problems. If you are concerned, it is fine to speak with your son's pediatrician about what is going on and your concerns. He/she may or may not recommend seeing a specialist.

[RADbaby]

My son is 21nths and has just been recently diagnosed with RAD.  In reading what the symptoms of RAD actuall are, I am concerned that my son has been incorrectly diagnosed.  He does not have wheezing or difficulty breathing.  He does however have severe congestion that doesn't help his breathing.  The allergist we took him to stated that his adenoids (adenoids) were enlarged and she had us take an x-ray.  We haven't received the results yet, but I guess I need to ask if it is possible to have RAD without those other symptoms???  Please help!

Thank you!

[dande4]

Hi, just thought I would reply to you. I have a 7mth old son who was dx with RAD. He had RSV back in December and was wheezing at the time. His x-ray showed reactive airway disease but they were/are uncertain if it was due to RSV. Since then he has had a cold pretty much one after the other (I have two other children) since then. The albuterol treatments did not do much when he had the RSV..the wheezing continued and my ped. said if it was asthma the neb. treatment would have worked to cease the wheezing. Even during his colds he has a lot of clear phlegm, sometimes coughing will bring up the phelgm if he vomits and if I do a neb. treatment it loosens the pleghm more, but he will still breathe a bit harder. Now, thank goodness, he has been cold free for 5 days and his breathing is fine. My ped.has suggested going to a ped. pulomonologist and having him review the x-ray results for a second opinion. My ped. does not feel that my son has true asthma, his just may be viral induced.

How does your child do with treatments or has he/she had any?