Ever since my son was 2 years old (long sorry)

[bambii]

he had a trouble getting over colds he would end up coughing over and over, and having trouble breathing.

At two years the doctor sent us home with a nebulizer because he has a case of phemionia he got over that and we gave back the nebulizer, two months later he had it again. so the company that rented us the nebulizer called and ask us if we wanted to buy it and our insurance company would cover the cost so we said yes....Best choice we made


every winter he gets sick and has coughing fits where he cant breathe. so we have to use the nebulizer.

So last winter we asked the doctor if he could have asthma and she said with him being 3 it is too soon to tell. So he was the doctor and I took his word.

In October of this year he had his coughs again and so we took him back to his doctor and he retired and so we saw the P.A. and she said he had the croupe so she told us what to to. and four days later, he wasnt feeling better so we went back to the doctor. and she got him some differents meds. So the doctor asked me how long has he had asthma, I told her that no one diagnosed him and no one told me. Im the one that asked the doctor.... She then told me she he has a slight form of asthma and then she walked out. Here I sit wondering what do I do?? What can I do to help him..????I wanted some questions.


He got better thank God......

We SWITCHED doctors and office that day..

Last night it happened to my son again so we took him to the new doctors and she gave me a list of stuff to do and she even gave him some meds with Codine to let him sleep ( the other doctor never did that just tylnol.) I felt like hugging this doctor and she looked over his records and saw that he gets bad every winter we had the paper work sent their a couple of weeks ago.

She told me he has had Child hood asthma and he should grow out of it at 13.

He hasnt coughed since he fell asleep. Last night he coughed all night , the docter said that he has been coughing so much his blood vessells on his face had broke. We have another appoitment Jan 13 and i will have a whole bunch of questions. about asthma.

thank you for reading i needed to post it

 

[KimRaye]

{{HUGS}} for your DS. How awful for him and, so young, too. It is treatable but, it can be a very scary condition to have.

My cousin is 32 and, he's had asthma for years. He's currently battling some virus and, the asthma isn't helping any. He's seeing a pulmonologist (sp?) Monday.

Glad the new Dr. & office are more on top of DS's condition.

 

[ez]

I had very bad asthma as a child, it started declining as an early teen and by college it was gone. A cold would turn worse and get it started, I couldn't breathe the cold air in winter(I grew up in NY) Also it was brought on by physical activity and allergies(especially to animals) If your child hasn't been tested for allergies, that might be a good idea too. At any rate, I am testimony to the fact that kids can outgrow it. God bless and good luck.

 

[Poohnatic]

As someone who was originally dx'ed with asthma at 7 (long story, mom didn't like the doctor telling her that all the adults in the house had to quit smoking, so she ignored him) who had that lousy, croupy cough all winter...THANK YOU for pursuing a diagnosis.

Even as a kid, I'd get a cold in October, and I'd be hacking until April because it always turned into Bronchitis.

As an adult, I was dxed at 24, put on inhalers and allergy meds and it has made life so much easier. I won't say it's great, because I had way too much lung damage from growing up in a house with 7 smokers!

Some pointers to help your son, that the doctor will probably tell you:
Get a mattress cover for your son's bed. Target sells them for twin beds-ideally you want something that zips and completely encloses the mattress. Same for the pillows, and polyfill type are best...no down.

You'll find that there's less dust (big trigger for attacks) if you remove carpeting and curtains from the bedroom. If you have a pet, try your best to keep it out of your son's room. As much as we love our plush friends, my son only has one in his room and it's because Gramps gave it to me (he was born after Gramps died, so it's a connection for him).

Get a humidifier and run it in his room while he sleeps. You've probably noticed the coughing is much worse at night. If it gets especially 'barky', cold air also can help by constricting the airways in the lungs.

Good luck. My 6 yo also has asthma, but we've been able to avoid the inhalers because we've been diligent about removing triggers. My PA is great, I just call her now for the codeine cough medicine and don't have to go in for a visit.

Feel free to PM if you have any questions.

Suzanne

 

[MerryPoppins]

My kids both have had problems with asthma. DH and I have seasonal asthma, too. May I suggest a book that I found very helpful?

Children With Asthma: A Manual for Parents by Thomas F. Plaut

It isn't always easy to find, so you might have to order it, but it gives tons of useful information. I think they carry it on amazon.com. The book also helps you know what to ask the doctors. I suggested it to many of preschooler's parents when I heard that they were battling asthma and they found it helpful.

So glad your son has been diagnosed. That is a huge step in the right direction. So is changing your doctor! Hang in there.

The book isn't new, so it may not have the latest information, but it covers the basics very well. Best of luck to you.

 

[jldriscoll]

SO glad you found yourself a competitent doctor!!! Both my girls have the same problems your son does. (And a bit of weather induced asthma, but the worst is the colds) Dd #1 was diagnosed at 9 months!!! 3 years is not too early to tell!!!!

Pm me if you like. Merry has offered you a good book selection....in our house we also stopped using chemical cleaners (I have a great book on making your own that work!) And since we have done that, the girls have had fewer and shorter bouts with asthma.

 

[snuggles]

Your story is so familiar because its almost the same as what happened to us. My dd was in 3rd grade before hers was ever diagnosed. Try looking at these links..
Asthma Busters
American Lung Association Good luck. Its scary but once you know what to do it will be ok.

 

[janette]

My 8yo DD is asthmatic. She had RSV as an infant and we used a nebulizer and other medications until she was 2yo and then she got better. That lasted until she was 6 when she caught a cold or something and ended up in the hospital. She is now on several maintence drugs and they really help to keep her well. She's had to use steriods & the nebulizer a couple of times since then but thankfully no more hosptial visits.

Her asthma is probably allergy triggered (she's had allergy testing and was allergic to almost everything they tried) so it is not something they expect her to grow out of. The good part is that there are many new drugs on the market that treat asthma much different than before. Now the focus seems to be on preventing attacks rather than treating the attacks and the long term prognosis is much better.

Good Luck, I'm sure you'll do much better now that you have a Doctor that will listen to your concerns. My DD has always had great Doctors and they have done more than I would have thought to ask for and that is what is very comforting.

 

[bambii]

a lot better with his old doctor it took him three days and we would end up seeing them again.

I dont know it you are familar with these meds but this is what he is on.

Albuterol that is the stuff we have at home..

yesterday the doctor gave him this:

Pulmicort 1 vial, twice a day for One month;

Orapred 6.7 ml by mouth twice a day for 1 week

Cheratussin AC Syrup take 1 teaspoon by month at bedtime as needed. that has the codine in it. im glad about that because they other place said tylonol, which never worked.....She said the reason why she would prescribe any thing is because of the cost (who cares what the cost)

then Im suppose to use the albuyterol every four hours..

I would to rip out the carpets in my house but we live in apartments. and no pets either.


we are going to buy a new vacccum cleaner with a hepa filter....we are looking into a dirt devil and a humidifier. and his cough does get worse at night. Im thinking about buying him a baby moniter so i can get some relief at night. He also snorzes loud.

 

[snuggles]

Albuterol..yep we have several inhalers around here.
Pulmacort. I've heard of it but never had any. We use Asthmacort ( my dd is much older). Probably about the same thing.
Orapred sounds like prednisone. For someone with asthma its a lifesaver.
Keep it up and dont get discouraged. Now you will know what to do if he shows signs of a flare. Its much easier to stop it early than to wait and then try.

 

[MerryPoppins]

I forgot to say that we started using a peak flow meter with our kids on a daily basis. It told us when problems were arising before things got out of control. Don't know if your son is old enough to use one. You might ask your doctor about it. It measures the volume of air going out of the lungs in quick bursts and if the usual number drops you know that something is starting.

 

[RitaZ.]

My DH is an asthmatic and has been suffering since childhood. He never outgrew it, others do. He now sees a pulmonologist every 6 months, after a very serious asthma attack that almost killed him (he was intubated, ICU, etc). He now has no problems with the asthma, he does use medication every day as a preventative measure. When the weather changes, (hot to cool) his chest gets a little tight, but it's a temporary thing. I'm so glad that DH is seen by a specialist, it's the best thing that ever happened to him.

It was no surprise when our oldest DS was diagnosed with asthma at 6 yrs. old. At the time, I remember our pediatrician telling me that the criteria to diagnose a person with asthma is two wheezing episodes, it didn't matter how far apart. Our DS had had his first wheezing episode a year earlier, both were brought on by a cold with a nasty cough. We bought the nebulizer and he has to use it when he gets a cough. So far, DS has only used the nebulizer a few times and doesn't require any other medication (he is 10 y.o.). We don't have pets (not an option for us). Since DS doesn't have an ongoing problem with asthma, we feel that our pediatrician has done a good job providing us with information and medical care when DS needed it.

I would really recommend that you take your DS to a pulmonologist, this is their area of expertise. I only wish that DH had done it sooner, as I said, it's the best thing that ever happened to him. The good news is that medications today have come a long way and with the right treatment asthma can be managed/controlled well.

Good luck to your DS and I hope he feels better soon.

 

[bambii]

get our child out of SD, we were thinking about moving out of SD, It would not be a problem for us to move my husband is done with college in a year. and since we were planning on a move to michigan.

we were wondering if maybe we should relocate to a warmer climate. everytime winter come he gets sicks, and for him to breathe in cold windy weather he has to cover his month and that seems very mean to keep him here.