My DS has asthma

[SueM in MN]

I think that First Aid either has oxygen that you can hook the air tube up to or will keep your nebulizer?? I remember reading something about that on here, but maybe it's something you could check on to make it easier on yourselves.

First Aid doesn't have oxygen (I suppose they do in case of dire emergency or the paramedics who are close by would bring it if needed in emeregency).
First Aid will store things like medication that needs to be refrigerated or nebulizers. It's a good place to store things for scheduled medications/treatments, but not a good place for anything you might need in an emergency since you might not be close to First Aid when it's needed.

 

[BCV23]

Another lifelong asmthatic here who agrees with everyone else.

But the reason I'm chiming in is to say if my asmtha flared up, sitting in a wheelchair or stroller would not be comfortable at all for me. Too much give when struggling for breath.

Singular is geat and I'm on it but an inhaled steroid like Advair can make a huge difference. I can do some things like raking leaves that really aggravated my asmtha before the newer and better drugs.

And of course exercise is as important for asmthatic children as it is for anyone else....perhaps even more important.

Good luck with everything.

 

[pugdog]

Racefan go to Asthma control website and answer the quiz. It will let you know if really have control of your DS's asthma or not.

 

[shovan]

Just wanted to add my two cents on the asthma. Enviroment changes, allergens, stress can all trigger attacks. But, if your son is having difficulty with long walks, I would consider further discussion & treatment from your doctor.
I say this as a lifelong asthmatic myself (very severe has a child) & my DD 24 has asthma. Remembering a childhood where I couldn't participate in so many activities that the other kids did, was difficult. ( I'm 47 & treatments were very limited when I was a kid.) I do have a lot of problems when traveling, but with a nebulizer & other meds, walking in Disney is not usually a problem.
Even since my DD was a child treatment has improved greatly. Also recommended for her was exersise & this was the best thing she could have done. Over time, she ended up being able to be on her high school cross-country running team! She has very little trouble with her asthma now.
There are now so many different meds & types of treatments. Hopefully you can find something that will work for your son, where vacations won't be something you'll have to worry about. Good Luck!

 

[livinglife]

Hiya,

Newbie here and wanted to stick my opinion in too! DD is 25 and has moderate-serve asthma. DD also uses a power wheelchair at WDW, sitting still makes her asthma worse. As soon as we are back at the resort I have her using a manual and walking short distances with balance aids. If she just sits in the powerchair for most of vacation we have asthma issues. And for DD who has a large PFO and two heart anreysums, we really can't afford for her to have any symptoms since it can cause stroke and she has had mini strokes in the past (a small clot has passed through the "swiss cheese" in her heart causing ministroke just because she coughed a few times) from her because of her combination of asthma and heart defects. For DD even coughing can be a major event. Her immunologist also thinks she is allergic to something in FL, so went do extra meds and do disney quest if the humidity is too much for her. As a parent you can never be to safe, but if your son only has asthma it sounds like he just needs better control. Swimming can start an attack in some kids, too. If he is sitting all day and jumps in the pool in the evenining you could be setting yourself up for an attack. My grandson has severe asthma and I do have him in a stroller wheelchair, but it's mainly because he is a runner and has major crowd issues and after two dissapearing acts the first time I took him. But same thing with him is the more time he is sitting all day, the more likely we have an event when he is running around the resort.

Pat

 

[ducklite]

First Aid doesn't have oxygen (I suppose they do in case of dire emergency or the paramedics who are close by would bring it if needed in emeregency).
First Aid will store things like medication that needs to be refrigerated or nebulizers. It's a good place to store things for scheduled medications/treatments, but not a good place for anything you might need in an emergency since you might not be close to First Aid when it's needed.

If you need O2, the paramedics will be called. (Trust me, I have first hand knowledge of this )

There is a way to hook up the tubing from your nebulizer to the O2 canisters that paramedics carry, but many of them don't know how to do it, and thus won't. Additionally, a paramedic is not allowed to give any medication without permission from an MD with a few exceptions (nitroglycerin, insulin, epinphrin, and a few others), and many doctors will be loathe to agree to such a "hook up."

Anne

 

[pugdog]

If you need O2, the paramedics will be called. (Trust me, I have first hand knowledge of this )

There is a way to hook up the tubing from your nebulizer to the O2 canisters that paramedics carry, but many of them don't know how to do it, and thus won't. Additionally, a paramedic is not allowed to give any medication without permission from an MD with a few exceptions (nitroglycerin, insulin, epinphrin, and a few others), and many doctors will be loathe to agree to such a "hook up."

Anne

Paramedics are allowed to give an albuteral neb in most states. Just like the drugs listed above it is considered a life saving drug and thus they can give it. And second giving a neb via oxygen gives no added benefit. It would only be used if the compressor did not work. And they did not have compressed air in the ambulance.

 

[ducklite]

Paramedics are allowed to give an albuteral neb in most states. Just like the drugs listed above it is considered a life saving drug and thus they can give it. And second giving a neb via oxygen gives no added benefit. It would only be used if the compressor did not work. And they did not have compressed air in the ambulance.

They will only administer it if the patient has the medication prescribed for them, unexpired in the original packaging with a pharmacy label. And actually giving the neb treatment using O2 can be helpful if the blood ox sats are low and they are trying to boost them at the same time as they are trying to open bronchial airways.

What I meant in the above post is that if you don't have the medication already prescribed and with you, they will not administer it. They don't generally carry it. They will administer epinephrine instead. Also, if you have the tubing but not the actual neb machine with you, there is a way to use the O2 to administer it. (I've gone this route before.)

Anne

 

[pugdog]

I was a paramedic for 5 years before I became a respiratory therapist, for the last 14 years. So when it comes to what the paramedics can and can't do I have first hand knowledge, And most states follow a national standard of what is on an ambulance and what paramedics can do. Where the confusion happens is if the ambulance is only a BLS unit and staffed by EMT's and not paramedics. EMT's are not allowed to give medications. And most paramedics DO carry albuteral.
As far as using oxygen yes it will bring up low blood saturations but most asthmatics do not have low saturations unless something else is going on. An asthma attack is a ventilation problem that a neb will help with. Low saturations is an oxygenation problem that using oxygen will help. Unless an asthmatic also has a pneumonia going on their sats rarely if ever drop.
Using epinephrine does very little as a neb for asthmatics, a subQ injection of it does help though.
And I could give a neb using a bike pump if I had to, it just depends on if the person helping you knows how the equipment works and what you can hook it up to to make it work.

 

[Forevryoung]

I was a paramedic for 5 years before I became a respiratory therapist, for the last 14 years. So when it comes to what the paramedics can and can't do I have first hand knowledge, And most states follow a national standard of what is on an ambulance and what paramedics can do. Where the confusion happens is if the ambulance is only a BLS unit and staffed by EMT's and not paramedics. EMT's are not allowed to give medications. And most paramedics DO carry albuteral.

Not true in all states either! I'm an EMT in NY and not only am I allowed to administer an albuteral nebulizer, we carry it on all of our ambulances.

I have standing orders to use the nebulizer if the person has self prescribed albuteral and I can call medical control for permission if there is history of asthma (without an albuteral inhaler) and I feel the albuteral will improve the situation.

Just a heads up!

 

[ducklite]

I was a paramedic for 5 years before I became a respiratory therapist, for the last 14 years. So when it comes to what the paramedics can and can't do I have first hand knowledge, And most states follow a national standard of what is on an ambulance and what paramedics can do. Where the confusion happens is if the ambulance is only a BLS unit and staffed by EMT's and not paramedics. EMT's are not allowed to give medications.

My DH is an EMT, and has passed the national boards, the NJ boards, and the FL boards. EMT's are allowed to give certain medications using specific guidelines. Oxygen being one of them.

And most paramedics DO carry albuteral.

This varies by state and the particular squad. Some do, some don't, and an asthmatic should never expect that they will have it in the rig.

As far as using oxygen yes it will bring up low blood saturations but most asthmatics do not have low saturations unless something else is going on. An asthma attack is a ventilation problem that a neb will help with. Low saturations is an oxygenation problem that using oxygen will help. Unless an asthmatic also has a pneumonia going on their sats rarely if ever drop.

Mine drop, and drop fast and hard when I have a bad attack. No pnuemonia or other underlying problem is required. Removing my trigger, administering O2, and having me use a rescue inhaler three times in three to five minute intervals is the best way to stop a severe attack. Usually within 30 minutes I'm good to go on my way as opposed to being transported if this protocol is followed. Of course I use my nebulizer BEFORE I leave my home/hotel when I know I'm going into a situation where it's highly likely that I'll run into an unavoidable trigger and that usually prevents an attack.

Using epinephrine does very little as a neb for asthmatics, a subQ injection of it does help though.

Sory if I wasn't clear. I meant injectable, not in a neb.

And I could give a neb using a bike pump if I had to, it just depends on if the person helping you knows how the equipment works and what you can hook it up to to make it work.

I agree with you. My entire point was that they don't all have this knowledge, and you should never rely on the hope that they will when developing an action plan to handle your chronic illness.

Anne

 

[BCV23]

Mine drop, and drop fast and hard when I have a bad attack. No pnuemonia or other underlying problem is required.



Anne

 

[pugdog]

This varies by state and the particular squad. Some do, some don't, and an asthmatic should never expect that they will have it in the rig.

Here is a link that lists the national standard of what paramedics should carry and nebs and albuteral are listed.

Not true in all states either! I'm an EMT in NY and not only am I allowed to administer an albuteral nebulizer, we carry it on all of our ambulances.

Until recently, the use of albuterol was limited to the hospital setting or its prehospital use by paramedics and other advanced life support providers. This ability was expanded to a limited degree to the EMT-B providers when the 1996 U.S. Department of Transportation/National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) issued the newest curriculum for EMT-B training and included the ability to help patients use their own albuterol multidose inhaler (MDI). That same year, FDNY, in conjunction with the Regional Emergency Medical Advisory Committee (REMAC), the EMS oversight body for the New York City region, developed a pilot project to ascertain whether basic life support providers could safely deliver nebulized albuterol.

As a result of this pilot project and the demonstrated ability of the EMT-Bs to successfully and safely provide nebulized albuterol treatments, the New York City REMAC has maintained a protocol allowing for the use of nebulized albuterol by the EMT-B while awaiting the arrival of an ALS provider or transporting the patient to an emergency department.

The national EMT-B curriculum continues to include the ability to assist patients with their own MDIs. And yet, the adoption of a protocol that allows for nebulized albuterol administration by the EMT-B requires additional didactic and skill training.

So NY is one af a few states that have taken the step to allow basic EMT's to give nebs without prior prescriptions on the patients part. And I'm sure there are other states too.

We just need more states to do this because it is a life saving drug for all asthmatics out there.

 

[DisneyElf]

Asthmatic here too .... but under control - almost all the time - til I get brochitis again (so far this year 3 times). Use Advair - 500/50, Singular, Zytrec and Nansanex (to try to keep the allergies from starting bronchitis).

When I did the PC Crossing - I had problems and used my rescue inhaler - otherwise - no problems while cruising. DCL will allow you to hook up your tubes and medicate down in the medical center - so I don't travel with the machine.

At the parks - just take it a bit easier if the humidity is bad.

One word about GP's - I love mine - since he doesn't have a god complex (he's a doctor and knows all) - the minute I tell him anything is not running right - he consults or sends me to the right specialists - usual the top in the field. My cardiologist is head of the local hospital & medical center - same with the pulmonologist. Plus - when my sister was extremely ill - he functioned as a gate keeper - coordinating all the specialists - and staying on top of the treatments.