Parents of asthmatics, help me understand this

[MsJamieFraser]

Ds 6 has been deep breathing every 20 seconds for over 3 weeks, been to GP and out of hours and currently waiting to see out of hours GP at 8.30!

He is fine within himself, no wheezy chest, no temp, asthma seems controlled (on highest medication blue and brown inhalers, antihistamine 30ml and daily dose of 8mg monteelukast and 5mg of prednisolone) Ds also has multiple anaphlaxis allergies.

He's been like this for 3 weeks however today his grandfather collected him from school and had to rush him home and give emergency dose of blue inhaler 10 X 100mg, he got better but still deep breathes, when you ask him why he does it he says he has too... He even does it in his sleep, sitting or playing, every 20 seconds... I've recorded it now over several days as we we're waiting for his asthma clinic appointment. His peak flow is 200.

As I said he is FINE, within himself and speaks in full sentences his stomach is fine, his oesophagus does go in but not overly, other than this deep breathing and the school incident he is well within himself...

I just need to understand what's bloody going on with him... As when we do take him to GP, they see that's he's fine... But can't explain his breathing.

[NeedACleverNN]

Habit?

[MsJamieFraser]

I would have said yes, but he does it in his sleep. Oxygen level last time was 95%

[ScarletForYa]

Could pollen be triggering him since the weather has got better?

[UmbongoUnchained]

Is he a breath holder? My daughter is, she does it in her sleep too. She holds her breath for a few seconds then takes a deep breath in.

[MsJamieFraser]

Possibly, we have asked the GP this, however they just said he is on maximum dose of antihistamines, and just fob is off, we leave no further forward, he's been to the GP/Out of hours 4 times in past 3 weeks.

[MsJamieFraser]

No, dh thought he was doing this, so that's why we started recording him, he breathe normally then takes a full deep breath then a second later takes a normal breath...

[littleniki]

perhaps ask to have loratadine instead of antihistamine. It's once a day and we have found it to be much more effective. I have a allergy asthmatic son. He could be stuck in a habit where he's been poorly perhaps

[UmbongoUnchained]

Maybe he just had an odd breathing pattern then of everything else is fine. I apparently breathe very oddly!

[MsJamieFraser]

I hope it is something like this, only started 3 weeks ago, I know we will go here to be told "just keep a eye on him" I think because he's asthmatic and any asthmatic knows this, you go downhill quite fast, so for me this just worrying as its not a normal breathing, so if he is poorly how would I tell the difference, or of its not normal what the block heck is causing him to breath this way

[MigGril]

You don't have to have a wheezy chest to have problems with your asthma. DS only presents as wheezing once he's got really bad.

Another inhaler mite be something else to try. He's only on the brown one so there are other options, see what the doctors say.

[MsJamieFraser]

He's been seen, they think its possibly anxiety related, I've to phone his consultant in the morning and ask for him to be seen.

The only thing I can think off that he can be anxious over is his SATS, he had reading one today and when he told us (we did not ask him) he pulled a face and said it was very hard.

me and dh trying hard to see what he could be anxious over, but he has a good set of friends, is loved, cared for, has no worries that we think, and when we asked him a little tonight, if anything is worrying him, at home.. school... family and friends etc... he said everything was fine, so who knows.

[lalalalyra]

Is 200 around his usual peak flow or has it dropped?
No wheeze doesn't mean everything is sorted asthma wise, how long has he been on the brown inhaler?

[InAClothesRut]

After a severe chest infection and issues with asthma, one of mine had difficulty regulating their breathing. The doctors ran tests as it wasn't a normal pattern, no wheezing or drop in oxygen stats, finally diagnosed as Hyperventilation syndrome, as a learned behaviour. Basically described to us as the body overcompensating for the difficulty it had during the prolonged asthma issues. The breathing can be too quick, or too deep. It seems to have passed for us for now.

[MsJamieFraser]

I know about the wheeze, ds last asthma attack had no warnings, this is why I am finding it difficult because I keep getting told ds is fine, there is no medical reason why he is breathing the way he is.

ds been on brown since 2010 with a few others, but those got stopped over 8 months ago, and he was put on steroids instead. his peak flow is between 200-240 today its been 200.

[MeganChips]

Air hunger? I sometimes get this with my asthma and it's a really strange feeling like you can't get a full breath.

It often causes me to yawn because that's the only thing that seems to work.

[ToxicCunt]

Deep breathing can also be an anxiety thing.

Dr's for him!

[wheresthel1ght]

As an asthmatic I would be demanding an emergency referral to a consultant.

If his sats are good then it could be habit or it could be that salbutamol (blue one) just isn't giving him enough relief. It does sod all for me so I am on much stronger stuff but if you are feeling fobbed off then either demand they refer you or see if you can self refer!

[Kariana]

I quite often start breathing the way you've described, although I'm not conscious of it all the time. Obviously I don't know if this means I don't do it then or just don't notice, not sure about in my sleep either. For me I think it's partly a case of having smaller passages in my nose which get narrower when hay fever season kicks in, meaning I'll take a deep breath through my mouth every so often. I also think it is linked to stress and also is partly habit.

I'm not asthmatic by the way so it might be a totally separate thing for your son too, unrelated to that.