DD had an asthma attack again

[Ivortheengine8]

Every few months we end up in A and E with our nearly 2 year old with either an allergic reaction,anaphalaxis or asthma type attack.

I know they don't label it at this stage as they are too young, but the Dr told us basically it is the same thing.

We ended up there again Saturday night having to stay until sunday as she was admitted.
She went to bed fine on Fri night but kept waking up all night, I thought she had a tummy ache or something so gave her some calpol etc - By morning she had started wheezing and become very irritable so we took her to the out of hours GP at the hospital. By the time we got there she was barely awake, ribs sticking out,laboured breathing and very limp and pale. Not responding to anything around her. Dr sent her immediately around to A and E where she had back to back nebulizers. They even prepared her for IV if she didn't repond quickly enough. It was pretty scary again!

I am really having to educate myself here because I have never suffered with allergies or asthma, although DH did when he was young, I don't think on this scale.

So we are home now with steroids and sabutamol.

She is back to her usual self and I need to make an appointment with her GP to see if we can get some tests done again especially for the allergies.

We are bearing hope she grows out of this, she had severe eczema when she was very little and has grown out of that with the help of steroid creams and she has also grown out of her milk and dairy allergies which is a good sign.


Does anyone know how they will treat her long term though if this continues?

[Ivortheengine8]

Thanks Beer. Did he grow out of it in the end?

[Sirzy]

They can diagnose asthma younger but it is pretty rare, ds was 12 months when diagnosed. Even if they can't diagnose it then they can still treat as asthma.

If I was you I would be pushing for a referral to a paediatrician. In my experience gps are useless with young children with chest problems.

Has he only just got the salbutamol? Hopefully giving that at the first signs will be enough to help him. If not, or if he is having very regular problems then push for a preventor inhaler - when we got the dose right for ds that has made the biggest difference. He has only had 2 admissions this year since being on the brown inhaler compared to
5 in his first 12 months.

[Ivortheengine8]

Thats great Beer, must be a relief. Thanks for saying about the stomach pain too, I didn't know that.
She is much her usual self today, its amazing how quickly kids bounce back!

Thanks x

[Tiggles]

After 2 hospital admissions within a couple of weeks just before DS3s 2nd birthday we were finally put high onto the paediatrians waiting list (had been on waiting list for several months before that). DS3 was put onto montelukast, which works for both asthma, or childhood viral wheeze, or allergies. We have found it works really well for him and although he has needed a couple of doses of steroids since (now a year on) there haven't been any frantic ambulance rushes to A&E.
DS2 is also taking montelukast, but he needs preventer steroids as well.

[Ivortheengine8]

Thanks little,
Is that an ongoing medication?
Is it likely that our dc2 (due in oct) will have the same problems? :(
At least I am learning though so hopefully will be able to nip it in the bud earlier on.
We are going to see GP tomorrow so hopefully he will refer us.

[Tiggles]

Montelukast is an ongoing medication - it starts as a powder that you sprinkle on food, then older children can have it as a chewable tablet. Usually no side effects, although typically DS3 has the diarhoea with it (although as the doc says, better that than unable to breathe). So way easier than trying to give a young child inhalers and not being a steroid also better longterm.
DS1 has no asthma at all so not sure where the younger 2 have got it from. Apparently likely to be from me as I have hayfever (and excema as a child).

[Sam100]

Hi Ivor - sounds very similar to our dd. She was admitted to hospital 4 times in 6 months starting when she was 2. Each time the attacks were preceded by a cold. She was referred for allergy testing (she is allergic to cats, dogs and reacts to pine). The doctors said she has post nasal drip. Then she got put on preventitive inhalers and montelukast. She has had no side effects from the medications she is now 8.

I can tell when she is getting poorly as her breath takes on a funny smell (i think her digestive system slows down when she is unwell). She also suffers from eczema. We find that goat milk seems to help her.

Hope this helps.

[Ivortheengine8]

Hi Sam,
That is really funny because me and OH kept saying her breath smelt really bad the day before and it did! She also has a runny nose today so not sure if a cold will come out of that.

[quirkychick]

Ivortheengine08 your poor dd, we had a similiar thing.

Dd1 had severe asthma attacks (was diagnosed as such) when she was 3yrs old (now 5 1/2yrs) admitted for a couple of overnight stays in hospital, several visits to A&E and ended up with open access to the Children's Assessment Unit.

From the first attack we were given orange (flixotide?) preventer inhaler as well as blue reliever (ventolin) on discharge from hospital. We were referred to Respiratory Consultant and kept an asthma diary which was really helpful. Consultant changed her to Seretide (purple) combined preventer/reliever inhaler as consultant felt her asthma was not managed well enough on orange/blue inhaler; and since then we have managed it totally at home. We came off Montelukast too as she was getting nightmares and it didn't stop attacks.

Dd1 used to go very quiet, floppy/sleepy, off food/vomit copiously. Asthma UK gave us a card with symptoms to give to anyone who looked after her pre-school put the symptoms on the wall.

Now it is perfectly manageable and hopefully we can reduce medication further.

Dd2 has been given a blue and a brown (clemil?) inhaler for chest infections but she has DS so unsure if asthma or related to condition.

You need to push for seeing a specialist and a preventer inhaler, it may take time to find the right one. I have always been told that if you are taking a lot of ventolin/salbutamol the asthma is not being managed well.

Good luck and sorry for the long post!

[quirkychick]

Oh, dd1 used to have cow's milk allergy until 2yrs too.

[VerityBrulee]

DS1 was in hospital regularly with asthma attcks which started just before his 2nd birthday. Between the ages of 2 and 6 I'd say he was in hospital 4-6 times a year, but since then it has eased significantly and he hasn't needed to go to A&E for nearly 3 years now (he is 13 now).

He has a Becotide preventor inhaler and takes medication called Singulair which has dramatically improved his condition. His worst time of year is spring as he gets hayfever which triggers the asthma. Otherwise he has a very active life and does lots of sport.

I know it's very stressful at your stage, I remember those nights in hospital very well. I would also push to see a consultant and hopefully she'll be on a regime of medication that suits her soon.

Good luck

[Ivortheengine8]

Quicky, thanks, They gave us an inhalor with sabutamol which we are weaning down. How did you contact asthma UK? I have seen their website but not had a good look.
Really hope we get something sorted, I found this last time very draining as I am 30 weeks pregnant too and the hospital bed was not comfy to say the least! Is sabutamol a preventor inhalor?
I will let you know how we get on. Its strange how they all seem to have been similar in age though isnt it?

[Ivortheengine8]

Oh thanks again Beer.
I think I am going to start waddling soon, feeling huge already! :)
I will let you know what Dr says
Thanks everyone for the info and support x

[hayleysd]

I used to turn blue when I was a baby through asthma attacks then grew out if it around 5 then got it back around 14 worse than ever and now have three lots of tablets and salbutamol and seretide to be able to breathe and during summer my asthma has definitely got worse.

Both my sons are asthmatic too, the youngest is 19 months and has already been diagnosed, luckily neither has had a serious attack. They both have clenil modulite and salbutamol but suffer worst when they get a cold which 9 times out of 10 leads to a chest infection

[Ivortheengine8]

Hi, the Dr has referred her to a paediatrician today, Not sure how long it will take to get to see him/her though. In the mean time I have the spacer though. Dr said she thinks it is viral induced.

[quirkychick]

Good luck with the paediatrician. Hope you get seen soon.

We had information from Asthma UK from the Asthma Nurse when we were discharged from hospital. I think we were referred to Respiratory Consultant in children's dept after 2 hospitalisations as well as visits to A&E.

We had open access to the Children's Assessment Unit which meant rather than go through A&E and wait to be seen; we could phone and go straight there which was much better. I think we stayed overnight there once but usually were passed onto the Children's Ward for a longer stay.

I am also asthmatic, though not too bad, and I also take seretide. Like me dd1 is worse in winter and viral induced. Worse attacks were after 2 viruses eg. chickenpox then soon after a cold. The asthma diary was a pain (I was very pg and then had newborn with SN) but it did let us and the consultant see how well she was being managed. Dd1 is now solely under gp and no longer under the hospital at all. We haven't even had to go to the gp with her asthma since changing to seretide.

Hope that helps, your dd's asthma may well calm down. Good luck with your pg.

[Ivortheengine8]

Thanks chick :)

[jassinkernow]

Hi Ivor
Not much to add to this - except to say that there is every chance your new baby won't have the same problems (though also obviously a chance they will). DH and I both have mild asthma, our DS has an asthma diagnosis and has had a pretty similar experience to those detailed above (various hospital admissions, numerous chest infections etc). He is almost 3. He has improved hugely since we got a preventer (flixotide in our case), even on a very low dose. We had 10 hospital admissions in winter 09/10 and just one last winter. We double his inhalers at the first sign of a cold and this seems effective. We are also just under the care of our GPs/asthma nurse now, and happy with that.
I think it is worth pushing for an asthma diagnosis - in my experience. We saw a variety of GPs/paeds etc who would always ask 'has he got asthma' and we would say 'we think so, and it keeps being suggested, but he hasn't been diagnosed with it'. Eventually one (rather fab) GP said 'OK, I am going to diagnose him with asthma' and since then we have found saying 'yes, he has asthma' produces quicker and better care, especially from the out-of-hours docs!
I also have 2 DDs - neither of them show any signs of asthma (yet at 4 and 2).
You have my sympathy - those emergency admissions are terrifying and it must be very difficult being pregnant as well. Take care...

[jennymac]

Hi! Same problem with my ds who is 3.5. Ended up in A&E again last night (second time in 2 months). They were considering keeping him in as his sats were lower than they would have liked but the nebuliser had cleared his chest well so we took him home. Unfortunately he doesn't seem to be much better today (in spite of his inhalers and the steroids they prescribed) so thinking if he doesn't pick up we might have another trip tonight. Neither my husband or I suffer from asthma or allergies and my dd is grand but poor ds has the asthma, a nut allergy, hay fever and eczema!

[Ivortheengine8]

gah just wrote a reply to you both and lost it. DD just wacked her head on the window sill so will write another ina bit! :)