Does my 5 year old need to see a Dr ASAP?

For peace of mind get an oximeter so you can read her oxygen levels. DD had -2 episodes in hospital, the first time, her only symptom was that she told me it hurt to breathe, Having no experience of asthma, I popped her to out of hours, Dr, took her oxygen sats and we were blue lighted to hospital, 2nd time was more evident she was having difficulties breathing as she had a chest infection. After this I think we would have been regular visitors but keeping an oximeter at home gave me peace of mind. It’s one of the best £20 I’ve spent,

Your daughter has asthma. She needs her inhaler to stay healthy. She might not like it, but its important you still insist on using it on her.

It sounds like it could be precordial catch syndrome

It may not be a coincidence that the tree pollen is kicking off.

Childhood asthma symptoms look very different to what you might "expect" if you are only familiar with a more adult-style wheezing presentation.

Please use tha inhalers more. Don't muck about, children can get very ill if their parents don't use the inhaler treatments properly.

@ThreeMagicNumber would you like my gmc number ?

DS has had inhalers since he was about 2 following night coughs and a history of illnesses like bronchiolitis. He's had long phases of being stable and it is hard to focus on keeping up with the inhalers in those phases.

It was the 40⁰C weather that flared him up after a couple of years without issues. He ended up with a 111 call and ambulance after a couple of episodes of needing to use his blue inhaler in a day. He presents as chest tightness and reluctance to talk rather than obvious wheezing. Being older, he's got better at recognising the signs which helps with management and we have scope to adjust the dosage of preventer. His preventer has changed and he also has Montelukast. His last big flare was a year ago following a cold/ chest infection when he needed a short course of steroids to help settle it. Basically every time I opened the front door, cold damp air would hit him and you'd hear a tight gasp. In 2022, he couldn't go anywhere with air conditioning for the rest of the summer... or cope with exposed areas of heat.

It's hard to keep up with when they're young, have had long stable phases and advice isn't very clear about long term management. DS had regular reviews when he was little, but since Covid that's all faded as the practice has been under more strain.

When there's a flare up and the reliever (blue) inhaler isn't doing the job, they do need an urgent review. 111 have sent an ambulance to us on 3 occasions with either going to A&E or same-day GP review. Other medications can be required to calm it. The preventers work long term and need regular dosing to do their job well.

You are absolutely not a Doctor. No Doctor would ever come out with such scaremongering about being referred to Social Services and risk putting a parent off going to A&E in this situation. You are talking absolutely nonsense.

I can't believe anyone would stop a child's asthma pump without medical advice, this is so so dangerous.

Restart the brown inhaler if you still have it if not order one on Monday
At this age viral infections can trigger episodes of asthma / wheezing and the brown inhaler can really help at these times even if they are fine without in between
Contact 111 if you are worried over the weekend

And? Makes your post to a worried mother all the worse.
I hope you have a sharp and rapid rethink of your attitude if you are going to continue working with people and being responsible for their health and wellbeing.

And every single child is referred to health visitors or school nurses. It's so child abuse and neglect isn't missed

You may find you can see someone sooner if you explain to the GP receptionist that your daughter's asthma is flaring and you need to speak to the Asthma Nurse. When it comes to asthma, they are the experts in the GP surgery, and they don't mess around.

@Tandora asthma kills every day

This is a lovely empathetic post. Some of the earlier posts have been really harsh. Childhood asthma is really tricky at first- 5 years in I can now pick apart everything the OP should have done, but thinking back to those early days where inhalers were prescribed with no real instructions, no follow ups and an uncertain diagnosis, it was hard!

OP I'd ring 111 for advice. Articulate really clearly what has happened, and how she currently is. I have often been referred to our of hours GP appointments over the weekend to get DS checked out. And definitely in the future ask for an appointment with the asthma nurse at your GP to properly explain all the inhalers and put a plan in place. Means you have a better understanding of triggers, symptoms, and what to do at each stage (how many puffs of blue and at what point to seek what level of care).

You should not have stopped her brown inhaler. Take her to a walk in tomorrow. If there isn’t one nearby, A&E.

My dds first asthma attack i couldnt hear a wheeze. Dr could with a stethoscope. Her tummy was sucking in below her ribs when she breathed. You can also sometimes see them using their neck muscles when breathing. If you see that they def need to see a dr (if the blue/reliever) inhaler doesnt help.

Yes I get that I have asthma.

OP is a mother worried about her child and asking for advice on whether and how to seek medical support.

Replying to OP from a standpoint of superiority judgement and blame and making an assertion that if she seeks medical advice she will be “reported”, possibly to social services (!!!) (especially from someone claiming to be a doctor) is a goddam disgrace, and the opposite of helpful or , frankly, in any way protective of this child’s health.

Honestly the thought of doctors with an attitude like that pp working in A&E does not make me feel the least bit safe seeking medical support:

I’ve been chronically asthmatic my whole life, my child is also asthmatic, and I feel compelled to do my first ever post in the hopes that my experiences help you.

Asthma comes in cycles, and has many triggers. For a lot of people it’s affected by the weather, and many find that seasonal changes in particular bring on episodes. I personally see my symptoms flare far more in Autumn or Spring when the weather changes from warm to cooler or vice versa. It’s so mild outside that it probably wouldn’t occur to a non asthmatic, but this can be a key trigger.

Colds and viruses often affect asthma sufferers worse as we find it hard to shift the symptoms from our chests. They can very often turn into chest infections or just linger for ages. You get used to it, and learn how to manage those additional symptoms. I sometimes feel like I’ve had a cold for a decade, but I’m otherwise healthy and I crack on. It’s become my normal.

When I am having asthma symptoms, they sometimes manifest as a wheeze, sometimes a tight chest (which could possibly be what your child is describing, although I’m in no way a medical professional), sometimes a bit of a creaky rattle that isn’t quite a wheeze, sometimes just shortness of breath. These never for me completely disappear with a blue inhaler when I’m having an episode. There is just some relief. I only mention this as I remember my OH expecting our child to stop wheezing completely after using this blue inhaler, and depending on the episode that won’t always happen.

I can sometimes go for weeks (and, on a couple of very rare occasions in my life, months) without touching an inhaler. I too have been guilty of forgetting or abandoning my brown inhaler in those times. It always returns, often worse for a bit, because I am asthmatic. I’m asthmatic even when I’ve had absolutely no symptoms for weeks and having taken my blue inhaler. So is your child. There’s a chance she might age out of it. She may not. But I promise you asthma is better when it’s well managed. I’ve learnt all my triggers over the years and I’ve learnt how to look after my asthma. And once you crack that, it’s really not so bad.

You sound like a great mum. I really hope you find any of this helpful. Good luck with it all!

lol, you didn’t need to say you were a doc the high and mighty tone already gave it away.

She doesn’t have asthma, because doctors no longer diagnose children that young with asthma. And they have obviously been given no advice for asthma.

They haven’t done anything wrong to warrant social services, flipping ‘eck, and every child who goes to A&E is reported to their health visitor - for support - unless you opt out of the Health Visitor service (because it’s optional). Deary me.
OP please don’t worry about social services, you have done nothing wrong.

She didn’t just decide she was cured, she doesn’t have a diagnosis and it was stopped 6 months ago, and the GP has been seen since then.

OP call 111 or try get an OOH GP appointment. 111 will triage and you are much less likely to be Sitting in A&E all night. They can likely funnel to a OOH GP, hopefully at a minor injury clinic.

Me too, I hope they don’t speak to their patients like this!

OP please don’t let this put you off seeing a doctor or A&E tonight or tomorrow or an urgent care centre if you have such a think locally. I’d be amazed if you were referred for what you’ve described.
We were told to wean my child off her brown inhaler when her episodes stopped to see if she still needed it. If you’re at all worried about her tonight though definitely ring 999 or 111. I’d have her seen either way tomorrow. It’ll put your mind at rest if nothing else.

So she was unwell over Spring and Summer, her symptoms improved whilst cutting out a common allergen and taking her steroid preventer (clue's in the name) and then she didn't have further issues during Autumn and Winter. Then she's started having symptoms once the effect of the preventer have worn off AND trees have started releasing pollen. Oh, and with it having been winter, the house is more likely to have been less well ventilated and dust mites have built up in the time.

Have you heard of hayfever at all? Or pollen allergies? Or dust mite allergies?

She needs medical treatment, she needs preventer medication, she needs reliever medication (both taken properly as directed using a spacer) and quite likely needs somebody to read you the Riot Act for deciding symptoms of potentially severe allergies and asthma can be 'grown out of' in a few weeks.

You should buy an oximeter. They are cheap and available on Amazon at chemist etc. (ca£15). Really good for small children where it is difficult to understand how they feel. Then it’s clear. Clip it on her finger and read the number. If it goes too low a&e it is.

not that helpful to you today but stopping the brown inhaler is what has done this. It’s often the way that you think they have grown out of it but actually it was just the brown inhaler working and eventually after stopping the preventative effect wears off. Look up the scarring that can happen to lungs with long term uncontrolled asthma. You need to use the brown inhaler to protect her lungs. It’s typically a lot older before they grow out of it - if ever.

I would just book her in for a routine GP appointment. This doesn’t sound urgent.

It sounds like they are treating her as if she has asthma, but without a formal diagnosis. She needs to be properly assessed and have a treatment plan.

As for her inhalers, I rarely take my preventative inhaler. I am a really non-compliant patient. I can easily go 6-12 months with no problems and then I have a problem. It can be an infection or exposure to bonfire smoke or whatever. And that will trigger my asthma. So her being totally fine and now suddenly having problems sounds normal to me. It would probably be alleviated by taking the preventative inhaler properly.

The stabbing pain is very likely just muscle pain. I’ve had it my whole life. I don’t think it’s necessarily related and all else being well, I wouldn’t think it warrants an A&E as long as it’s sporadic.