Any parents of Asthma sufferers able to help?

[Helllppppp]

Last winter, my daughter was diagnosed with Viral Wheeze. This winter the GP seems certain it’s asthma she is suffering from. We now have an asthma plan and are booked in again after Xmas for an asthma review with the nurse.

The good news is, the wheeze seems to have gone and the blue inhaler was very effective for that.

The problem that I’m having this evening is dealing with DD’s persistent cough. Is it likely this is all caused by the asthma? She can’t sleep because of it so is sitting upright in my bed with me but the cough just isn’t easing. She can speak in full sentences so she isn’t struggling with breathlessness like she has done previously.

I’m going to take her back into the GP in the morning. Any advice to help us through the night?

I took my dd17 into a and e for exactly the same symptoms a couple of weeks ago (shes had asthma attacks before)

She was having an attack and her oxygen levels were low. She now has montelukast and its been amazing. I would call 111 and see what they say.

If she is struggling to breathe - inhaler & if it doesn't clear quickly then ring 111 for advice.

It can go from nothing to something really quickly. As dd has got older she can gauge when it is serious, but early in her diagnosis she wasn't able to. There were a couple of times when we didn't realise it was serious and she ended up in A&E / blue lighted. If in doubt do not risk it.

So she stopped coughing 1 minute after your first post? I’d say the inhaler has done its job.

Oops, just saw the update re the 10 puffs, as above call 111.

cross post - soz. Hope she is OK.

You can always repeat the ten puffs. We were told this anyway.

I was told (about 13/14 years ago) if I had to give my DCs 10 puffs, they needed to go to A&E. The nebulisers they have in hospital give the equivalent of 10 puffs

On hold to 111 now. High demand at the moment apparently.

So she stopped coughing 1 minute after your first post? I’d say the inhaler has done its job.

We gave the 10 puffs at 8.00pm. The cough didn’t ease. She tried to sleep but the cough persisted. I brought her into my room 5 minutes before I posted. The cough started to ease soon after I posted.

She has actually started coughing a bit more again. Nowhere near as bad as when she was lying down thankfully.

Thanks for clarifying OP.
Yes you definitely need to talk to 111. Stay on the line. As others have said, the ten puffs didn’t work and she is continuing to have trouble breathing. Explain it to them.

If you start to see blue around her lips or she is getting worse call 999. They have always been more than happy to send a paramedic out to us - do not think you are wasting time / resources.

Now waiting for a call back from a clinician or paramedic to assess her further.

If she is coughing her asthma is not controlled. Has she got a brown inhaler, if not give her the blue one 4 hourly and see dr tomorrow.

Great! Thank you for update. I’ve been in your shoes with late night asthma attack. Hoping your DD will be ok. Asthma is just so unpredictable.

If no one calls back quickly and she’s about the same or worse, like unescorted says dial 999. With her asthma seemingly linked to winter, I’d worry cold and/or damp is a trigger for her and bundling her off to A&E without going with a paramedic could make her worse.

I’m asthmatic and DD2 is looking likely to follow suit, if she’s coughing so much she can’t lie down then I definitely would have her seen tonight.

do you have pets?
what kind of bedding does she have and are the covers hot washed?
does anyone use sprays? deodorant spray/hairspray/cleaning sprays?

allergens are a common trigger and air quality/allergen load inside can be worse in winter.

If you have give 10 puffs of the blue inhaler and they can't go 4 hours before having any more then they need to be seen by a doctor.

As another post my DS has no wheeze with his asthma, he ended up with a hospital admission a few weeks ago as her was constantly coughing. You can give more of the blue inhaler then but be careful. It made DS sick the other week, he really just need steroids.

Can I just say, as an asthmatic and in contrast to PPs, steam can also be a trigger for an attack. My worst attack was exacerbated by me having a bath and I've found it to be the case since, too.

I hope your DD is ok, @Helllppppp, you've definitely done the right thing in ringing 111.

Looking back to last winter, she was like this with the cough continually also. I didn’t at that point realise it was linked to the viral wheeze.

do you have pets? No pets
what kind of bedding does she have and are the covers hot washed? she just has bedding from next, nothing fancy. I’m unsure of exact fabric (I’m rubbish with that sort of thing). I wash it on a 40 degree cycle.
does anyone use sprays? deodorant spray/hairspray/cleaning sprays? We use hairspray and cleaning spray. What you’re saying is that these sprays can make trigger her asthma in winter even though they don’t in summer? Am I understanding that right?

Yes- I'm asthmatic and am much more sensitive to aerosols and dust in the winter.

Yes because her airways are already constricted either because she has a cold or from her asthma. I have son who was born prematurely who has v dodgy lungs and is on a preventer inhaler through the winter. It takes 10 days to kick in and usually ensures that upper respiratory infections do not become lower respiratory ones. I agree that if 10 puffs haven’t helped she may need more treatment.

Potentially, if other triggers like the cold or having a cold make her more susceptible.

Often there should be
Peak flow meter to get an idea of and then monitor air levels.
Preventative inhalers- not blue - can be doubled up often at first sign of extra wheezing and needing blue inhaler or when the peak flow numbers drop by a certain percentage.
Treatment inhaler, blue, that shouldn't be needed except in case of flare ups under poor weather or pollution conditions or if the child is unwell.
Occasionally montelukast if it still remains unsettled.
And always use the spacer when administering doses to under 16s

Hellppppp - sometimes yes. My dd gets a manageable level and then bleach will tip her over into an attack. But then so does dry cold, nail varnish, exercise, mould spores, pet hair (especially cat), perfume, 2nd hand smoke & bonfires, scented detergents and fabric conditioners.

Later, as in tomorrow or next day OP you can go to the Asthma UK website and read all the triggers and advice on how to eliminate or avoid them. It is different for every asthma sufferer so it will be an investigation to figure out your DDs triggers. Mine are weather extremes, dust mites, pets/animals, perfume, aerosols, cleaning solutions (ie even chlorine swimming pools), pollen and I have exercise induced asthma as well.

Now, just deal with your DDs asthma attack and getting her attended to.

We dont use hairspray often as thats a real trigger for us, and I wouldnt use cleanjng spray near them.

My daughter has cough variant asthma and it sounds v similar to yours, the only sign of the asthma attack is repeated boughts of coughing. Def get advice, I've gone round in circles sometimes when they don't realise initially that she doesnt wheeze.

We used to have montelukast and it worked well, but made her wet every night !!

I was once told by a nurse that 10 puffs of blue inhaler is same as nebulizer. I would double check that they are happy for you to do this but they ok me to do it with ds2 when I thought he needed it.