Can anyone tell me what to do if my 7 month old has an asthma attack?

[mamawhyte]

My 7 month old dd has always been a bit wheezy and mucusy and has recently started to have nasty coughing fits especially at night.

I went to see my doctor on Friday and he said it could be a bronchial infection or might be asthma, but he didn't know for sure, so he gave me a prescription for an inhaler and mask to try to see if it makes a difference when she's particularly wheezy. He told me to let her play with the mask and gradually get her used to it being over her mouth.

At the moment we're still at the playing with it stage, but i've just looked up asthma attacks on google and now i'm really scared. I won't be able to sleep tonight if she coughs badly. I'm so frightened she's going to have an asthma attack.

Will the inhaler he's given me help her enough if she does? What do I do if she stops breathing? mouth to mouth won't work because her airways would be blocked. Help me stop panicking please!!

bumping!

What inhalers has he given you?? The blue one is normally the one that eases the attack, whereas brown is preventative. IIRC, DD was only given a blue one at the age.

When she had bad coughing fits, mucusy ones, this sounds horrid, but I used to have to bang her back quite hard, like winding her but a bit rougher, she would often kind of vomit the phlegmy stuff she was bringing up, then once she was calmer I could give her her inhaler.

I used to have a bowl of water above the radiator to moisten the air, as dry air made her worse, and if she got too wheezy taking her outside, just for a few minutes worked wonders.

Remember, if she has a severe attack, ie one you cannot handle (which isn't necessarily going to happen) you can call an ambulance, they will come. I have called an ambulance for my mum, when she was around 40, it is easy enough for them to deal with, yet helps tremendously, so if you are that worried, and it happens, please call them.

Hopefully someone who knows a bit more than I do (my doctor wasnt particularly helpful as to how to deal with it) will be able to help you.

Thank you!

It's a blue one, so that sounds a bit more useful. I keep thinking she's going to be sick, but she hasn't been so far. I get panicky about her choking on that as well.

LoRayning, does it sound like my dd has similar symptoms to your dd? How old was she when she was diagnosed?

Yes, it does, she was about 9 months the first time she got her inhaler, I'm sure the doctor told you they cant diagnose at that age so they just treat and see.

She got a slight chest infction and it worsened due to her asthma, When she was really coughing sometimes the only way to help her was to 'wind' her as such, and kind of hold her over my knee so she wouldnt swallow what she was coughing up.

I too have asthma and mine makes me vomit, as did my mothers, so it was kind of how I realised what it was.

FWIW, DD is now nearly seven and apart from the odd coughing fit which results in her being sick, a few times a year, she rarely notices it.

My mum had chronic asthma when she was a little girl, so I've always been aware that my children may be affected.

It's lovely to hear that your daughter deals with it so well now. It's also a relief to know that I have the right inhaler should the worst happen. Thank you very much.

Her coughing fits are very dry, rather than mucusy - could that still be diagnosed as an asthmatic cough?

If your 7 month old has an asthma attack, then try go give her as many puffs of her inhaler as you can and call an ambulance IMMEDIATELY.
you can always cancel it if you don't need it but don't worry about calling them out unnecessarily, better to be safe than sorry - i don't mean to frighten you but unfortunately the truth is that asthma can become VERY serious VERY quickly so NEVER worry about calling for help.

In the mean time INSIST that you see the appropriately trained person (usually the practice nurse) within your surgery to be properly shown what to do if an emergency situation does arise. GP's can be so unconcerned re asthma but you need to be taught how to cope properly.

Yes, it can still be an asthmatic cough, mine varies, But like the other poster said, if in doubt call an ambulance.