To ask here and not in the proper place?

[OhDoAdmitMrsDeVere]

I know this should be in children's health and i will probably go there later.
But I could do with some advice and holding down fairly quickly and I would be really greatful if people could reassure me.

I have PTSD. This manifests itself in medical environments/situations. I am working on it

It looks like DC5 has asthma. I picked him up from Nursery today. He had a mild cough this morning. Nothing else.
When I got him and picked him up I could hear him wheezing. Thank God for the NHS, my GP saw him right away and within half an hour I had steriods for him.

This is the fourth episode where a cough/cold has gone straight to his chest. The GP cant diagnose him right away but we are doing the 'step up, step down' thing with inhalers and I will take him back on Monday.

If he gets worse today I have to take him to A&E. He is two.

I am not a cotton wool, panicky mum but my DD died and that has made me not cope with this stuff very well.

DS doesnt know. He is sleeping next to me and as far as he can tell I am calm as a cucumber.

But I am on the verge of a breakdown.
Tell me more about asthma, what to look out for, triggers, signs - whatever I need to know.

I can do this but I have to work it through my head.
I know it seems pathetic because I nursed my DD for two years and I am not unused to illness but this all seems a bit hard at them moment.

Any tips/advice would really help. Thank you.

No advice but bumping for those who can help and sending a hug, I hope he improves and doesn't need A&E x

I have no advice re the asthma, but I am offering a hand to hold to keep you calm

You're doing all the right things, and I know its scary but you're doing brilliantly, keeping calm do DS doesn't know you're scared

You will know if he's going downhill, you'll be able to hear the crackle in his chest. But now he's on the steroids he should start recovering

My DD got bronchiolitis at 15 weeks, and for a while I was nervy and scared that she was ill, but I knew when I needed to give in and get her to hospital for help. You just know

My ds has asthma. Its ok. He'll be ok. Really.

The main thing is that you have steroids and inhalers - asthma is at its most dangerous when you aren't prepared. You are.

The steroids should work very quickly - when ds had them last year he picked up within 8 hours or so.

Do you know if you can multidose on your inhalers? If not, ask.

Main things to watch are any tugging in of the skin under the ribs or arouns the trachea when he breathes, any blueness to the lips.

Mostly though, if you are worried, if you aren't sure whether he's getting worse or not then get him seen.

Likewise I don't know anything about asthma, had a look on the web and Asthma UK have a helplilne - I've pasted it in below. Hugs for you and your DS

During office hours

Our telephone Adviceline service is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. The number to call is 0800 121 62 44.

Calls are free from a BT landline. Charges may vary from other landline providers and mobile phones.

You can call us with any concerns you may have about asthma. We welcome any enquiry, no matter how big or small. We receive queries about what asthma is and what causes it, triggers, symptoms, treatments and inhaler devices. We're also often asked about allergies, exercise, diet, housing location and many other concerns that people have about asthma.

We can listen to your concerns, answer your questions and offer a sympathetic ear.

Oh love it's totally understandable that you would have anxiety.

I can't offer useful advice, but sending a massive squashy virtual (((((((((((hug))))))))))) and some positive vibes your way xx

No useful advice but lots of ((hugs)) sent your way, and warm, positive thoughts for you and your ds.

I'm no use on the asthma side of things - just wish I was nearer so that I could come for a real rather than virtual hand hold and make you a cup of tea.

It must be incredibly hard for you Mrs Devere.

Both dds have asthma, dd1(6) seems to be growing out of hers, dd2 (5) looks like it is going to stick around.

The things that I have found that helped were -

-getting regular appointments with the asthma nurse at the gp surgery
-getting dds to help and feel at ease with their inhalers and spacers
-always having plenty of back up inhalers in the house
-seeing the same gp (if poss) so they become familiar with them
-gp gave us a supply of steroids to keep at home - so they could be started quickly if needed (I became familiar with the signs of dds struggling)
-asthma uk have a very good section for/about children (I got a preschool and school card for the dds with their details on, so that the school would know when to call me, what to do when dds struggling etc
-as soon as you get a niggling worry that ds is struggling - get to hospital/drs
-with dd2 I now have an idea what her triggers are (exercise, cold air, hatfever, anxiety) - this means i can be more prepared and school know to give her her inhaler before running a race etc

I suffer from anxiety, a lot of which is related to ds being frequently ill, and the unknown nature of his various issues. Over Christmas he was in and out of hospital, and I found it helped to have a bag prepared (I know i sound like a crazy neurotic person!), and a plan of what to do when he was ill (numbers of childrens ward, out of hours, what to pack etc). I find writing lists helps as well.

As I say dd1 seems to be growing out of her asthma (after having been in a+e several times, and on liquid steroid countless times) and I grew out of asthma in my teens. The main thing is to keep on top of the preventers, and be aware when action is needed (blue inhaler, gp, hospital etc)

Sorry -nothing to add on the medical side but when my DS was little he was prone to this kind of thing and we were advised to check the house for and eliminate any fake/chemical smelly stuff like air fresheners (esp the plug in ones), scented candles unless completely natural etc and to check his room and particularly around the bed for signs of damp/mould. We did all that and since then never used sprays and thankfully he only has it very low level now around when he's getting/got/getting over a cold. This might help?

I have no advice medically but you sound very sensible in your concerns and I'm so sorry your PTSD is making this so tough for you. Of course you are worried.

Is it possible in the future for your GP to organize someone you could call when you are worried? It would depend how good your GP is and how busythe practice is, but it would be good to know you could phone someone if need be, other than NHS direct.

I hope he soon feels better - but don't at all feel like you have to excuse yourself for being vigilent, because you are right to do that.

I keep trying to post but bloody MN keeps crashing or I press the wrong button.
Thank you all of you for your help. I am reading - honestly!

Ds1 has asthma. I found regular appointments with the asthma nurse helpful, also the asmtha uk website too. I try and have a few inhalers kept in different places, so am always prepared. Also you can freeze any soft toys (then cold wash if possible) to kill any dust mites which can be a trigger.
Signs to look out for are skin sucking in between the ribs, a blue tinge to the lips and being unable to complete a sentence without stopping for breath.
I hope your dc gets better soon.

Its not your MrsDeVere - tis mumsnet I've typed a few posts in the last couple of hours and the site keeps crashing.

Hope ds is feeling better, am sure lovely mn'ers will help you cope.

Mrs DV - I dont blame you for being worried beyond belief.

My DS is being checked for asthma although I dont think he has it. He has had a cough for weeks and weeks so took him to doc who just gave him a brown and blue inhaler......however, we are now under the care of the asthma nurse who said they have to actually diagnose it first before assuming its asthma.

We are doing the brown pump twice a day and charting his peak flow which I have to say is bloody crap...she says it will be a very long process of elimination before she can say whether he has it or not - we have to go every 3 weeks for now.

My DS is older though, I cant imagine how they will do this with a 2 year old. What are they doing to see if it actually is asthma or not??

Hazey you are not crazy!. This is crazy - I only unpacked my hosptial bag a few months back - 7 years after DD died.

I can have a bag packed in five mins, I did it a few weeks back when DS had to go with a cut head. Its a talent we pick up isnt it

I am pretty on the ball re dust due to DS2's v.severe eczema I have relaxed a bit since his skin has improved a bit but I think I need to step up again.

I have just got bunk beds and Im kicking myself. If I had known I would have bought singles.
No carpet in their room because DS2 used to share but I will have to kick up some of the soft toys they have accumulated since he moved into his own room.

I think I need to know exactly what to do and the tips on medication etc are really helpful, thank you.

The poor GP. She is not my usual one but I saw her last year when I had a bit of a breakdown as she was very helpfully explaining something to me and I lost it. She uses the room that the GP who gave me the letter about DD's cancer uses. Its not my favourite place. (are you keeping up with this babble)
Anyway she always looks a bit wary of me and was very.carefully.explaining.things.in.a.calm.voice but I didnt take it in because it was taking all my energy not to run screaming from the room.

She mentioned cutting DS's hair! I can understand why (pollen, dust etc) but I cant bear to do it. He has the most beautiful, outstanding afro and it would break my heart.

How silly I am.

Bloody hell. SIX years after she died SIX. See how bloody stupid I am being. What a sodding flake.

Mrs DV - My asthma nurse did say to me that she gets very frustrated with the docs who diagnose asthma at the drop of a hat without going through the proper checks first.

Make sure you get your DS in to see your asthma nurse - they are brill and will go through everything with you.

I asked the GP about seeing the nurse (the specialist community one sits a few desks away from me at work coincidently!). She said that she wanted to see him again first and try this step up, step down treatment.
I dont think she is rushing into it but she did comment that this was his 4th episode and that it was looking likely.

I dont know how these things work. I feel a bit all at sea about it all.

If he is only wheezy when he gets a cold/cough that's a good thing. If it was more allergic, it would be happening more often so I wouldn't be worrying too much about triggers, especially his hair

My DC only got asthma alongside illness, so you could prepare a bit for it

At the first sign of sniffles we upped/started the preventer inhaler. The reliever one we used as directed. This would quite often keep the worst at bay

If it didn't, we would up the reliever - ventolin can be given up to 10 puffs through a spacer (but double check with your GP)

Sometimes that wouldn't be enough. You can see clearly on a child when it's too hard to breath - the skin gets pulled in during in breaths in the centre of the neck and just below the sternum. Have no qualms about going to A&E if this is happening. They will give dc a nebuliser, which rapidly brings relief, and will likely give you steroids. More often than not, we were released home after one neb. Once we had to stay in overnight and had repeated nebs, and a couple of times we had to have two

If you are released home and it worsens, go straight back

We ended up with our own nebuliser for a couple of years but A&E always worked for us quickly

One word of warning, the steroids sent my DC hyper - totally bouncing off the walls for a week

It is scary (without your added history) you just have to keep calm and if worried you get to a&e, they are really good ime dealing with wheezy children and don't mind if you aren't sure if you need to be there

I was worried about the steroids.
They have horrible connotations for me because they are used as part of the chemo treatment.

I know the doses are much higher in chemo but do the asthma ones make the kids hungry and cranky? Do they give nightmares and do they get the dark circles under the eyes?

I bloody hate bloody steroids

He has only ever got wheezy when he has a cold so that is good to hear Ms.
We are having the roof done ATM so my house is 10 x dustier than usual. I was wondering if this was a problem. Its 80 year old dirt, the roof has never been replaced before.

Thanks again everyone.
He has woken up.

He is still not breathing right but he is not as noisy as before.

The steroids havent made any difference to my DS, he has to have 2 pufs twice a day, has been doing so for about 5 weeks now and no, havent made him act any more mad than usual.

:( oh bless you

i have no real advice but i also get panicky about being in a medical environment

bumping for you and hopefully some more people will be along x

the little pink tablets made my son bouncy (once he was feeling better) The asthma made him lethargic but as soon as that was under control - enter tigger!!!

Appetite was raised but it's only a short course so symptoms don't last too long

The roof could impact but I think the fact he only has issues with illness, it's not the biggest factor

Definitely get an appointment with the asthma nurse, they are much less scary and can help you with preventing and how to deal with it if it escalates

I'm sure that the extra dust won't have helped MrsDV.

DD only has mild asthma and has only ever had one proper asthma attack which I completely failed to spot was asthma . When the doctor came out to her he immediately made her take 5 puffs of the blue inhaler which resulted in an improvement straight away. Would agree about the skin over the ribs mentioned up thread as something to look out for.

Other than that, big {{{{hugs}}}} - I am sure you will cope.