To not agree with the nurse practiser's view that my DS has asthma and to think a diagnosis should come from a doctor?

[PolkadotCircus]

Soooo my v healthy but skinny boy 9 has had a nasty winter virus that he has had problems shaking off,symptoms involve a cough that won't go away.Loads of other kids and adults have had/got it here.

The same happened last year and our fab doctor gave him temp inhalers to calm his airways down which worked a treat and were never used again.

His grandad is the same(very skinny and some times gets a chest infection in winter it takes a whole to shake off) but still cycling 16 miles a day at 80.

Anyhow dtwin 1 keeping dtwin 2 awake so tried to get an appointment with our fab GP but because he is so fab it is nigh on impossible so was offered an appointment with a nurse which I reluctantly accepted as all I wanted were temp inhalers and ds better ASAP.

Anyhow after a very lengthy appointment when his puff was measured,history looked at,records filled in,weighed etc she finally gave us some inhalers.Puff was poor(errr yes he has a virus and a temp) and we were told to come back for a follow up asthma review.I said but he doesn't have asthma only to be told well this happened last year etc,etc.

So we went to the review puff beyond normal now and very good,virus over so no surprise.Nurse then said as he had asthma she'd like to see him again,keep him in her records,how many inhalers did he have etc,to keep him topped up when tight in the chest etc etc.

I said very firmly he doesn't have asthma and never gets tight in the chest.She then asked if he had eczema or hay fever.He had eczema as a baby and gets a bit sneezy in the summer ahhhh then they are linked so he does have asthma.Me-no he doesn't he just gets a cough he can't shake some winters.
I don't want asthma on his records unnecessarily.We politely agreed to disagree.

So aibu to think a)he doesn't have asthma and b) a diagnosis should come from a doctor.

Juggling -blue one is a reliever but is not really addressing the problem. The blue one works because it dilates the airways back to normal. The reason they need to be opened up again is because there has been an inflammatory process going on ib the airways and this inflammatory process needs to be addressed, usually with inhaled steroids which is why you usually get two inhalers.

Higgle that's just daft and potentially damaging to your child's health. You don't want things recorded because it might harm their future prospects? Bizarre.

There are very few conditions which, when properly controlled, prevent people from certain careers. Having properly controlled asthma certainly doesn't stop you being a pilot.

Hopefully he will give you lots of leaflets.
And there will be information inside the inhalers boxes too.

My ds certainly doesn't have concentration lapses. Childhood asthma is very different to the severe asthma some people have in adulthood. As with so many conditions there is a very wide spectrum of symptoms, being offered an inhaler because your child has had a couple of episodes really shouldn't be causing you this level of anxiety.

Depends on their symptoms, juggling. Asthma treatment is a it like a ladder. The aim is for asthma to be controlled (i.e not having symptoms or using the blue inhaler more than 3 times a week). The first rung of the ladder is a blue inhaler to be used as and when. You can move up and down depending on how controlled your asthma is at any given point in time.

Some people have periods where it gets worse and treatment is increased for a period then decreased once it is under control. For some people treatment might be increased to cover a specific period of the year e.g. winter or the hayfever season.

It might be worth talking to your GP about when it happens.

I'm probably repeating what other posters have said.

I have met various people who have had said their children doesn't have asthma because they only get asthma symptoms when they have a cold, or in the winter, or when they're near a cat, or near a smoker etc etc so it isn't really asthma. All of these things are asthma triggers! I even have had somebody say that their child doesn't really have asthma because they never use inhalers normally and only have to call an ambulance every couple of years so their child can use a nebuliser. So those parents are putting their child in a life threatening situation due to their pretence that that the child doesn't really have asthma.

The point is that many, many people who have asthma use their preventative inhalers every day and as a consequence, they don't get coughs for days on end after a cold, or have narrow airways in winter etc because they use their preventative inhaler so never get asthma symptoms. If your child is asthmatic, and you deny that they are because they only get a cough during winter colds, you are making them ill with a cough they don't need to have because you are not giving them their preventative inhalers to reduce the chance of that cough ever appearing in the first place.

There is clearly some kind of mix up going on here where the OP was never formally told of a diagnosis, and possibly the nurse assumes the OP already knows because the child has been prescribed asthma medication so hasn't fully explained anything. It is not the OP's fault that she doesn't know what is going on. She needs another appointment where everything is explained to her, including most importantly how bad asthma should be when you call an ambulance. Telling her to google it is not good enough; she needs proper medical information from the person diagnosing her child. I started off like the OP's child (but at 20 years old) being given an asthma inhaler with no explanation. One cold later and I was in hospital for a week having nearly died, because nobody explained to me that asthma can kill you and you need to know how to judge when to call an ambulance.

I agree with other posters that an asthma nurse generally gives advice on asthma and diagnoses it. As far as I can tell, the OP didn't see an asthma nurse. So she should go back and make an appointment with one. Then she can get a proper diagnosis, explanation and advice.

After spending most of last year ill with a cough and shortness of breath (following on from pneumonia and pleurisy, and at least two other chest infections, maybe the same pneumonia which never properly cleared), umpteen blood tests, X-rays, a ct scan, and full lung function tests, the consultant at the hospital told me "probably asthma, go and see the asthma nurse at your surgery". He didn't say "go and see the GP", he sent me to the person who is best qualified and experienced to decide if I do have asthma, and to sort out the minimum level of medication I may need.
I have to use a brown inhalor for a minimum of three months before the nurse will decide if its working or not, so I'm very surprised OP that your DS is better after "a few puffs". The steroids take a while to build up to be of use.
FWIW I'm bloody relieved that I might "only" have asthma, as the investigations the hospital was doing were for much scarier lung problems. Asthma in comparison is nothing.

Reading with interest. Just wanted to say OP, when it comes to asthma, the stakes are high www.standard.co.uk/news/girl-found-her-teenage-sister-dead-on-floor-after-acute-asthma-attack-7307517.html?origin=internalSearch

Nurse practitioners are v well qualified with certain conditions often inc asthma...I would say a bit like a midwife knowing more about (or having more experience of) labour than a dr. I would take the diagnosis as valid, but i can also understand that you would like a second opinion from a more senior medic. The medical profession (in general) seem too quick to diagnose allergies / lifelong conditions and write prescriptions these days. I also wouldn't want my child labelled with a condition too quickly and dependent on medication that could perhaps be avoided by them building up their own resilience / lung strength in this case. Good luck!

What a very level headed,calm and sensible post Freya,wish I had posted it!

Polka, yes, it can cause those things. If you're not getting enough air in, you're going to be pale, tired and unable to concentrate. Hay fever can affect concentration cos it's bloody awful, mind! And yes, as I said in my first comment to you, you can have asthma - although the term 'be asthmatic' would be better for you in terms of understanding how it works - and appear symptom-free for long periods of time. I am asthmatic and although I have had shortness of breath (I too rarely wheeze), the last time I needed my inhaler was about a year ago. Think of it a bit like epilepsy; some sufferers fit several times a day, every day, some go for years without episodes. Both are still 'having epilepsy'.

If they think he needs BOTH the brown and the blue inhalers, it's pretty conclusive that he does have asthma.

It's clear you're havng a rough time with your Dc all getting ill and are naturally stressed. Hearing your DS has asthma probably felt like the straw that broke the camel's back. You think it is a very serious, lifelong condition (and it can be), but many children outgrow asthma and even if not, you can live life to the full with it and may rarely need to take meds if managed properly.

I think what you should do is continue the treatment that the NP advised. It can't hurt him if it's not quite right. In the meantime, just let the idea that he does have asthma sit in your mind. Let it be there and let yourself come to terms with it.

There are lots of lifestyle things you as a family can do to help him if he is asthmatic, would help even if he is 'only' prone to the other things you mentioned and which would be healthy for you all regardless. Aerosols really affect a lot of asthmatics particularly spray-on deodorant, air fresheners, spray polish and hairspray. Plug-ins to fragrance rooms, perfume, etc., are also culprits. Many household cleaning products can really affect people with asthma or a weakness for hayfever, etc. Things like Mr Muscle and so on; you could change to more natural products. Make sure furry pets stay off furnishing and hoover them often. In the long term, get a vacuum cleaner with a hepa filter and anti-allergenic pillows, quilts and bedding. It goes without saying not to allow smoking in the home or around children.

Btw, Zeeboo, your post was really nasty and uncalled for.

Freya you have pretty much summed up how I feel.I think either way there has been a mix up.Many thank to all the other info within the thread however strident.Rest assured I will get this sorted.If he has it I want to be fully informed and will make sure I am-within one gp's appointment(I'll talk very fast) and whatever referrals we get.

Group hug!

Crossed posts Oxford,thank you so much.Starting to feel a bit bad now. Erm he has to have Piriton at his grandma's-she has cats!We don't have any of the other stuff though as I hate all that and we're very Ecover or nothing iykwim.

We have had a few issues re concentration at school,he is bright and doing ok but can lose concentration(has a twin so you can see the effect)quite healthy ie doesn't get a host of bugs iykwim,active though.

Many thanks again,food for thought.

Hug you back and !

Really really dont want to spoil the party.

But I am left with one question, that I dont want left unanswered.
Are we saying that it is likely that the op didnt see an asthma nurse, but another nurse?

Just feel the love amillion

I thought OP said it was a nurse practitioner, which is different to an asthma nurse, but I could have misread the thread.

Honestly, don't feel too bad. To an untrained eye, asthma can be difficult to spot. There's a stereotypical view of it being wheezing and huge attacks leaving you gasping for breath and it often isn't like that at all. If it makes you feel any better, I didn't realise I couldn't breath until I could and I'm 30. I suspect I'd been getting on with life for years with reduced lung function thinking I only needed to use my blue inhaler when I had a persistent cough with a viral infection.

Good question amillion. I think the initial appointment was in a chest clinic and the second appointment was for an asthma review. I would assume they would be run by a specialist nurse but it isn't 100% clear.

Ahh, a great thread I think !

I've learnt a lot about asthma too.

And is something to get used to and find out about when DC's given a diagnosis with various new things to think about.

I have to say if your 'fab' gp is prescribing antibiotics for a virus he may not be as great as you think he is. A bit like the (new) doctor who told me to put the hydrocortisone she had just prescribed for my babies nappy rash on over the barrier cream. [Shock]

polkadot, so glad you are getting your head round this. Do go and see the GP.

Everyone asking about the nurse - it's entirely possible she's a nurse practitioner who has training in asthma. Polkadot wasn't very sure about the nurse's role in the first place so it's impossible to judge on this thread that she is, or isn't the right person.

ClaireDeTamble.....laughing here....twit!