To give my toddler salbutamol?

[StillSquirrelling]

Just a quick one really. My toddler has been (dry) coughing more or less every 30 seconds or so through the night and all morning. He doesn't seem too bothered by it but is obviously getting quite exhausted by it!
DD2 was prescribed an inhaler (and spacer) a few months ago for possible asthma (she's 5) as she had a pretty regular night time cough a lot of the time. Other than that she has no symptoms so they aren't sure if it actually is asthma.
As I understand it, salbutamol simply works to open up the airways temporarily and the doctor said is pretty hard to overdose on it too.
As DS is too young for cough medicine (he's 3 in 6 weeks but is height and weight of an average 4 yr old according to his red book) would I be ok to give him a couple of puffs of his sister's inhaler? Obviously I'm not a doctor and you're not suppose to give other people someone else's prescribed medicine but from what I've been told and have read, salbutamol seems essentially harmless but quite helpful!
Thoughts?

I mirror what others are saying, no and take her to the GP who might prescribe her something appropriate.

We invented 'magic cough drink' for exactly this purpose (DS was a croupy child, his coughs went on for months). Teaspoon of honey, about a quarter of a cup of orange juice, topped up with hot water. Serve in a sippy cup that has been strictly 'off limits' for a while, and it has magically resporative effects!

Honestly, don't do Ventolin without a prescrption. Even as an adult, it gives me the shakes and weird heart rhythms, and I remember these beibng MUICH more acute and very scary as a child. it also did odd things to my vision (albeit in medicine not inhaler form).

if he were struggling to breethe I would(and I did) after medical advice.
when dc1 had their first asthma attack the dr I phoned (like nhs direct in a different country) told me to give them a couple of puffs of my inhaler and to go immediately after to a&e.

that brought instant relief and bought somd time. tbh for 'just a cough' I wouldn't but I would make an app asap.

Like maus, if there was a crisis and your child was blue and struggling to breathe, then as an emergency measure on the way to a and e it might be a lifesaver, and ths worth trying. But not for 'just a cough'.

Tyxilix is utterly useless, other than a way of making money for the manufacturers. There are no active ingredients, it's a throat soother more than anything else.
As I've said, I won't take him to the docs as we just get turned away and told to come back in a week if it's still persisting (unless it's croup). He isn't poorly and isn't having breathing problems, it was more a suggestion in order to give him a bit of a break as it's a bit tiring for him coughing so constantly. I'm not in the slightest bit worried about him.
I wasn't made aware of the potential side effects if salbutamol by the doctor. Her exact words were, "it's almost impossible to overdose on salbutamol" so you can see why I may have been a bit blasé about thinking it could be used on my toddler.
Just to reiterate, I WON'T be giving it to DS ;)

Don't do it - it has an amphetamine effect and should only be used and given to as prescribed.

My DS is roughly the same age and frequently disturbs his and our sleep with night time coughing so I do know how tiring it is. Buttercup syrup is the only effective medicine I've been able to buy over the counter for his age group. The pharmacies keep changing the age restrictions on the cough medicines but it was 2 years the last time I looked and it's one of those with natural ingredients. My DS is helped by the steroid inhaler rather than Ventolin. I agree it takes a while for GPS to take you seriously but maybe with your DD condition it may be worth trying soon.

HappyMonkeys Actually Buttercup syrup is over 12s now!
That's what my sister and I had as our go-to cough medicine as children. I've just been to Sainsburys to get some other bits and pieces and asked the pharmacist what I could use. The only stuff for his age is glycerine stuff, which is useless. I'll just use honey for his throat. Even she recommended Buttercup Syrup...but I pointed out that I'd just read the box and it said over 12s only. She was rather shocked. I bought some anyway as I like it myself and I don't mind giving it to my older two as a half dose.

Cough medicines even with active ingredients, are often found, in studies, to be no better than placebo/honey etc.

No I wouldn't even though me and my toddlers have asthma. My DD was given one when she had bronchitis she complained about her heart beating to fast after taking it.

Get the Dr to listen to your child's chest to make sure no wheezing or crackling on his lung.

I'm glad you have decided to not give it to your ds. I was prescribed it in tablet form to stop my contractions recently. It made me extremely jittery, my heart was pounding and I felt like I was on speed or something. Not a pleasant experience!

Could you perhaps try steam? That can help with dry, irritated airways and with such a little one perhaps a short while in a steamy bathroom with the shower running might help?

Yes I would do!

I think all the people saying how dangerous it is are being over cautious. If you were to ring an ambulance because his breathing was bad they'd likely give him a big dose plus oxygen on a nebuliser.

The amount of children I work with that have been prescribed inhalers for a cough lingering after a cold is through the roof (even though they don't have asthma).

Hi OP have you tried an air purifier (hepa) for you DD's bedroom at night? We got one for DS and although he isn't Asthmatic he does have inhalers from GP. DS was really ill so tired everything and found an air purifier in his bedroom stopped his night time cough although I also regularly Hoover, damp dust, hot wash toys and bedding, steam clean (toys/mattress/carpet/curtains) his room and dehumidify it (and keep it as clutter free as possible) as I was suspicious it was dust mites causing/exacerbating his wheeziness.

Yes, paramedics may give a bronchodilator in an emergency situation, if there was an indication to do so

But Op isn't a trained health professional, and this isn't an emergency

People telling her to give the salbutamol and all will be fine are giving bad advice.

Or perhaps we should simply do away with medical/nursing/paramedic training and let strangers on the internet tell us all how to manage these situations ?

So it's the same as ventolin?

DS2 (4) doesn't have asthma, but does tend to be prescribed a ventolin pump every time he has a heavy cold as he has a tendency to wheeziness. So I have a couple of them here, which are barely used.

I have given it to ds1 (6) at night once (who has no wheeziness generally) when he had an awful dry cough that was keeping him awake. It worked amazingly and really helped to stop him coughing.

DH also used it a few times when he was stopping smoking. He developed the most horrendous hacking cough for a few weeks immediately after stopping and again, it was the only thing that gave him some relief.

I would do it op.

Pastor that's interesting... I have a family history of athsma and can't take any cough medicine (other than plain soothing ones like glycerin) as they always make me cough worse, sometimes to the point of retching.

DD has mild asthma, made worse by ventolin. She uses a different type of blue inhaler. Everyone is different

Put some vicks on his feet with socks over it. Helps me loads when I have chest infections.

Atrovent (ipratropium) is generally thought to be a more effective broncho dilator in under 2's as it has a different mode of action to salbutamol.