To not take DD to the GP/A&E until Monday

[HearTheThunderRoar]

So DD (15) has a had a bog standard cold, so had Friday off school, much to her horror as she has three internal assessments due next week.

But now she has an awful cough that she cannot rid of and every time she tries to speak she starts dry coughing, this has happened before with most colds and the cough lingers for weeks, if not months, so the GP have always just put her on something similar to an asthma inhaler (she has sports induced asthma).

The problem is the inhaler we received last time has run out of puffs, so I will have to take her to A&E but I live abroad where we have to pay for healthcare and it costs $50 to go to A&E but I can't really afford it at the moment and the GP would only be about $20 on the Monday. If I can't get her in on the Monday, I will take her to A&E.

I feel bad though she's going to spend the whole weekend in bed with a mountain of homework to do. AIBU?

I can put it on my credit card but I'm really trying to pay it off.

Trust me I wish I had the luxury of free healthcare and pop into the doctors for a slight splutter.

Okay, I will check out the asthma inhaler from the chemist but it's highly unlikely as it was prescribed over a year ago.

You dont need to be wheezing g to be in trouble.

OP's dd only has sport induced asthma.

I'm going to keep posting til someone else who can read comes along.

If OP had posted in Chat "my dd has a cough should I bring her to A&E at 11pm on a Friday night" she'd be told not to be wasting their time and chill out.

Are you in NZ OP? I thought ventolin was available in pharmacies without a prescription there. I know it is in Australia. Or are there Saturday medical centres that can give her a script?

I have to say, as someone with asthma that gets worse triggered by a cold, there are two kinds of asthma - the kind that kills you and the kind that annoys you. Sadly asthma is a symptom not a disease hence all you can get from the medical profession is symptom management rather than anything conclusive about cause or cure. But if she has the annoying kind she's not in danger until Monday. It really depends on what her asthma care plan recommends.

Okay, fair enough OP if you feel she's not that bad then go at 10pm.

But please do go tonight and not leave it until Monday in the hope of getting a GP appointment. The sooner she gets the inhaler the better she will feel.

Those sort of dry coughs are awful even if you aren't asthmatic.

Countess. Never comment on life threatening matters without knowledge. Asthma kills

For gods sake where did I say she was struggling to breathe? Look if she gets worse I will take her in but last time we waited a couple of days and it was fine.

Some people are being really hard but I still think YABU. Why take her for emergency treatment later?! It's either an emergency now or not! Do you have out of hours or a walk in clinic?

Not being able to talk without coughing should not be ignored.

glamping I know exactly what I'm talking about actually, lots of experience.

Coughing and failing to breathe from asthma often present identically. My daughters wheeze was only heard with the stethoscope and a machine that said her oxygen was plummeting. What she had was an awful repetitive cough

Not every asthma flare up without immediate treatment is life-threatening, it just isn't.

Since folk so keen to flame OP they'll probably flame me too for asking dumb questions.

How long has she been coughing bad, just today?
If it's sport-induced, does it have high chance of settling on its own?
Do things that help croup also help, like warm steamy room?

If American A&E, 6 hour wait would be typical.

Countess. Never comment on life threatening matters without knowledge. Asthma kills

Yes I am in NZ So honestly she has had this cough many times before. I haven't checked the inhaler as it's been the summer holidays and she hasn't needed it. (she only really uses it in the winter for hockey anyway or cross country)

My son never had a wheeze. A doctor at out of hours once said he looks OK. I said he wasn't then he checked his SATS and prescribed steroids.

The next time anyone wants to post about how crap our NHS is, remember this thread.
If she needs an inhaler she needs to be assessed asap in case the cold is restricting breathing.
When my DS was 22 he ran out of inhaler when he had a cold at 3am, I took him straight to A&E where they assessed him and put him on a nebuliser and got him replacement inhaler to go home with.

OP, use your own judgement. These hysterical people cannot see you dd, don't know her history, and appear to be reading things you haven't written. You know well that is she was immediate need of attention the cost wouldn't even occur to you. Trust yourself, not randoms online on the other side of the world.
Best of luck.

OK. So bottom line. Is your daughter distressed? Is she currently able to comfortably cope without her mess. If yes, wait it out. If no, take her to A&E. Please be guided by her.

Mess = meds

Countess. Read She has inhalers. She gets asthma. Sports induced means exertion can trigger it. She is struggling now. I'm signing out. I hope other readers do not have the impression that it is ok to ignore these symptoms

Thank you countess and ragged.

The cough started on Friday evening after the blocked nose got better, so probably about 18 hours.

The last time we went to the GP about this cough, we asked if she had asthma, not just sports induced and the GP said no.

Not sure about steamy room.

Op it is normal to wait for hours in A and E just go now.

The reason I said go to A&E today is that the OP isn't sure that she will get an appointment with the doctor so will have to go to A&E anyway.

The difference between NZ $20 and $50 is less than £15 so well worth the money for her daughter to have the inhaler sooner rather than later. No it probably isn't life threatening if she has sports induced asthma but if it gives her relief over the next couple of days then surely that's worth it?

Sports induced asthma IS proper asthma. And it's triggered by exertion. Coughing a lot is exertion. Take it from me who has it and ended up hospitalised when coughing triggered an asthma attack. I was in an airport and I didn't have an inhaler on me, thank fuck they did.

If she needs an inhaler she needs to be assessed asap in case the cold is restricting breathing.

From what OP is saying, she wouldn't get assessed asap. She'd be triaged & since still walking & not visibly wheezing she'd wait for hours & hours.

Mayo Clinic says that humidifiers or dehumidifiers sometimes help, you don't know until you try. I think I'd ask her if she thinks a hot shower might help. And think how to lower her stress in meantime (doesn't cortisol play a part in worsening attacks?)

DS doesn't have asthma but gets very occasional (viral induced) slight wheezing. We don't seek treatment, have kind of learned to roll with it.

Hope she feels better very soon.

I bet most of the people flaming me don't have to pay healthcare. I am currently paying $5.5k for DD's braces. So it's not like I'm neglecting her health.

DD is not distressed, its just annoying.