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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to have kept my ds in doors for the last month?

48 replies

mummysgoingmad · 05/01/2010 22:43

My ds (13 months) was admitted to yorkhill childrens hospital a week before xmas with a suspected asthma attack. That was the second time he was admitted in less than a month. My dh thinks i'm being over protective for not taking him out.

The last time he was taken in he had to be put on oxygen which completely broke me (theres a lump in my throat as i'm writing this). I was very ill as a child, i have asthma and was constantly in hospital on drips, heart monitors oxygen etc. So i know how sore an asthma attack is.

He thinks i'm being paranoid and says "every little cough and your on edge", but i think i'm being responsible to listen and watch for the signs of another attack.

He says it isn't fair on ds to keep him cooped up everyday, which is right to a point but i really dont want to run the risk of taking him out in the frost which could close his airways and start an attack.

Am i being paranoid or responsible?

OP posts:
SixtyFootDoll · 05/01/2010 22:49

I dont know if you are wrong or right.
I cant imagine how you are feeling.
My DS had a viral asthmatic episode and it was terrifying.

hf128219 · 05/01/2010 22:53

I would take your GP's or Consultant's advice.

MmeLindt · 05/01/2010 22:55

I understand your anxiety, it must be terrifying for your to watch your DS in pain and distressed.

Not being an asthma sufferer, I cannot tell you the 'right' thing to do but I do think that keeping your DS indoors is not a good idea.

The fresh air may do him good. As long as he is wrapped up warm and not out for long.

I think that you have to accept that he may have health problems that you might not always be able to prevent. If he has an asthma attack it is because he is alive and experiencing life not because you failed to protect him.

sparklefrog · 05/01/2010 22:56

Suspected asthma attack?

Sorry, don't mean to sound rude, but has your DS been diagnosed with asthma, and if he has, what treatment have you been given for him?

What triggered his suspected asthma attack in the first place?

Original poster
mummysgoingmad · 05/01/2010 22:57

they havent really given me any advice because they cant diagnose him as asthmatic as he's too young and the drugs they typically use on asthmatics may not work. we're definatly heading that way though if hes admitted again. they told me to keep an eye on his breathing which i've been doing. my mum told me to keep him in doors. My mother knows more about this condition than most doctors..seriously!

OP posts:
SecretSlattern · 05/01/2010 22:58

Same experience here with DS. We ventured out for emergency supplies but that was it, no more than 10 mins at a time.

The cold weather starts off a whole load of breathing difficulties for DS, needing hospital, oxygen, nebulisers etc.

YADefNBU

SlartyBartFast · 05/01/2010 22:59

how is your ds now?

is he well?

sparklefrog · 05/01/2010 23:00

Why does your mum advise keeping your DS indoors? Is it because of the cold weather? Or to prevent him from coming into contact with something else which may trigger his asthma outside?

odisco · 05/01/2010 23:00

Is there an asthma nurse? - there should be one in Yorkhill. Ring the ward/consultant and ask. Or the Asthma UK support group. They are there for situations like this. Talk to someone. And explain it in more detail to your DH.

Asthma is really common and treatment has improved. Just because you had a bad time does NOT mean he will so try not to panic. Not everyone gets wheezy in the cold so you will have to take him out to see. Wrap him up warm and go on a short walk. Then on a longer one. If necessary consider giving him a puff of inhaler before you go out. Put your rational head on - you won't be any more rational if he starts to wheeze at home than when you are out!

You are being responsible in watching for signs but asthma shouldn't limit your son's enjoyment of the snow. We may not get any like this again for a while. Go and let him feel it!

Original poster
mummysgoingmad · 05/01/2010 23:03

they dont know what triggered it. The last time he took an attack i had him out in his buggy, it was really frosty and very cold, so i think that may have triggered it, as thats one of my triggers.

OP posts:
TimothyTigerTuppennyTail · 05/01/2010 23:07

I have asthma, and so does my mum. My DS's best friend has it, and so does one of my closest friends who has to have regular injections.

I have never come across asthma caused by the cold though. In fact mine was triggered at age 12 when we had central heating installed.

Have you got a garden you could pop out in to and see how he goes? It might not be the problem.

SixtyFootDoll · 05/01/2010 23:07

THe cold weather can trigger it
DS was suspected asthamtic - too young to diagnose.
I noticed his breathing worsened during a cold spell
But No fresh air - just doesnt seem right.
I would get medical advice.

Original poster
mummysgoingmad · 05/01/2010 23:08

he's well just now, he's been very prone to ear infections viral infections etc. sparklefrog - my mum thinks the frost will really go for him as thats what happend to me. he's only 13months but he's a BIG boy 12kg to be exact.

OP posts:
sparklefrog · 05/01/2010 23:08

I would agree with Odisco. It would be a good idea to speak to your asthma nurse.

There are many triggers for asthma, and unfortunately, some of them are trial and error.

Maybe your DS's asthma is triggered by the frosty weather. Have you been given any inhalers by the hospital/drs?

MmeLindt · 05/01/2010 23:08

My Dad has asthma and it is triggered not so much by the cold, as by cold wind.

Get more information first before making a decision, from your consultant, from a nurse.

TimothyTigerTuppennyTail · 05/01/2010 23:09

x-posts mummysgoingmad. But you are the first person I have come across re cold = asthma!

SlartyBartFast · 05/01/2010 23:09

they used to put poorly children out in the fresh air, back in the olden days,

ring the clinic, speak to the asthma nurse, or the sister of the clinic.

MmeLindt · 05/01/2010 23:10

Slarty
That is what my paediatrician told me, his sister had pneumonia as a child and they used to wheel the cots out onto the balcony of the hospital ward to give them fresh air.

sparklefrog · 05/01/2010 23:11

Your DS may not have the same triggers as you too.

SlartyBartFast · 05/01/2010 23:12

as a child i think we always had to have a window open, if we had any illness...

Original poster
mummysgoingmad · 05/01/2010 23:13

I think i'll try taking him out. i scared though. i completly fell apart when they put him on oxygen, its too hard to watch. (ok tears streaming now!)

OP posts:
SlartyBartFast · 05/01/2010 23:14

you will feel better if you ring the clinic in the morning

StewieGriffinsMom · 05/01/2010 23:15

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

sparklefrog · 05/01/2010 23:17

I agree, I would ring the dr's in the morning and speak to an asthma nurse before you do anything else.

It really sounds like you have had a bad time with asthma yourself, and this is colouring your view of your DS's asthma.

Does your DS want to go out? Or is he just as happy to stay in?

Original poster
mummysgoingmad · 05/01/2010 23:18

i have ventolin but they wouldnt give me a preventer..i asked they said if he gets admitted again then maybe, i'll phne the clinic in the morning and see what they suggest. i know he must be board cause i am!

OP posts: