Mum's of children with asthma

[mychildrenarebarmy]

Has anyone got any good tips for making a child comfortable about using a peak flow meter? DS is just 4 and has been on blue and brown inhalers for just over a year. They were prescribed after he was getting repeated chest infections. I have lost track of the number of times I have tried to get information out of my GP about best use, proper diagnosis etc. I had been told just a couple of months ago (by the GP) that they don't bother assessing children under 6. Last time we needed a repeat prescription we were told by the receptionist that the nurse needed to see him. Sorry, going off on a tangent here.
We tried to get DS to blow into the peak flow to see if she could get a reading but he wouldn't go anywhere near it. She said we can go back again and not to worry about it for now. Has anyone found in the past some good games/persuasion/bribery that has helped their child feel a bit more comfortable about using it? To give a bit of background DS is VERY stubborn and is the sort of child who needs to think something is his idea for him to do it. Any good ideas?

On the plus side I now know the answers to most of my questions and actually felt like she knew what she was talking about and not fobbing me off.

HI ds is also four and i got told they don't tend to do peak flows untill they are older, but they did give one to ds after he had been in hospital.I said to him to try and practice blowing his candles out on a cake and to be able to do it he had to practice blowing.It worked really well. I have also found that he will do anything for choclate, or a new toy.

Hi, I am just so sick of the GP's at our surgery telling me one thing and then a few months later speaking to someone who knows what they are talking about and being told something completely different. Anyway... I think once I can persuade DS to actually do it he will be fine it is the persuading him to do it in the first place. He is a typical male and hates to be told what to do. I forsee lots of playing with dolls in an attempt to make it seem not scary.

DD2 (5yrs old) has asthma, and each time ive taken her they have said 7yrs before doing a peak flow on her.

Took her just before christmas for a check as she was struggling a bit, and the nurse did um and ah about trying the peak flow but decided against it.

I wouldnt be trying to force the issue at 4yrs old at all.

Our GP surgery is another that won't do peak flow until ~7yo. Ds3 has the two inhalers but also SingulAir (montelukast) tablets which complement the brown inhaler and we've noticed a big improvement since using both. We visit the specialist asthma nurse who knows loads - do you have one? Our GPs defer to her in terms of experience.

It's not that I want to force the issue. If they can get readings then it will help find out if he still needs the inhalers that were prescribed to him. I'm not overly comfortable with him having daily inhaler but without a proper diagnosis.

Thank you for the link Pixie. I will come over for questions.

Today was the first time we have seen the asthma nurse hannahshaunt. Over a year after first being given the inhalers. I don't have much faith in our GP's at all after many previous issues so I am glad to have spoken with someone today who knows what they are talking about.

DanJARMouse The nurse was the one who suggested trying it and when DS was not keen we didn't push it.

Many years ago when my brother was young he had asthma badly and one doctor suggested playing "Blow Football" with a pingpong ball and straws (you have to blow the ball into your opponents goal - it can get quite rowdy according to what rules you make up!)

Apparently blowing is good for asthmatic children and gets them used to it for when they're older

Sorry, didnt mean to come across in that way, lord knows I would love DD2 to have a peak flow so we can sort her meds out properly.

As it is at the moment, we play it by ear re the Clenil 100 inhaler, at the moment, she is full of cold and struggling a lot so she is on them, but from aug-oct she didnt have them at all.

Our asthma nurse is brilliant, and she is keen for DD1 not to have the steroid inhalers if she is usually all ok. Winter and Hayfever seasons are our worst times.... oh and if we dont keep on top of the dusting

I like the blow football idea - will definately look into that with DD2.

AimingForSerenity That is an idea I am going to adapt. DS likes the idea of making a model peak flow meter so he can practice so we will use the ping pong balls as a target for the breath!

DanJARMouse That's ok. One reason I would like to try and get the peak flow done is because I am not convinced he needs the Clenil inhaler all year round. I recently persuaded the doctor to reduce it to the 50. He had been on the 100 but I had reduced that to a level where I managed to persuade them the 50 was worth going to. The nurse gave me very useful advise today about how to use it properly and how to see if he would be okay without it.
The dusting thing is a nightmare for me. He is also allergic to dust mites. We have a very dusty house that is really hard to clear. It has improved a lot since I did a MAJOR de-clutter last year and we replaced some of the carpet with laminate. I need to do another big clean up again but the last time I did that he had a really nasty chest infection and was bad with his 'asthma' so DD and DS are going to stay at Granny's for a week so I can do it without the kicked up dust affecting him.