wheezy whistly upper respiratory tract noise vs down-in-the chest asthma wheeze

[whenwillisleepagain]

Hi, I am just looking for a bit of advice and reassurance, I did discuss this issue with my GP a while back, who said when children get coughs and colds you can hear the mucous moving around a lot more than in adults, so if you've got a child with asthma it can sound worrying but is in fact not as serious as it sounds.

My 5 yr old DS has asthma, recent diagnosis after a few episodes of viral wheeze as a toddler, then a couple of trouble-free years on v low dose of clenil. He's been more susceptible to colds this winter, GP thinks could be combination of starting Reception class and less robust airways. Meds were reviewed and changed last week and GP couldn't hear any wheezing.

Anyway, sorry, I am getting to the point! Last night I went into DS's room and there was quite a wheezy sound coming from him, which worried me. When I checked he wasn't breathing any faster than usual and hardly much louder (quite often, even when I am worrying about him, he breathes so softly at night it can hardly be heard, which makes me think I am just overanxious) than usual. I assumed the noise was just what you'd expect because his nose really is blocked up with tail end of latest cold plus he has a really phlegmy cough that sounds like it's on the move from his chest. This morning he seemed fine, but I've asked school to give him reliever inhaler before PE.

Am I right in following rule of thumb - if he's not tugging and struggling for breath, then upper airways noise is ok when he has this sort of cold?
thank you.

Hi, its really hard to know the difference isn't it? My dd, almost 3 has had a few chesty episodes which have required steroid tablets, and tbh she has sounded the same in terms of wheeziness as when she has a cold. She has a rotten stinker of a cold atm and sounds awful, but she is happy, not struggling to breathe, eating, playing etc, but the rattling in her chest sounds horrid. Dr has advised she won't be happy, eating, running around if its bad, so I just give her her inhalers. Its so hard though, as a baby I used to rush her to the docs and they'd be like 'her lungs are clear'....but she sounded AWFUL...So no help sorry, but am in the same boat.

also watching with interest/empathising. DS is 3, asthmatic, also had a couple of good years after a rotten winter 2 yrs ago. We are on day 5 of rotten cough, chest was clear on day 2. With him is is made trickier because he gets v high temperatures, and his symptoms with a 40+ fever look remarkably like asthma symptoms.
Hope your DS is better soon, agree that if he seems well in self that's a good sign.

Finally got a minute to post, thank you for your replies, sorry both your DCs have their moments with asthma / wheeze. It's reassuring to know I'm not alone in finding it a hard judgement to make. I am in fact taking DS to OOH doc at 5pm because he's doing unusually loud wheezing which is not particularly relieved by ventolin, but it's all in his throat / mouth. However the rest of the family are in different stages of viral meltdown, including me, so not sure I'm making any good decisions today, but decided to take no chances in case he's starting something more serious. He has been on top form for the last two weeks since he started a new inhaler - seretide - so hoping this is not a setback.

I think it is a case of knowing your own child.
Ds is 2.2 and asthmatic and we have found that any wheeze with him is bad and give ventolin straight away, he also often doesn't show the same signs of being ill you would expect (he has been known to be dancing around a cot while attached to oxygen!), but I know what point he needs more help than I can give at home - normally when he starts recessing