Tips to keep asthma at bay please

[PartyFops]

DD (19m) has just been diagnosed with Asthma and is also recovering from pneumonia. I am so new to this asthma thing it makes my head spin a bit.

Does anyone have any tips for me to try and keep it at bay, for instance is a warm bedroom suggested, her room can get really cold but I wrap her up really well, but will the cold air cause a problem?

Do I avoid taking her swimming, which she loves.

Do I now need to hoover the house every day? ( I have 3 cats)

Should I start avoiding dairy?

Should I avoid having log fires? (we only ever have these after she has gone to bed).

Any tips?

[Sirzy]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/childrens_health/1644194-Wheezing-into-2013-Support-thread-for-parents-of-asthmatics

The support thread for anyone needing general asthma chat/venting/advice.

[Startail]

Does that matter, loads of useful info in here and the recent very cold then get warmer weather plus sodding tree pollen has probably set lots if people off.

I know chasing about in the cold has effected DD1, who is another who say aerosol deodorants should be banned. They are officially, but the school changing rooms are still full of them.

Her asthma is strongly stress related and swimming and especially singing help. She's a serious singer and concentrating on getting it right seems to break the cycle.

[Jojay]

ZOMBIE THREAD!!!!!

[popsnsqeeze]

One more thing!
I NEVER wheezed! I still don't when I get an attack.

[popsnsqeeze]

I haven't read through the entire thread so apologies of this has been mentioned.
I had horrible asthma as a kid, it's under control now but I still get attacks when the weather changes.

Triggers for me:
Weather change
Feathers - duvet, pillows even feather jacket.

Also, when I would start feeling a bit puffy I would get (and still do!) an itchy chin. No idea why, but I've always had that. I always take a puff on my inhaler to ward off whatever is coming. It's probably worth watching your DC to see if they get a sign like that, apparently it's not unusual.

Good luck!

[gussiegrips]

Found it! Phew. I'll link here incase anyone wants to find the chat... x

[gussiegrips]

I thought I'd read a thread about asthma on here can't find it. Anyone know where it is?

sorry for hijack.

[crazydrunkevilhamster]

3 months not years
I'll go now

[crazydrunkevilhamster]

Ooh also if you were given the huge opaque space & she/he doesn't take to it (it would scare the hell out of my Ds) ask your go for an Aerochamber as they are smaller & have Teddies on plus also easier to transport .
I got my Ds the little life back pack to keep his in that way I never forget to take it anywhere & he felt grown up having his own little bag & he is always jazzing his up with stickers

[crazydrunkevilhamster]

My Ds4 is Asthmatic & has been on all those meds since he was 3 years old .
Their is no need to become excessively clean all of a sudden as long as the Hoovering & dusting gets done .
I have had to switch to Organic fruit & veg due to the chemicals sprayed on them .
My Top tip which really helps my Ds when he is bad is to give him a nice hot bath in either the Vicks or Olbas bubble bath & smother his chest & feet in Vicks , I sound crazy but this really does help him
Also stick a pillow under the head of her mattress to help breathing while sleeping (i was advised to do this by my Ds' pediatrician )
HTH

[TelephoneTree]

Where do you live? I can recommend a good nutritionist/naturopath in Richmond London but they are all over the place. You need to find the trigger for why her immune system is so reactive. It may be environmental or something she's eating.

With our DS it was wheat. He had to have a few other things removed from his diet temporarily while his body got sorted out but it's made a profound difference for him. He is now full of energy, thriving and barely gets a cold. Before he was tired and weary, constant runny nose, coughing at night and if he got a cold (frequent) he's be wheezing all over the place.

I can't recommend that you see someone highly enough. It will change her life.

[cathpip]

My sons asthma always flares up badly when the there is a change in temperature, even going from hot to air con will also start him off. We have found that giving 2 puffs of his blue inhaler twice a day followed 10 mins later with 2 puffs of his brown inhaler (twice a day) has worked a treat, it keeps the cough at bay and prevents any attacks developing (we found that once an attack had started the inhalers could not bring it under control, even after 36 hours)

[Sirzy]

Temperature and weather changes are a big problem for DS. We have had an awful few weeks because of the up and down weather

[ivykaty44]

dd1 is also allergic to cats and has asthma, she is fine in a house with cats where all the floors are wooden - as really it is the saliva on the cats hairs in the carpet that she is allergic to and in a house with wooden floors there are no cat hairs lingering with saliva on them.

[ivykaty44]

I struggle with changes in temperature - hung from cold to hot, outdoor to indoor and vice versa. It's not the temp as such but the change.

That is the big one for me, a frosty morning walk is fine - but then going into an over heated shop is not a good move for me.

[MrsHiddleston]

On another note... Only when it very cold, a cold bedroom wouldn't affect my asthma, but going for a wall when it's 0degrees would.

[MrsHiddleston]

Oh dear and one more thing I will be slated for I expect but I would not have cats... I am massively allergic and they are major triggers to my asthma (that and horses).

[MrsHiddleston]

As an asthmatic there was one thing my parents did that literally changed my life! Removed carpet and put a wooden floor down in my bedroom. I kid you not it was a major turning point in my childhood health.

Still asthmatic at 36 and still won't have carpet in my bedroom.

Stuffed teddy bears are also a bit of a no no... Anything that can get very dusty and be difficult to clean.

[coorong]

And I realise this is the last thing to hear, but anxiety can trigger attacks. So try (easier said than done) to be calm and serene, it will help ... think whales and butterflies and waves lapping the shore......

[coorong]

agree you need to see if you can find the triggers - one nephew is allergic to dogs and horses, another is triggered by viruses and at university i had a friend with exercised induced asthma triggered by pollen.

The NHS website has useful information. At school we are warned not to sit asthma prone children next to open windows when it's cold outside. The temperature difference can trigger or aggravate an attack.

Talk to your Asthma nurse - they've usually seen everything and wil have some great advice. Don't get paranoid about food allergies - they're supposed to be a minor contributory factor.

[MistyB]

Darn, old thread!!

[MistyB]

Just to add the list of things to think about.... Not all of them may be relevant and no individual one will be a magic cure but I find every little things adds to the picture.

Household chemicals - I would ditch the flash wipes and try to keep chemicals as simple as possible

Creams etc : the range of reactions and substances reacted to in this category are vast, anything with petroleum is a no no for DS2

Toothpaste: DS2 rubs his nose when having his teeth cleaned and hates it, changing to a non aluminum and non Sodium Lareth Sulphate one has helped unbelievably and reduced his wheezing.

Food - DS has food intolerences including wheat and dairy (which the latest consultant believes are at the root of all allergies). He is also allergic to peanuts and sesame, we had reintroduced sesame after a negative skin prick test but it seems that was the wrong thing to do, we have now excluded again and he is much better.

Vitamin C is a natural antihistamine and can be given in large doses when she is not well. Also look at her diet for essential fatty acids, coconut oil, borage, walnut, sesame, sunflower, olive, flax seed and fish oils, all provide different elements required for a healthy immune system. Blue tansy essential oil rubbed on the back of his hands has also helped.

Also, worth having a look at Buteko breathing (in and out through the nose basically). Actually relatively easy to teach at this age, put her on her side to sleep and lie beside her with your hand gently under her chin. A few nights will make all the difference. You can also put your hands on her tummy which brings attention to her breath and get her to push your hand out. Get her to lie on the floor on her tummy supported by her hands when playing / watching TV / having stories which will also encourage deep lung breathing.

And finally, osteopathy can loosen up the upper chest area and allow the lungs to properly fill.

[Jolsen]

A neighbour of mine has two children that are allergy suffers especially when sleeping. I asked her what she uses and she advised to buy anti-allergy duvets from JL and found excellent pillows here www.myduvetandpillow.co.uk/products/sanitized-microfibre-pillow
I believe it is a Swiss pillow which is very good.

[gomummygone]

Yy to asthma nurse, they are fab.

Paediatric allergist explained to us how limited allergy testing is, said that they only find the allergen in about 15% of cases. Notes help a lot in this situation - especially when is it worse? At night, lying down, after activity, in heat or cold, even things like visiting certain places, eating certain foods, etc.

Hope your DD is feeling better soon.

[Jojay]

It really depends on what her triggers are.

My Ds's suffer from viral wheeze which gives asthma symptoms, severe at times. (they've been hospitalised several times, on quite strong preventer meds)

They've been allergy tested too and they came back negative to cats, dogs, house dustmites, and grass and tree pollen, so avoiding those things makes not one jot of difference to them.

Saying that, your DD's symptoms don't sound like viral wheeze as it's been going on for so long - you say coughing since June. That might well be allergy triggered.

Have to been referrred to an asthma nurse? They're great on this kind of thing, and push for allergy testing.