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Original poster

Wheezing into 2013 - Support thread for parents of asthmatics

993 replies

Sirzy · 26/12/2012 14:19

As the old thread is filling up I thought I would get a new one started!

This thread is for anyone with a child with asthma, or asthma type symptoms. Between us we have to much experience of inhalers, nebulisers, steroids, sats and all things asthma!

OP posts:
funkypigeon · 18/12/2013 23:23

Thanks cedmonds

We came back earlier on but I have sats fingertip probe Blush

Yes DS missed his first nativity ever this week, I think I was more disappointed than him! Hope your DS improves soon.

Original poster
Sirzy · 19/12/2013 12:26

Funky, DS sats always drop overnight. That is why our hospital won't discharge until they have done a night without needing oxygen, before now DS has been fine in the day but still needed oxygen overnight.

Hope he is better today

OP posts:
cedmonds · 19/12/2013 21:04

funky how is he tonight? I have a stats monitor at home as well x

ilovemydogandMrObama · 21/12/2013 16:08

Hello! Haven't been on thread for awhile, sorry to see familiar names Sad

DD1 has had a few serious episodes, with the most dramatic being ambulance called from school trip.

Her consultant changed her medication around, and she's now on Symbicort which seems to have improved the frequency of her attacks.

Happy Christmas. Smile

Original poster
Sirzy · 21/12/2013 20:50

Hope the new symibcort works for her Ilove. Must have been scary being told she had gone from a school trip in an ambulance - did the school handle it well?

OP posts:
lollipoppi · 21/12/2013 21:26

I've not heard of that one ilove, hope it continues to make an improvement. Gosh that sounds scary for you Hmm

Original poster
Sirzy · 23/12/2013 16:38

how is everyone doing?

DS is quite wheezy tonight, we normally end up in A and E between christmas and new year so hoping he isn't going to repeat that this year.

OP posts:
ilovemydogandMrObama · 23/12/2013 18:58

The school trip was a bit confused. The teacher called me, and wasn't sure what to do, so I dashed there, which was about 20 minutes away.

Unfortunately there was zero phone reception, so wasn't sure where she was. Hmm. DD1 was struggling, although the teacher did give her 10 puffs of Ventolin, and that's all she could really do.

I ended up calling the ambulance and then they couldn't get phone reception, but had a phone to ambulance control which seemed to work.

Fortunately, DD1 has a yellow file, I think this is what it's called, at Children's Hospital, so when the ambulance called, the crew knew that she could crash at any time, and was brought straight in, and monitored throughout.

The asthma nurse at Children's Hospital said that when DD1 goes on longer school trips, it's possible to register with the ambulance service so that they send a paramedic rather than a technician?

lollipoppi · 27/12/2013 09:21

Hi all

Hope you all managed a hospital free Christmas!?

Morrigu · 31/12/2013 01:00

Hi, hope yous don't mind me posting? Think I have posted on an earlier thread with a different name and got some good advice under the brittle asthma thread I started.

Getting really stressed with ds's asthma atm. Seems to be never-ending for months now. Got two ventolin inhalers on Friday afternoon and had to ring this morning as he's already on the second, and that's with the three back to back nebs and course of pred on Friday. He's six and all I can hear him saying to himself at times is 'I hate this' Wish I could take it away from him :(

lollipoppi · 31/12/2013 11:21

Oh morrigu, sorry your DS is poorly, that does seem like a lot of ventolin since Friday Hmm
Bless him that must be hard to hear, my DS is 3 so doesn't really understand how much asthma hinders him at the moment

RTjoke · 02/01/2014 08:27

Hi, I'm wondering if you ladies could give me some advice on wheezy babies and sleeping?

My DS is 7.5 months and has had two episodes of bronchiolitis requiring hospitalisation and one episode of croup. He is very wheezy especially at night and due to his age neither salbutamol nor atrovent inhalers seem to help. Since Boxing Day he has only been able to sleep if upright and on an adults chest. We did this for several nights when he was very ill and now if I lay him in his cot, even with one end raised, he screams and is soon coughing, wheezing and gasping for breath so he ends up back on our chests. DH and I are beyond exhausted, obviously we can leave him to cry given how wheezy that makes him. How did you guys get wheezy babies to sleep.

Also DS has been given no medical follow-up, he was just discharged with inhalers and in going a bit out of my mind that his breathing is still really bad but no medical person seems to care. I took him tithe GP who sent us straight back to A&E but A&E just checked his oxygen levels which were ok and told us to use the (useless) inhalers more often. If you had a wheezy baby were they under a specialist's care.

Sorry for the long post, in sleep deprived and worried.

Morrigu · 07/01/2014 13:00

Yes it was a bit easier when he was younger lollipoppi as he didn't really know what was going on. Now as soon as the gp mentions going to the hospital his face crumples and he bursts into tears.

We got three whole days of good health before he started coughing again last night. He was saying mum I can't do this again.. felt like replying I know how you feel son. Here we got with another week or so of stress and no sleep.

RT ds was very wheezy from a baby although he actually didn't catch much, probably because he was prem so I didn't take him too much or socialised with other kids because of the risk of RSV. Took until he was hospitalised twice before they diagnosed him with asthma and even then I've been pretty much the same - just inhalors with no specialist care bar the yearly review at the asthma clinic. He's 6 and we've only been referred now to a consultant as going off his records this year the A&E doc could see his asthma is nowhere near under control. With regards to sleep I did pretty much what you are doing - upright on chest and sneaking him off once he'd drifted off. Hope your ds is feeling better now.

lollipoppi · 08/01/2014 15:33

Morrigu how is he doing today?

RT how is your DS now, when ds1 was very young we had to sleep with him upright on our chest, but as he got older we could just raise his cot or mattress
DS was diagnosed with asthma at 18months but we had been in hospital 5 times by then and his dad has asthma so there was no point in dragging out the diagnoses until the guidelines told them it was ok to diagnose!
I would push for a referral, maybe he needs a preventer inhaler.

lollipoppi · 08/01/2014 15:35

Also RT, have they explained to you how to use the inhalers effectively, I'm shocked how many people are just sent away with inhalers and not told how to use them!

WellThatsLife · 10/01/2014 14:16

Dd's asthma been fine for last few months but last few days has had a persistent coughnad had to use quite a lot of ventolin to stop episodes but she doesn't sound wheezy and her peak flow is fine. She doesn't seem that ill or tired so am just monitoring and keeping an eye on her, at what point would you consider gong to dr

Original poster
Sirzy · 10/01/2014 14:23

DS was under a specialist from about 8 months old, diagnosed at 12 months. I have found the specialist care a godsend because the GP really is useless.

Well, with DS we have to get help if 10 puffs of ventolin doesn't hold him 4 hours. I think the normal is if 5 puffs doesn't hold but if your concerned get her checked out

OP posts:
RTjoke · 11/01/2014 09:52

Thanks all. I lost this thread but just saw your replies. DS is a lot better and we have managed to get him into his cot with the mattress raised. We are using humidifiers in his room which helps a bit too. I think if he has another episode this winter in going to really push for a specialist appointment. My maternity leave finishes next week and he starts nursery with lots of other babies and their associated sniffles so I'm rather worried he will be ill again within the fortnight.

WellThatsLife · 17/01/2014 21:52

Peak flow kept dropping, coughing a lot so ended up at gps. She's back on prednisolone(5 day course) but thankfully no infection. She seems yo be slowly improving so will see what happens, just won't to avoid another hospital stay if possible

giraffesCantMakeResolutions · 17/01/2014 21:55

Hola. Am an adult with brittle asthma. i know a few of you from our adult asthma thread in Health which is much quieter than this.

Just saw this thread pop up in active and thought would pop in to see how your dc all are.

Am a bit crap just now - seems to be the bad season for it - colds and infections plus cold weather spells trouble eh?

I have manged to crack a rib coughing which I thought was quite impresssive.

Hope all your dc are on the mend soon.

Original poster
Sirzy · 17/01/2014 21:57

Well, hope the pred words.

Hi Giraffes, hope you feel better soon. DS is doing ok other than when he does anything too active even 5 puffs of ventolin before he starts isn't helping at the moment. Thankfully he is back at his consultant next week so hopefully we can get some answers - getting a copy of the medicine form from pre-school to show how much they have had to give him extra inhaler there too.

OP posts:
AFingerofFudge · 18/01/2014 23:21

Hi all. Never posted on here before but wondered if I could pick your brains?

DS2 is 11, and although had tonsils out aged 4, and occasional ventolin needed when he had a chest infection etc, he's never had asthma as such.
Well 2 weeks ago took him to the doctors as he kept complaining about his breathing - that it was hard and he felt quite wheezy. Although I could tell he was working to breath, it didn't sound wheezy in the way that DS1 used to wheeze when he was younger (he had a cat allergy that made him wheeze when he was younger but he is now 14 and for the past few years seems to have grown out of it)
Well, doctor was concerned enough to give him a 5 day course of pred, and a brown preventer and a blue inhaler
To cut a long story short, it seemed to temporarily help but over the past few days has got worse and worse again and he seems to be permanently coughing (hasn't got a cold).
I had to collect him from school yesterday at lunchtime as he was struggling and so I took him back to the doctors. We have another weeks worth of pred, and a stronger preventer.
So 24 hours on and he doesn't seem to be any better. I can hear him coughing and coughing in bed, he has coughed all day and although chirpy in himself he looks knackered!
So should I do anything else? Or just wait a week to see if the pred works? He genuinely seems fine and happy in himself, just annoyed with the coughing.
Oh, and a friend lent me her son's pulse oximeter (her 3 year old has a terrible time with asthma and is very hard to control Sad) and his sats have been around 91-94% the few times I've checked.

Any thoughts would be appreciated x

lollipoppi · 20/01/2014 16:04

Hello AFinger, based on what you've said about the constant coughing and low stats I would have him back to the doctors, or even a&e. How is his breathing? Is he working hard to breath or breathing very fast?

Original poster
Sirzy · 26/01/2014 11:54

How is everyone doing?

DS ended up in a and e last night with a severe croup attack and given dexmethasone, breathing awful this morning so now on 3 days of pred too. Thankfully seeing the consultant on Thursday.

OP posts:
lollipoppi · 26/01/2014 19:45

Oh no Sirzy did you have to stay in? Hope he is ok

DS is doing ok at the mo, still needing ventolin now and again but coping well at home