DC Asthma

[Thepostmanisalwayslate]

DC 11 has just been diagnosed with Asthma, we have blue and brown inhalers but should I been doing anything else to help?

Dog and cat fur, do I need to worry about them being a trigger?

DC has a memory foam mattress already.

Carpet gets hoovered 3 times a week, should I do more?

Anything else I need to know?

Do you know what their triggers are? Do you have a spacer device? If not ask for one as they deliver the inhalers much better.

Yes we have a spacer thing, no idea what triggers it.

GP originally said hayfever when I first took her months ago, no antihistamines had been working (3/4 different types and strengths)

DC had been getting worse.

Had a different GP today and left with the pumps and spacer device.

Do I need to keep a close eye on DC around the pets?

GP's last words today "make sure you don't skip using the brown pump as it could be fatal"

Yes a lot of people stop using the brown one after symptoms improve which causes it to become uncontrolled again so it is very important to keep taking it. I would keep an eye on how they are around pets as it could be a trigger but also might not be. Pets don't trigger mine but things like areosols, smoke and cold air do.

My ds (and I) both have Asthma. DS was diagnosed very young, about 3.

The thing that really got everything under control was him having a tablet called Montelukast every night. It's classed as prevention alongside brown inhalers. For us, it was what stopped us going regularly into hospital.
Ask about it at next Asthma clinic and see if they will prescribe.

We buy cheap bed pillows every 4-6 months. I don't bother with anti-allergen ones.

Wash bed clothes at higher temp to get rid of dust mites.

Everyone has a different trigger. Ours are animal hair but also winter colds go straight to the chest. This is where the use of brown preventative inhalers come in.

Don't let the GP scare you. Dealing with asthma is perfectly ok - as long as you take the right medicines regularly. My DS is now 11 and went through a phase last winter if not bothering with his brown inhalers as he was lazy and didn't see any 'immediate' result. Unknown to me he stopped. His asthma got much worse. He only admitted it at asthma clinic!

Don't worry. You can do this.

Both DC's have asthma.
They are triggered by winter colds and hayfever over the summer.
Both are on brown and blue inhalers and the tablet mentioned above.

The one thing that we found has made a huge improvement especially over the spring and summer is not drying anything outside, we now use a tumble dryer all the time for everything. We also brought a couple of air purifiers and they have helped.

Has DC been tested for triggers? Dust mites was one of ours, wet dusting, vacuuming etc. Laborious but seem to help.

No testing for triggers, is this some I should be asking for?

Also thank you for the air purifying tip, will look into them.

Should I get a dehumidifier for DC bedroom?