Looking for tips for dd with an asthmatic cough after a cold

[Catren]

Hi wise mnetters. My 3yo dd tends to get lingering wet coughs after a cold, and i usually take her to the gp after a week or so of the cough and they've told me it's viral and will pass. They do pass after several weeks although it disrupts her sleep and play as she can't run around too much without a coughing fit.

She's currently in week 2 of The Cough (after a cold prior to that), and I saw a different gp to the usual one and she looked at her history, noticed dds eczema and asked about asthma. None of our families have it but she said it was linked to eczema. The gp didn't diagnose her with asthma but said the post viral cough is triggering an asthmatic response so she's prescribed ventilin and a spacer to be given when she's got the cough.

So I'll start using this with her, but are there other things i should do to make her more comfortable and the cough less frequent?

She likes sleeping with a fan (it's summer where we are), is this a no no? It gets a bit humid here so should i be using a dehumidifier in her room?

Any other tips would be much appreciated as the world of asthma is very new to me.

Thanks so much in advance

I'd focus on keeping her bedroom dust free and get some anti allergy bedding.

Using the ventolin will be a great relief to her.
No cats/dogs.

Expect the cough to get wetter after the ventolin. It loosens up the phlegm so that they can cough it up. The relief of it is brilliant.
Be religious about administering it. Don't think it's something you should only give when she's bad. I almost died with my first asthma attack. I literally couldn't breathe from coughing. It's pretty serious in some instances, and on a daily basis it's very uncomfortable.

Thanks for your replies so far. I hadnt considered dust, so might up the vacuuming schedule. No pets here so that's good.

Allergens don't always trigger all asthmatics. My daughter is severely asthmatic and under the care of the hospital. Following all the tests her triggers are viral illness and pollen only. No reaction to dogs, cats, tree pollen, dust mites, etc.

My daughter is a cough asthmatic which is triggered by excess mucous. She has been fully allergy tested but all came back negative. She is on meds - montelukast tablets plus brown and blue inhalers. The things that help us when she is at her worst are as follows:

• Humidifier in her room (wet towel on radiator can do a similar thing).
• making sure her room gets a good airing in the daytime.
• Vicks on her feet with socks on (no idea why this works, but it makes a massive difference)
• piriton - recommended by her paediatrician, as it can help with the irritation response.

Hope some of that might help you. Good luck!

Thank you threesox! That's all really helpful. Vicks on feet sounds bonkers but I'll try it! Thanks

Dust isn't an allergen for everyone, but it can still irritate the airways so always a good idea to keep on top of hoovering/dusting etc.

I was diagnosed with asthma as an adult after a really stressful period, but DCs were both given inhalers for what our GP called 'wheezy bronchitis' at around 2 and have never had to use them since. Hopefully your DD will grow out of it, but with a history of eczema be prepared that it might be something that continues. As a PP said, be militant about ventolin usage. My first asthma attack was fairly mild, but my most recent one left me hospitalised for a week. It can be so dangerous if not well controlled.
You sound like you're doing all the right things OP.

With my ds what helps him is for his bedroom window to be on vent all year. Like pp he had a brown and blue inhaler and takes montelukast.

My son was like that in the first few years, we used Ventolin when needed, and had steroids on standby but only needed them once. As he’s got older he’s grown out of it