Asthma in toddlers

[Anon778833]

My daughter is nearly 3 and after a bout of illness, she was diagnosed (potentially as no test available at this age) with asthma as her chest was clear but she was coughing in her sleep and it was waking her up. I was told to give her the inhaler at night, which I've been doing and I think it helps her get a more restful sleep.

I've noticed, though that some nights she coughs more than others.

If the inhaler is helping, do I just keep asking for more refills? Her dad is annoying and keeps saying we don't want her to 'rely on it'. I pointed out to him that if she has the condition we can't pretend she doesn't! His adult son has severe asthma, so it makes sense to me that she could have it.

I'm just wondering what other peoples experiences are. Is there anything else I should be doing to help?

Hi Op. Both my children had inhalers before 3 and went on to have an asthma diagnosis. Please ask for a referral to see either a consultant or paeds resp nurse. They were so helpful and diagnosed and treated from diaries of symptoms and videos I took. Please educate your husband, mine was similar and it took a lot to get him to understand that the whole goal is to have no symptoms so you are ahead of the game. Viral wheeze can turn very quickly in that age group. Asthma UK are also amazing, they deal with all resp and have some excellent sticker charts that are fantastic for slightly older kids.

In general it was a good year of back and forth with blue inhalers, a few trips to a and e for nebulisers when there was a cold or chest infection and then a diagnosis and preventer inhaler. Everything got easier then. Make sure grandparents and childcare are on board too and get them to note symptoms like coughing on cold mornings or being off food etc.

Good luck, it is scary and makes you feel terrible, but proactive prevention young really makes a huge difference to managing it well.

Thank you so much for such an informative response @Yellowpotato. DD's dad and I are not together - we coparent. Unfortunately, he seems to be very stubborn about accepting the truth. You would think that with his son having had asthma for many years, that he would understand.

So is it not true that children can't be diagnosed until 6?

There is different types off asthma it kinda sounds like she has sickness asthma which comes on after a child becomes not well. My almost for year old has she is fine when she doesnt have a bug but when she becomes not well she gets it.

What’s wrong with relying on it?
Itll prevent hospitalisation and allow her to actually breathe.

I rely on mine so I don’t die. Happy to.

We are similar to @Yellowpotato except 1 child. Runs on both side of family and something I dealt with as a kid.

yellowpotato summary is good. It’s hard seeing how much you put into them but it’s about managing and preventing so you don’t need those a&e visits. Once you do this then you can manage down how much. Asthma nurses can be brilliant for this once you’ve had the diagnosis.

I too heard about the 6 year old thing but ours was diagnosed under 2 after multiple incidents so I think they are a bit more careful about viral wheezes (often are grown out of) and asthma (which you can grow out of but less likely/ longer term).

good luck with the dad.

Thank you for these replies :)

We've got a Gp appointment on Wednesday so I can ask some more questions about how this should go from here.

I completely agree that of course it's ok to take meds for this. Her dad is annoying (anti-vaxxer say no more)

I have noticed that when she talks, she can sound quite wheezy. And she coughs and wheezes when she becomes excited.

Lately, she hasn't wanted to do as much physical exercise as she once did.

Hi OP, wondered how your little one is getting on now? Have you managed to get her cough under control? My little one has had a cough since November, so more than 4 months. It’s especially hard at night. She’s had the blue inhaler for a couple of months now and that helps when the coughing doesn’t stop by itself. Also started montelukast but that doesn’t seem to help. GP is reluctant to start her on the brown inhaler, because she’s not even 2 yet. I’m getting quite desperate as it’s disrupting her sleep so much…

Hi @SandraMunchkin, I was the OP. So, in the time since I posted, the GP has decided to code my dd as asthmatic, provisionally and she now has an asthma plan. The GP felt that it is reasonable to start her on a brown inhaler as well - she has one puff at night and one in the morning. This has definitely stopped her from coughing at night unless she's got a virus or something.

Some practitioners do seem reluctant to prescribe the brown inhaler but coughing when the child is asleep is considered the main indication that a younger child has asthma so maybe ask for a second opinion? I felt the same as you that it's not fair not to try it when it's affecting sleep.

Hi @MyopicBunny , thank you so much for your answer! How old was your little one when she started on the brown inhaler? Last time we were at the GP they were just about to prescribe the brown inhaler, but then realised it’s from 2 years only and my daughter is only 19 months.

@SandraMunchkin she was 3 years and 2 months.