Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Children's health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Flip

Original poster

Stupid blue inhaler question

14 replies

strawberrycornetto · 14/02/2009 13:22

Hi, is there anyone around who can help with a quick question.

DS has been prescribed a blue inhaler and singulair. He's just coming up to 12 months and has had a series of chest infections and also has allergies.

I haven't needed to ues the blue inhaler yet, but at the moment he has a cold which has gone to his chest. He's not coughing all that much but his chest sounds really congested again today. Its the kind where you hold them and you can feel that they are kind of rattly / fluidy in their back/chest, if that makes sense. He's ok in himself but a bit off food.

Is this what I should use the blue inhaler for? At this age, he's not been diagnosed as asthmatic and if anything its the virul wheeze that I've heard referred to. Is this rattly kind of noise count as wheezing and will the blue inhaler help?

Thanks.

OP posts:

ilovemydogandMrObama · 14/02/2009 13:24

Yes, it's what's called a 'reliever' rather than a 'preventer' which are in brown.

DD is the same -- only has asthma when she's ill, but now has gone onto a preventer.

Original poster

strawberrycornetto · 14/02/2009 13:32

Is this noise something that can be helped by the reliever then? I wasn't sure if it was part of a cough rather than asthma? Luckily we are back to see the specialist this week as I am very confused by all this, I've had no experience of it before and it all seems so vague

OP posts:

Original poster

strawberrycornetto · 14/02/2009 13:33

Sorry, ilovemydog, can I just ask, does your DD have to take her preventer all the time or just if you think she is going down with a bug? The singular is a different kind of preventer I think and we aren't sure whether DS will need it all the time or just when he's unwell to try and protect his chest (which doesn't seem to have worked this time...)

OP posts:

smudgethepuppydog · 14/02/2009 13:41

My children take the preventer all the time even when they are apparently well. DD also takes Singulair every day even if she has no asthma symptoms.

Giving your lo the blue inhaler won't do any harm but if it's more of a rattle it might not help much. When my kids wheeze it sounds more like a whistling noise.

norksinmywaistband · 14/02/2009 13:45

My ds has his preventer(flixotide) 2 x daily and singulair at night.
IME the idea is to get the meds to a point when you don't need to use the reliever(salbutamol) as the symptoms are controlled by the other meds.

In reply to your question, When DS is tight in the chest, he refuses his food, coughs and sounds rattly( very rarely sounds wheezy) the blue inhahler normally sorts it out.

If I was you, I would try the inhahler and see if it helps

Poledra · 14/02/2009 13:46

You must keep going with the preventer even when he seems well - it deals with the inflammation which causes the symptoms of asthma. Unfortunately, even with this on board, a virus can cause him to have symptoms .

The blue inhaler will not do him any harm in the circumstances and might help. My DD has been given this medication (though she does not have asthma) when she had a severe chest infection which gave her breathing problems. Her wheeze though was more of a whistling, and you could see her abdomen sucking right in under her ribs in the effort to breathe.

Original poster

strawberrycornetto · 14/02/2009 13:50

Thanks everyone. I have given it to him so hopefully it will help. With DS, he starts with this noise and then ends up with a more whistle-like wheez so maybe it will head that off. I suspect we are heading for antibiotics again though which is really worrying, it will be the 6th lot for chest problems since November. I feel like this winter is neverending!

OP posts:

ilovemydogandMrObama · 14/02/2009 14:00

DD now takes her preventer every day, but it's going to be reviewed next month as I'm not happy with her taking steroids on a regular basis... Obviously better than the alternative which was her getting severe asthma attacks.

She would get a cold, and then would settle in her chest. Apparently it wasn't asthma as she didn't have any asthma symptoms when well. The blue inhalers seemed to help her symptoms, but she was getting colds more and more frequently that went to her chest, so the hospital gave her a preventer which seems to have worked as she hasn't had an asthma attack since being on the preventer.

There seems to be a real reluctance to label a child as asthmatic. There may be a clinical definition?

Ivykaty44 · 14/02/2009 14:10

Book an appointment with your gp nurse to get her/him to explain the ventolin and how it works as it really is best that you have a full understanding of the medicine and how it works.

I have had a workmate try to tell me how to take my ventoline and she is scarely wrong!! I just ignore her - but there are a lot of misconceptions out there (dont see anyone who has it wrong on this thread)

Original poster

strawberrycornetto · 14/02/2009 14:19

Ilovemydog, your DD sounds quite similar to DS. They are also reluctant to label him as asthmatic, but I am happy about that as long as he does get the right treatment.

Ivykaty, we are going back to see the respiratory consultant who has prescribed DS's medicines on Thursday so if he wants us to continue I will either try to get a better understanding from him or make an appointment to see an asthma nurse. Last time I saw him I was really worried that something was terribly wrong with DS because he'd been so unwell so I kind of absorbed the news that he thought he was generally ok and didn't really take in the rest. Stupid of me, normally I write things down.

Uh oh, DS has just woken up coughing so I'm off.....

OP posts:

Poledra · 14/02/2009 14:52

They are reluctant to label small children as asthmatic as the tests used to diagnose asthma cannot be performed by them - they use lung function tests such as peak flow and forced expiratory volume, and small children can't be coached in how to do these manouevres. Also, quite a lot of little ones have wheeze which they will grow out of, so the asthma label would not be helpful. Have a look here if you want some more info on what these tests are (or I can write more about it if you want but I don't want to bore anyone )

Original poster

strawberrycornetto · 14/02/2009 20:48

Thanks Poledra. Thanks for the link too, its really helpful .I really hope he grows out of it, everyone in our immediate family is atopic but no one else has asthma so maybe he will be lucky.

OP posts:

jaz2 · 14/02/2009 21:42

DS has a preventer (flixotide) and a blue inhaler (he had bronchiolitus at 6mo). We have been given quite a lot of conflicting advice about how to use each. It was only after our 3rd time in hospital (when he was 12mo) that a respiratory nurse came to see us and gave us what seemd to be the most sound and confident advice. She suggested that we give DS the blue inhaler as soon as he gets a cough, and not wait for it to go to a wheeze (by which time he deteriorates quite quickly).

Over the last year this really has seemed to work (possibly combined with him getting bigger and his "tubes" more robust) - and the last two colds haven't turned into frightening wheezes and hospital trips.

But my advice would be seek as many peoples opinions as possible, and don't rely on the advice of one health care professional!

Hope your DS is better soon.

mrstimlovejoy · 14/02/2009 21:47

they won't diagnose a child under 5 as asthmatic.had to take my dd [4] to a&e on thurs as had problems breathing this is a regular thing and she is on inhalers.when she's like this we were told to use blue inhaler 10 times and repeat if needed after 4 hours.

Flip