6 month old with cough - been given baby inhaler - is she asthmatic?

[Millsie1]

My 6 month old has an awful cough and has been prescribed a baby ventolin thing to help her airways. I am terrified that this virus might mean that she develops asthma in later life - or indeed is a sign that she's already seriously asthmatic. What can I do to help her? I am terrified and desperately upset about the whole thing.

I know how you're feeling. I felt the same when my DD was prescribed ventolin at around the same age - I felt the doctor didn't explain in enough detail at the time.

I've since found out that it's prescribed at this age to be preventative as well as to treat the symptoms of the cough.

In other words they don't necessarily think your baby is asthmatic - they want to help make sure your baby's lungs don't get damaged which would make asthma more likely in future.

My DD is 3 now and she doesn't have asthma. But even now we still give her a puff of ventolin if she gets a very bad cough.

HTH

Lots of babies are prescribed ventolin and do not go on to develop asthma, I agree with Inmyhead above, GPs give ventoli to prevent the damage that may cause asthma.

Even if your DD does have asthma it does not prevent her from leading a full and active life. My DD has chronic, severe asthma but still represents our County and our Region in Triathlon and swimming. She even holds County records for all 3 distance freestyle events in her age group.

hi
she most likely has viral induced wheeze that is NOT asthma and doesn't develop into asthma - the virus is just constricting her airways so that she is wheezing and the ventolin may help her symptoms.

viruses don't cause asthma (and giving the inhaler won't prevent it) but it is a different kind of illness - even though they both cause wheeze.

if you think she is getting worse (struggling to breathe, breathing extra fast/not feeding/more sleepy/pulling chest in when she breathes so you see her ribs) then seek help again straight away, even if its OOH doc or NHS direct/ A+E

good luck