wheezy toddler - should I do something?

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Odd question maybe - but he is very well in himself but quite wheezy. Cant say it is at any particular time and not ALL the time..

I would normally be quite relaxed because he does not night cough or anything , but the swine flu has got me wondering whether i should be having him seen????

I did once ( when he was 6 months old) mention it in passing to HV but she seemed unperturbed

He is 16 months ish

TIA

I have an inhaler from the doc's as my 17 month old son has always been wheezy, normally bronchiolitis (sp??) get him checked out but don't worry i doubt its swine flu

yes. It may not be sf but it is common for toddlers to wheeze. With my ds the first thing the gp wanted to check was that he hadn't inhaled something, he also ended up on a short course of steroids for it and like yours he didn't wheeze constantly. hth

thanks poppy

not thinking it is swine flu but just that he is more at risk if he gets it? or is he? or could wheezing NOT be asthma?

sounding a bit dim!

I personally believe my ds has asthma but ive heard the doc's wont diagnose asthma till child is older, dont know if that is right or not.

Thanks for that Poppy

interesting too - i wonder why not

He may well be what is known as a "happy wheezer". DS was that until he was 18 months and he got a cold that gave him problems breathing. After several hospitalisations he was diagnosed as an asthmatic (viral induced) and it is now managed by a preventer and reliever if he needs it. He may well grow out of it (he is 4.5 yrs)

When I first heard DS wheeze at around 6 months it was the tinies noise like a whine on him breathing in and I asked the doc and they told me it is happy wheezing and not to worry about it as some kids never develop asthma

Don't worry about it but if he gets a cold and then a bad cough that gets worse look out for the following signes of respiratory distress:

• faster breathing
• rib cage is drawing in under the ribs and also at the back
• couging a lot - especially at night
• may vomit with cough

If he ever gets displays these symptoms then take him to A&E and they can give him a nebuliser. Don't do what we did and leave DS for 12 hours coughing thinking it would be OK and when we finally got him tp A&E they told us off for leaving it so long (this was before we knew he was asthmatic)

I cried buckets when they gave me the diagnosis as asthma has such bad connotations. But as my consultatnt said - Paula Radcliffe is asthmatic and look how well she has done.

They diagnose asthma after 2 iirc, in the mean time, if he's wheezy then take him to A&E and let them look at him.

your poor ds twolittlekings - oddly i just said to dp ' i so do not want him to be asthmatic' we have other children and only had one mild case which she appeared to outgrow by two. She coughed on exercise and at night where ds does not (unless he has a cold)

he does have a cough atm but i can hear him wheezing on the landing when i am in my bedroom and our house never falls silent ( lots of children!)

think i might get a quick check next week

can he use a normal ventolin inhaler if there were an emergency or not?

I would definitely get him checked out. I have a friend who is an asthma consultant and she always says to me that badly managed asthma is far worse than having asthma itself IYSWIM.

If you already have a reliever (the blue one - we use salbutamol) then I would use it in an emergency but through a paediatric volumatic (do you have one)

Under "normal conditions (ie if he needs to use the reliever) DS can have a MAX of 10 x puffs counting up to 15 secs each time every 4 hrs (but really it should be perhaps every 5 hrs if can stretch it. You need to shake the inhaler each time before you administer. Salbulatom makes them very hyper and can raise the heart rate etc so you should not overdo it unless an emergency. In this situation you can keep using it until the symptoms decline but in the meantime you will need to be taking them to A&E for them to have a nebuliser and maybe a steroid if really bad (which is what DS had the time we were told off). BUT ALWAYS DO ANY PUFFING THROUGH A SPACER.

I take it as you already have had experience with DD so have an inhaler in the house?

I would be really cautious though and speak to your GP - best to get it sorted asap.

i do have a blue inhaler but it is for ME!

i only have very mild asthma - particularly if it is dusty - so i dont know if that is even asthma but the inhaler completely relieves my dust induced wheezing..iykwim

dont thnk i would dare give it unprescribed to him even in emergency and do not have pediatric dispenser jobby..

thanks for the advice twolittlekingsa - i will follow it and take him to gp next week - he is worse than ever before tonight

poor ds has coughed until he retched and wheezed and whistled all weekend - does not seem unduly stressed but not eating much

heart breaking

i must admit to being a wee bit panicky and not liking the wheezing - i feel so helpless

Sweetie, take him to A&E if he's like this. He's not getting enough oxygen and he needs looking at and some treatment. I trained as a paeds nurse, I also have an asthmatic child. He needs looking at, please.

he is sleeping now but thanks

he is good at night with hardly any coughs which is odd! i am taking him to gp tomorrow for advice thanks again

thanks pixie

thanks for asking Pixie!

well i took him and two others as dc4 had an inset day so there were four of us and the doctor in the consult room !

She said although he was wheezing she did not want to prescribe inhalers etc but instead gave anti biotics....????

She said the fact that the wheeze was often loud was a good sign as true asthma wheeze was quiet...

she said ring if worried again!

Glad you've got him looked at. If you do get a nebuliser, spray it into a cup then hold over his face. I use a plastic wine glass which my DS doens't mind because it makes him feel rather grown up as he knows they are for 'mummy's drinks'

oh sorry yes an inhaler. My DS will not allow you to put anything over his face and the hospital never gave me anything. It was my GP who suggested the glass

thanks for all the advice