Asthmatic children

[SecondhandTable]

I've made a thread about this before I think wondering how other people with asthmatic children who therefore have chronic coughs are coping with covid re: testing/school/nursery etc. How are you all holding up so far now the temperatures are dropping? My DD is 2 and currently having an asthma exacerbation. These happen very frequently over the winter and she will be coughing until about April probably just to a greater or lesser extent. Yesterday nursery were happy to keep her in and they gave her two doses of Ventolin to help her but think they were getting a bit tetchy by the end of the day and implied if she was any worse today they'd be asking me to collect her and get her tested. She's already had two tests so far, both negative. I feel so on edge as if I'm just waiting for them to call me and I am so anxious about this winter and the potential for having her suffer through test after test after test. I don't even believe she meets the criteria for testing as it's not a "new" cough, it's her asthma cough that she always has just like most asthmatic people it's not static and can be better or worse at any given time.

How have other people found it so far?

My daughter doesn’t have asthma but has a post nasal drip that makes her cough and I’m terrified of this happening. She’s on an antihistamine per day and so far, so good.

Tbh it sounds like your daughter’s asthma isn’t controlled well, when she is having a period of it being worse, you should be stepping up the preventers, and then slowly reducing when it’s over. Has she had a review lately?

I think coughing all winter suggests asthma isnt under control.

My son has spent the last month in an asthma flare, but thankfully his school know his chest and what it is like so are working with me to help and not worrying about things we know aren’t an issue

My ds has an asthmatic wheeze rather than a cough. The nurse at our practice recommended I start him on his preventer inhaler earlier this year. We started end of august.

I bought an oximeter so I can check his oxygen levels if he’s wheezing a lot, he’s 9 now though so can’t tell me if he’s uncomfortable unlike when he was a toddler.

I’d ring your gp and ask for a phone consultation with the nurse or asthma specialist if they have one.

Your daughter needs to see a paediatric respiratory consultant.

@Harehedge

Your daughter needs to see a paediatric respiratory consultant.

I would hope a 2 year old who has been diagnosed with asthma (and not ‘just’ viral wheeze) was under a paediatrician

Oh god don't even ask about her care it's a long story and we aren't happy about it. But no she is not under a pediatrician and has only briefly seen one once when she was 1. She was finally prescribed precentor inhaler in...Jan or Feb of this year by the GP after a lot of battling with them. We reduced/stopped the preventor over the warmer months and last time I spoke to GP which was...about two months ago? For a prescription of more preventor, they advised we would probably need to increase dose through winter months which we have done. It's a headache tbh, we have been hassling them since she was about 6 months old when it first started

Got through these two days without being sent home from nursery phew. They gave her ventolin after her nap this afternoon again though.

I'm the OP btw sorry, accidentally used a different username when I created the thread!

You shouldn't stop the preventer when symptoms improve.
Does your gp practice have an asthma nurse? I'd suggest seeing them if poss.
As to testing, my asthma cough is always worse in autumn, it's not new or different so I don't consider a covid test is appropriate. I'd be having one every week.

Does she take a preventer?

My DS has this winter asthma. The minute the temps drop in late aug/early September he gets the cough on and off until late spring.

Hes had the cough once since being back in school, I kept him off for two days until we had it under control with his inhaler.
He'll be on his preventor now for the winter and the reliever when needed.
Gp said in future I dont have to keep him off unless he develops a cough different to his asthma cough - his asthma cough isnt a 'new' cough.
As a PP mentioned, he is under a
paediatrician respiratory consultant for this.

She does have a preventor yes.

Also it's not strictly true that you shouldn't stop preventor inhalers when symptoms are gone for long periods. The jury is out on that one. We are actually trying to get DD onto a massive research trial which is going to examine exactly this. I stopped it over the summer for a bit on the advice of the GP as she was completely symptom free but then we put her back on it anyway when hay fever started exacerbating her symptoms again.

That is what we do as advised by ds consultant - he comes off the preventor for about 6 months of the year when the temperatures pick up. When he gets the first cough in the autumn, he is back on it again for the 6 months.

Sirzy

You would be naive.