asthma

[starchilli]

My son had bronchiolitis when he was a toddler and has a history of hay fever, severe eczema, nut allergy and asthma.

He always coughs at night and now has a brown inhaler twice a day and a blue one in case of problems, he doesn't need it very often.

Any advice would be welcome, I am new to dealing with asthma and am not familiar with the condition. We've had an appointment with the asthma clinic but any advice from people dealing with it day to day would really be appreciated.

Thanks.

hi star
how old is he?
the youngest of my sons when he was 3 months old (hes 17 now)
had bronchiolitis and rsv. he now has hay fever eczema psoriasis asthma and a whole hand full of allergys.
please talk to the asthma clinic again about this rather than just doing itwe have found the if he has is blue inhaler then half an hour later has the brown one, twice a day the cough is sooo much better.
you say that he doesnt very often need the blue one but he is still coughing, this is one of my sons symtoms and means that he needs his blue inhaler.
hmm i hope that all makes sense.
:)

He is 6 now. When the GP thought he had asthma he gave him a blue inhaler to have at night and that stopped the night time cough immediately. Therefore he diagnosed asthma but felt it appropriate to keep DS on the blue inhaler, however he then had a mild asthma attack at school (as far as I can tell) and was referred to the asthma clinic who put him on the brown inhaler twice a day and the blue inhaler if he needs it.

I don't really know when to give him the blue one to be honest, I give it to him before swimming and sometimes before football and athletics depending what his coughing is like. If I gave it to him every time he was coughing in the morning then he'd be having it every day.

I've never seen him have an asthma attack, he had one at school before he had the blue inhaler - that was his first one and that lead to the referral to the asthma clinic as previously his care was all done by the GP with two asthmatic sons.

Thanks.

Hi Starchilli
I just wondered how old your son is - you can't really put an asthma diagnosis until they are about 8 yrs and can use a peak flow meter. Your son dose sound they typical candidate for asthma, with his childhood symptoms, atopy (allergies) and the classic night time cough. Dose he have any other symptoms?

You are doing the right thing as he is now on regular inhalers. With asthma the main treatment is the preventer - the brown one, and you must use this regularly to keep his symptoms under control. Many mums hate to use it as it is an inhaled steriod - but it keeps all the airways calm and not so twitchy. I am concerned that he still has a cough at night - just check you are using the inhalers properly. And if his technique is poor then you can use a spacer device to help him take his medication.

Also - are there any trigger factors that make his symptoms worse - hayfever, animals, dust mites? Finding triggers and going your best to reduce them help tremendously!

I hope that helps, and I hope you get on well at your clinic appointment.

And Chillstar - they blue inhaler is a reliever - to help relieve immediate symptoms. If your child is using the brown inhaler correctly then really you shouldn't really need the blue inhaler. Some children only have mild asthma and are managed purely on just a blue one occasionally. Giving it before exercise, or at time when they are wheezy. However - if you are using it a lot - I would go back to the dr's and say they symptoms are not under control and ask for a preventer inhaler also.

S x

Great advice all round - especially about the preventative measures and using a peak flow meter. I had it very badly as a child but the good news is, that some child completely grow out of it when they are older. I have had a few attacks - namely in reaction to severe dust such as building works.

Damp-dusting in the house helps too.

Ds was diagnosed At 12 months with asthma having been on inhalers since 6 months.

There is a support thread for parents of asthmatics over on childrens health which has been a godsend!

Thanks.

He used a peak flow meter at the clinic when he was diagnosed.

The brown inhalers used to stop his nighttime cough but they aren't at the moment. Yesterday he needed his blue inhaler twice (he's got a cold at the moment) and last night there was no coughing and he hasn't woken up coughing either - he woke up, chatted and then went back to sleep.

I don't know what his triggers are to be honest, I've not been there when he's had an asthma attack - he had one at school - and have only had to deal with the coughing.

I'll find that support thread, thanks.