advice needed about asthma diagnosis

[emily05]

I am very stressed out (probably over reacting) and need some words of wisdom from you wise mumsnetters.

Ds is 3 and has had a cold for moths. A horrid irritable cough and this seems to go on and on.

Anyway, wednesday late night ds had a spell where he was so conjested that he was having trouble breathing.

we took him to A&E and were seen by a nice young doctor. he gave him some steriods and a nebulizer to clear his airwave. He told us that he was reluctant to give us an inhaler, but dont be surprised if one day we find our ds is asthmatic. He said it was probably bronchiolitis. He also advised seeing our doctor in a couple of days.

Went to see my doctor today. He examined ds and said that he was sure that ds is asthmatic. He said that his cough has been such a long term problem and because we has asthmatics in our family (dh) this was the problem.

He has give ds a prescription for two pumps. One to take until the cough clears and one twice a day (I assume indefinatly).

Anyway, since leaving the doctors each of my family members seems to have an opinion about this. My brother says that I need to think hard before giving my ds the pumps. Because once we start down that road there is no truning back and that he doubts the diagnoses.
I have also had opinions that I need to give ds the inhalers for the sake of his health (whcih is what I originally thought).

Anyway - any advice appreciated because I am soooo confused and not sure what to do.

I am supposed to be going on holiday to Centreparcs with ds next week and am worried about it as well.

thanks

I have been a life long asthmatic (I'm now 42) and whilst I hate relying on inhalers it does mean I can lead a totaly normal life. My medication has also gotten stronger as I get older so I think you are wise to consider your options now. Firstly, I would certainly give the the inhalers until the cough/cold/bronchitus has cleared up and then stop them if possible. You could consider going to a homeopath who have very good results with asthmatics although it can take a while to get the diagnosis correct but it's certainly worth a try. My DS (5) was diagnosed as asmathic when he was 2. He continually got coughs and bronchitus, even pneumonia once. Now, however, I only use the inhalers on him when he is going down with something which is very rarely. It is possible that your DS will grow out of this but do continue to be aware of it and treat with the inhalers as needs be, not necessarily every day. I would also ensure that he has a multi vitamin every day and try to bump up his vit C intake over the winter. Do go to Centreparcs, it'll do you all good to have a change of scenery, don't worry about the diagnosis. I think there are many MNers here who can help you.

hey you...this happened to me the other week
ds 28months...had a bad cough and then wheezy breathing,loud loud wheezing and chest going in all very dramatic...
ive got no wisdom im afraid,but im not that worried.

anyway we got a blue inhaler (non steroid i think)
and a weeks course of (tablet) steroids

the dr said my boy had an asthmatic (inflammatory) reaction to bronchiolitis..hence th e wheeze and difficulty breathing.
he said the condition had to last a while to be called 'asthma'proper.
having said that there is asthma everwhere in dp's family and ive got eczema...so i reckon he does have it albeit sporadically!

i too will be watching this thread for advice 'been there done/doing that''mumsnetters.

dont worry though,i cant imagine that a couple of blasts on a steroid inhaler will set him up for a lifetimes dependency....surely?

oh is one pump brown and one blue?
the blue one is harmless
the brown one is the steroid on ei think? (is that the 'till th ecough clears' one

I don't get the bit about no turning back- of course you can, you can stop giving them if necessary, or when he outgrows his asthma. I went through the same thing with ds, I was reluctant, but a friend of mine who is a consultant explained how much permanent damage can be done to the lungs by untreated asthma and I changed my mind pretty sharpish. I don't honestly think you have any alternative but to try at the moment, it would be too dangerous not to IMHO. You can make sure that his condition and treatment are reviewed regularly though.

I second what Tamum says. My lungs are really messed up but inhalers were not around when I was a kid, I guess if they were I wouldn't need to rely on them so much now but the damage is done so I have no choice. Don't let this happen to your DS by not using them now.

Ok, firtly it would be sillyto ingnore the dr, you cannot mess up yuour lungs by using bronchodialators, they will do no harm, are not addictive and with do what they sayon the tin.
Just because you start using steroid inh, does not mean your bub will have to use them for life. they help to reduce imflammation, and have very little other side effects.
Child hood athma is difficult to diagnose by a one off visit to a gp and your child should be followed up either by your gp of referred to peadiatric respirotry unit
It is difficult to diagnose beacause child under eight cannot do a peak flow, where the force and pressure of exhilation is measured, bronchodiolators are given and the peak flow is measured again.
VEry often wee bubs are prone to weezing and 'childhood athsma' which they will eventually will grow out of, using inhalers will not make him dependant.
Listen to your gp, don't be afraid of inh, they could save your childs life!

sorry didn't mean to sound so melodramatic, hope bub is feeling better soon

I don't understand the comment about there being no turning back once your ds starts using the inhalers. As others have said, you can stop them at any time.

My ds1 was diagnosed with asthma at the age of 3. He wasn't particularly prone to colds but used to cough a fair bit whenever he ran about. He was diagnosed after two attacks. The first time I found him on his hands and knees on the floor with his shoulders going up and down like pistons. Luckily I recognised what was happening (I have mild asthma) and he was fine after 2 nebulisers. The doctor didn't want to make an official diagnosis based on just one suspected attack so ds1 was given no steroid inhalers. He had a second attack a few months later and it was much worse. He had countless nebulisers and had to stay on oxygen for 24hrs. This time he was prescribed inhalers and the difference was amazing. He could run for ages without coughing or getting over-tired. He's now 5.5yrs and (touchwood!) has never had another attack.

The hospital staff were very careful about making sure he was on the right dosage for his particular needs. They aim for children to be on the lowest possible dose (for that particular child) so there is no danger of the inhalers being too strong. They also monitored ds1's height and weight carefully to make sure there were no problems there either. Ds1 now sees the asthma nurse at the GP's clinic about once a year unless we feel he needs to see her more often.

My only regret in all this is that he didn't get the steroid inhalers after the first attack as I'm fairly sure that would have prevented the second attack.

Enjoy your holiday.

I find this attitude that inhalers are somehow the work of the devil very bizarre. No one says that about insulin, do they??

All four of my children are asthmatic. Ds2 had brittle asthma, a very severe form. He used inhalers and a nebuliser for many years; if he hadn't, he probably would not have survived childhood. He's now 26, his asthma has abated and he uses an inhaler rarely, if he gets an occasional chest infection.

Don't rely on what relatives and friends say. The Asthma Campaign folks are the ones with the real knowledge. Hth.

My DS (2.7) is similar. He has had a number of wheezing episodes following colds/bronchiolitis and we have been giving the blue spray for a while (I don't think this one does any harm) After two hospital admissions we felt we had to put him on the brown/preventative spray on a daily basis as couldn't bear him keep getting ill. Hasn't had any problems since (two and a half months), and haven't had to use the blue spray in this time. Intend to reduce/cut out dosage once the weather gets a bit warmer and colds are less of a risk and see how he goes. Hoping he will grow out of this - I think little ones are more at risk of their tubes getting blocked and, as has been said, asthma can't be properly diagnosed at this age anyway.

HTH

My ds2 was diagnosed as asthmatic last spring and it was a shock to me despite the fact that, like you, dh is asthmatic and one could reasonably assume one of our children would have it too.

Ds2 was diagnosed after some wheezing incidents although he also used to get colds where the cough would go on for weeks, even months, afterwards.

The diagnosis process is a bit hit and miss as far as I can make out, unless your child is seriously asthmatic. As I saw it, ds2 was supposed to take 2 inhalers every day and if the wheezing incidents got better, the assumption was the inhalers were doing it. In fact, he got completely better in the summer and stopped taking the inhalers altogether and I wondered if he was really asthmatic at all.

But then, in the autumn, it all came back again and now, after lots of trial and error, he is now on 2 inhalers every day and has Ventolin in the event of an attack - so three inhalers in all.

What I am trying to say is, I think you will find a pattern emerges as your son takes the treatment, and if the inhalers aren't making a difference, you should then question the diagnosis.

thankyou all for your comments and advice. It has helped so much! You have put my mind at rest x

Just to add: asthma changes so much over the years - in fact many children eventually grow out of it. I didn't (I used to have it moderately severely), but it is completely fine 95% of the time and my last proper 'attack' was in 2001. You can change medication, drop a dose or even drop it altogether for a time. ds is 8 months and seems fine so far, but I too am watching him like a hawk!