Hayfever? Asthma? Ventolin? Advice / reassurance please?

[Frieda]

DS has suffered from hayfever since he was three and it reliably seems to peak during the first week of June - symptoms include puffy, itchy eyes, runny nose, sneezing, etc. This year (he's seven) his hayfever has been bubbling under for a good few weeks and I've been treating it with Clarityn (as a morning preventative) and Piriton whenever the symptoms worsen, which has been doing the trick up until now.

Yesterday afternoon, it suddenly started getting much worse. His eyes puffed up like golf balls, went itchy and pink and he said his throat hurt. I gave him some Piriton, but it didn't seem to get any better, and by bedtime he was coughing and sneezing, too. He finally managed to get to sleep by about 10pm, but when I came up to look at him his breathing was really laboured and he was making a sort of wheezing noise.

To cut a long story short, I took him to the doctor's this morning (still wheezing, racing heartbeat and no energy) to be told he had asthma and needed a ventolin inhaler on an hourly basis and could take up to 10 puffs at a time if it got bad, and I wasn't to be afraid to dial 999 if things got really bad. He's actually quite a bit better - not wheezing at all at the moment - but I'm obviously quite shaken and worried about all this. The doctor seemed a bit vague about how much ventolin to give him and how long to go on giving it for - didn't suggest a follow-up appointment - and I was concerned not to show too much alarm in front to DS, so stupidly didn't pin her down (I'm planning to go back to the surgery tomorrow to talk about it, perhaps without DS).

We have no asthma or exzema in the family and I've no experience of using ventolin before - the amount the doctor is suggesting I give him seems a bit alarming (especially as it says in the information on the box that eight puffs a day is the maximum recommended - she's recommending 2 puffs every waking hour and 10 in extremis). What exactly is ventolin and is there any worry that it cause long-term damage to the lungs?

Sorry this is so long and rambling, but does anyone else have any experience of this? I'm hoping he'll get better once the hayfever season is over (sadly, they've only just started cutting the silage round here ) but don't want to unneccessarily overmedicate unless he really needs it. Meanwhile, he's obviously suffering quite badly - wheezed like an old man after running a very short way down the garden this evening .

Thanks in advance for any contributions.

SATS is the % oxygen saturation in the blood. It tells you how effective his breathing is, even though it may be laboured, and how his condition is changing.

oh good, glad you saw a good doc and he is feeling better.

Thanks again.

Swedishmum - I have heard that about local honey, too. Makes sense in a sort of homeopathic way! Will also try the bowls of water.

if treating the hayfever symptoms and are interested in alternative treatments i would recommend the following having been pregnant or breastfeeding for the past 6 years I really needed to find things that worked and have tried most having had hayfever since a child and tried most of the medications on offer including steriod injections.

1. working on the fact that you don't get hayfever when it rains or by the sea try using a neti pot each morning- they have used these in india for thousands of years. fill with warm water and a teaspoon of unrefined seasalt and wash through each nostril (which washes all the pollen/dust/mucus away. see \link{http://www.shopneti.co.uk\shopneti} if unsure of traditional pots there is one on the website called 'nasopure' which comes under 'other cleansing methods' which I find easy to use. You can find more traditional stuff in boots under name of 'sterimar' nasal spray (this can be quite a strong spray and is expensive compared to neti or just ask for saline nose drops but you won't get the full benefit of washing out the nostrils.

2.coat inside of each nostril with balm or vasaline - any kind of sticky (preferably pure cream/oil) will work - acts as a sort of filter barrier to pollen. Also coat tops and underneath eyelashes if itchy eyes. I read recently someone has bought out a barrier called 'haymax'

1. check with pharmacy on age recommendation for vitamin called 'quercetin b5 complex' the ones i take are made by viridian. I was sceptical about vitamins having any affect on hayfever but I can honestly say these worked for me last year after they were recommended to me.
2. plant spray - you can get these at garden centres or travel sprays from chemists. the important thing is they have an adjustable spray nozzle that you can adjust to a fine mist. fill with water add peppermint or lavender oils if it helps and spray room, windows, pets, clothes, hair family and all around you to help dampen the pollen, breathe in the mist as you are spraying - especially if you are sneezing then recoat nostrils with balm.
3. Last but not least! if having bad attack have a shower and wash hair, change clothes.

other precautions which might help are keeping windows and doors closed, spraying with water everyone that comes in house, no perfumes, chemical free shampoo, soap, cleaners, washing powder etc. hope this helps x

also forgot to add if your ds wants to enjoy the garden buy a sprinkler to dampen the pollen down 5 mins before and during the time he is outside.

another brilliant remedy is 'luffa complex' (tincture) by bioforce put a few drops in a tiny amount of water and sip or place a few drops directly on the tongue. tastes very strange but i have stopped sneezing within moments of taking it.

...& having posted on this thread - yesterday my own ds's summer cold turned into continuous coughing & wheezing - GP has confirmed that he's got an 'asthmatic wheeze' (they don't actually dx asthma in under-2s apparently).

Reliever & preventer inhalers prescribed. Luckily poor lad seems to find spacer mask over his face highly entertaining (have spent lots of today doing Darth Vader impressions at each other )

Eat lots of vitamin C. Garlic is good too. Agree with swedishmum about local honey and cutting down on dairy. I'd also strongly recomment seeing a good homoeopath (not quack pseudo homoeopathic over-the-counter remedies) as conventional treatments are no help long-term.

Haven't read all the thread so apologies if I'm repeating what anyone else says.

TBH your GP sounds a bit cr*p. Although needing to take ventolin isn't a big issue, there are better ways to manage asthma. Firstly, if it goes on beyond the hayfever season, he should see a specialist to confirm that it's definately asthma and to work out the best way of dealing with it. Secondly, you may want to ask your GP for a preventative inhaler to work alongside the ventolin if it goes on longer than a couple of weeks. Ventolin only opens up the airways and is a quick fix measure. You can't really overdose on ventolin as such, but it can make you shakey and jittery if you have too much. It's poor advice to suggest taking 10 puffs. Take 2 puffs and wait a few minutes, if there is still idfficulty, take another two and wait. If there is still difficulty breathing after that you would be best to go to A&E or your GP and get something else as IMO it would be clear that the ventolin was not doing what it should. I'm also not convinced about the every hour recommendation as this would seem a lot - far better with a preventative inhaler if this amount is needed. how old is your DS BTW? If he has trouble taking the inhaler get a spacer device from your GP which makes it a lot easier.

I've had fairly bad asthma since I was 4 and even with all the drugs in the world, still need my ventolin a few times a day. So a few times a day for 24 yrs - and I can't see that it's done me much harm (that I know of!).