Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
General health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

Asthma?????????

28 replies

smellymelly · 04/03/2004 18:49

My DD is 17mths she gets coughs every 2 weeks or so, a GP and a HV have both mentioned asthma. Is this likely just from having a regular cough as a symptom....?

She had bronchilitis at 3 mths too if that makes a difference.

We are a non-smoking household ( I gave up 4.5 years ago - still want one though! )

OP posts:
littlerach · 04/03/2004 18:53

DD is 3 and had a cough for about 2 months after the summer. They kept checking for chest infections but it was just a cough. Ib Nov she was given an inhaler and this has eased the cough. But she does still cough if it is damp weather, and at night.
They have never actually said that it is asthma, more that the inhaler will help, especially if it asthma. Apparently the inhaler does not hurt if it isn't asthma.
HTH

Original poster
smellymelly · 04/03/2004 18:58

Gp has given us sabutamol in liquid form which helps, does this mean it is asthma????

OP posts:
tamum · 04/03/2004 19:01

It could do, to be honest, but there's no reason to think she won't grow out of it even if it is. My ds is 9 and still has asthma, and certainly when he was a baby and toddler his only symptoms were repeated coughs/chest infections, every two weeks or so like you describe. Loads of children outgrow it though. If salbutamol helps that is certainly quite suggestive of asthma. Try not to worry, but I know how hard it is

Janh · 04/03/2004 19:42

When she gets a cough, does she cough mostly at night or all the time? And is it worse when she's been running sround?

Original poster
smellymelly · 04/03/2004 19:54

Janh
She mainly coughs when she is lying down, she is slightly raised with my triangle bump cushion under her mattress to help, and is much much worse after she has had her night time milk. Apparently this increases mucus.
Can't 'run' yet, as she's only been walking for 2 months! Haven't noticed anything significant after any kind of exercise yet, i.e walking going up stairs etc.

OP posts:
nutcracker · 04/03/2004 19:55

Can i ask if the salbutamol liqued has made any difference.
We were given it for our dd from about 4mths, and it never worked. When we finally got her diagnosed as asthmatic (10mths later), the doc at the hospital said that salbutamol syrup was useless and i may as well have given her water.
From what you have said, then it could be asthma, but she will probably grow out of it. My dd started to grow out of it after only 6 mths, but then got pnumonia and her asthma has been quite bad ever since.
It looks as though ds is asthmatic too, as he's been admitted to hospital twice now, with breathing difficulties.
Hope you get it sorted soon.

nutcracker · 04/03/2004 19:59

Should of said, my dd's main symptoms were Night time cough, day time cough, not stopping couging until all phlegm had been brought up, consyant chest infections and NO SLEEP.

Original poster
smellymelly · 04/03/2004 20:05

Yeah sleep is quite hard when she is coughing her guts up! she coughs till she chokes or reaches and is sometimes a little sick - nice!
In fact I had a cough every 2 weeks when I was pregnant with her and I was given my 1st blue inhalers then (at the age of 29) I think mine is allergy related though.

The salbutamol liquid does help, but I'm unsure of quantities as I've had two bottles of the same stuff but with different instructions, one said 2.5ml at night, the other said 2.5 to 5ml 3 times a day when needed. Also 2nd bottle's leaflet says from age 2??
Confused you will be!

OP posts:
nutcracker · 04/03/2004 20:10

Hmmm, does sound like it could be asthma then. How long has it been going on for ????
If the salbutamol liqued seems to work then carry on. I can't remember the dosage dd was on. I lost count of the amount of bottles i got given.
Is there anything in particular that triggers off her coughing. Does she cough in the day ?? Sorry if i'm repeating questions

Original poster
smellymelly · 04/03/2004 20:22

Nutcracker...looks like we're following each other round this and the ebay thread!
Think she's been coughing since her bronchilitis spell when she was 3 months old.
She can cough a little in the day, does get these coughs with a cold which sometimes goes onto her chest, never her ears. Is very, very snotty with them, lovely when she wipes her nose on the bed sheets!!!
Can't think of anything that sets her off except lying down and the warm milk at night, which we are actually going to stop now as her diet is ok, and HV said she doesn't need it to sleep now.

OP posts:
nutcracker · 04/03/2004 20:28

Sounds pretty similar to my dd. Milk always made her worse too, and chocolate. Her main triggers now are, very hot, or very cold air, and colds obviously. She has a preventer (brown) inhaler now too, and if i forget to give it to her once, she will cough all night.
I would carry on with the salbutamol, but if you don't think it's working at any point then ask for an inhaler.

nutcracker · 04/03/2004 20:29

Just remembered why your name (smellymelly) seems faliliar, my cousin had a girlfriend called melanie, and we used to call her smelly melly. Not that she was smelly though, it just ryhmed.

nutcracker · 04/03/2004 20:30

That should of said Familiar

Original poster
smellymelly · 04/03/2004 20:34

Yeah that's my name too, and no I'm not smelly!!!!

OP posts:
Evita · 04/03/2004 21:02

Me and dp both have asthma and have since we were v. little. I was and am worse than him. I always find my cough is worse at night and try to sleep slightly propped up. When dd was about 1 she had a cough whenever lying down but at no other time and the gp thought she probably had asthma and gave an inhaler but it turned into a chest thing which needed antibiotics. What we did find out though is that it's really quite hard to diagnose asthma when they're very young. Their lungs don't wheeze like an adults do. But the signs to look out for are coughing after excersize and in v. cold weather and coughing when lying down.

Janh · 04/03/2004 21:23

Just caught up with this again - yes, it does sound like asthma. DD2 was diagnosed at about 2, started off with Ventolin syrup, then went on to an inhaler when she was a bit older - don't remember details, sorry. We are a non-smoking household too btw. (She also had eczema when she was little.) Hers tended to be worst about this time of year (tree pollen or something).

She had various inhalers (bronchodilators and steroids), right through junior school and up to about 15, I think - used to go to asthma clinic regularly, had a peak flow meter and a book to write the readings in, and was invited for flu jabs every winter once she got to about 14. However she started playing flute from age 7, and as that increased her lung capacity the asthma decreased, and by the time she was 16/17 it had gone. She's 18 now (and smokes herself, foolish child).

Original poster
smellymelly · 04/03/2004 21:28

Oh god... Do I need to panic?

Well obviously that won't help...What do I do now?

OP posts:
Janh · 04/03/2004 21:37

No - no panic - it seems to be so common these days, and hers sounds quite mild. So long as you're aware of it and have something to deal with it when she's affected it should hardly be a problem at all.

If it does get worse when she's older you can get stronger inhalers for her if necessary. My DD's virtually forgotten her asthma now.

Luckymum · 05/03/2004 10:11

Smellymelly, it may be asthma but could just be catarrh (sp?). She sounds much like ds2 who was very snotty and suffered terribly with a nighttime cough caused by the rubbish dripping down the back of his through at night. He was prescribed ventolin (salbutamol) as they 'thought' it night be asthma, but we also had sudafed decongestant and used olbas oil and other decongestants,raised the bed head etc. It only really improved when he had grommits (and tonsils/adenoids out) and at the time the anaethetist said he didn't think he was asthmatic either.

HTH

geogteach · 05/03/2004 14:43

My DS nearly 3 has asthma, it is definately now thought that early broncilitus can be a trigger. He is now up to 4 puffs of brown inhaler a day and blue when he needs it - usually if he has an infection. He regularly see's a consultant but we also have access to a peadiatric respiratory nurse at the hospital who is really helpful you could see if there is one at your local hospital

Original poster
smellymelly · 05/03/2004 18:45

crikey geogteach,

4 brown puffs a day sounds like an awful lot.

Can you remember what his early symptoms were????

Would still like to hear from any others with experience...

OP posts:
tanzie · 05/03/2004 21:00

DD1 is asthmatic. She is now 5 and (touch wood) we have just finished our second winter without a hospital stay. She had her first attack at 2 and three months and had two stints in hospital that winter (one in an Eastern European hospital that I wouldn't have put my cat in, but when needs must...). Her symptoms sound like your DD's - she is worse at night and it gets aggravated by milk. If she is particularly bad, we give her water or soya milk at night and the difference it makes is huge. Also prop her up a bit more. Can you get your doc to let you have an inhaler and a spacer called a "babyhaler" especially for tiny ones? I think they do different "faces" for the bit that goes over their nose and mouth. We had one of these, and it meant we could give her a surreptitious puff of ventolin at night if she was a bit wheezy. The doc said hers is not allergic asthma, but is triggered by cold/cough which immediately becomes chest infection. He knows her well and puts her on antibiotics asap to stop things getting any worse. She has also had a few courses (3 days) of prednisolone (steroid) when she has been particularly bad. We have a nebuliser at home and use this when she gets bad, and have pulmicort (another steroid) for her to inhale if she is really bad. She has got so much better in the past year (touching wood again!). She had pneumonia a couple of months ago and we all thought this would trigger the asthma and put her back in hospital, but it didn't and she recovered quickly.

Good luck. I think it can be quite frightening at first, but once you know what you're doing and get it under control, it's fine.

Evita · 05/03/2004 21:28

No, smellymelly, definitely don't panic. I don't think they get asthma badly at such a young age and if she really had it badly it would be affecting her much more in the day. You can look at the way she's breathing. If she's labouring to breathe and pulling her tummy in under her ribs, try giving her some Ventolin. If she's not it might just be a passing thing as it was with our dd.

Original poster
smellymelly · 07/03/2004 17:36

When she had bronchiolitis, they askes me if her tummy goes up and down when she breathes, which it did, but whenever I look at her normally, it does the same - is that normal?

OP posts:
Original poster
smellymelly · 18/03/2004 12:17

just to update, we just got back from GP and he has given us a blue and brown inhaler with a big contraption for inhaling, for my DD.

And we have appt. with asthma nurse next wed.

thanks for your help...

I would be grateful for ideas on making the inhalers not too traumatic for DD who is nearly 18mths, please. I gave it to her like I would a toy, but she's not stupid and is already a little wary. The last thing I want to do is hold her down and scare her unecessarily.

OP posts: