Any tips for easing mild asthma attacks?

[kittywits]

My DS1 now 8 has had mild astma since he was three. Most of the time it is kept under control using his purple ( combined ) inhaler. What i am finding is that it gets particularyt bad when he has a cold. He had a number of attacks yseterday and I got him to breathe in and out of a paper bag which helped to calm him down. Now his cold is coming out and he is very 'mucousy'(sp?) he is exhausted when he walks and talks and is contantly coughing he has had his inhalor allowence for this morning..
I know it is only a temporary thing,while he has the cold, but wondered whether any of you had done things for your children that helped ease their breathing. I don't want to keep pumping him full of more and more steroids if another relief method can be used. Thanks for you help,

Is he not on reliever inhalor as well?

If he has a reliever inhaler then give him it. Lots of people need to increase dose of steroid preventer inhaler during illness too.
Far better that he has a few more puffs on his inhaler than he ends up in hospital on high dose steroids or even worse on PICU.

He does have a reliever as well. How much would you suggest I let him have?

The amount of steroids you get from the pumps are minimal as they go directly to the lungs, I wouldn't worry about them in that respect. I'd still be careful not to go OTT though, I find if I overdo it it gives me heart palpatations which aren't very pleasant.

When DS2 gets a cold and it starts making his asthma play up I make sure that I put Vicks or similar on his chest and Karvol on his bedding to keep his airways clear and I also make sure he doesn't get too hot as that seems to set it off too. He gets extra pillows to keep him upright as well. DS2s asthma gives him horrible coughing fits which result in him throwing up everywhere at very unsociable times of night, so we treat it like a bug as well, and put protective covers on the mattress and make sure he has a bowl to hand.

speak to your GP before upping it.

we were told humidifier in the room half an hour before bed and then off and also to sit him in the z position (sat up with knees drawn up)to ease tightness

but really, speak to your GP

Go into thebathroom and run the hot tap so it getsreally steamy, thiswill help to bring up mucus. Andseea good Classical Homoeopath. I can recommendsomeexcellent ones in thesouth of England. AVOIDsteroids andinhalers too if you can.

I must be really weird then as I find steamy, humid conditions make me worse rather than better!

If you haven't already you MUST give him the reliever! you can go over recommended allowance in emergency situ. he can have 2 seperate puffs through spacer regularly. His heart might pump madly but better than bad asthma attack. If his voice sounds stilted, he's coughing and is flopping around exhausted you should take him to a&e to be nebulized. how is he now?

If the blue reliever inhaler isn't improving things then I really think you should take him to see a doctor/nurse. The blue inhaler is different to the preventer inhaler. There isn't really a limit to how many times you can give it but if it's not working after a few doses then your ds really needs to see someone. This happened to ds2 recently and the staff at the walk-in centre gave him a nebuliser.

Nebuliser isonly temporary relief - feelslike heaven for a bit but when it comes back it tendsto beworse. Asthmais horrid, particularly thestage your ds isat, but it will pass. The emphasis thesedays seemsto be on alleviation of all symptoms, which can prolong recovery (body knows best). Obviously seek help if it is extreme,but other than that keep him calm andstill, give him juice,water and fruit,etc,but avoid dairy/wheat/sugar, etc and justwait it out. Good luck! If thinking about howhefeels makeshim worse, distract him withstories/television, etc. Prop him up with cushions/pillowsso he isfairly upright but can sleep easily when he istired.

DS2 used to have asthma - he couldn't run across the school playground without having to stop because he was coughing.

It cleared up completely once we removed dairy from his diet.

It happened really quickly - within 6 weeks or so, so it might be worth a try once you've checked the idea out with your son's doctor.

Oh thankyou so much for all you advice. He does not seem distessed at the moment. I am having a very hard job keeping him still. He finds it hard to talk and sounds very 'breathy' and is breathing very quickly but his chest is not sucked in, but he is not at all floppy, so i guess that's a good thing. I have him propped up all the time at night anyway.
I could try and give him a steam over a bowl of hot water with a towel on his head, that might help. My newly departed gran always used to make us inhale over hot water which ahd been mixed with a few menthol crystals and some friars balsam.

I'm asthmatic and have been from a young age.

For those that don't have asthma, I try and explain that asthma is a bit like an iceburg. The wheezing is only the tip of it, you've suffered a great deal of discomfort and awareness long before anyone else can hear an audible wheeze.

If he's got to audible wheeze stage then please GIVE HIM THE RELIEVER! It's really there for a reason and relievers have been used for many decades with few side effects. They're one of the safest kind of medication out there.

Also, if he's needing the reliever more than twice a week then his asthma is not under proper control, and you MUST make an appointment to see your surgery's asthma nurse asap to talk about a proper plan of action. It sounds to me that he might need an automatic increase of preventor as soon as he gets a cold if that's a common trigger for him - but that's something you would discuss with the nurse.

A great site to learn more about asthma is Asthma UK - they also have a helpline of trained asthma nurses if you have any queries.

Hope he feels much better soon.

Thankyou Georgina, I have been giving him extra reliever both during last night and today. I do go and see the asthma nurse with him regularly but you are right I need to go back again and talk about how to safely up his preventer dose. It's such a hard job to stop him rushing around !!

I can imagine And he's a kid - he shouldn't have to stop rushing around, and it's a very clear sign that his asthma isn't under proper control if he's not able to without his health being affected.

You can give up to ten puffs of reliever through a spacer this should ease it off, if the reliever doesn't last for at least two hours then you need to get him checked over.

he is still wheezy, but so much better than this morning, thankyou all so much for the kind words of wisdom

If your son is finding is difficult to talk due to lack of breath, things are getting pretty bad. 10 puffs at a time of reliever as chlochlo says, then get to the doctor's if it doesn't help.

Sounds like the cold virus is one of the main triggers for your boy - is it? - and diet won't help with that.

My dd2 was hospitalised for 4 days when we didn't treat her asthma triggered by cold virus quickly enough. I also thought I was not allowed to give more than 2 puffs every few hours. Not so. Sometimes there isn't another method that will be effective enough, quickly enough.

I'd be very concerned if you were routinely having to use up to 10 puffs of reliever without reference to a doctor immediately afterwards, tbh. Although it is worth knowing that if taken to hospital (in an attack) then a nebulizer is exactly the same medicine as in the reliever only a much higher dose, so it's safe to give more than the 2 puffs 4 hourly prescribed in an emergency.

Review inhaler use. Did you know that it can take up to 10 mins for the dose to start affecting the lungs? A good way of taking the medication is one puff (hold it in for 10 seconds if not using a spacer), sit down calmly for 10 mins breathing deeply if possible before deciding if the second is needed, etc.

I do think it's worth reading up on what an attack is and how to help. From Asthma UK :

Recommended steps

The following guidelines are suitable for both children and adults and are the recommended steps to follow in an asthma attack:

1. Take your reliever inhaler (usually blue), immediately
2. Sit down and ensure that any tight clothing is loosened. Do not lie down
3. If no immediate improvement during an attack, continue to take one puff of your reliever inhaler every minute for five minutes or until symptoms improve
4. If your symptoms do not improve in five minutes ? or you are in doubt ? call 999 or a doctor urgently
5. Continue to take one puff of your reliever inhaler every minute until help arrives

You are having an asthma attack if any of the following happen:

• Your reliever does not help symptoms
• Your symptoms are getting worse (cough, breathlessness, wheeze or tight chest)
• You are too breathless to speak, eat or sleep

Do not be afraid of causing a fuss, even at night. If you are admitted to hospital or an accident and emergency department because of your asthma, take details of your medicines with you.
After an emergency asthma attack:

• Make an appointment with your doctor or asthma nurse for an asthma review, within 48 hours of your attack
• You will also need another review within one or two weeks after your asthma attack to make sure your symptoms are better controlled

Do not ignore worsening symptoms

Most people find that asthma attacks are the result of gradual worsening of symptoms over a few days.

If your asthma symptoms are getting worse do not ignore them! Follow your personal asthma action plan. If symptoms continue to get worse make an urgent appointment to see your doctor or asthma nurse. Quite often, using your reliever is all that is needed to relieve your asthma symptoms when you start to have an asthma attack. At other times, symptoms are more severe and more urgent action is needed.

Yep, I think that's what we're trying to say Georgina. If child can't talk properly and 10 puffs don't help, it's doctor's. I would never do it routinely. ONly done it once.

and don't be wrried about your son having steroid preventers.

My son has mild asthma. We found tat we were using the blue relierver 4 times a week. In the advice of those in the know on mn (and thanks again ladies!) I took him back to the doctor who prescribed the brown steroid inhaler.

We only need to use this over the winder , when ds is at his worst asthma wise. We seldom, if ever, need the blue inhaler, unless ds comes in contact with cats or dogs. His peak flow rate is perfect for a child of his age and size, and it is all thanks to the brown inhaler. They absorb next to no steroid except in their lungs where it is needed..

Have a chat with the asthma nurse.

Ds has to have 2 puffs of reliever every four hours every day and consultant says i can up it to five puffs every four hours when he's got a cold and he is only 21months.
Hope your ds is feeling better.

Sorry pointydog, did just want to emphasise it though

Totally agree, martianbishop. These days asthma makes no difference to your life at all, as long as it's properly controlled. 99.9% of the time I hardly even notice I have asthma (even when I have a cold now, thanks to recently having a medication review and a better action plan drawn up).

Makes me want to weep when I hear of kids struggling and suffering with asthma, because it's all so unnecessary

Asthma meds are well used over long periods of time, act locally in the lungs so are minute quantities and have very few side effects. Not being able to breathe properly is incredibly scary (particularly for a child who doesn't really understand what's going on) - I just hate to think of other people going through that when it isn't necessary.

As a result, I'm slightly evangelical about it all, can you tell? Sorry

well, it was well worth it (you being evangelical) as it was IIRC your posts that go me to sort it all out. So, thanks again.

Ds has no issues with his asthma through the summer (unless we meet furry creatures! ) Over the winter he needs two puffs of the stroid each night. Our blue relivers go past their use by date before we use them up!

Thinking about it, we should start to bring the steriod back into play, as the weather is getting worse.

It has revolutionised my son's health, so thanks again, m'dear!

You're very welcome