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,

I would keep him off until it's back under control, kittywits. TBH, he's not going to concentrate well on school work if he's fighting for breath

If the aloe vera, etc helps then it's worth a try. Just don't use it instead of the inhalers but alongside. Once it's back under control then you'll be able to ease off again (under the asthma nurse's guidance, of course).

Thanks I can hear him coughing away now in bed. Is there anything I can give him, more reliever?

What's he had tonight? It's worth asking him how he's feeling and how he feels his breathing is (he'll probably be able to tell you a lot more)

I.e. if he's struggling do you think it's worth cashing in the steroid tablet prescription? What was the nurse's plan of action she drew up?

If you give him reliever, make sure he sits up, inhales well and wait 10 mins (calming him if necessary) to let it take effect. If it's not actually making any impact on his symptoms after 10 minutes, then I'd start to look at the "what to do in an attack" that I posted earlier

(however, if he's not too distressed and just got a bad cough, could well be the cold part rather than the asthma part that's the issue... )

Call NHS direct if you're in anyway not sure. I am not a doctor (obviously!)

I'll go up to him now.

It's definitely his asthma cough. he wasn't distressd as such just annoyed that the coughing was keepinghim awake and he feels very tired. I gave hime some reliever and some benylin and he's happier..
I've sounded such an ignorant and incapeable person over this. It's just made me realise, despite all our regular visits too the nurse, just how little information I had really taken in. If it weren't for MN I would still be in the dark

You're not, really you're not. It's incredibly hard to get all the information in an appointment - wasn't there some study which showed only an incredibly small percentage of information was retained? (I know when I was told I had obstetric cholestasis when pregnant with ds2 I had to look it up on the Net the second I got home as everything they said went in one ear and straight out the other....)