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two year old coughing/breathing/asthma/allergy???

11 replies

hatter · 19/05/2004 16:40

DD2 age 2 periodically gets really bad coughs and I?m confused as to the potential cause and whether we should do anything about it. I?ve been in and out of the GPs about it and ? even though I always see the same doc - I?m sure he?s told me conflicting things. She had bronchialitis at 6 months and I?m sure that at one stage he told me that this can have an impact for up to 2 years or so ? I?m sure he said something about scarring, or their lungs being weakened a bit ? but said this wasn?t anything to worry about. Another time I?m sure he said it wouldn?t be linked. He once gave us ventolin as a short-term measure. He said that it seemed her bronchioles were closed a little and ventolin would open them up. He asked if we had a new pet and I said no, we have cats but always have had. But later realised (you know what it?s like) that I should have emphasised in the same breath that she?s always had this problem ? though on and off. I?ve asked if she?s likely to develop asthma and he said no ? but then why did he ask about pets? And why did he advise me to keep the cats out of her bedroom? I?m also confused when he ? and other people ? conflate coughing with difficulty breathing ? aren?t these two different things? And where do allergies fit into all this? My nanny thinks we should get her allergy tested ? especially as she?s bad today and the pollen count is high. DH has hay-fever but never problems coughing. He thinks it viral. If you?ve got to the end of this you can probably see how confused I am. Any advice? I?m not a hypochodriac mother but I do worry when people talk about difficulty breathing and when it?s bad it disturbs her sleep and clearly upsets her.

OP posts:
hercules · 19/05/2004 16:42

I'd push to get her refered to an expert.

twiglett · 19/05/2004 16:50

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Nutcracker · 19/05/2004 16:51

If it is disturbing her sleep then it could be asthma. Whatever it is it sounds like it needs investigating.

My DD2 had similar probs and we had to fight for an asthma diagnosis, but once we got it and she started treatment she was loads better.

misdee · 19/05/2004 17:18

ask to be referred. dd1 was dx with asthma at a young age. i know it was before her 2nd birthday. she coughs at night, which is a nightmare.
did the ventolin help at all? what u could do in the meantime, whilst waiting to see someone (does your surgery have an asthma nurse, ask if you could have a chat with them), is make her bedroom as asthma-friendly as possible. this may mean hoover everyday, or sweeping and mopping if u have hard floor (which is better for asthmatics btw), washing all bedding at 60degree to kill dustmites, airing the bedroom everyday, freeze your dd1 soft toys in plastic bags in the freezer overnight (kill dustmites, do about once a week), wet dust any surfaces, if possible wash curtain weekly or replace with a roller blind which can be wiped. if you can afford it, then repalce dd beddign with anti allergy bedding as this can help as well.

tamum · 19/05/2004 18:20

A few random thoughts:

I get hayfever and it makes me cough-y and wheezy by evening/night, so it is possible that's making her worse. I have to say it does sound very like asthma, but of course that's not to say that she won't grow out of it.

One thing that seems to me to be a useful experiment is to take her to spend a night away from your house, somewhere where there are no cats. That would show you fairly quickly if the cat is exacerbating things. My ds has asthma, and although he usually only gets it in response to viral infections there is one cat in particular who makes him really bad (belongs to his friend, unfortunately).

I do think it's worth trying to get to the bottom of it as if it is asthma then it would be worth at least considering steroids to see if they help (low dose inhaler, nothing too awful).

Hope you get some help!

hatter · 19/05/2004 22:29

Maybe I need to find out more about asthma - but what does it mean to say he has it in response to viral infections? I didn't realise it could be triggered in this way. This sounds like a more likely trigger for DD - because she doesn't have it all the time

OP posts:
Slinky · 19/05/2004 22:40

I have asthma and one of my triggers is viral infections/colds.

I also have 2 cats - and have lived with cats since I was 15 - but they don't affect me at all. Although I ban them from the bedrooms, I can pick them up and cuddle them etc without any problems.

But if I pick up a cold, then that can knock me for six - disturbed sleep and wheeziness/tightchested are the first things that indicate to me that I need to adjust my medication.

Could you take your DD along to the Asthma Clinic at your surgery for advice/chat - IME the Clinics are far more helpful than a GP - usually run by a specialist nurse (mine is anyway) who deal with respiratory problems on a daily basis.

tamum · 19/05/2004 22:41

Well, I know it sounds odd, but it's clear that certain viruses trigger an allergic response in him. He now gets asthma quite badly, but only with about 50% of the colds he gets, so it's certain subtypes of cold virus that trigger it. It's not a chest infection, just cold + asthma, although when he was little he used to have lots of chest infections at the same time. He doesn't react to housedust or anything, which makes life easier, just viruses and certain cats. I know of another child who had very severe asthma in repsonse to viral infections who ended up having lots of immunisations in a bid to prevent him from having any more severe attacks. Ds was given a flu jab this year for the same reason.

One other thing to mention is that ds has never responded terribly well to ventolin. There's a genetic basis for how well you respond. The steroid inhaler, on the other hand, has been a godsend and kept everything under control. I was very, very resistant to it and very concerned, but don't have any real doubt that it was the right thing to do in the end. Your dd may be a bit young though. Definitely worth looking into though, I'd have thought.

Poor you, I do sympathise.

tamum · 19/05/2004 22:42

Cross- posted there- completely agree with you Slinky (and my sympathies to you too), asthma nurses are usually much better informed (and consistent) than many GPs.

hatter · 19/05/2004 22:58

Thanks guys. I've just looked at the national asthma organization website, which clarified some basics for me and made both me and dh think she probably is asthmatic - albeit mildly. But - thankfully - we're pretty certain that cats are not a trigger for her - nor house dust cos I can't claim to be the best house-keeper. I'll see if I can arrange for her to see someone else - maybe a nurse or a different doctor. I'm not too wrried coz it is mild, and sporadic but I have just read that good treatment is important for the long term too so I think I will start to be a bit more pushy

OP posts:
robinw · 20/05/2004 07:01

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