Does this sound like an asthma symptom?

[Wallace]

Ds2 (7 months) has had a few episodes of wheezing when he has a cold, and the doctors have said they wouldn't be surprised if he goes on to develop asthma, especially as dh has asthma.

Quite often when ds2 is sleeping he will sort of choke/cough and wake up crying. Dh reckons this sounds like asthma. Does anyone else have any experience of this?

yes mine do this and have "asthma" according to GP but they never need inhalers unless they have been poorly for WEEKS

well it could be - could also be regurgitating food (like reflux) - worth getting it checked out. Persistent night time coughs are tricky things and worth getting to the bottom of (because it can affect their sleep which affects their behaviour iyswim).

in terms of going on to develop it, I think it's quite hard to tell at that age. Ds, when he was under 1, had countless chest infections and was always wheezy but at the age of 5 no longer has any inhalers at all (and isn't asthmatic) but his sister is and her breathing was far better when she was younger (dh is asthmatic too).

thanks. He maybe does it a couple of times a night. He has an inhaler which I only use when he gets wheezy - would it be worth trying it before bed and seeing if it helps?

yes, see what happens (is it the blue one?)

if it does nothing, I'd go back to the GP because there are other inhalers that you can try (and even if it does, it may be worth informing the doc that this is what is happening now iyswim so you can discuss dosage etc.)

DS suffered from reflux without us knowing it for over 2 years. He never had any symptoms except when he had a cold when the symptoms were similar to what you describe. Would also get a high pitched dog barking type cough systematically when he got a cold.
They found it was reflux after a ????scopy (tiny camera down the throat) which showed where the escaping stomach acids had caused inflamed areas. He was treated with Gaviscon for 6 months and it seems to have cleared up now. Last few colds have been normal.

Thanks. I don't think it could be reflux as he used to sleep really well slept through from 9 weeks to about 4 months (hasn't since!) Also he is a very chubby happy baby, and surely reflux would make him miserable?

Hi Wallace - can I ask how come you have an inhaler for him? I thought Asthma couldn't be diagnosed until a lot later on (about aged 4). V Interested in this

He had a bout of wheezing which might have been bronchiolitis and the doctor prescribed him an inhaler to help his breathing. They did say that asthma can't be diagnosed until later though.

Yes foxinsocks is the blue one

I would take him back to the doc - they'll prob tell you to up the blue before bedtime to see if it helps.

It's better to go to the doc because they have it on record that you've needed to go - I used to up the inhalers for my two and then go in and ask for more and they'd drill me about why I hadn't come in and spoken to them (grrrr - if it was easier to get an appointment, I would have done!).

I think, especially as he's so young, it's better to let them guide you with the dose and whether he needs steroid inhalers etc.

Thanks Wallace. Think myds will have asthma too - hence the interest

foxinsocks - thanks. I do worry about them doctor thinking I am neurotic if I take him in too much! he doesn't cough all night but does this cough/cry thing a couple of times a night and curing naps.

stressteddy - what are your ds' symptoms?

yes sounds like asthma, DD1 has asthma and has had an inhaler from 3mths old. DD2 is now starting with similair symptoms and is 9wks old, funnily enough asthma runs in my family with the girls. I had it from being very young too.

Exactly the same as yours. I have asthma and tbh wouldn't have thought of it but my mum (who has obviously seen it all before with me) says she defo thinks he will go onto have it.
Just v. interested when you said about inhaler because I thought it couldn't be diagnosed this early
I'm not too worried about it though

meant to add they wont officially diagnose asthma until age of 2 due to lungs being immature although DD1 is now nearly 15mths and every doctor says it is asthma but she will get a reliever when she is closer to 2.

sorry meant a preventer inhaler[brown or purple] they give the reliever[blue] from any age as it doesnt contain steroids. DD1 has been on quite a few courses of steroids when she is really bad.

Wallace, I don't know much about asthma but I do know you can suffer from reflux without any apparent difficulty digesting. I had no idea DS was suffering from reflux until they stuck the camera down his throat age 2.6. His only symptoms ressembled croupy cough or asthma attacks when he caught a cold. He didn't sleep through the night until 9 months (waking for bf) but since then has only ever woken in the night because of these attacks.
Hope you find out the problem soon.

Hi Wallace, how's your little boy doing? Have you found out what the problem is?

He is doing really well, thanks for asking

He still sounds a tiny bit wheezy when he has a cold, but not anything worrying at all. I am hoping it was just the tail end of bronchiolitis.