HumphreyCushion needs some advice re DS2's asthma please.....

[Saturn74]

DS2 (9) has spent the last hour in the GPs surgery on a nebuliser.
His peak flow reading was low - 140-150 when it is usually 230-240.
After the nebuliser it went up to 190.

He has been prescribed 8 x prednisolone tablets per day for the next week, then a Qvar inhaler as his other one made him sick.
And as much ventolin as and when he needs it.

So, he's just had the first two prednisolone tablets and some ventolin, but his reading is 180 and I just wanted advice really please.

Is the prednisolone likely to work wonders, or are we realistically looking at a trip to hospital later for more of the nebuliser etc?

Don't know what DS's SATs are, as they didn't have a monitor at the surgery, but he's got dark circles under his eyes, and his voice is catching when he speaks, plus the barky cough is quite frequent.

No infection on his chest, and no scooping in of the chest when he breathes, thankfully - I suspect the harvesting of the oil seed rape in the local area has had some effect on him.

TIA for any advice.

I hope I'm not too late with this message.

I would say that it's a sign his preventatives aren't quite as strong as they ought to be. I'd ask to be looking at increasing or swapping preventatives.

I only got up to nebulizer level, I never went beyond even at my worst, so unfortunately can't really advise about the particular drug. However, it's worth phoning the specialist asthma nurses at Asthma UK to discuss options as well as talking to your GP.

I'm so sorry to hear that he's going through all these problems. I do hope he feels much better soon.

xxx

DS's consultant told us that inhaler plus spacer is just as effective as a nebuliser, and there is a research paper that shows this. Ds's prescription is for up to 10 puffs in 4 hours, which our GP and the pharmacists nearly fell over at the sight of, but apparently this equates to one nebule, and as you can get in early with that dose (rather than waiting to go to GP), more effective.
I seem to remember (from when my asthma was bad)that it took a few days for pred tablets to kick in fully.
You might want to press for referral if things are getting this bad again so that DS can have allergy tests, and more preventative inhalers.

Thanks for your replies.

We have yet another prescription for prednisolone.

No chance of nebuliser for home use.

He did see the consultant at the hospital a few months ago, and has had the allergy tests.

He's allergic to grass pollen, and we live in a rural area, and they are currently harvesting the fields nearby.

He was in hospital at the same time last year, so hopefully we can nip this attack in the bud before he gets too poorly this time.

I am sure an hour on Runescape will help to cheer him up though!

I've had both and must say the nebuliser is much more effective for me - it's like magic and after the struggle of breathing it makes such a difference. Maybe it's psychological - I really don't know. I have a fantastic preventer now - Symbicort - and I can honestly say it's changed my life. Obviously it may well not be suitable for young children.
Hope he's doing OK. It really is worth going back over and over until you find something that works. There are so many options nowadays.

I take it you increase his preventative inhaler during his worse times of year?

Yes we do, pointy.

He has the brown one morning and night.
The green one mid-morning and mid-afternoon.
And blue as often as he needs it.
Plus anti-histamine.

We've started the prednisolone, but his peak flow readings are dropping.

Will contact the OOH GP surgery if he gets any worse.