Asthma - Need advice please (mum tearing hair out)

[alicats]

Hiya

I float around on here now & then and don't really post too much but I need some advice on the above.

My dd was born 10 weeks early and is now nearly 17 months old. She has just got out of hospital (her 4th admission since leaving scbu), This time they has deffinelty said that they belive she has asthma and have uped her inhallers to stronger ones.

The problem we see it is that when she gets a cold she then has breathing difficulties and her pipes cannot cope and temperature spikes etc. We do have a cat but do not believe this causes any problems for her because she plays with him and has no signs of difficulties etc.

She goes to Nursery 5 days a week at the moment but were looking to see if we can reduce this as this may be causing problems for her because she is mixing with other children.

I'm tearing my hair out because I just do not know what to do for the best for her, the questions going around my mind at the moment are.

Do I give up work and look after her?

Keep her indoors do not mix with anyone?

Do I take her out of nursery and look for an alternative?

What about our lifestyle do we need to change it?

I really want the best for my dd as she is very presious to us as she was very unexpected.

Please I need some advice and also I would be interested to find out if there are any other mums out there in the same position ?

Many Thanks in advance
Alicats

DS was born at 27 weeks and spent 3 months in NNU ITU on oxygen.

he went into hospital on and off with broncilitis and asthma.

His asthma was bought on by colds and ear infections.

I tried to keep him away from people with colds when he was a baby then he got stronger and then immune system got stronger and lungs stronger.

He is now 9 years old and has still got asthma but it is under control. We increase his puffers when he gets a cold.

I am sorryn I can't tell you what to do about work.

We had a cat anddog we nowhave 2 cats and they did/do not affect him.

good luck and sending cyberhugs{{{{{{}}}}}}

Hi Alicats,

My ds has exactly the same sort of asthma as your dd. He too started when he was a baby, and finds that it is only triggered by viral infections (and one cat, but not most cats!). He is now 9, and his asthma is pretty well controlled now, but we have to increase his steroid dose whenever he is starting a cold.

I can see why you are thinking in terms of giving up work- there's no doubt that children get more respiratory infections at this age when they are surrounded by other children. However, I would say that the end is in sight. The frequency with which they catch things seems to decrease enormously once they're over 2, so if you can get through this winter you are probably over the worst. What this means in terms of giving up work, only you can decide. If you give up now for this winter how easy would it be to start again in a year or so's time? If that's not feasible then how will you find if you give up work and find this time next year that your dd is really ready to go to playgroup and is not getting infections, but you have lost your job? I really hope none of this is sounding remotely judgemental, I'm just trying to think through some of the ramifications.

Another possibility would be to use a childminder, who would presumably have a smaller population of viruses coming through the house because there would be fewer children.

For what it's worth, I stuck it out (working part-time) and it got better, but maybe my ds was not as badly affected as your dd, so it's hard to extrapolate!

Good luck.

sorry what I mean is that the animals did NOT effect him and still don't. IYSWIM

Sounds to me like you need much more input from your doctors on controlling your dd's asthma when she gets colds etc. I have asthma, and the worst time for me too is after colds (that's the only time I've ever had to be hospitalised). Gradually I've got better at working out what I have to do in terms of medication, upping my inhaler dosage etc as soon as I start sneezing.

The only advice I can give is to go back to your doctor and keep pestering until they give you some more support.

Personally I don't think there's any sure way of avoiding picking up cold viruses, especially over winter. I guess it'll be worse with lots of exposure to other children, but you have to balance that with all the great social benefits brought by playing with other kids.

For me cats are a major trigger - so they would be a big no-no in our house!

The other thing I would say, is that although you don't necessarily grow out of asthma, it should be possible to get the medication right so that your dd can lead a normal life.

I assume you know of the National Asthma Society - they have a helpline you could try, and lots of free info.

I don't think there is any way you can avoid colds - if not now - then when she goes to school. I think getting colds is good for building up the immune system. What you need is to know the beest way to deal with the asthma when she has a cold (my DH also seems to have asthma triggered by colds). I guess the doctors are the best people to tell you that, and the asthma society as Pidge says.

Do you have access to an asthma clinic? Ds1 went to the clinic at the hospital until fairly recently. They are very useful when it comes to advice about when to up the steroid dosage. Like the others I always increase ds1's inhalers when he has the beginnings of a cold. This seems to really help.

Once they get a little older and have built up a little more immunity the number of colds and viruses that children catch decrease pretty rapidly. Ds1 used to catch every cold possible when he first started at playgroup. This was when he ended up in hospital after asthma attacks (pre-diagnosis). After about 6 months or so his immunity was really good.

Is it possible for you to get an allergy test done for dd to find out if anything else is triggering these attacks?

I agree with coppertop you need to have DD allergy tested. difficult to keep away from colds but htere are loads of other triggers for asthma with me its dogs not cats for my sisters its cats. Household chemicals, air fresheners, cleaning fluids etc...change of enviroment can trigger asthma so you need to make sure childcare facilities are suitable for asthmatics. Once the medication is sorted you will be able to control asthma better. Don't worry too much being aware is half the problem with asthma.

What a worry for you - though it is true what everyone says, they build up immunity by catching colds and they will catch a lot at nursery. Maybe you could consider taking her out til she's older or stick with it and see if you can learn more about how to handle the asthma better.

Do consider having allergy tests, remember that dustmites in the house particularly beds, bedding and carpets are considered to be one of the major allergens. Get a dustmite proof mattress cover, remove carpets if you can, also books and soft toys from her bedroom. My 9 yr old is definately allergic to cats so now we don't have one. She gets loads of colds throughout the winter and I am experimenting with echinacea to boost her immune system (i got the idea from mumsnet, of course!) Good luck

What a worry for you - though it is true what everyone says, they build up immunity by catching colds and they will catch a lot at nursery. Maybe you could consider taking her out til she's older or stick with it and see if you can learn more about how to handle the asthma better.

Do consider having allergy tests, remember that dustmites in the house particularly beds, bedding and carpets are considered to be one of the major allergens. Get a dustmite proof mattress cover, remove carpets if you can, also books and soft toys from her bedroom. My 9 yr old is definately allergic to cats so now we don't have one. She gets loads of colds throughout the winter and I am experimenting with echinacea to boost her immune system (i got the idea from mumsnet, of course!) Good luck

oops!

Thankyou all for your messages.

Coppertop & Alfiebetty, never thought about allergy testing so I will discuss this next time we see the ped which should be in about 4 weeks.

I have just called our surgery as someone mentioned about an asthma clinic, to find out that they will not deal with little ones her age but they do have a doctor which is assigned to asthma which may be useful.

So thankyou for that

Yes your absolutely right tamum I could give up work and then find that she has no further problems and I've left a job that I enjoy doing,

oh decisions decisions, as you say maybe when dd gets to 2 that will be a milestone reached

The other thing to bear in mind which might be slightly comforting is that if she doesn't grow out of it, it does get much easier as they get older, because once they can use a peak flow meter you get advance warning of when they are starting to go downhill, and can adjust their medication accordingly. Also, you're not having to just trust your powers of observation, you can tell the doctor that their peak flow is down to 70% of whatever.

Hope you feel happy with whatever you decide, and hope she starts growing out of it very soon

Like Pidge, my main Asthma trigger is colds/viral infections etc - when I feel a cold coming on, or the kids/DH have one, then I have to "up" my steroid inhaler.

However, cats are not a trigger for me (have 2 and thought I would have to get rid of them) but they don't have any effect on me at all (I do keep them out of bedrooms though).

Cigarette smoke is another HUGE trigger for me and again have to "up" my medication if I know I'm going somewhere smoky.

I would go back and have a chat with your Asthma doctor for more general advice.

Sorry to hear about your dd, Maybe ask the GP if the hospital has a paediatrician or chest physician who does a paediatric asthma clinic, also the allergy test advice is a really good idea as it will help you work out what her triggers may be and how to manage her environment, I have quite severe asthma and have just had a test and found out after 10 years that I am very allergic to our cats! (still have them though, they are too old to re home). Asthma does get easier to manage as children get older, although if dd ever has a really bad attack dont hesitate about calling an ambulance as they carry nebulisers and oxygen, my GP advised me to do that rather than call him out as he said he would just call one anyway!
Hope this helps. good luck and lots of hugs(((()))

ds was diagnosed with asthma when he was five months old and was in and out of hospital until he was about five. it was terrifying but touch wood...he hasnt had an attack since then. he would only get ill with it when he had a cold too...after that it was tonsilitus all the time. he has been better also since i bought anti-allergy bedding.

I am absolutely in the same position.My two yr old has asthma which is generally under control,(that is until he gets a cold!).He has ended up being nebulised in hospital various times and we live in fear of the next cold!.However there is a new drug on the market called singulair tablets which basically are anti-inflammatorys specifically aimed at patients with cold induced asthma.They are suitable from two years of age and only work for 50% of people but are definately worth a go when dd is old enough.My son has been on them for a month and he seems to be better than he was.

My son also took Singulair when he was little. He started before he was 2yo after his allergist and I talked about the relative risks. He had some serious allergies to various things, so it was necessary to keep this in check.

It was a godsend to us. As Pippinthedog mentioned, it doesn't always work. For us, it took effect in about 3 days, so a brief trial might work for you.

Another thing that radically changed our lives was when he had his tonsils and adenoids removed (he was ... um ... 4 1/2 yo I believe). His breathing improved an incredible amount (he had trouble breathing when asleep). I'm not recommending you do this -- don't know a thing about that in little children! Just wanted to mention it as it made such a difference to my son.

Is Singulair a steroid? Just wondered as my son has twice been prescribed 4 days of oral steroids after athsma attacks. he is 3.75 yrs.

NO,they are definately not a steroid,that is the brilliant thing about them!.I really would recommend u give it a try as steroids are not good news when taken often.My son was given about six courses of steroids which i hated.

As a lifetime asthmatic myself, I wasn't surprised that DS was also diagnosed at 18 months. We have been through 3 boughts of bronchitus and one of pneumonia but now at 4.5 he is pretty much under control and I just up the dosage when he starts sneezing. Recently though I also gave him pulsatilla granules when he started wheezing and couldn't sleep because of coughing and it was amazing! Results within 15 minutes!! Followed by a good nights sleep - needed by all of us! Homeopathy is safe on children and there are some good books around on it. I feel that it is so depressing when they start wheezing and coughing that I would give anything a try. To answer your questions I would say can you work part time? Don't take her out of playschool full time or she may get bored now and it is important to socialise even at that young age as it helps to develope skills useful in later life. Both DS and I feel much better when we are out in fresh air (unless it is actually freezing) so do take her out and about - although I know that some asthmatics are better inside so you'll have to try and work that one out based on her symptoms. Ds has anti allergic pillows and duvets and we have no carpets in our house at all - whether this has made a difference I wouldn't like to say. I am highly allergic to cats and guinea pigs (!) and was hospitalised last time I went somewhere with cats so we have no furry animals in our house, and also a non smoking rule (not that DH or I smoke but some of our guests might) Sorry if this is a bit long but I know just how you feel and am sending cyber hugs to you and your DD. I think it is true that you can grow out of it (although I didn't) but certainly things will improve and I think you are going through the worst of it now. Good luck and follow the excellent advise from the other MNers.

just found this oldish thread and wanted to pick experienced brains. dd, nearly 3, was diagnosed as having asthma around 12 months. fortunately, not nearly as seriously as many of the kids mentioned here -- no hospitalisation, no attacks (fingers Xed). we just have a pretty bad time in winter, with lots of coughing after exercise, and baaaad nighttime coughs.
at the moment, because of rolling colds, we've had her waking up coughing around 2am for most nights for the last 3 wks. she settles back after a bit of the blue inhaler, but i don't really see that either inhaler (we do 2 puffs of both, am and pm) is making much difference ATM.
do you have any ideas for controlling nighttime coughs? I have cut down her milk intake a bit at teatime, not sure if this will make any diff. also will try the suggestion of pusatilla granules. if necc i'll go back to hosp for more advice from consultant, but in the meantime, is this just one of those things we have to put up with?

Hi there bakedpotato. Have no experience of asthmatic children (currently 11wks with first baby, keep your fingers crossed for me!) but am a lifetime asthmatic myself and remember my childhood suffering well so might be able to help a little.

Your dd sounds a bit like me - I was also (fortunately) never hospitalised, although I did have attacks and tended to respond with wheezing rather than coughing. But I do remember many very uncomfortable nights.

Usually when the inhaler (or whatever) stops working so well there is some change in the symptoms and treatment needs to be adjusted. I went from some kind of syrupy stuff at the beginning, to a ventolin inhaler (with variable success) from 6 or 7, then at 13 or so I needed inhaled steroids additionally and after that things really looked up. There often isn't an easily discernible reason for a change in the condition, but one thing I've learned is that it does change and inhalers becoming ineffectual should be looked into. I think neither wheezing nor coughing have to be put up with. I spent many nights putting up, but now I think I poss should have been started on a regular dose of something sooner. I'd make an appointment with the consultant, especially if the last one was a while ago.

I'm sure you know this yourself, but things need monitoring even when she seems well - only recently (I'm 27!) I thought I'd finally 'grown out' of it and gradually stopped taking my regular inhaler, then went to the docs to get my 'need' inhaler prescribed again and after a test discovered I hadn't grown out of it at all and my lungs are overcompensating by overexpanding which, if left unchecked, can in the long term lead to emphysema. So I'm now back on a (different) inhaler again and a check-up today confirmed things are much better.

berolina, thanks. We're back in London and I think my son needs some to restart the Singulair -- your post is a kick in the ass!

bakedpotato, I swear by steam humidifiers, esp when my son has a cold (and is taking all the asthma meds). It just makes it easier for stuff to move out of the the bit he needs to breathe through. Urgh, I know...

berolina, you have spurred me on to go back to docs about this. many thanks.

Hi there - have you thought about immune boosting foods (e.g. Lucy Burney book)and boosting the immune system with herbs like Echinacea , having allergy tests (might be feathers in pillows, dust mites etc). A good local naturopath would be able to get her on the road to recovery. I hope this helps.