15 month old DS been prescribed with an inhaler - any tips on how to get him to let me use it?

[ceebee74]

He has also got a spacer/mask thing - but he will not let me put the mask over his face long enough for him to get the medicine!

Even if I wait until he is fully asleep, he still fights it in his sleep.

Anybody got any tips other than DH pinning him down??

Can you let him play with it? Pretend to use it yourself?

Buy an Aerochamber space device (orange for the little one) - much easier to use than hospital issue.

I think my nephew had something similar. they got him to use it by everyone having a go and pretending it was a trumpet

A friend of mine roars like a dinosaur for as long as possible then breathes in deeply a few times. Everybody does it then her DS happily has his turn. The noise and giggling takes away from what he is doing.

I used to give ds a sticker to put on the spacer everytime he used it.

When that didn't work I let him decorate it so it was more friendly/appealing.

IT helped for us that both me and dp use inhalors so he got to see us using them a lot.

Chocolate reward everytime he uses it? Till he gets used to it.

Lots of praise.

Take mask off spacer (or just don't put inhalor in end of spacer) and let him play with it for a while, explore it.

Put it over your face and pretend to be a robot or something. MAke it a fun toy.

we spent a long time battling (literally) to get DD to use the mask until one day realised she could and would use the mouth piece much more effectively

Yes, we used to go through the 'trauma' of giving the inhaler which in our house is known as the gas mask. Ds had his worst tantrum ever in front of the asthma nurse - I cringe now thinking about it.

What worked for ds was singing a nursery rhyme with a counting element in it (like Once I Caught a Fish Alive) and he had to inhale/breathe heavily for the count and dh would pretend to do it too and a reward at the end like a bedtime book (which he was always going to get anyway or 5 mins of Milkshake TV before leaving in the morning) Also ds gave teddy the inhaler before he had it.

But was getting quite good at mastering the pinning technique!

we gave teddy a go before my dd - and made sure that teddy made it clear it was great fun (iykwim)

she was dying to have a go after that - worked for us

I had to give up using the spacer and showed HV dd1s use of inhaler and she said it was fine as her getting upset using the spacer would cause more harm than good. She is 22mths and been on inhalers from 3mths old.

There is a small metal spacer which we found was the best, but not that readily available. Giving it to teddy, blowing bubbles while he takes it and a reward of blowing bubbles himself when he does it. It took a while but they do eventually get used to it. DS used his 2+ times a day depending on whether it was preventers or relevers as well for 3 years and grew out of it at around 5.

chocolate button for using the spacer worked for ds.

It was a MNetter who sugested outright bribary, and it worked for us!

we use the infant aerochamber on DD (23mo) who started using inhalers at 7mo and hated the big volumatic thing, i'm sure i would too. She had the most amazing right-hook move for such a little baby - she could get it right across the room with one swipe.
You can request an aerochamber it on prescription from GP if u explain you're having no joy otherwise. I was so desp i bought one to start with but pricey at £13 when u can get them for free on prescription.
We have given ours (with empty becotide bottle in) to many dolls, teddies, rabbits etc. If we still have occasional resistance from her, she shakes the spacer (?!) whilst i shake the inhaler; i sit her on my knee facing forwards, hold arms with one of mine and the inhaler with the other, and we do some mad side-to-side rocking motion whilst counting. Have no idea why but between the counting and the rocking she's either reassured or baffled into calming down
Mostly she is fantastic and is more interested in trying to do the whole thing herself

Great suggestions - but will bribery work on a 15 month old? Will he understand that he has to do it to get a chocolate button (or will he just have a paddy until he gets the chocolate button anyway?)

Fortunately it is not crucial that we give it him properly as he has not been diagnosed with asthma yet - so it does take the pressure away but still it is very frustrating.

Will try some of these suggestions this weekend.

at that age they do get used to things quite quickly, if you do it regularly (whether you actually press the inhaler and give him medicine or not IYSWIM - just to keep it familiar!) it soon gets accepted as routine.

Good luck, please stick an update to let us know how u get on!

we pretended it was a trumpet too, and ds loved it.

we made one for ds toy cow so cow had his too.we also take him to see his granny(and anyone else who has one) having hers and tell him hes just like granny.we used a spare for his brother to do silly over the top deep breathing in so it was silly game.and he likes to press inhaler.and play with spacer as much as possible.saying all this ,we still have trouble at times!hes been quite ill with it recently and gp said i had to force him to have it which felt nasty but he said that as ds was/is ill,hed end up with a strange nurse forcing him to have it in hospital if i didnt so after trying everything ive listed were at time having to hold hands out the way

I usually pass the puffer round, so that daddy gets a puff, then her pet monkey etc etc. She prefers to hold it herself, and we have always lavished so much praise on her for doing it that now she says 'good girl' when she sees the puffer coming. Its a good idea to do it before having a drink, because I think it can dry your mouth out. Good Luck!

Can I say a HUGEEEEEEEEEEEE thank you to whoever said about the aerochamber spacer. I bought one this morning for dd1 and she loved it, the fact it had teddy bears on helped but also it is so much less intimidating than the volumatic. We have used it for her reliver and preventer without even a slight tantrum or cry However it was costly at £11 but have just put in a prescription for another one.

My DS is 16 months - we put on funny voices going 'helloooooooo DS' into the spacer and then take deep breaths, and he copies us with many giggles. It involves complete loss of dignity for us as we camp it up like mad, but haven't seen my dignity in a long time... Think I left it in the delivery room!