Asthma and swine flu

[Frasersmum123]

Im sorry for posting another swine flu topic, but I am a little concerned.

My DS is 8 and has moderate asthma, but its not very well controlled when he is poorly and last time he had a bad cold he ended up getting a bad chest infection too. I have made an appointment with his consultant but that is not until the end of next month. His chest is bad at the moment due to hayfever and so he is taking his preventer as usual plus taking his reliever 2 or three times a day.

There is swine flu in the area and I am a bit nervous about it.

Is there anything else I can do? Will a flu jab help?

sidge thanks, thats helpful - did wonder, and tbh hadn't used the Salbutamol with dd1 at all last winter. Whether its coincidence or not, using the preventer at first sign of cough/cold with her seems to have meant no chest infections at all - whereas the first cold of the winter, last October, I forgot (been nearly a year since she'd last needed it) and hey presto, one chest infection.

I'm very confused now about when to give her the preventer, as squeakywheel is with her own...she really doesn't seem to need ongoing steroids atm but can progress to wheeze/infection quite fast with a proper winter cold. Aaarrgh!

One for the asthma nurse, then, still haven't got through to surgery but will try again in morning

It is a difficult one as everyone has different triggers, as LeninGrad and squeakywheel have said. Some people suffer more in the summer with hayfever and warm humid weather as triggers; others find the winter worse with cold air and more viruses around.

I often recommend that if your child tends to be worse in the winter then think about restarting the preventer in the autumn, maybe when the children go back to school. This often does the trick as you are well established on the preventer before the weather really changes and the cold and flu season starts with a vengeance!

The problem with asthma is that people get used to feeling a bit crap, with maybe a bit of a cough or tightness and that becomes their 'norm', so they only worry when they are really unwell and then need steroids, antibiotics etc. Also people regularly take their preventer, feel well and so stop taking it, not realising that they feel well because they are taking their preventer not in spite of it. Then as they stop it there is a gradual decline in lung function which (especially in children) can be quite subtle so they only restart it again when they are quite unwell by which time the inhaled steroids have an awful lot of work to do to reduce the inflammation.

Sorry I'll stop now, I do go on a bit - I'm a bit passionate about asthma

Sidge - I think you're wonderful...

Ah thank you

squeakywheel I'm so sorry I just realised reading back through the thread that I hadn't answered your question. It's a hard call (ie should you start your clenil now because of the swine flu pandemic). I would want to know more about your usual asthma pattern, symptoms etc. If you haven't used anything - clenil or salbutamol - for 2 years then you may be OK without any preventer. But then swine flu can cause a severe cough so if you have asthma you may experience an increase in inflammation and worse symptoms if you were to catch it, so it would be a good idea to be taking a preventer.

Sidge, Pyro is right: you are wonderful. Stay passionate about asthma please

Sidge you are fab

dd always seems to end up on pulmicort for part of the winter with bricanyl as needed. Summer theres no sign of it usually. V. Ocaasionally ended up with oral steroids and nebuliser (more when younger) Trigger seems to always be colds.

dh is on clenil (200 twice a day maintenance) and salbutomol. Not convinced his is always greatly controlled but hes only needed oral steroids once. Triggers are allergy and infections.

we have flu locally now and I'm dilemma-ing whether to put dd on to her preventer or not? Also should we do anything with dh?

Thank you

dh is on

You are all too kind - but watch out, I'm going to start charging consultancy fees

OYBBK - if she needs her pulmicort over the winter normally triggered by viruses it wouldn't hurt for her to start it early especially with the SF around. Tell your DH to be vigilant about having his clenil regularly and if he starts with cold symptoms to have regular 4 hourly salbutamol (2 puffs). If they have suspected SF phone your GP to ask if they need Tamiflu as they are vulnerable.

Fantastic Sidge - thank you . I owe you a free un reliable weather forecast!

No probs!

Can I book a long range forecast for August 22/23 as we are planning a weekend to Chessington?

Thats a bit very long range for me!! I can guesstimate look at charts a couple of weeks in advance, so remind me

Thanks Sidge and I agree, stay passionate about it! Your posts have been really useful and have clarified things for me a lot.

looks like it is in dds school so it is good to have a plan.

Sidge, all I can offer is a bit of sign language tuition, or a free therapy session. I'm guessing a polite 'thank you' might be preferable....

BadKitten, hope dd is ok and your holiday doens't get affected!

Thanks Elibean As long as we don't get while we are on holiday - that will be the main thing!

Sidge thank you thank you thank you. Yes stay passionate. No GP/DR ever takes so much time and effort to answer questions.
I can offer italian lessons or homemade cakes .

Hey we could get a great community bartering system going on here!

I would like:

OYBBK's weather forecast
Elibean's therapy
DamonBradley's cakes

I hope I can help but remember nothing beats a face to face consultation with someone who knows asthma and knows you. (I will do home visits for cold hard cash... )

Good idea. I'll swap anything for cake

Sidge, have made appointment with asthma nurse (we do indeed have one, I had no idea) next Thursday for dd1.

And, have started both dds on their preventers tonight. dd1 needs it in cold season anyway, and we have lots of flu locally, so won't hurt. And dd2 is very hayfevery, and has been prescribed both blue and brown inhalers in the past 'in case they helped' her breathing...not sure they did (she has laryngomalacia, not lung related) but as she's so allergic, and has got noisier at night recently, its worth another try.

Thanks so much for the encouragement, advice, support, and - to everyone - company. Makes me feel less anxious

can I just ask what the preventer is? Which drug is it? I have been on salbutamol and becotide for years but never heard of the preventer!

Of your two inhalers becotide is the preventer and salbutamol the reliever. Relievers are for during attacks and preventers are the steroids or whatever you take regularly to reduce the chance of attacks.

Becotide has been renamed clenil modulate or something like that now, I think, but looks exactly the same.

Aha! Thanks sw. Yes the becotide is the steroid/preventer - just thought there might be a new wonder drug I didn't know about!

Hi I am asthmatic too. I am also 22 weeks pregnant and a healthcare worker

I have been finding it very difficult to follow the information on swine flu, as I feel that if you believed what you read, you would assume that anyone with any kind of 'underlying health condition' keeled over and died within minutes of catching SF (and not only that, but everyone heaved a sigh of relief that this next one to bite the dust wasn't 'normal').

My asthma is relatively well-controlled but moderate-severe. I am on Seretide 250 four puffs a day, which is a pretty high dosage. My best peakflow is 410, but averages out about 400 mostly, dips in the evenings/at night to 370 a bit and is still well controlled for me.

Major trigger for me? Viral infections and the end of October/beginning of November, when I take allergy tablets as it's suspected I have an allergy to leaf mould.
In excellent planning, I am due my baby in mid-November (right at the peak of my bad asthma time!) AND in the middle of a massive flu pandemic. Great.

GP was quite dismissive of my concerns: 'oh you'd be fine' (on what evidence, Sir?) - I suspect he's quite bored of talking about SF.
Occupational Health relayed HPA advice: 'keep[ coming to work until you have symptoms'. Erm, won't it be too late if I'm one of the unlucky few who reacts strongly and severely to this virus?

Meanwhile, I am going to get my MatB1 next week and wondering if I should really consider opting out of work and living in a hermetically sealed bubble from the beginning of September instead of going back into busy schools (after a full Summer of treating people in clinics).

Any thoughts anyone? IF this virus takes off as predicted and is at epidemic proportions and in a 'second wave' in the autumn AND you felt you were at high risk etc, would you go into a school environment and keep calm and carry on? Or sod it and take early mat leave aand sit at home in a house you'd stockpiled in early Autumn, with friends posting additional provisions through the letterbox (which of course, you would only touch having sprayed it with disinfectant while wearing your mask?).

It sounds like I'm joking, but only partially