Does anyone have small children with asthma?

[GoodGrrrlGoneBad]

DS2 is only 18mths, but is getting recurring 'chest infections'. I know doctors are reluctant to diagnose asthma in little ones, and the GP has skirted round the issue. The only thing that helps is the pump i've been given for him, and DH has asthma (diagnosed as an adult)

I find it really scary- i keep thinking what would happen if he couldn't catch his breath and i wasn't there, and wonder if it might affect him playing sports etc when he's older.

Can anyone reassure me that i'm just being daft? (Please!)

My DS has used inhaler since 1 yr old.

Many DC grow out of childhood asthma.

My DS is 4.5 and a very lively little boy, even when he had both legs in plaster last year! He has never had an asthma 'attack' which was unrelated to ongoing health issuse - so he is only breathless/wheezy when he gets a cold etc.

I am blase (sp) about it because he has other health problems that are more serious, so to me it is fairly minor. Other parents will obviously feel different.

I hope you feel more comfortable with the situation soon.

Well, you are guessing at asthma so I wouldn't worry about something you don't have a firm diagnosis for just yet! And if he is asthmatic, it is not the end of the world. I have suffered from asthma since I was diagnosed as a child. I was about 7 when it was made official, although up till then there were signs which my parents tried to deal with, eg ice skating lessons stopped when I kept getting chesty wheezes afterwards. I coped fine until I was eventually prescribed the blue inhaler and then learnt to manage it myself, and still do to this day. So I suppose what I am saying is if he is coping so far then he should continue to do so. If it worsens then your GP will probably ramp up the approach. Even as an adult I am meant to see my GP for regular asthma checks to ensure it is under control and the same goes for your son with his chest issues. That should help to reassure you it is being properly monitored and supervised. It is natural to worry as a parent but don't let it distract you too much.

I thank God every day mine are still alive when I go to bed at night! Asthma is manageable and does not prevent you from leading a full life. I control mine and have not had an attack in years and can swim, cycle, run, ski etc faster and for longer than a lot of people I know without asthma so it certainly does not hold you back from physical activity. Much to my DH's shame !

It is fine as they get older they are more able to let you know when they need an inhaler or puffer as DD1[3.2yrs] calls it. Dd1 started with recurring asthma symptoms at 3mths old but was officially diagnosed when she was 20mths as she was admitted to hospital very frequently or in a+E/walk in weekly with asthma attacks.
Just keep regular checks via gp/asthma nurse and you will also start to pick up signs more yourself of when they are going down hill.

My two boys were both diagnosed with asthma when they were about 3yrs old.

They are now 6yrs and 8yrs old. They use preventer inhalers in the morning and at bedtime but otherwise you would never guess they have it. Both boys go to sports clubs. Ds2 is always racing around everywhere.

As others have said, it's a case of finding the right level of medication needed and then just keeping an eye on things.

Good luck.

My DS developed asthma at 6 1/2. he already had eczema. It was discovered that change in air temp. caused his airways to constrict, i.e. going from warm house to cold outside. He initially had blue inhalers, with a spacer device (a plastic vessel that you attach the inhaler to, and the air inside helps spread out the medicine particles so that your child can breathe them in without having to worry about timing breathing in with pressing the inhaler.
Eventually we could use the inhaler alone, me counting to three, and him breathing in as I pressed the inhaler on 'three'. We attended the asthma clinic at the GP's and when he was old enough to manage inhaling alone, the nurse would check his technique each time with a dummy inhaler. Eventually, he had a brown inhaler (steroid) and this was used twice a day, and really cut down the need to use the blue inhaler, although he took one with him everywhere.

I would say that it can be managed well and children do cope. It doesn't stop them having active sporty lives, in fact there are olympic athletes with asthma.

You're not being silly, anyone would panic at the sight of their child struggling to breathe, whatever the cause. It might be worth examining anything that might make it worse though. I'm thinking of aerosol sprays, cleaning chemicals, toiletries, diet, pets and other animals, pollen, dusts of all kinds, fungal spores, cold air temps. Try to take note of what precedes an attack of breathlessness, as this will aid the diagnosis. If you have or have had asthma, eczema, hayfever, any allergies or migraine as well as DH's asthma, DS2 should have a proper examination, as it is more likely if both parents have related conditions. I would push for a second opinion, especially if you can give them any pointers as to what causes the attacks to happen. Good luck!

thanks so much.

I have hayfever, and DS1 has recently developed some minor ezcema. And we do have a dog

I know 1000s of people have asthma and it's seen as relatively minor, but i can remember someone having an asthma attack at school once and it was just awful (although it was primary school, so maybe it just SEEMED more awful to me)

asthma attacks are scary but fully manageable as long as you dont panic. Some people with asthma will not have a asthma attack but coughing fits etc instead. unfortunatly DD1 seems to have been unlucky.

You're not being daft - it's a frightening condition, for your Ds and for you.

My DS1 had wheezy episodes from around his first birthday, usually in conjunction with a cold. He was given a blue puffer, and had several doses of the steroid tablets prednisolone. Then at 18 months he was given the brown preventer puffer, to take twice daily.

This didn't stop the attacks completely and he was hospitalised in January. Since then he's been on all the above, plus montelukast granules that seem to be keeping a lid on things - he's been a bit chesty and wheezy but we've been able to control it with the blue puffer.

As far as I understand it, they don't officially disgnose asthma in toddlers becuase to do so means doing a number of tests, like the peak flow tests, where you have to blow hard into a tube, and it's just not possible to get toddlers to do this effectively.

If the symptoms are there though, they will treat it as asthma, with preventer steroids etc.

If I were you I would keep taking him back to the doctor every time you feel that the blue puffer is not controlling the symptoms, or you ar having to use the blue puffer a lot, ie more than once or twice a week. if the blue puffer controls his symptoms then it's doing it's job.

As many have said before, kids often grow out of asthma, especially the sort that is triggered by cold viruses, so I wouldn't worry too much about sport just yet.

Virtually all my cousins had asthma as young children but most of them were fine by 7 or 8, and Im really hoping that will be the case for DS1. Ds2 is 4 months so we'll have to wait to see if he develops symptoms too. Fingers crossed he doesn't.

Believe me, having seen the state that Ds1 was in when he was hospitalised, and the amount of care that he got, I don't think anyone sees asthma as 'minor'

If they do, they haven't seen it.

Hi, I am so sorry I would love to know if your child did outgrow it? This post is old, I am hoping they did because I have a 5 year old with asthma😔