advice about asthma, quick reply needed

[linzoid]

My 4yr old ds suffered hayfever last year and was also wheezy with it. He was given preventer inhaler and antihistamine. Since then he's been changed to salbutamol.
Hayfever seems to have started once again but this time worse. Today he hasn't been out but is sneezing constantly. Not sure if it is the allergy causing it but is coughing and coughing. Have been giving salbutamol, one puff morning and night but is now in bed sounding really rough. What can i do? how much more salbutamol can i give him? I can't work out whats going on because usually it's his eyes that are affected most and they are fine and surely today being chilly and wet and indoors he should be o.k ( he's had zyrtec too. I am sooo worried, that coughing is like nails on a chalk boar and my nerves have had it.

I'm an asthmatic, but I don't have an asthmatic child yet so I can't give you child doses etc. Firstly my hayfever is often worse when its wet and I plenty of other people that are the same so I'm not the only one.

You descibe your ds as coughing but you don't mention wheezing. It may be he's got a chest infection? It could be an allergic reaction, it could be a tickly throat - I'd need you to describe more. The salbutamol is a "reliever" so he should get instant relief from it. You don't mention him struggling for breath. I don't mean when he's having a coughing fit but between those times how is he breathing? If fine then the asthma is probably not so bad. If he is wheezing between then I would phone up NHS direct. Salbutamol if taken in large doses also speeds up the heart and I have absolutely no idea how much a child of four should have. I only know for myself.

If when you gave the evening salbutamol he did not get instant relief and is not noticeably struggling for breath and wheezing then he's probably agrevated the membranes in his throat or chest. This is very common and the best advice is to try to soothe this via honey etc. Talk to him and try to get him to "control" his coughing so that the membranes don't get even rawrer.

Either way probably the best thing to do is phone NHS direct where you can talk through things with a nurse.

HTH

Good luck tonight