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Teenagers

Parenting teenagers has its ups and downs. Get advice from Mumsnetters here.

Original poster

DD is poorly (asthma) at college; do I go & get her?

49 replies

KatyMac · 13/11/2014 06:48

She is nearly 17, she has asthma; she has worked out she is too poorly for college but isn't sure if she is ill enough for the GP

My instinct is to drop everything & goand get her

I can't I have work - I could prob go about 4

She is coughing badly & has a temperature

What should I do?

OP posts:
Picturesinthefirelight · 23/11/2014 17:13

It's been a long hard term with loads if bugs & infections & bugs going round.

Everyone is run down & dropping like flies at dd & dhs school too.

Original poster
KatyMac · 23/11/2014 17:24

Really? My dad is muttering about it being the wrong job for her because she keeps getting ill

Whereas I just think she hasn't quite got a handle of staying off longer to ensure she is better before going back

OP posts:
Picturesinthefirelight · 23/11/2014 17:27

There have been two bugs going round. One is the winter nirovirus one & the other is a flu type thing (aches, headaches, chest infection etc)

Original poster
KatyMac · 23/11/2014 17:29

She had a tummy bug(D&V), then a very bad cold & asthma (no chest infection), then a chest infection and now possibly a chill

I feel so sorry for her & want to sweep in & look after her - but I have work & she doesn't want to come home Sad

OP posts:
longtallsally2 · 23/11/2014 17:37

Aw bless. Changing to a different area/college/job, she will be exposed to lots of new bugs, so will be going down with more things. She sounds sensible, has a good GP service and is learning her limits, and how to manage her asthma (and you get to see Take That!), so it would be good if she could stay in the college/job she loves.

She can always come back home at any stage, but if she can get through this winter, she should be in a much better position to manage the next year. Fingers crossed that this is the last illness she will have for a while.

Original poster
KatyMac · 23/11/2014 17:51

I know, it's a new germ pool; but if she qualifies she will be in a new germ pool quite often I think

Oh crap! I just worry too much

OP posts:
anotherdayanothersquabble · 24/11/2014 08:58

Echinacea, vitamin C, D, A to boost her immune system.

And high doses (to bowel tolerance, ie induces a loose stool, up to 3000mg up to once an hour) of vitamin C can work to help asthma and be a powerful antihistamine. Something she might like to have up her sleeve to get things under control.

Original poster
KatyMac · 24/11/2014 22:52

Thanks - I'll see what I can persuade her to take

I think possibly the biggest problem I have with her health is my reactions to it - I just worry too much

OP posts:
Original poster
KatyMac · 26/11/2014 07:25

She appears to have taken almost an entire ventolin inhaler in under 3 weeks

I drove down & collected her

I'll see if our GP will see her as a visitor

OP posts:
bigTillyMint · 26/11/2014 07:27

Oh gosh, I hope she's OK.

Sirzy · 26/11/2014 07:31

Does her preventer medication need adjusting?

Original poster
KatyMac · 26/11/2014 10:45

I'm really not sure; her GP down there says she isn't wheezing. Which with the amount of ventolin she is taking is very confusing

She doubled her preventer when she had the first cold (about 5th Nov)

I am confused

OP posts:
3littlefrogs · 26/11/2014 20:20

Gosh KatyMac
If she is needing that much ventolin, her asthma is not being managed properly, she is not using enough preventer, or the preventer she has is not working and she needs a different one.
She needs urgent reassessment by a specialist.
Please, please jump up and down and get a referral asap.

Original poster
KatyMac · 26/11/2014 20:37

I thought it a tremendous amount

but looking here it seems it might not be that bad

OP posts:
NotTheKitchenAgainPlease · 26/11/2014 20:43

If the bentos in dose isn't lasting 4 hours then she should still use it but see a doctor ASAP - as in that same day. This is really important.
Hope she is ok.
And agree with everything 3littlefrogs said.

Alibabaandthe40nappies · 26/11/2014 20:48

The way she is taking her inhaler is completely at odds with all the advice I've ever been given, I'm a life long asthmatic.

I take more ventolin in one dose - 6-8 puffs and then nothing for 4 hours, rather than 2 puffs, 2 puffs which doesn't get it under control.

She needs to increase her preventer, or maybe she needs some oral steroids for a couple of days to get things sorted.

I'm not advocating she do any of this without medical advice - can she see a different GP? You can have a seriously tight chest and be really struggling without there being much wheeze, in my experience.

Original poster
KatyMac · 26/11/2014 20:58

That has been suggested on my new thread too - I just need to work out how much she should take

OP posts:
Alibabaandthe40nappies · 27/11/2014 12:56

No, you she needs to get medical advice. You can't micromanage this for her. I've been managing my own asthma/dose etc since I was about 12, and my parents are both Drs. She needs to understand her own condition and what to alter when and at what point to seek additional help, especially if she is living away from home.

I hope that doesn't sound harsh, it is meant kindly. I hope she's feeling better soon :)

Original poster
KatyMac · 27/11/2014 19:43

She has been signed off at the hospital & moved to a surgery without an asthma nurse

I'll ring tomorrow to see what the options are

ATM she is doing exactly as she has been told:
No daily peak flow
2xVentolin before her preventer twice a day
2xVentolin whenever she feels she needs it

OP posts:
3littlefrogs · 27/11/2014 23:15

When ds's asthma was really bad he was on his preventer 4 times a day, with occasional oral steroids if that didn't work.

The advice may have changed, but I was always told that if he needed the reliever more frequently than the preventer, he needed more preventer.

Actually - ventolin was hopeless for both my DC - they each needed a different reliever. DS2 was much better on atrovent. I can't remember what his preventer was called.

What a pity there is no asthma nurse at the surgery - they are usually much more up to speed than many GPs.

3littlefrogs · 27/11/2014 23:16

Oh - and definitely daily peak flow monitoring during acute phases. We had to mark it on a chart.

Gunfleetsands · 28/11/2014 10:35

Is your DDs asthma only caused by a virus/cold/chest infection? or could something else in her new college environment (particularly her bedroom) be aggravating her asthma at a low level, but hasn't been apparent until she picked up the cold/chest infection. For example does she have a really old mattress at college whereas she has a newer one at home. Is her room cold or is there any dampness in there. Can she open a window for ventilation. Some of it might sound a bit silly but we have found these kind of things can have an effect on Asthma. Is she hanging washing up to dry in her room (there is a semi interesting article in the Mail today on page 11 regarding the drying of washing indoors and asthma)

Hope your DD is fully recovered soon.

Original poster
KatyMac · 28/11/2014 15:54

Generally it's only with a cold or virus or a chest infection

I think her mattress is pretty new - it looks & smells great (I checked)

TBH it is following it's normal yearly path & usually at this point we get prednisilone

OP posts:
NotTheKitchenAgainPlease · 29/11/2014 07:40

Your GP can help her with a management plan. But she does need to go in and speak to them.

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