options for a young asthmatic

[emmabflea]

Rosie was diagnosed earlier on in the year following various chest problems and a 5 day spell in hospital on a nebuliser hourly. She is now nearly 3.

We have it pretty much under control now, by giving 1 puff of brown in the am / pm during 'safe months' (ie. when she doesn't have hayfever or in the winter), but as soon as she gets a cold it goes straight on to her chest. We then up it to twice a day.

She has also started having 'attacks' out of the blue when she had no apparant triggers. The blue inhlaers work, but it obviously concerns us.

At the moment, she has an awful cold and is on her blue inhaler every 4 hours, but the childminder had to give her her inhaler more than that yesterday as she was having an attack from running round - another trigger for her.

The childminder said that another child she cares for has an oral medicine for his asthma (I've never heard of this) which he can take if his asthma becomes bad, and he is apparantly nowhere near as bad as Rosie (not that I'm making it a competition but you know what I mean!) and has never needed hospital or anything.

Has anyone heard of this???

We have a dr's appointment on Tuesday to see if her dosage needs upping, and a more formal review with the hospital in November, I just wanted to be able to go in with some information to hand IYSWIM.

Poor thing has not had a full night's sleep for the past week from coughing and throwing up phlegm (and neither have we).

(My husband is a chronic asthmatic, I have eczema and we both suffer from hayfever)

[yaf_user681_15459]

Sorry your daughter is struggling at the moment.

There are huge amount of meds out there that may help. There are indeed also oral meds,(my daughter takes Montelukast and Pred daily orally.)

Ask your gp if it may be worth changing your daughters meds in order to alleviate her symptoms. What meds does your husband take for his asthma?

I hope things pick up soon. X

[emmabflea]

I don't know what hubby is on .... he has changed from the brown inhaler to a twisty turbo one... I have wondered if the dosage just needs changing for her, but I guess they can help her with that.

I feel a bit lost, as hubby has so much experience of it (he suffered since her age too), and I have none and am just 'learning'. He didn't get diagnosed until 7 though and has awful memories of breathing problems and chest x rays etc etc

[Hidden]

Hello,

My son was started off on the brown and blue inhaler also but the brown inhaler was ineffective for him and he is now on seretide (purple) inhaler which he has to take twice daily.

I am unsure of what meds your childminder is talking about unless it is a steriod tablet (pred) which Tom has to take when he is particually bad. Tom also takes montelukast which is a tablet he chews at night he has been on it since he was about three and i seem to remember it was prescribed for the night time symptoms.

if i remember correctly some of the meds were not licensed for his age group and it may be that your daughters consultant will be more pro-active in changing them if they see it necessary.

I hope Rosie starts to pick up soon, take care

Vicky

[Hidden]

HI,

When it comes to medication everyone is different. My daughter started on the brown inhaler but it did not work and is now on orange and green inhalers as well as the blue one. A lot of the medications are not recommended for under 5's. The oral might be steroids what the childminder was talking about as my daughter also has an emergency course of steroids in the house at all times. But I have to tell you that you must be aware that long-term steroid use is not good for anyone. There is lots of other treatments that can be looked at before you even think about steroid use. My daughter has to take 10 puffs of the blue inhaler every 4 hours most of the winter. There is also something called singular that is a tablet used to treat asthma but again I am not sure if they would give your daughter this because of her age.

My best advice is to talk with your doctor about all the treatments that are available for your daughters age group and make sure you find out the pro's and con's of each treatment. Also give asthma UK a ring they have specialist nurses that are more then willing to give you any advice that you might need. take care and good luck lisa

[emmabflea]

Thanks everyone.... well we went to the GP and she has a chest infection and so is on antibiotics for that.

They also prescribed prednisolone in case she is reaching mroe than 5 puffs every 4 hours, but since on the antibiotics it's claming down...

she has her 6monthly review at the hospital next month so we'll discuss it with them then.. thanks for all the advice!

[Hidden]

The oral medication might well be Montelukast (Singulair). Have you tried giving Rosie a blue inhaler prior to her running about? It used to help my daughter when she was little though it can be tricky to know when to give it.

I hope all goes well for you all, colds and infections are such a worry for parents of asthmatics.

[Hidden]

Just make sure that you are using your puffers with AeroChamber spacer.

[emmabflea]

Just as an update, they've now prescribed Montelukast for her... we're on day 2 (they've given us 2 weeks to see if it makes a difference) and advised to use the blue inhaler before the brown is administered... I have to say she's had 2 clear nights and not needed the blue during the day.

Is the Montelukast prescribed for allergy triggers? Does anyone know?

[yaf_user681_15459]

So glad your little girl is on the mend.

As far a I know montelukast is prescribed for allergic asthma.

Lovely to hear some positive news

[Hidden]

Hi

Montelukast is prescribed to reduce the amount of mucus secretions and is usually used as an add on therapy to inhalers where the person is not adequately controlled. It can be used by those who do not necessarily have allergic asthma. If you want to know more the Asthma Adviceline Nurses are brilliant & will talk you through anything else you want to know.