My Daugter Emily is 4 and has just started school,
She is on a preventer inhaler x2 daily and blue symptomatically.
She had a bad weekend and had to take the steroid tablets for 3 days, which i am very scared of, this is the 3rd time this year so far.
At the GP today they recommended a trial on Montelukast.
So..... this is new, i have read awful things regarding side effects, like tummy ache and fever, sleepless nights and mood swings???
Should i do it?? help
I should also mention that she generally only suffers from Asthma when she gets ill, or has a bad cold, she doesn't get it from exercise or allergies so far.
Thanks
Sarah
Don't avoid it just because of the side effects you read about. Few people get them and you might find that montelukast really helps Emily by lessening frequency/severity of asthma symptoms. If it doesn't help or side effects are not tolerable, then at least you have tried it and know. Good luck
Thankyou, yes i agree, we have to try it.
Its so hard when they are little, and even you don't really understand what you are putting into their body.
Thanks again for responce
Hi Sarah, My son (15) started Montekulast when he was about 7, and he never had any side effects. It really helped, especially in the first year, and he is on the adult dose now. I would follow the GPs advice - if it doesnt help or there are side effects, at least you've tried it. Good luck and I hope things improve for Emily.
Hello,
My daughter was diagnosed with Asthma when she was 2, and went quite quickly to using preventers. We moved to the States when she was 7 and immediately the doctors put her on Montekulast, Singulair,... Here it is a first line treatment particularly for children. For her it was a miracle drug. It made such a difference. She was able to reduce her preventer inhaler, and infact now (aged 15) only uses the preventer if she has a cold. She had no side effects. I would say try it, you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. If she does suffer from side effects then stop it.
One thing to remember is that little children with asthma are often very grumpy as they are not getting enough sleep. That is how we diagnosed my daughter. When the condition is managed well, they sleep better and the mood improves. For us it was Chalk and Cheese.
Best
RI
Hello,
My son is 4 and has been on medication for his asthma for the last two and a half years. He was on Montelukast (Singulair) for several months but he did have side effects, including terrible insomnia where he went from going to sleep at about 7.30pm to still being awake at midnight every night and still waking up at 5.30-6am in the mornings! He also became very irritable and short tempered, which is totally out of character for him, to the point where nursery mentioned they had noticed a big change in him too. This was probably partly to being so tired.
His consultant decided to take him off the drug to see if it made a difference and within a week he was back to his normal sleep patterns and his happy, laid back personality returned.
The important thing to note here is also that our son sounds similar to your child in that he does not seem to have allergies (skin prick tests all clear) and his consultant said that montelukast is more effective in people's with allergic asthma, so whilst it can be of great benefit to most asthma sufferers with allergies, those who have viral induced asthma for example might not get te same benefits. I am not a medical person so cannot give advice on this but am just passing on what I was told.
My son has now been on Seretide since April (not licensed for under 4's but can be given at the discretion of the consultant if considered necessary) and apart from having a couple of 5 day courses of prednisolone on top, it is the longest he has stayed out of hospital in two years! We can definitely see the benefits of Seretide, Leo has even had two colds whilst on it which amazingly haven't lead to even the slightest sign of any asthma symptoms...unheard of previously for him!
Obviously everyone is different and there is no one solution but I hope you found this useful!
Good luck!
Rebecca 
My son has been on montelukast since August but I don't think for him it is making that much difference to his asthma the only change seems to be that he is now incredibly bad tempered. . We are waiting for allergy testing for my son and it it proves he has no allergies (which I think it will) I am going to ask for him to be taken off the montelukast granules. For his asthma he is also on Seretide 125 2 puffs AM one puff PM, flixonase, Nedocromil and ventolin.
My boy took Montelukast for a year at the age of three. Like your child he also had no allergies. Unfortunately I had to stop the medication as I realised when we had a short break due to unavailability that it was giving him nightmares every night. All last year without this drug to dry up his mucus when he did have a cold his mucus production was so great he would vomit mucus at least three-four times a day. I've tried to restart Montelukast aqain but he is waking crying every night. Please please give it a try - crossing the road can have side effects - your child might be the one that has all the benefits and none of the side effects. Also I was told to take it in the morning - not at night which is how it is perscribed - less sleep disturbance. More importantly it should lower the amount of colds your child picks up. Good Luck
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