Help ease the night time cough

Hi all this is my first post

My daughter age 3 has asthma , took a long time to diagnose and a serious few days in hospital which pneumonia anyway that was last year.

Just before Christmas she got very very unwell but we managed to avoid hospital with anti bs and a nebuliser. Since then she has been pretty well up until 2months ago and the coughing started which caused another chest infection, she was super for a couple of weeks and the coughing started again, we have upped the inhalers, blue and brown yet still awful and awake every couple of hours at night , in our bed as no way can we sleep train when this is going on.

She wakes gasping and coughing with blue lips yet doctor seems to think its all under control. I feel we have no support

We have asthma clinic at GPS next week but that's usually a waste of time.

Should I be asking for referral to specialist or can anyone suggest anything t help please

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hmm...my first comment is that blue lips is a sign of very low oxygen levels and therefore if your daughters lips are blue you should really be seeking emergency help via 999 or OOH if you really felt she was stable enough for that (although I suspect they would tell you to ring 999 if you rang them!). Don't really know your asthma knowledge/background, but it might be worth having a look around the AUK sight about when to ring 999, things like blue inhaler not lasting 4hrs are signs of deterioration etc.

From what i read in your post it sounds like your daughter is on 'step 2' of asthma management, meaning she has a blue inhaler and brown inhaler? If this is the case then normally GPs would try a combination inhaler, which has a steroid and long acting reliever component (as opposed to just steroid as is in the brown), and then something like montelukast/singulair to see if symptoms can be controlled with either of those. I know that with asthma in very young kids things can be done slightly differently or in a slightly different order, but thats not saying that asthma should be left uncontrolled, just that control may be achieved in a different way. If your GP is unwilling to treat your daughter beyond the point she is at then i would suggest seeing a different GP, or if that isnt an option it may be of benefit for her to be under a specialist.

Has she still got the chest infection? Has she had antibiotics or oral steroids? I think they will try to avoid oral steroids in littlies, but if she can't breathe it sounds like it might be the case that she needs them, for a few days to help her improve. I would definately reccomend you ring and get an emergency appt with your GP, i wouldn't let things wait a week. Explain to the doc that she's waking up with blue lips, and not breathing well enough, and really question him if he seems to think this is acceptable, i know its tough but sometimes GPs need a bit of convincing to realise the severity of the situation (esp is she's slightly more well during the day)

In terms of improving her cough, do you know if she has any specific triggers you can avoid? Dust? Mould? dry air? damp air? pets? any specific foods? etc. hypoallergenic bedding might help, and using hypoallergenic washing powders. I think some asthmatics benefit from sleeping propped up, so her head is slightly more elevated (i'm not a parent, i believe that by 3 they are old enough to sleep with pillows???) with either pillows or things under the top of the mattress. Potentially you could give blue inhaler before she goes to sleep but really this is something you'd want to discuss with GP or asthma nurse. others may have more suggestions, and obviously i'm not medically trained, my main advice is to get to a GP asap and if she's blue to get an ambulance, that might also help the GP realise the severity of the situation!

I hope she's feeling better soon!

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Hi

Yep second that with an ambulance if she as blue lips or struggling to breathe that is what they are there for and they will not mind in the slightest. Speak to your GP and get them to do somthing and don't leave the surgery until they do. I have done that before when i was in hospital and really stamped my foot about it - yes it worked and yes i was ill they kept me in for 5 days - chest infection. They cannot keep fobbing you off especially where a child is concerned. Insist on seeing a specialist and if he won't pay private for an initial consultation and see where that gets you, you should not have to go down that route but its an option at worst.

good luck