Asma attacks in sleeps for my little 3 year old

[Charliepops]

Hi my son is 3 years old his nearly four n his suffered with breathing problems since birth due to being prem ... He has had episode after episode since birth n is always in n out of hospital been on blue inhaler brown inhaler n dark brown in haler ( for bad spells ) n montelucast for two years ... Now since January his been having very bad Asma attacks n regular ones to... Iv had to scream for 18 months for allergy tests n finally they doin them.., but his having the attacks in his sleep every time n I'm living on my nerves at min ... Any one else experienced same

[Hidden]

Hi Charliepops,

I'm now in my fifties, but I developed asthma aged three.  I wasn't diagnosed for a further five years and in that time my mother had to cope with me having asthma attacks at night during my sleep.  I can recall being lifted, still very sleepy, being placed on her lap and having my back rubbed which was all she could do to try to help me to relax and breathe.  Later, after I was diagnosed and had medication (something called IntalCo - no longer available) I have memories of being woken to take it because I had started having an attack in my sleep.  I think she (as I was later with my younger son, another asthmatic) was subconsciously alert for any sound of coughing.  And yes, it's stressful.

[Charliepops in reply to Hidden]

How old was u when they stopped .... N did any thing help to reduce cxx

[Hidden in reply to Charliepops]

Difficult to remember.  I don't think I was still having them at night when I went to secondary school (unless I was ill with an infection) and I got the correct treatment when I was eight and a half.  My son improved as he got older.  He's an adult now and hardly ever has an issue with his asthma (though he still has inhalers - just in case).

Asthma varies from individual to individual - even in families.  My son's asthma is not the same as mine.  Some things we both have (dust is a trigger for both of us), but I'm exercise induced whereas my son is not.  One thing that is certain is that we both improved noticeably once we got the right treatment.   If the medication he is on is not working for him you do need to discuss this with your GP or the consultant if he is under consultant led care.  If he is not under the latter is there any chance you could request a referral?

Do you have a spacer device for him when he takes his medication?  If not that is something else to ask for, and make sure that someone explains to you how to use it.

The allergy screening should throw up any problems he has in that direction.  In the meantime things that might help are ensuring his room is aired out thoroughly every morning (open the window and throw the bed covers back for an hour or so if you can to allow the bed to air out).  If condensation has formed on the windows overnight towel them down to discourage mould forming (a known and common trigger for asthma).  I never have the radiators on in my bedroom (nor in my son's room either) keeping both cool.  I usually open the door late in the afternoon to allow the warmth from the rest of the house to take the chill off.  

Hope some of this is of use.

[Charliepops in reply to Hidden]

Thank you so much yes it been a great help to me... N I'm goin to go back to gp n discuss some new treatment .. His consultant called me yesterday as he prescribed new inhaler few weeks ago n gp refused us it... His also referred us to respritry clinic so fingers crossed... Defo goin to start airing his room more like u said n throwing back covers before bed time ... Thank you for ur advice. X

[Hidden in reply to Charliepops]

Delighted to hear that there is a new inhaler being suggested and that he's being referred to a resp. Clinic. 

You don't need to throw the bed covers back before he goes to bed (or I never do).  The important one is to throw them back in the morning after he has got up.  I also hump up any pillow (so that a tunnel is formed underneath) so that air can flow around both sides at the same time. 

Good luck.  Hope it goes well at the resp. Clinic.

[Hidden in reply to Charliepops]

In addition to the above, sorry Charliepops, but I got forgot to mention this, having thrown the bedcovers back (and humped up the pillows) I leave the bedcovers thrown back for much of the day.  The bedroom windows will often get shut before that, I think of one hour as the minimum, but it does depend on whether I am going out or not and the weather. 

[Charliepops in reply to Hidden]

Thank you ... Iv been doin this all week ... My boys got really bad chest infection at min so can't tell any improvement yet but I'm keep goin at it xx

[Hidden in reply to Charliepops]

It's tough when they get infections on top of everything else.  I remember with my younger son that when he went down with something, he really went down with it.  Even before he developed asthma he would pick up an infection from his non asthmatic older brother (who had it mildly) and he would be really unwell with it.  I remember when they both went down with chickenpox (aged 4 years and eighteen months).  The elder brother got it first and had about ten spots (no exaggeration there): younger brother got it and was covered with them.  They were in amongst his hair, in his ears - everywhere.  And yes, he went down with chest infections as well.  On the positive side, things got better as he got older (even the correct asthma treatment won't prevent a child from picking up the bugs that are going round), and now he is really rather a fit adult.

Hope your son gets better soon.

[Charliepops in reply to Hidden]

It's a bloody constant worry  ... He only needs to get a snotty nose n he gets a chest infection every time ... Just can't wait for him to build his immune system  x

[freefaller]

Sound advice Maggie