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Kaylz89 profile image
30 Replies

Hi am new here. My son is 5 and a half and has been diagnosed with asthma since he was 2. We are on the purple seritide inhaler and the blue one. Also on plenty hay fever medicines, his asthma though is very poorly controlled. We have just finished a course of a months steroids to try get him over the winter period we had.

Kaylz xx

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Kaylz89 profile image
Kaylz89
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30 Replies
Asthma-girl profile image
Asthma-girl

Welcome to the forums.

I hope your son starts to get better control of his asthma soon.

Take care.

Kaylz89 profile image
Kaylz89 in reply toAsthma-girl

Thank you xx

Beth_19 profile image
Beth_19

welcome to the forums.

Sorry your son is so poorly. I have had asthma since I was little (Diagnosed at around age 5) but had significant problems before that with repeated chest and throat infections.

When my asthma was bad when I was little my mum used to run a bath scolding hot, close the bathroom door and windows allowing the steam to build up in the room. We would beside the bath sometimes helping me lean over the bath so I could get steam into my lungs. It would help for a few hours sometimes into the next day I would find my breathing easier. It also seemed to help open up my sinuses so i could clear them along with my lungs, as the steam helped loosen up the flem so when I coughed I could actually get fir of it.

I hope you find something good to help your son.

Kaylz89 profile image
Kaylz89 in reply toBeth_19

Thanks for your reply. I use the shower. He goes in and we close the door behind and the steam builds up. He doesn't get throat infections now as he had his tonsils out at 2. We got to clinic at hospital every 2 months. And every time I hope we've improved. One day. :)

Beth_19 profile image
Beth_19 in reply toKaylz89

Hopefully as he grows his own natural immunity will help ease the burden. I know I took up singing and that helped because it taught me to control my breathing and once that helped I was able to get into sports and all sorts.

Kaylz89 profile image
Kaylz89 in reply toBeth_19

I hope so. He does swimming weekly. Have you still got asthma?

Beth_19 profile image
Beth_19 in reply toKaylz89

I do unfortunately. However I had a 10 /11 year period where I was symptom free, only really needing a couple of puffs of Ventolin if I had a chest infection. It only ended due to a combination of circumstances including a nasty virus which caused my asthma to flare up badly and I'm not back on meds and trying to get control of it again.

Kaylz89 profile image
Kaylz89 in reply toBeth_19

Aww did you. I had Asthma as a child but I grew out of mine. And have been symptom free for over 6 years and hoping to stay that way. And hopefully my son can get there one day too. But he's unfortunately got another infection and has had to get another dose of steroids and a/bs x

Beth_19 profile image
Beth_19 in reply toKaylz89

Just watch out cause it was a virus which did me in and set everything off. If you start having symptoms of asthma go straight to the docs because I left mine and ended up in hospital twice nearly ended up in ITU.

Kaylz89 profile image
Kaylz89 in reply toBeth_19

I still go to my yearly asthma review with my surgery. Just to make sure everything is going as well as I feel. X

Beth_19 profile image
Beth_19 in reply toKaylz89

now back on meds I meant to say - seratide and ventolin

Kaylz89 I also had asthma from a very young age (3 years) but it was completely uncontrolled for five years due to the medical profession not admitting it was asthma (this was back in the 1960s when this was not unusual). The medication I was eventually put on (no longer available) made an enormous difference. When I had to change it (in my late twenties) it took a while to find the right medication/strength of medication, and I went back to a less well controlled status until I was put on my current medication (flixotide) in my mid thirties. I'm now in my fifties with well controlled asthma but even so infections are still a risk. I am fortunate that my local surgery (which has been dealing with my asthma for over twenty years) knows my condition well, know that I know it well and as a result if a problem occurs they will see me quickly.

My younger son also developed asthma aged three. In his case he was quickly diagnosed as being asthmatic but because he was so small my GP was reluctant to put him on steroid inhalers. It was only after four episodes requiring urgent medical treatment in the space of about four months that he was put on them. He was lucky, and responded to them well. That said, they did not protect him from getting infections, and when he did he was still capable of becoming very unwell very quickly (and yes, he ended up on oral steroids a few times); that improved as he got older. He's now in his early twenties and hardly ever needs to use an inhaler, though he still has them, just in case.

Hope your son gets better soon.

Kaylz89 profile image
Kaylz89 in reply to

Am glad you have a good doctor surgery. Mine is rubbish. But our hospital docs are a life save to us. So glad your son is doing well now. We have admitted into hospital tonight as the infection just got the better of him. Am hoping that one day soon we can find something to help him control it. As a parent it's a horrible feeling knowing I can't do anything for him.

in reply toKaylz89

You can complain if your local surgery is not providing sufficient help for you or your son. First step is to write to the practice manager laying out your concerns. Practices are unlikely to improve if they are not made aware of the fact that the level of healthcare they are providing is considered unsatisfactory.

Yes, it is horrible for parents to watch their child suffer. My parents (particularly my mother) went through it with me, and I went through it with my younger child. As I said, he did improve as he got older (last attack that landed him in hospital was when he was seven). Hopefully things will get better for your son as he matures.

Kaylz89 profile image
Kaylz89 in reply to

I have complained on several times. Fingers crossed he gets better as he matures.

in reply toKaylz89

Have you complained in writing? Then the complaint is on record if things get to the point where you need to take it further.

Alternatively, is there another practice you could switch to?

Kaylz89 profile image
Kaylz89 in reply to

Yes it was in writing. There is another practice but it's not so close to home. We tend to just tend the hospital if my son is poorly. We have an amazing nurse there who I can phone and she can tell us what she thinks is best x

EJ-1974 profile image
EJ-1974

My 10 year old son also has difficult to control asthma and has been taking daily prednisolone for the last 6 months. His consultant has suggested we try allergy injections. Hoping they work so that we can try to wean him off the steroids! It's such a worry when they are so young! Hope your wee one finds something that helps too xx

Kaylz89 profile image
Kaylz89 in reply toEJ-1974

Aww does he. It seems so common. Has he been on them that long. What a shame. Fingers crossed the allergy injections work. Hope you don't mind me asking but what allergies does your son have? My has food allergies and the normal hayfever ones too. Xxx

EJ-1974 profile image
EJ-1974 in reply toKaylz89

House dust mite is his worst one but also pollen and cats and dogs! His recent IgE blood test (which measure Allergy levels) showed that they had increased so consultant seems confident that these injections could work for him. Has your son had allergy testing?

Kaylz89 profile image
Kaylz89 in reply toEJ-1974

Yeah he's had them. He's allergic to grass trees pollen house dustmite and also dairy pineapple and apple. X

EJ-1974 profile image
EJ-1974

Poor soul, we seem to be okay with food thank goodness! Everyone always says it gets better as they get older. Here's hoping they're right!

Kaylz89 profile image
Kaylz89 in reply toEJ-1974

Yeah I get told that all the time and also it comes in 7 year cycles. X

EJ-1974 profile image
EJ-1974 in reply toKaylz89

Haven't heard that one but he was diagnosed at age of 2 and then things settled for a while until last year when they flaired up again, so that makes sense. X

Kaylz89 profile image
Kaylz89 in reply toEJ-1974

Have you not. Am hoping cause he's nearly 6 that it's true. Hope your boy gets better soon.

EJ-1974 profile image
EJ-1974 in reply toKaylz89

Thanks, hope yours does too X

in reply toKaylz89

That one goes back years. I remember hearing my mother say that when I was a child. Sadly, it's never worked that way with me and I'm not sure I can pin my son's improvement over the years to it either. I've often wondered if there's any scientific research that backs up the seven year cycle hypothesis.

Kaylz89 profile image
Kaylz89 in reply to

Does it. It's the docs that told me it. But I do wonder if there is any proof of it.

in reply toKaylz89

It may stem from the fact that, certainly in childhood, there are significant body changes. So for a child who develops asthma aged five or six, seven years on takes that child to twelve or thirteen and on the brink of puberty. It is known that hormonal changes can have an impact on asthma.

Kaylz89 profile image
Kaylz89 in reply to

Yeah that's seems to make sense about their bodies

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