In need of help

[Ch3838]

My 11 year old son Josh has just woken up and he is coughing quite alot, and there is a small wheeze sound when he exhales deeply, he says his chest also feels a little tight, but he was fine yesterday and has never had this problem before I asked him if he gets like it when he plays football or any other activity but he said no.

Before my other son Ethan was diagnosed with asthma about a year before, he had the same problem with mucus in his throat and chest and he had a cough but not the wheeze bit he was given an inhaler to help clear his airways and it helped alot but he didn't have asthma, until a year later he was diagnosed, could this of been the build up to asthma.

And could this with my son who doesnt have asthma be the build up to him getting asthma or could he just have alot of mucus on his chest what needs clearing and he will be fine one cleared.

Me and my husband don't understand as we don't have asthma but our 3 boys do and our 4th could be getting it to.

I need to take my other son in for his inhalers to be changed, would it be worth bringing my other son aswell or is there something I can buy to help.

Thank you

[emmasue]

I would get him checked out as there is clearly a link between all four sons. Good luck.

[Ch3838 in reply to emmasue]

I will, thanks for reply

[Hidden]

Hi Ch3838

I asked the nurse team here at Asthma UK about your query. They suggest the best thing to do would be to make a separate appointment for your son and recommend you try and make a same day appointment (and mention the symptoms of chest tightness and wheeze) as these could get worse. They think that the pharmacist would advised a GP appointment so buying something over the counter may not help.

Please feel free to give our nurses team a ring on 0300 222 5800 (Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) for further advice and support.

Hope that helps,

Dita

[Ch3838 in reply to Hidden]

I Will, thank you for the replys I am going to see about doing 2 today

[Hidden]

Neither of my parents had asthma, nor did either of my brothers. However, we know that an uncle and a grandfather on one side had it as children, and a great uncle on the other side died of it (seventy plus years ago when there really was no very effective treatment for it). So it can skip generations, or move sideways as it were. I also have three cousins, children of the uncle who had it as a child. None of them have asthma either.

[Ch3838]

Oh, I didn't know that, thank you.

[Ch3838]

Hi, I took Josh to the doctors,

The doctors said that it could be the start of asthma but they will need to do tests.

When listening to joshs chest the doctors said he could hear the wheeze when he deeply exhales, and the cough sounded like a asthmatic cough, and with the chest tightness said they were all asthma symptoms what some people start with, but with it only been a wheeze when exhaling he couldn't definitely diagnose asthma, so that's why he needs the tests.

For now the doctor has prescribed ventolin to help widen his airways and the brown clenil preventer to keep his airways widened for longer and said that it could help improve things before they get worse, he has to take the inhalers through the aero chamber blue mouthpiece spacer so all the medicines gets to his lungs.

The doctor said they should only really give preventers to people who are actually asthmatic, and where there releivers don't help but the doctor said that the way he sounded he needed the preventer to stop the symptoms flaring up.

The doctor said that if nothing improves to bring him back straight away then they can try him on other stronger inhalers, but I don't think I will have to as since taking two puffs of both the inhalers they have helped widen his airways and (it sounds gross) but he has found it really easy to cough the mucus up and his breathing has improved alot, and he said his chest isn't as tight.

Which is good but with my other sons having asthma I just know he will end up with it to I hope he doesn't but if he does what can you do.

I am just glad that he is finding it easier to breath and that he will be able to go back to school with his breathing been sort of ok.

Thank you to everyone who has replied and given me advice I am grateful.

And I will keep you all updated on wether he gets diagnosed with asthma or not he gets the test next week as they say he desperately needs it so they can make sure that he has the right medicine to take.

Once again thank you