When to call an ambulance for a child.

[SazSeb]

Hi everybody,

I have a 5 year old with severe eosinophilic asthma, he has had 38 hospital admissions in the last 2.5 years and he is symptomatic (wheezes) every night and approx 5/7 days daytime symptoms. I am happy with the care he receives from the 2 hospitals that he is under and his school and childminder are very good.

I usually take him to hospital by car myself when he has tracheal tug and intercostal recession, not resolved by salbutamol. The highest level intervention he has had so far is back to back nebs and oxygen (thankfully)

He last asthma attack was just before Halloween which resulted in a 2 night admission. On the day of admission I gave him puffs before school, he had 4 lots of puffs during the school day and the childminder gave puffs straight after school.

When I picked him up from the childminder in the evening I got him home and he was coughing every few seconds, he couldn't do a peak flow as he was coughing too much, he was very wheezy but his sats were good at 98%.

As his sats were good, I made the decision to take him to hospital by car, in A&E he was put on back to back nebs and they were considering giving him IV magnesium? (which thankfully we didn't end up going down that route). On the ward he was on hourly nebs and oxygen for the first night and his sats were 100% on oxygen with the mask on, but dropping to in the 80s when the mask slipped. He had recovered sufficiently in the morning and was weaned to 3 hourly puffs during the day, the second night was good with hardly any symptoms and he was discharged the following day on 4 hourly puffs and reducing regime.

My question is when is it right to call an ambulance?

I rarely call an ambulance as they the service is overstretched as it is, however, with hindsight I think it may have been the best option in this scenario. as an experienced asthma mum I still question myself.

[Shellc]

I would go with your gut instinct , you know your son yourself , personally I wouldn’t hesitate with asthma . On another note do u give your sim magnesium as a supplement everyday , if not I would think about giving to him . It seems to be given when in a and e but never daily . You will find most asthmatics are low in magnesium and would probably help no end . I take it daily and it has helped x

[Minushabens]

The simple answer is ‘if you are in any doubt about whether you should or not’. No ambulance crew will judge you for trying to make a good decision, but taking a bad one can have very serious consequences. As always, better safe than sorry!

[Chip_y2kuk]

I'm the same as you I've refused an ambulance many a time for myself but its much harder with a little one.... So I go with the stance I'm not taking any chances, kids go down hill and get tired much quicker than adults so its better not to take the risk... If should I call an ambulance... you should

[Wheezer2018]

Call the ambulance ! Don’t risk driving with a sick child in the back - you’ll worry about him and keep looking back to check he’s ok putting you both at risk.

Also the ambulance crew can start treatments straight away !

[Hidden]

Keep an eye on his oxygen level there's a machine that you can pay over the internet the ones GP's use. If it get's to low then call for an ambulance. If low and you can rush him to hospital then do it.

[Spikedog66]

Hi sorry to hear your little one is struggling very frightening for you both. My answer to you is call an ambulance straight away they have everything on hand, Oxygen. Nebulisers sats machines etc and are fully trained. They may be able to help you at home. I was a pediatric nurse for 40 years and have looked after many asthmatic children please don't wait that's what we are there for. Can I ask does your son have a prevented too?😊

[SazSeb]

Thank you for all of your replies, I think that I will go with my gut instinct nex time he has a bad attack.

I have a hospital bag packed and ready to go, because I have a feeling the cold air will affect him over the coming days

[ju-ju-]

My own personal view ( having had an ambulance sent having called 111) is that asthma is not to be messed with, and I was told if it ever happened again to call 999 which I will.... This is what the ambulances are there to do. The reason they are stretched is that many people call them who really dont require them. An asthmatic child is and always will be a priority. Perhaps discuss with his GP developing a management plan with the key triggers ( that you can pop on the fridge) so that you know when you should call an ambulance or 111 etc etc....