5 Year old with asthma

[Timt17]

Hello all. My son is 5 years old (6 in February) and was diagnosed with asthma 3 years ago. He was a very normal healthy baby boy. When he was age 2 he started getting sick literally every single day after he ate any type of food. For a year they gave him steroids and he gained a lot of weight. At age 3 he got so sick his oxygen level dropped to high 60’s. He was life-watched by helicopter to a bigger city with a pediatric intensive care unit. He was then diagnosed with moderate asthma. They noticed his adenoids were enlarged. He had them removed. We have never experienced asthma in our family so this is all new to us. He now seems overall healthy with blood work checked yearly and all is normal yet he now weighs 79lbs. He is in the 95 percentile in height for his age and now in the 98 percentile for weight. He now takes albuterol, budesonide inhalers 2 puffs Morning and night, fluticasone nasal spray twice a day, as well as Zyrtec once in the morning. When he has asthma flare ups he coughs until he vomits and coughs throughout the night especially in the winter. We are looking for advice and guidance on asthma treatments that will help this little guy. Thank you all for your input in advance!

[Triggerina]

I am not a medical professional. However, This doesn't sound like moderate asthma to me. He is taking quite a lot of medication.I have been asthmatic all my life. Diagnosed age 3 and now 66!

I have moderate allergic / cough variant asthma. I cough rather than wheeze and I take beclometasone(qvar), montelukast and ventolin as required.

I have learnt to avoid my triggers.

Dust mites are terrible for me. I have no carpet in bedroom. Use washable rugs. Washable curtains and allergy proof bedding and mattress covers etc. Makes a huge difference for me. I also had allergy testing so know what I am allergic to. Pine trees, oilseed rape, shellfish, red wine(!), horses, dust mites, aerosols and some cleaning products. Soft toys can go in the freezer to kill off dust mites.

It is hard but keep trying to keep weight at a normal level helps enormously.Exercise helps me. Walking mostly.

Hope this is of use. I was bad with asthma as a child but became much better as a teenager. Maybe a different asthma specialist for a second opinion would be of value too.

I really hope there is an improvement soon.

[Timt17 in reply to Triggerina]

Thank you so much Triggerina. We also think it is so much medicine for a 5 year old. We just went and seen his specialist a month ago and she said that the albuterol he can cut back on to as needed. He did have an allergy test and it shows he is allergic to cats. His regular doctor was also concerned about his weight for his age and did a full blood test 2 months ago. All came back just fine he said. What is crazy is he is a very active boy! He swims literally almost every day during the summer. His mom is a stay at home mom so she takes him on walks, to the park, swimming, and the nature center for activities. We were also concerned because he is a very active boy! We do have carpet in the bedroom. Right now we currently have a humidifier in his bedroom. I have been doing so much research here lately trying to find the right humidifier and possibly an air purifier to put in his room to see if that would help him at night. Any suggestions? We keep the humidity especially in the winter between 30-40 humidity level in the room and house. We are also thinking about the bedding covers you mention. Any recommendations there? He goes back in April (after he turns 6) to do another breathing test is what his specialist called it so she can see his level of asthma? I’m assuming to see if it has improved at all. Thank you so much!

[Gwalltarian]

Definitely get a second opinion. He is taking an antihistamine to suppress allergic reactions but in addition you need to remove obvious triggers - despite all the medication it seems he still has bad attacks. Get rid of the carpet - definitely in the bedroom and all through living areas if possible. Hard floors that can be washed and kept dust free would reduce the impact of dust mites. Otherwise there are carpet cleaners and steamers that you can use to clean carpets and textiles frequently. If he is allergic to cats you can probably add any other furry animal and dust mites to the list. If there are any pets in the house both they and their bedding need to be kept clean - bathed/washed weekly if possible. Is he better on using an humidifier? An effective air purifier would help a lot. Don’t use perfumed air ‘freshners’ and cleaning products. If triggers in his environment are removed then perhaps the doctors can reduce the steroid dosage - Steroids cause the weight gain. Make sure he gets a vitamin and mineral supplement daily plus a vitamin D tablet. Avoid bad triggers including Smoke from fires and cigarettes and mould.

[Timt17 in reply to Gwalltarian]

Thank you Gwalltarian! I may have not described it properly in my initial post but the steroid is an inhaler (budesonide I believe), its an orange inhaler. In the beginning before we knew it was asthma they had him on the liquid steroid prednisone a lot that year. When he was diagnosed with asthma they checked and his adenoids were very large so had them removed shortly after diagnosis. Fast forward 3 years and from what I can tell his flare-ups are less and less but as you know still kick his butt when he gets sick. I personally do not know if the humidifier really works and that’s what is frustrating. We bought what we think is a decent one and we have a humidity monitor in his room. The humidity is usually 30-40. We have never really used one with any of ourselves or other children. I have been researching the best I can and think maybe get an air purifier as well? Again still researching the best to get that works properly. Also we have talked about removing all of the carpet and going to hardwood floors. At this point we are open to all suggestions. I greatly appreciate all and any suggestions. We did go to the doctors before Halloween and it was an ear infection but I asked the doctor about the use of prednisone liquid and he told me that if he only takes it no more than 2 times a year it would not effect weight. I feel like that year they had him on it really put the weight on. He was a healthy normal sized 2 year old boy.

[Gwalltarian in reply to Timt17]

I agree with you on the effect the prednisalone has had - my own experience of it is that I immediately start noticeably bloating after I have taken the tablets for a day or so. So I avoid it. The inhaler is a steroid inhaler so the lower the effective dose the better. So removing all obvious triggers would be very beneficial - he should need less medication if his environment suits him, the doctors should be able to reduce the dose.

In my home the humidity is high and I use a dehumidifier to bring the level down to around 50. A hepa air filter would clean the air and be beneficial - my dehumidifier has a hepa filter and I find the air is soothing when I run it.

If the steroid inhaler is effective then the next step is to try and remove all triggers or irritants. Good luck.

[Timt17 in reply to Gwalltarian]

I have made a list of what we think might be the triggers over the past couple of years and overall I can say for the most part that is helping. What I find hard to figure out now is how to get some of this weight off. The list of things he does no one would ever believe he would weight this much. He swims all day during the summer even goes under water for long periods of time, Loves vegetables, goes for walks dang near almost every day it’s nice. His mom takes him to our nature center a lot for walks so he doesn’t just walk around the block and see the same Ol stuff. Even the doctors said well let’s check his blood work. All came back normal. Thank you SO much for all the input. I am truly thankful!

[BeckiH79]

Hi Timt, firstly just to say I really feel for you I have a 6 year old boy with asthma and it is heart breaking to watch them struggle and feel so helpless. I am not a medical professional but once our son was diagnosed as asthmatic they prescribed montelukast for him and it has been amazing. Really got his asthma under control so he only really struggles when he has a chest infection. I hope that helps, worth mentioning if it hasn't been brought up already x

[Timt17 in reply to BeckiH79]

Hi Becki! Thank you for the reply! It is very heartbreaking. He is overall a healthy 5 year old boy. The year before he was diagnosed when he would get SO sick they gave him SO much prednisone. He went from average normal size boy to so much added weight. He is active and just had bloodwork done and all came back normal. I am trying to find little ways to get the weight back to normal. He eats healthy, loves swimming, and walks at our local nature center. The montelukast was not brought up however we try that in the beginning but then after being on it we noticed a big change in behavior with mood swings and other symptoms . So they took him off of it. Thank you for the reply! All and any ideas are welcome!

[hilary39]

Oh your poor boy I'm so sorry. Do you have pets at home? Vaccuming regularly with a HEPA vaccuum and using HEPA air purifiers around the house is HUGE. That helps a lot of people minimize airborne allergens. You've covered his mattress and pillows, right?

Do doctors think immunotherapy could help? Do they do allergy shots in the UK?

How long has he been off the prednisone?

I'm so sorry you're going through this. It must be so heartbreaking and hard to see him so miserable.

[Timt17 in reply to hilary39]

Thank you Hilary. We have 1 dog. We vacuum regularly and have the proper bedding. We currently do not have an air purifier in the house. I recently have been talking to people and trying to find the best one. I definitely want to get one but not sure which is the best so I have been trying to research which one to get. He goes back to his specialist in April after he turns 6 to do another full test on his lungs and to see where he stands since he was diagnosed 3 years ago. He was on the prednisone a LOT between the age of 2 to 3. When things still did not get better they tested him for asthma and also found he has enlarged adenoids. They had them removed asap. Since diagnosed with asthma and proper medication he has rarely used it. Maybe once or twice a year since. He is so very active and eats healthy but still not losing the weight. Doctors did Full blood work about a month ago came back normal. Any suggestions on the best air purifier? We do have a humidifier in his room. We keep the humidity between 30-40. Thank you again for the reply!

[Patk1]

My 4yr old grandson is asthmatic.he is on a steroid inhaler twice a day & salbutamol inhaler 2puffs am+pm + as needed.he gets worse whn has sniffles/cold,tonsillitis,chest infection,whn weathers damp+ cold.he gets prescribed steroids+Or antibiotics whn necessary & has an asthma plan.he has 6puffs ventolin whn starts to worsen,as often as needed for as long as needed.he too vomits at times with cough and its always mucous as too young to expectorate yet.hes a very active and happy boy + just gets on with it.hes used puffers for few yrs + is really gd at taking them,with help.he does cough a lot,but gets wheezy+ breathless whn asthma worsens.we think he has allergies,like his dad+I.ive chronic lung diseases+ I think he's so used to me coughing n wheezing,it's normal to him,which is a bonus I suppose x