How long can a asthma episode last?

[GGchar]

My daughter has had asthma symptoms for 14 days. Needing inhaler every 4 hours. She had 10 days of steroids and 10 days of antibiotics for a chest infection. As you can imagine she is shacking. We have been to the doctors twice, oxygen level been good at 97. I mentioned if they just gave her a NEB the wheeze would go but as we all know they don’t give NEBS anymore 🙄

[ReedB]

Hi, how old is your daughter and does she have a preventer inhaler too? If you're concerned keep going back to the GP or even visit A and E?

[GGchar in reply to ReedB]

Yes she’s on Fostair she’s 17

[ReedB in reply to GGchar]

I see. It's not uncommon for exasperations to last a couple of weeks. I've had occasions where it's taken months of pred and antibiotics to calm things down but that's usually following a dramatic attack or having had something like Covid. I'm assuming she's on 8 steroids a day? Has she improved at all? Peak flow rising? Without knowing her background I'd keep going back to the GP. The asthma UK nurses would also be very helpful for advice and reassurance.

[Homely2 Administrator]

I would have a chat on the phone with an asthma UK nurse. They will go through it all with you, with no time limit.

My longest continuous attack was a month or so. They killed it off with a day on nebulisers at the hospital and 28 days of pred. The consultant organised the long course as 2 short courses did not work.

I have never had an issue with being denied a nebuliser at the hospital.

[Africanleopard Verified User]

Hi GGchar

I agree with the others that your daughter should see the doctor or asthma trained nurse in the practice, and that you have a chat with one of the specialist asthma nurses at the Asthma & Lung U.K. helpline. Ask the specialist nurse what questions you should ask your practice, in particular, after she hears your daughters medical history, ask if she should request to be referred to an asthma specialist.

while asthma attacks can last for weeks as others say, your daughters attack sounds like it was a serious one and she should in my view have a detailed check up .

There are two main things I suggest you talk about. first, if anyone needs their reliever every four hours, that is a sign of a serious attack and you should also be aware that regular use of tge short acting blue reliever inhaler on its own without an anti inflammatory inhaled corticosteroid can actually make asthma worse. You are probably aware that there are two processes going on in asthma - ie spasm of tge air passages and inflammation involving swelling of the air passages and collection of phlegm inside them. The important thing to know is that tge blue inhaler only treats the spasm ( tightening of the air passages) and NOT the underlying inflammation causing the whole process - inhaled corticosteroids deal with this and help both to treat tge attack and to try stop it from getting worse.

Your Fostair has two drugs in it - a fast acting, long acting reliever and also a corticosteroid. So ask your doctor to consider prescribing the low dose Fostair for your daughter to use in future for relief instead of the blue short acting reliever- this is called Maintenance and Reliever therapy - ie you get 2 drugs in one inhaler - one for relief and one to deal with the inflammation.

The second thing to ask your doctor or asthma trained nurse is to find out why your daughter has the attack and what needs to be done to prevent another one. The thing is to identify things that can be modified or changed to prevent another attack. My point is that an asthma attack is something serious, it’s a signal that something serious has gone wrong and it’s also a warning signal that another one may happen again - and that one may be very dangerous . Common problems tgat can be fixed are : not taking the preventer drug as prescribed; not using the inhaler correctly; smoking; using too much of tge blue inhaler; and others. Have a look at Box 2-2 in ginasthma.org main report or pocket guide for a list of all the modifiable things that can be changed to prevent another attack.

Finally, anyone who has two or more attacks in a year should, according to guidelines for doctors, be referred to a specialist asthma service.

[My_fairy]

my daughter started off after one major life threatening attack like this the reliever ventolin every four hours even hourly/ 2 hourly was required because she has become resistant to steroids

Please make sure she gets referred to specialist … they can asses her properly. Due to my daughters complex asthma she didn’t get assessed properly until the biologic failed so if it’s therapy resistant then you need to be very careful she gets proper treatment in time and please don’t hesitate to get full investigation into her asthma subtype because more nebs and inhalers aren’t good for any asthma as your body can become resilient …. If you need advice you can dm me as it’s been two years we are dealing with it

[Claire_ALUK Partner ALUK Asthma Nurse]

Hi GGchar, please do give us a ring on the helpline about your daughter 0300 2225800 option 3 for nurses. However if her symptoms are worsening I would advise an immediate trip to your local A+E department, then ring us once she is feeling better. 🤗asthmaandlung.org.uk/condit...

[ellamental]

Hi. I feel for you and have been there. It is exhausting and frightening. Some really good advice here about fostair and asthma nurses but if she is still struggling going to A&E will most likely mean a nebuliser with ventolin and a steroid ( not prednisolone - not sure what it was called) and it really helped. You mentioned antibiotics I think too. Some work better than others (I think) for some people so maybe swap to better ones.

[Birthday60]

can takes months to recover full fitness. I am taking 3 different preventative meds which may be worth exploring and also looking at ways to regain breathing fitness such as Pilates or Nordic walking .

[Patk1]

Id go back to gp/asthma nurse.is she on montelukast? After an infection induced exacerbation,it can take time for asthma to settle.she shld b checked out though.how does she feel in herself x

[peege]

Hi, I sympathise, it's tough when your child is suffering breathlessness and coughing exacerbation. Which dise of Fostair does she take? I ask because the 100/6 MDI (spray type) is a MART (Maintenance And RelieverTherapy that AfricanLeopard mentions). I use this one, I've had an exacerbation for last 3 weeks so 2 puffs morning & evening with extra puffs when needed - always important to wait 30 seconds between each puff, I believe its written on the leaflet - always used with a spacer. Personally, with moderate asthma it's sufficient and I rarely need ventolin (or Salamol as it's now called).

If yr daughter is on the powdered one I'll shut up as I know little about that although if she is, it might be an idea to request a switch.

[GGchar in reply to peege]

She’s on 100/6 spray. We going to see asthma nurse this morning to see if her chest is clear 🤞 she used to be under the asthma nurse at the hospital but once she turned 16 they discharged her and said the doctors need to refer her to the adult consultant 🙄 which still hasn’t happened a year later.

[peege in reply to GGchar]

Ah, good about the spray, does she use a spacer with it? Using one is a much more efficient way to get more or the medication to her lungs.

Sorry, I cant help feeling that's so awful, she's still a child legally until she's 18 and if she was bad enough to need a consultant before 16 then she's bad enough to need a consultant after 16 🤬. I'm so glad you're seeing the respiratory nurse this morning & that youre going with her. Is she still in full-time education? If so she could have been wrongly discharged. Good luck today