2 year old asthma

[Char788]

Hi, it looks as though my little girl has asthma. She has all the symptoms & has already been in hospital 3 times treated for an asthma attack. Because she’s under 5 they are very wary of diagnosing her at the moment, however she does have a brown inhaler which she has before bed & in the morning plus a blue inhaler for when she’s struggling. Basically I just need some advice/support from parents who has been through this with a little one. I’m currently struggling to sleep as she’s constantly coughing through the night & I’m scared she’s going to stop breathing. I was going to book a holiday abroad next year but am petrified she might have an asthma flare up on the plane or abroad where the healthcare isn’t quite the same. Please help a very panicked parent!! She has an appointment with paediatric respiratory but not until February, the docs have written a letter to advise this should be sooner due to her recent hospital admissions.

[ReedB]

Hello, Firstly I'm sending sympathy because it's really hard watching your little one struggle.

My son has always had chest problems and looking back he should have been on inhalers much earlier than he was. It does sound as though your GP is on the case which is good. On the meantime maybe a call to the asthma UK nurses would help. They are brilliant at looking at the whole situation. I also wonder if you could increase your little ones brown inhaler to help through these next few months?

It's not perfect but I slept with my son when he was struggling so I could keep an eye. I hope you get some sleep soon! x

[peege]

This system is so crazy, I truly sympathise. My daughter went through the same with her first born from when she was 6 months old, (now 12). I could see and hear it was asthma but same story "we don't diagnose asthma in under sixes". Although at least they prescribed ventolin with a little silicone mask. Endless infections and antibiotics which surely must be worse for a small child than asthma medication. It as only when my family moved our of west London to a new practice, the same story until they saw a gp who happened to be Belgian. He threw up his arms at the "ridiculous rules of the English nhs", promptly diagnosed asthma & gave lots of information. He's been their rock. Poor kid, her father, her maternal uncle and granny all have asthma so it's not rocket science. This hesitancy in diagnosing asthma in children came about around 15 years ago. With my son many years ago I added more pillows to raise him from flat in the night, damp dusted, washed his bedding & bedroom floor daily in case it was dust (finding out later that it's dust mite that can be a trigger), I'd boil the electric kettle in the room to humidify (lived near the Sahara) and in desperate held him upright in my arms throughout the nights. I do understand how awful it is to listen to the nonstop coughing of little lungs. It's so tricky some people are triggered by steam & some dryness.

I'm not a doctor though so please do call the helpline on 0300 222 5800 uk office hours. For professional guidance on how to go forward.

Thank heavens you have the brown inhaler (a preventer) and the blue one (the reliever). My g'daughter always had to take the blue one to open her airways to receive the preventer and still does so perhaps you could check on that.

Tips: avoid the cold or cold/damp air getting in her lungs, temperature changes are a trigger for many. I bought g'daughter a little Buff (amazon, sports shops) baby size to pull up over her nose & mouth, vacuum her room regularly & damp dust. Keep her away from dead leaves/compost/ farmyards - mould spores can be a trigger although it's unlikely she'll get allergy testing so you just have to take every precaution and read up as much as you can on childhood asthma. Try the NHS website.

Very best wishes to you and your daughter.

[peege in reply to peege]

PS look to the right at 'Related Posts ' for posts & replies on childhood asthma .....or scroll down if using a phone

[Homely2 Administrator]

I would contact the paediatric team and say you will happily take a very short notice appointment. Ideally by email or letter, mentioning the 3 hospital visits and including your mobile phone number. It has worked for me.

Re holiday, since I got severe asthma, I have preferred to take either holiday in UK or go abroad by ferry at non peak times, so I can take all the stuff we need, and if it goes wrong my wife can just drive us back and hop on a ferry, Brittany ferries for us. French health system is very good, and we normally now stay in a decent quality campsite, caravan park, as they will help re getting you access to a medic if needed. We as a family have been ill throughout Western Europe and always have found help.

[ChrissieMons]

I know this is really hard to do, and I suspect you are doing your best to not panic. Children pick up on a parent's anxiety very quickly. Sleeping propped up often helps. I disliked being held when I was ill as a child, although I know some do like it, because I felt I needed the room to breathe, so it depends on what your little one wants. I think it is important to travel, for your daughter, as she grows, to be confident that if she has the right medication she will be fine. I know it's a nightmare, but I have every confidence the consultant, when you get to see him/her will help. See if there are any other children with asthma in your playgroup or school, so you may be you can talk to the parents about how they cope.

[Elspe in reply to ChrissieMons]

Years ago, we had this with my daughter. The same "we won't diagnose asthma because she's too young." She was given a cough syrup. Poor mite was in and out of hospital for a while. Luckily we knew a little about health (though not asthma). Eventually, like your Belgian doctor, one of our GPs flared up, when she was three, and said "why didn't you TELL me she has asthma!" and I indignantly said "I've been telling you for years now"... THEN she got treatment. A blue inhaler, not Ventolin, one of the things they used before Ventolin. No more hospitals! The worst time was when we went to a seasde holiday flat, which was INTENSELY dusty, That was a difficult week. Things are better now. Still hard when your little one is ill though.

[givingupwine]

Hi Char788

I have a 4 year old and I can totally relate to what you’re saying. Mine was in hospital for a few hours for a nebuliser several times but always diagnosed with a virus induced wheeze. She then got really poorly last year with rotovirus along with respiratory symptoms and had a few days in hospital. We had her tonsils and adenoids removed eventually as she failed hearing tests and constantly had ear infections, sinusitis, tonsillitis, recurring chest infections. I took her to the docs recently whilst waiting for a respiratory referral which is in about a year (even though we’ve been bumped up) as she had this annoying, a habitual cough apparently which was the diagnosis by the GP, and she ended up in A&E and hospital for 4 days as she just wasn’t responding to nebulisers and steroids. She was then given a brown inhaler and it took a few weeks but all is good now. I wanted to say that I’ve been on Safari in South Africa when she had an incident with her breathing and also Mauritius where I took her to the hospital. It’s always the case with kids. Usually some resorts etc have doctors on site but I totally understand where you’re coming from. I would look for a holiday that has a good healthcare system if you’re worried and we made sure our flights weren’t too long.

Since being back in the UK, we have bought an air purifier for the bedroom and downstairs as I also have asthma and I have seen an improvement. I also got her tested and her allergies came back for mold and grass so I cut the grass and leave the door closed for a few days. All these little things help, or at least reassure me I’ve done everything I can. I got her an anti allergy duvet, mattresses etc as we needed new anyway.

I hope things settle soon, especially as we’re coming into winter and maybe in a few months when the winter is over you can look forward to a lovely holiday…

[Patk1]

I hope u get an earlier appointment for her.my 5yr old grandson& his dad before him, had symptoms of asthma frm being babies.fortunately,gp is very gd & have had him on ventolin from an early age,followed by steroid preventative.id suggest,as soon as she gets aninfection or flare up,see yr gp.better to have antibiotics or adequate treatment to settle her.at 4yr old,mygrandson was put on montelukast& it's a game changer.he still has exacerbations but in between I'd much better.hang onin there+ keep reminding drs of family history x

[Patk1 in reply to Patk1]

Have u tried giving her ventolin whn she's coughing a lot? Night cough is frequently associated with childhood asthma x