3 year old asthma attack

[Hjed]

Hi I recently had a very traumatic and stressful time as my three year old had a life threatening asthma attack and was incubated . He had to be put in icu on a ventilator and blue lighted to a paediatric icu. He was in hospital for a few days prior and did not respond to any treatment and this was the last resort . He is doing a lot better now recovering . Has anyone else had any experience with this ? I would like some advice and maybe a chat with someone else who has been through something similar with their child . He is highly asthmatic and can get poorly very fast soon and I am having a tough time at the moment with all of this . Thanks

[mylungshateme]

I'm so sorry to hear this, its absolutely every parent's worst nightmare seeing there child so unwell and you feel so helpless. Peadiatric "should" offer some immediate support and debrief while your still there, ask the ward to refer your little one for play therapy too.

I've not been through what you're going through but my daughter as a child same age as your son was in/ out of hospital with asthma, then she was seeing respiratory consultant every 2 weeks in outpatients, then 4, then 6 weeks for few years until more stable then 3mthly. Inbetween was in hospital with other health things but never icu.

Maybe ring asthma UK for some support also on helpline number. Sending you a gentle hug to you and your little boy. X

[Patk1]

I'm sorry to hear ths.mustve been so stressful and upsetting.my son+ grandson both had asthma/ breathing probs frm being babies but not as bad as Yr child.Do make a list of any questions or concerns b4 he gets discharged; he shld be given an asthma plan so u have clear guidelines on what to do if asthma is getting worse eg if gets a cold or other virus too; if has allergies,hayfever etc

The helpline is mon-fri 0300 222 5800

Wishing Yr son a gd recovery x

[Patk1 in reply to Patk1]

Frm 3-4yr old my grandson has peak flow meter+charts.it really does show a pattern.hes also on montelukast which along with increase to steroid inhaler,and asthma plan,has made a big difference x

[peege]

Hi, I see that you've just joined so a warm welcome 🙏. I'm so sorry you and especially your chiod have been through this, hopefully he is recovering. I don't personally have the chiod in icu experience however, just wanted to mention the forum is fairly quiet at weekends so don't give up on replies. To the right (or scroll down on a phone) there are 'Related Posts' from other parents who've posted you may wish to reach out to. Or the helpline number is 0300 222 5800, uk office hours. Do give them a call, they're very knowledgeable and can offer support and guidance.

Thinking of you. P

[Hjed in reply to peege]

Thank you so much ! I’m glad I found this forum as it does help with all the anxiety around my sons health .

[Emaych61]

Sending sympathies. My younger son (who developed asthma aged 3 - as did I) did get blue lighted to hospital when he was just four. By that time he was on a steroid inhaler but hadn’t been on it long. With him what happened was he went down with a viral infection and his temperature rocketed in the space of half an hour resulting in convulsions and him beginning to go blue. I don’t think I’ve ever been so terrified in my life as I was then. I really thought we were going to lose him. My husband was away at a conference and getting hold of him was difficult (mobile phones were not so readily available back then) so I was effectively on my own. They managed to get his temperature down in A&E and they made the decision to discharge him so he wasn’t even admitted. The following morning he was better and everything had stabilised. He had no recollection of being in an ambulance though.

That said I have had a child in ICU (my elder son ended up there after he was born) but that was not asthma related. I remember feeling helpless and totally reliant on the medical staff, who were very supportive. Mind you, I was a first time mum so the experience of having a baby, let alone one who ended up in ICU, was all very new.

Watching any child suffer like that, particularly when they are small, is horrendous. We were lucky with our asthmatic son in that one of our then GPs was himself asthmatic (sadly he’s now retired) so there was some understanding of what we going through. Our son did get stronger and more resilient as he got older, and during those difficult very early years the local surgery was quick to respond if he had a bad asthma flare. I suppose it did help that I am also an asthma sufferer so I did have some idea what he was going through and had some understanding of how to deal with it. He’s in his thirties now and his asthma is virtually non existent these days.

As others have said, you could talk to the asthma nurses on the Helpline. I would also recommend requesting an appointment at your local surgery to discuss what happened and possible strategies going forward.

Wishing you and your son all the very best.

[Poobah]

Welcome to the forum. I can only imagine your distress, as a parent, seeing your child experiencing a severe attack of asthma.

I can only relay my childhood experience; in those days the doctors called it brittle asthma and the slightest thing would trigger an attack and even high levels of Ventolin wouldn't stop the attack getting worse. According to my parents, I would turn black in the face and I would be taken by ambulance to hospital where I would be treated by IV hydrocortisone, then after a few days I would be given a tapering course of Prednisolone. I can't even remember the number of hospital admissions I had, but they were too regular for my liking.

I was referred to a respiratory physiotherapist to help with breathing exercises, and to learn how to react to the start of an attack. My mum was also shown some helpful techniques to assist me during an attack.

Little information was shared with my parents in those days, except an instruction to ensure I took my prevention meds regularly. There was an assumption, from what I can gather, that the attacks were happening as I wasn't taking my meds, as prescribed (I was). It turned out that I was intolerant to the inhaler propellant and the steroids had less impact than with other patients. Unfortunately, I was 24 before they realised this and they confirmed that they didn't screen for it.

Hopefully, that knowledge is more widespread now and your asthma specialist will have specified the type of asthma your child has; eosinophilic, non-eosinophilic, and so on. Identifying the inflammation pathway can then lead to more targeted treatment and avoiding identified triggers helps enormously.

Every inhaler, aerosol or dry powder, comes with a propellant, stabiliser or something else that isn't the medication. A simple test is to take a peak flow reading (best of 3) before the regular dose of inhaler(s), then wait 20 to 30 minutes and repeat the best of 3 peak flow. You should see an improvement in peak flow results. If the results are poorer, it can be an indication that something in the inhaler(s) may be a trigger. Surprisingly, the patient may actually feel the benefit of taking their inhaler, but still experience a dip in peak flow. There are options to deliver meds another way if necessary. At least this simple test can quickly rule out the inhaler contents as a potential trigger.

At this stage I would talk to your asthma specialist about additional treatment, over and above what your child is receiving now. If you Google "Stepwise Management of asthma for children 0 - 4" you can see the table showing the standard steps taken to add treatments in order to attain asthma control for the patient. However, there are additional options and it never hurts to talk to the consultant about exploring these. Unfortunately, with asthma, one size doesn't fit all and finding the most effective treatment can be trial and error. So be prepared to try and try again with all the available treatments.

At a time when you feel most distressed about your darling child, how you respond to the event can help both of you. If you haven't got an asthma plan yet, definitely discuss this with the asthma nurse or doctor. It's a personalised plan of action, with agreed steps of what to do in response to your child's asthma. So the decisions are already made and you can react by increasing meds or calling for an ambulance earlier. I see the plan as similar to a fire drill. Always good to know what to do before the event actually happens. asthmaandlung.org.uk/condit...

As others have recommended, talk through your case with the Asthma UK nurses. Use the helpline as much as you need. Nothing is ever a silly question and even if you just need reassurance, the helpline is a huge help.

asthmaandlung.org.uk/condit...

[Homely2 Administrator]

I would keep an asthma diary for your child to start to help understand the pattern of when attacks occur.

I am in a way lucky in that a lot of my asthma is caused by dust mites, pet dander, cold air, detergents etc. Remove the cause and my asthma improves. A diary has helped me identify a lot of the causes

We are so different but I would work on understanding what is trigerring the asthma.

[Hjed in reply to Homely2]

Yes that right although his only triggers are viral so a cold or cough will make things worse as the last two years he has been fine since his first asthma attack when he was 2 (not as serious as this one) . It was a viral cough cold and wheeze again causing it. I am also looking at other triggers this time round ! Thanks

[ReedB]

Hello, some lovely responses already but as an asthmatic myself and a mum to one too I wanted to send my support and sympathy. It's a really hard thing to see your child struggling and the constant fear of thinking it may happen again.

Whilst no where near the situation you have been through my 7 year old has recently needed hospital treatment for his asthma. It is scary and I still worry about him now when he's at school.

Take your time and don't be afraid to ask questions until your happy with the plan going forward. Wishing you all the best x

[watergazer]

Sending you hugs. 🤗🤗

[Poshcards]

No children, but sending you love and hugs and hope he gets the help needed and you xx

[hilary39]

As a mother I just wanted to say I am so sorry as I can only imagine how scary this was. It's wonderful you are being proactive. The good thing is that the hypervigilance required to keep your son as healthy as possible will likely become something your whole family can embrace and adjust to.

As a severe asthmatic who's 43 I can tell you it's possible to live a long full life with severe asthma--you just have to be very careful to avoid triggers. Even if your son can't easily socialize (if he's allergic to pets, for example), he can have a very rich and full life seeing friends in play spaces, parks, playgrounds etc. and keep figuring things out as he ages.

Tons of new biologics are in the pipeline and have been a real game changer for a lot of asthmatics so hopefully he will grow up in a world where more and more asthmatics find their symptoms dramatically reduced or even in remission on meds like that.

The big things are for you to keep making sure his house and daycare or preschool aren't exacerbating his asthma. The big things to check for are mold and allergens like cats, dogs, rabbits, birds, horses etc. You might have to rehome animals if he has allergies to animal dander. You can run a HEPA filter air purifier, put dust covers on the mattress and pillows, and use a HEPA vacuum. It helps to have as few carpets and curtains as possible and to generally keep the house very clean. It also helps to have family rules in place about frequent hand washing and sanitizing as chest colds can be a bad asthma trigger.

Does he have a pulmonologist / GP who have him on an asthma action plan?

We are here for you any time! This is a terrific community.

Sending hugs to your little guy and family, it sounds like you are all still recovering from a rough go of things.

PS--The reason I'm focusing on allergens as most of the time severe asthma with little kids tends to be caused by allergens. Eosinophilic asthma is more common in older patients. Has he had his IgE and eosinophils tested?

[Lysistrata Administrator Community Ambassador]

I don't have any children but just wanted to say I'm so sorry to read this - that must have been terrifying. I'm glad to hear your son is doing better now.

You've had some great advice from others, but I'd definitely agree with the recommendation to ring the nurses on the helpline. They should be able to help with advice on the kind of care your son should get for his asthma now (immediately after this bad attack and longer term). Plus just listening and hopefully making you feel a bit more confident about being able to get on top of this. They're on 0300 2225800 or WhatsApp on 07999 377 775 Monday-Friday 0915-5pm

[Patk1]

I hope he's improving and Yr anxiety is easier x

[Hjed in reply to Patk1]

Yes thanks it has got a bit easier with time and he is doing much better. I have support from my local asthma nurse , as well as asthma consultant appointment in a months time. 🙂

[Patk1 in reply to Hjed]

That's gd to hear xx