Advice for my child who has Asthma

[mongan1]

My child has been poorly with his Asthma for nearly 4 weeks!

we have been back and forwards to the hospital, GP and out of hours! He has had a course of antibiotics as they said it was Bronchitis now he is just finishing a 5 day course of oral steroids and it’s not made any difference to the barking seal cough he has! He is having coughing fits through the day and worse at night and only have a minute or less inbetween each one!

he had no other symptoms the last couple of week apart from this cough but the last couple of days he keeps getting a fever that’s not lasting long at all with help from paracetamol.

I just need some advice on what to do next if I’m honest.

[Patk1]

I'd go back to gp.doees he like honey,gd for coating throat or a linctus to do same.make sure he's drinking plenty.how old is he x

[ilovesun in reply to Patk1]

Honey from M and S Food. There is one really nice one that has Turmeric in it. I have a teaspoon a couple of times a day

[Nanna2024]

This sounds awful. It would be good to know how old he is, as it is difficult to advise without this information. Keep going to the gp, he should not be left like this. Have you tried 111. They may offer more advice, I think there should be a referral to the chest clinic. Xx

[mongan1 in reply to Nanna2024]

Hi thank you for your reply

He is 11yrs old and has been diagnosed when he was little with Asthma. He is on daily medication. They reduced his medication back in September! I did say to the consultant at the time that they have done this before previously and when it came to the bad weather he took poorly and they pretty much ignored me.

I’m going to go back to the GP today and hopefully they actually do something.

[Nanna2024 in reply to mongan1]

Good luck. There should be an asthma nurse at your GP practice that you can see. They know far more than the GP. Ask to be referred xx

[ilovesun in reply to mongan1]

I took up judo when i was 11 yo. I had just gone through a lot of asthma attacks and ended up in a convalescent hospital/home for kids. It did me me good and I had to make a lot of decisions and for some reason or another I started learning judo.

I was never the fast kid when faced with non asthmatic children but learned one thing.... be quick and focussed - I won quite a lot then.

I still have asthma and I'm 73 yo - anything is possible even when you think it's not.

Be well, d

[madamestephens]

I phoned the asthma nurses on this site info line when I was in a situation a bit like this. My son was 3 1/2 I think. They were very helpful and got me clearer in my mind for what I should say to GP. This helped me get the GP agreed treat "as" asthma, although they said they wouldn't diagnose till.he was a year or two older.

[Homely2 Administrator]

Ring asthma UK nurses on 0300 2225800, office hours. They are brilliant.

[Darceydoo]

Is it a dry cough, if not any mucus.

[mongan1 in reply to Darceydoo]

It’s a dry cough no mucus

[Patk1 in reply to mongan1]

Bless him,he,and u, must be exhausted. Does he have an asthma plan? Personally I'd ring gp for appointment today.get his chest listened to.id also ask that u go back to regime that worked,over winter at least. Is he on montelukast x

[mongan1]

yes he has a Asthma plan, we are back at the GP this morning. We have been back and forwards for the past 4 weeks. He is so exhausted. He was on montelukast. They took him off alot of his medication back in September!

[Patk1 in reply to mongan1]

I'd discuss his meds with nurse.montelukast made big difference to my young grandsons asthma,along with increased dose of steroid inhaler

[ChrissieMons]

There are odd things you might try - being in a steamy bathroom can help, unless you have a facial steamer. Sleeping propped up, making sure the room is well aired but obviously not freezing cold, checking if any asthma triggers he has might be present, and keeping him as calm as possible with books, toys, music, or whatever suits, so he can nap during the day. You can get his body clock back to GMT once he is better. The hardest thing might be for you to keep calm as you are understandably very worried about him. Good luck!

[Hidden in reply to ChrissieMons]

It depends what his triggers are. High humidity is a trigger for a lot of people and could make him worse.

[Mandevilla in reply to Hidden]

Just what I was thinking - a steamy bathroom would be enough to tip me over the edge if I were already struggling.

[Mandevilla]

I'd ring the helpline for advice in the first instance - sometimes, they can advise you on the right phrases to use to approach your surgery to get the right response. Depending on what they advise, it might also be worth trying to get an appointment with the asthma nurse instead of the GP. My GP is a nightmare, thinks everyone should control their asthma with Ventolin only because he thinks steroids are dangerous, but the asthma nurses are so much more knowledgeable. I NEVER see my GP about my asthma now, only the nurses.

[peege]

You bring back awful memories of my son years many ago so I do feel for you.,I used to sit up all night holding him upright because it seemed to calm him a bit to get some rest between coughing the incessant seal bark (reminds me of my childhood too). I used a boiling kettle with the lid off in the night because that definitely helped (we were in N. Africa miles from help) BUT steam doesn't help all, for some it exacerbates cough.

If you haven't already do please give the helpline a call, there's just time before they close for the weekend - 0300 222 5800. Usually available 09.15 to 5pm Mon to Fri in UK.

Thinking of you and your son. P

[Patk1]

Hope yr appointment was worthwhile x

[mongan1]

we ended up in the children’s day unit and they done his obs and swabbed him and he had a chest X-ray that was all ok so they sent us away with Arithomycin for 3 days. He has had 2 doses and I’m not sure it’s working. Or are we just used to the cough now and not really able to tell if it’s got any better or still the same? As random as that sounds!

[Patk1 in reply to mongan1]

How's his peak flow? Some viral coughs r lingering ths winter,for weeks.xxxc