hi im new with questions!

Hello!

Im Jen and my eldest daughter Natalie (7) has what i would call ""seasonal asthma"".

every year from october to feb/march she develops an awful cough, with phlegm, loses weight, is sick and generally unwell. the doctors dont take it seriously, but i feel it is. they have given her a blue salbutamol easibreathe inhaler to take 3 times a day, but it doesnt really make a difference.

i happened to mention it to a neighbour i dont see very often and she says she sufferes the same, and her doctor says its due to the trees outside our home losing their leaves and rotting down, the mould spores irritate the airways. i have noticed a difference if i give her medised as it contains an antihistamine and she coughs less when i give that to her.

I put wet towels on her radiator with karvol on them to keep the air in her room moist. we are about to put laminate floor down in her room.

what else can i do to help her sleep? (she is barking like a dog as i type through coughing so much)

any ideas?? weve had 2 really bad winters already and i dont want another for her, its awful to watch her suffer so much. our pharmacist has seen her in the past and said, get her to the docs she has a chest infection and needs antibiotics, but when i take her to the doctors they say no, even though her chest crackles, she coughs up dark green phlegm, and sicks it up too.

would a humidifier help in her room? can you recommend one???

thanks again

Jen

[yaf_user681_32467]

Hi.....to be honest if your daughter is having such nocturnal problems then salbutamol three times a day is not sufficient and with regard to her developing lungs is not tackling the inflammation in her airways. I would suggest you ask to see the asthma nurse - perhaps you could suggest she does a serial peak flow diary for 2 weeks if the diagnosis of asthma is in doubt. If however the diagnosis has been agreed as asthma then your daughter should be on an inhaled steroid twice daily. If this is prescribed you do not need to be concerned about side effects etc...the nurse will go through it with you..it is far more detremental for your daughter to be losing sleep (precious growing and resting time) than be on a moderate dose of inahled steroid. Personally I would avoid the humidifer for now - they help some people but also make others worse - I'm sure on the site somewhere is more info on them

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Hi Jen

Sounds lik ethings aren't great for your wee one just now. If she is up coughing through the night you need to get the GP to see her and assess her to decide if it is asthma or something else, and if it is asthma, she will need more treatment than she is on just now.

If she seems really breathless at night and you are worried, you can always call the out of hours GP - they would rather see a breathless child who is not too unwell and be able to reassure you than have you wait until she is really sick.

If you don't feel you are getting anywhere with your own GP you could see someone else in the same practice, or ask for a second opinion.

Hope you get some asnwers soon

Sarah

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just an idea if the trees are a real problem is she able to sleep at the tiehr side of the house for a few nights to see if that helps? also i agree salbutamol alone doesn't seem ideal ask for a second opinion.

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Hi Jen

On top of what all the others have said I have a 3 kids and found that Karvol/Olbas oil/Vicks actually made their asthma worse if used it in their rooms at night. I thought it would help but didnt. Good for blocked noses but just made them wheeze and cough more as it irritated them!

Increasing the water in the room with towels and humidifiers can encourage mould growth which might be making things worse if it's moulds shes sensitive too.

I would go back to the gp with all your concerns and if you feel your not listened to see another dr but then with 3 wheezers plus me i've practically moved into the surgery!

Good Luck

Marmite