Im new here and my 7 month old Son has asthma. Since he was about 5 days old he has been really wheezy, chesty and sometimes struggles to breath. The midwife and health visitor kept saying that it was just the muscus on his chest and it would go. Only it didnt. Anyway he was diagnoised with asthma when he was 4 months old. He see's the local asthma nurse every week and the hospital paediatrician every 2 weeks. He is on atrovent, pulmicort and ventolin inhalers.
These do help but dont make that much difference as within an hour of him having the ventolin inhaler (he has this as and when) he is back to how he was before I gave him it.
I hate giving him them but if it helps then ok but they dont seem to be helping much! Is it possible that he has something else wrong with him?
If he does not have asthma will these inhalers hurt him?
Its nearly half past 2 in the morning and he has been coughing since 8pm on and off. He has cold a little which is not helping but when he is coughing he is being sick. He sucks the skin under his ribs in when he is struggling to breath. I gave him a drink of water after he was sick and he was struggling that much to breath that he couldnt take the drink.
He is fast asleep now and has been for the last 15 minutes so Im gonna get my head down hopefully. I think that if he carrys on tho Im gonna take him to the hospital!
I'm so sorry to hear that Davy has been so unwell, that must be a real worry for you.
It's difficult to answer the question of 'could it be something else' - I don't think any of us really have the expertise, in that we're not paediatricians, as well as not having access to Davy's medical records or being able to examine him. However, there are conditions that can mimic asthma, especially in young children, and this would be something to bring up with the hospital paediatrician.
One thing that I did want to say - if he is breathless to the extent where he is unable to drink or you are noticing the skin sucking in under his ribs, THESE ARE VERY SERIOUS SIGNS. Please dial 999 and get him taken to hospital to be checked out if this happens again. You should also take him to see his GP or paediatrician as a matter of urgency.
In general, this forum is not a good place to ask for emergency medical advice - it is not safe for us to give this advice and we cannot respond to your queries in a timely fashion (please see the Terms and Conditions and the Moderators message in the 'General Forum' for more information). If your child is acutely unwell, please seek appropriate help by contacting your Out of Hours GP, NHS Direct, or dialling 999.
Hope this helps and he is doing better this morning
Em H
Hi Lisa
I was wondering how Davy was this morning?
Sorry you are having a rough time it must be even more difficult as he is so young and unable to communicate.
As previous post said if he is sucking in his chest then definately get him seen asap, we do this ever time it occurs. sometimes it feels like we live in the surgery but that's what they are there for and children can go down hill so rapidly it isn't worth waiting.
As for the meds he is on, I think most of us have asked the question on 'how much is too much' at some point in our childrens treatment. At the end of the day you wouldn't have been given it if it was unsuitable and as far as I am aware (what I have been told by hospitals etc) you can't overdose on salbutamol so don't hesitate in administering it. (Isaac sometimes gets the shakes if he has had lots and often)
Hope Davy is well soon
Sarah xx
Hi Lisa
I hope that Davy is a better today - you sound as though you are both going through a rough time.
As already said before - if Davy is sucking in his skin under his ribs and struggling to breath that much then you should go straight to A&E!!!! As Isaac's mum said you do sometimes feel like 'you live at the surgery' - i was there today again - suggested i get a bed there at the moment as i seem to have to see or speak to GP daily!!!
My son Ollie wasn't diagnosed until he was much older (2 1/2)but i do know how difficult it is initially - worrying whether you should go to hospital or not - or whether to phone the DR. But with babies it's always better to ere of the side of caution and get them checked out by whichever route is quicker in your area.
As for meds - i know that it seems a lot and it's not nice to have to give them medicine!!! I think all parents of babies and young children question the effects of medicines on thier children - but if they help and they need them then it has to be done. It does get easier with time. Last year we were in and out of hospital all winter - i lived in a permanent state of panic and paranoia but so far this Autumn we've been able to deal with Ollie's ashtma better and feel more in control. Also in the early days it's difficult to get the doses right but with time it does get easier on everyone.
As Emily said you need to bring up any concerns you have about whether or not it's asthma with you paediarician and also discuss your concerns as to amounts and effecivness of meds with them. We have an 'Asthma Action Plan' - downloaded from this site which we filled in with GP and paediarician - it makes things a bit easier as we have clear steps to follow and know what action to take at each stage ie. see GP or GO STRAIGHT TO HOSPITAL.
I hope that Davy is a bit better today and that things begin to settle down soon - sending virtual hugs to you both.
Take care
Claire
xxxx
hi
I hope your son recover soon. My son is asthmatic and i understand you about the ""right"" time when we should go to hospital .your explanations depicts rather strong asthmatic symptoms but do not forget that such ayoung baby cannot be diagnosed asthmatic officially. but never give up the medicines and whenever you feel your son has great difficulty in breathing please go straight to hospital for he is very very young. Try to be strong and donot forget that you are not alone most of us spend alot of time at hospitals.
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