New to this!

Hi All

At 7 months my twin boys were admitted to hospital with bronchiolitus for 6 days. They are now 19 months old and I have been taking them to the doctors/walk in centre's/A&E ever since this first incident with various coughs and wheezes. The smaller of the two has had a constant wheeze since the original hospital stay. I have expressed my concerns about asthma at every appointment especially as my dad/brother/uncle/grandfather and 3 cousins all have asthma but have always been pushed aside as a neurotic mother until last week that was!

Last week I was worried about him yet again and so took him to the walk in centre, they then called an ambulance and he was admitted to hospital - the official diagnosis was a Viral induced wheeze and evolving asthma. I was then told that we had been refered to the Asthma Nurse specialist who would come and visit us at home.

She hasn't contacted us yet but can anyone shed any light on the term 'evolving asthma'?

I am also getting slightly cheesed off with every tom/dick and harry telling me that he can't have asthma as they don't diagnose it till they are two!!!!

I am deseratley worried that our beloved dog could be making him worse and I am also concerned that his twin has it too.....infact if I'm honest I'm worried about everything!

On the upside since we have been using his inhalers the wheeze is still there but the coughing has stopped and we have had 4 full nights of sleep from him (needless to say his brother has woken each of these nights instead!!!)

Any reassurance tips, ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance

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watch their breathing (and your own- kids copy their parents)

If your boys breathe through their mouth you should encourage them to breathe through their nose.

Often this happens at night, the way to change it during the night with boys that small is using a soother and also by ensuring that they breathe only through their nose during the day (this will improve their nighttime breathing rate which will improve their symptoms. You possibly come from a family of big breathers, i know i do! When i changed my breathing i reversed and eliminated my symptoms.

I have three boys under 7, youngest is 13 months and i have encouraged them to breathe through their noses at all times.

Using a soother will not make their teeth crooked but mouth breathing will for sure! Alot of work on this by britain's Dr John Mew or Australia's Dr.John Flutter on the effect on way of breathing on our teeth development. Once you address it by 8.5 years old then you can avoid costly dentistry (at that age the bones start to calcify - up til then they are green and very flexible).

Many times kids are intolerant of something in their diet which results in symptoms like a blocked nose and mucus....this cannot be treated with antibiotics.50% of people are intolerant of cows milk.

Mouth breathers get many more colds and infections that go straight to the lungs (no nasal filtration or defence mechanism (cold starts in nose and by time gets to throat immune system has antibodies for it- by mouth breathing the cold/infection bypasses our first line of defence). Partly due to filtration but also reduced breathing volume.

Animal dander is a common trigger (response to the protein from the animal saliva is the cause) and it may be setting your boys off. The dog may have to go temporarily or at least keep him outdoors. This may bring relief at home. Restrict the dogs access to the kitchen only and not into their playroom (if any), bedroom (not ever) or livingroom (esp. if carpetted).

By changing their breathing to nasal then they have the chance to get their immune systems from over responding to their triggers (whatever they are). This will enhance their health for life.

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welcome to the site

my son is 13 now , but was diagnosed with asthma at the age of 4 months old. I don't know why others have to wait until thier child is 2 before a asthma diagnosis can be made.

Just wanted to say, good luck and hope you get sorted soon with meds, and treatments as unfortunatly, It is trial and error, as to what works best, or finding out what triggers, is making the asthma worse.

It is a worry, but as time goes on, you will hopefully get better, at spotting when his symtoms are worse, or better, just by the sounds he makes or his colouring. And yes you will have constant trips to docs, but that is what the docs are there for, so pester them If you have to, you know best when your child is ill.

And this site is a great place, for helping you with your worrys, everyone is very helpfull.

Good luck with your boys

Shelly

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My son developed asthma at 6 months old (after getting bronchiolitus) but it took me 4 months to get him diagnosed as the doctor just wouldn't take me seriously. It was only after his weight started dropping off the chart (he didn't eat a thing for 4 months as he couldn't breath) that they finally took me seriously and referred him to paediatrician. Never stop pushing for the help that he needs. Phone up constantly asking where this nurse is, or demand a different referral. Its nonsense that they don't diagnose until they are 2, it is totally possibly to diagnose before then. Does he have a preventer inhaler? Since having one my son's asthma improved. Hope you get the help that you need. Sorry but I haven't heard of evolving asthma. x

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I'm new to this to, was browsing the net for more information and stumbled across this!

My Son has just turned 1 and has had problems with his chest since he was 8 weeks and had bronchiolitis (hospitalised for 10 days, CPAP for 4 days), he has had a further bout of bronchi which required hospital at 4 months and was started on inhalers by his specialist soon after. At that point we were told they were treating his as asthmatic but they don't like to give a firm diagnosis before the age of 2 as so many under 2s have viral wheezes which clear up as they get older and never cause trouble again.

Last week he was ill again and was admitted to hospital again last monday. They tested for Bronchiolitits again but this time the test came back RSV negative, chest x rays showed that he had a severe infection and they said it was his asthma causing the main problem. He spent Monday - Thursday on oxygen. Had a 6 day course of pred and is on 4 hourly inhalers now. They have finally made the diagnosis of asthma now because of his history and the family history!

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Hiya Racheal,

Welcome to the site - you'll get loads of support on here! Poor old you, I can feel your frustration and worry - and I sympathise. It's such a horrible, horrible worry. But you are doing all the right things by taking your lad's back and forth to the docs. And you're right to worry about all the things that you listed - your dog, your family history etc. The thing I'm worried about though is that you seem to be having to push a bit to get a diagnosis, treatment and care. My lad was admitted to hospital when he was 2 and a half and also gave a tentative diagnosis of viral induced wheeze/bronchiolitis but they explained that he could indeed be asthmatic and that it would be a very close watch and wait scenario. They also explained that until you can be confident that a child can be fully compliant with lung function tests (peak flow etc) then it is difficult to doagnose. But he was diagnosed anyway just because his symptoms didn't go away. Have never heard the term evolving asthma - but if you take it literally then I suppose it describes just what happens to a lot of children, especially those with a history of eczema, hayfever and allergies.

What sort of inhaler has been prescribed? Is it just a reliever? Or have they also prescribed a steroid?

Is he wheezing now? Is it constant? If so, I would be inclined to get onto out-of-hours for some advice. And I'd get nagging for that Asthma Nurse!!! We have two and they're an absolute godsend - made such a massive difference.

Hope you're feeling less frazzled soon.

Leish x

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new to this

hi all

i know what you mean. my boy is 2.5 years and constantly at the dr's with him since he was 6 months old. he had been admitted to hospital with the same things too at 6 months. they kept saying they wouldn't diagnose until he was 2. but they gave asthma treatment, so i just kept asking why. it does feel lonely, but glad i have found this site. feel better already and only joined today. thanks everyone. also hard as have another child to look after.