acute asthma attacks

Hi there

I know there are lots of knowledgable people out there so I thought I'd ask for some advice.

My 10 year old daughter has had asthma since she was 6 when she had her first asthma attack at school which went unnoticed and landed her in hospital. Her asthma has been triggered by cold weather so far until New Years Day this year when she became very suddenly short of breath and wheezy without warning.

She has since had 12 attacks so far this year including two in the last 7 days where she sounds like all the air has been sucked out of her and she is in desperate need of her inhaler and is very wheezy.

She recovers very quickly after taking ventolin and carries on with whatever we are doing but she really scares me. Is it normal and ok to go downhill so fast and pick up again or should I be worried.

At the moment she is on Clenil (which has been increased today by Dr to 400mg), Serevent and montelukast.

Any advice would be much appreciated

Thanks

Cathy

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Hi,

In my personal experience and my experience of working with children asthma attacks usually come on very Quickly and recover quickly after ventolin if they bave been exposed to a trigger although it could also be a sign of things getting worse & they might eed to change her preventer or give her more add on therapies. My advice would be 2 keep going back to her asthma nurse/ doctor so they can keep a closer eye on things & might do tests to see if she has any.new triggers eg allergies. Hope things start to settle down for her soon.

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My ds has attacks that are very sudden and he recovers very quickly too. He also has some that I can almost tell he's building up to something and the sudden ones are the worst as they make you realise how off guard you can be. We are awaiting allergy tests at the women to see if we are missing something that triggers the sudden ones.

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Thanks for the replies.

There was talk of her now having exercise induced asthma as well as being triggered by cold weather but on Monday she skipped with a rope for 30 seconds to a playgound before having to stop and waving wildly that she needed her inhaler. I'm thinking surely needing to take your inhaler before exercise doesn't mean a 30 second skip to a play area. I am worried that if she ever forgets to take an inhaler somewhere with her she will be in real trouble.

Thanks

Cathy

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If your daughter can onlyu skip for 30 seconds before needing her inhaler it means that her asthma isn't properly and her meds probably need changing or stepping up because if asthma is controlled she should be able to be as active as her friends with no symptoms. Keep a record of how often she has symptoms so you can pass the information to the asthma nurse. Have you tried giving her ventolin before exercise as this can help to prevent symptoms in the first place?

As for your worries about her forgetting her inhaler, try not to worry too much because children who have frequent or severe attacks are usually sensible and always carry their inhalers with them. If you haven't already get your daughter a bag so she can carry the inhalers herself so she has quick access to it. This has worked for me & ive carried my own inhalers since I was 6 & ive never forgotten them I loved my little handbags when I was younger too. I hope this helps.

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My advice would be 2 keep going back to her asthma nurse/ doctor so they can keep a closer eye on things & might do tests to see if she has any.new triggers eg allergies. Hope things start to settle down for her soon.

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Thanks for the advice guys.

Our GP upped dd's Clenil inhaler to 400mg per day and told us to go back to the asthma nurse in 3 weeks. We happened to be going for my sons asthma review when the nurse asked how she was doing and when I explained about the attack after skipping she said it was interfering with her having a 'normal life' and that she was going to refer her to a specialist.

Does anyone know what happens when they are referred and if it helps. The kids asthma nurse if fab and really lovely to both our children - do you see a specialist and then only see them or do you see them and then once they decide what to do, go back to seeing the asthma nurse again?

Thanks

Cathy