kids with asthma, kind of rambly/long, sorry! I'm paranoid

Colt has been diagnosed with asthma but I've always thought it was more like a "sensitive" respiratory system. He was a preemie and then when the twins were a year old, there was a fire near us and the smoke settled in our valley everynight, thats when he was diagnosed and started the neb treatments. They've been prescribed off and on, and last year we had a very scary bought where he had to have it every 3 hours, was on steroids, etc. because we just couldn't get his oxygen to stay high enough.

He's never seemed asthmatic though, like I said, just kind of sensitive in that area. But last summer and the other day he had what seemed like an asthma attack, after physical activity both times, and scared the crap out of me both times because you could see it in his face that it was scaring him and he said he couldn't breathe. But the other 4+ years of his life, he's done the very same physial activities and had no problems at all.

So what I need to know is, what do you do with this type of rare occuring asthma? I have an inhaler/spacer for him but he still doesn't seem to get the hang of it, what do I do when we're away from home without the neb and he has one again? Both times in the past I've kind of panicked and done the inhaler but don't really know if it helps or if it just passes on it's own. Sunday at the golf course after some fast running he started coughing and came and sat in the cart and said he thought he needed to ride and not run because it was hard to breathe.

How do you know when a cough is just a cough and out of breath is just out of breath? And can kids that age just be out of shape in their lungs and the pain/difficulty breathing be because of that and not asthma? DH thinks he just needs more of that to "get in shape" but now I'm a little paranoid.

Obviously I've got a dr appt for him but just wanted to hear about it from others.

TIA if you read all this!

No advice, just !

Oh hon I tottaly understand Mya wwas out of control with her asmah until we got into the allergist ( funny how the doctor did nothing but perscribe albutoral ) Anyway we have tried the basic inhalers and those didn't work so far the only thing working is advir. she rarly has to use her rescue now and only before major playing.

I'm sorry I can't help. I have no experience with this. I just wanted to say I hope he gets better, and you can figure this out.

Hey Monica, I can sympathize. JP has asthma too. It is very scary and hard to know what is really going on with them when they are so young. First off you need to talk to your doctor about an inhaler to carry for situations when the neb. is not there. (golf course, etc.) If they are doing Albuterol in the neb. then ask for a albuterol inhaler also. Also ask for him to see a pediatric respiratory therapist because they are trained to teach kids how to use inhalers and spacers. They can also give him a flow meter to blow in to determine whether or not his is having trouble breathing and teach him how to use it. For instance blow in the morning and if he does not hit a high enough level then give him a treatment before you go off to do something.
JP had a bout in January and was in the hospital for 5 days. Talk about scary. He ended up with pneumonia and his oxygen level was so low when we got to the ER that they bypassed about 45 kids in the waiting room and took us straight back. He was on steroids, oxygen 24 hours a day and treatments every 2 hours. You will know if he ever has one that bad because his breathing will be extremely labored. NEVER wait if you think it is that bad. Go to the ER ASAP. He has done great since January on a preventative inhaler and nose spray that keeps allergins out of his nose. BUT Last week we started all over agian. We caught it in time but he just finished a dose of steriods and treatments every 4 hours. He is a trooper and is learning to deal with it as he gets older.

So many things can make one day different from others. High levels of allergins, smog, ozone alert days, fireplaces, animals, smoking, dust, and sometimes just a windy day. He may even need to be tested for allergies which is one of the main triggers. I urge you to talk to your insurance company or doctor about maybe taking an asthma class. We were required when he was hospitalized and I thought but in all reality it did help me to understand how to deal and how not to panic.

Most men feel this way but don't listen to him. Jason never took JP's problem seriously until the hospital trip in January because he had never dealt with asthma in his life. My brother has asthma and in high school I watched him give himself many adrenline shots in the leg to get him over one so I knew how dangerous if really could be. A hospital stay opened Jason's eyes and now he does not question me when I feel like he needs to go to the doctor BUT don't chance that with Colt. Trust your gut, not his! Let me know if you need to talk.

First of all, big to you. I can still remember when Alec had his first asthmatic episode- I had no idea what was happening to him, was terrified, and wound up in the ER with a diagnosis of asthmatic bronchitis. The nebulizers, the steroids, the whole deal. I was crushed as I envisioned a life of limited activity and sickness. That was 7 years ago- now he's 13.5 and a star athlete with no limitations whatsoever.
In the beginning, we were all scared and overcautious, including Alec. He kept running to me for his inhaler/spacer the minute he felt out of breath. Over time, he recovered from the acute bronchitis, and the asthmatic incidents became few and far between. There are all different kinds of asthma, and your kid doesn't need to walk around audibly wheezing all the time to be diagnosed. It kind of sounds like your ds has exercise induced asthma- that is- it only crops up with increased physical activity. If that's the case, you obviously need to make sure you have your spacer/inhaler around when he's gonna be getting more exercise. My ds used to go to the nurse at school before gym class and do a preventative inhaler so that he'd be fine during gym. Even now, he will occasionally do the same thing before football practice, and he keeps the inhaler with him at sports practices, although he rarely needs it anymore. The other possibility is that your ds is allergic to grass or other seasonal allergens if all of his attacks occur outdoors. The only way to know that for sure is to have him skin tested, which truthfully is no picnic, but then at least you'll know what his triggers are. Asthma, as I'm sure you know, is an allergic reaction, and if you really want to control it, you need to find out what he's allergic to and deal with it as best you can. Most drs will treat asthma not only with asthma meds but also allergy meds as well such as singulair or claritin, etc. Other forms asthma can take include the one my son had- which is a chronic, dry cough that never seems to go away and tends to get worse at night. My ds really never wheezed, which is why it took me so long to realize it was asthma.
The most important thing you can know about asthma is that it really is no big deal, providing you keep it under control, which given all the different kinds of medications, is very doable. The other important thing to remember is that inhalers are very difficult for young children to get the hang of, and only after we saw a pediatric asthma specialist did we learn how to properly use one with a spacer. My ds was 11 before he was able to use a regular inhaler properly.(that is, passed the nurse's standards). Nebulizers and inhaled steroids are for more acute cases- my dh takes inhaled steroids b/c his asthma is much worse than my son's, but again, the meds control it beautifully.
As far as your dh's feelings about the matter, my dh felt the same way, and that was put to rest by the asthma specialist. Don't get into it with him- just bring him to the dr and let him do the talking. Good luck and feel free to pm me anytime.

Thanks all of you, I feel a lot better now! Colt often has that dry cough with no other symptoms which gets worse at night, good to know that could very well be related but it makes me wonder if he feels it a lot more than I realized!

Also, the allergy thing makes sense, both times he'd been playing in the grass, once at a park and the other at the golf course. He plays in the grass all the time but our grass is different than the types at both places so I will be sure to bring that up!

I know he doesn't get the inhaler, even with the spacer because I don't see near the difference with it that I do with the neb.

And I'm glad to hear DH isn't the only one who's such a "guy" about it!

One more thing Mon... JP doctor suggest that if he has a cough to not give him cough meds but do a treatments instead. Safer for kids with asthma to break it up and get it out with a treatment than to suppress it with cough meds.

Oh sweetie that sounds so scary.

Luckily Lorelei doesn't have signs of it yet, but I've had Asthma my whole life. I can tell you there are several "types" of asthma or things that can cause your asthma to kick in. Allergies, exercise, stress, etc. Mine is mainly exercise induced, so even though I do have it the only time I show the classic signs of asthma is when I'm either sick or over-doing my exercise routine (aka: no cardio for me....DARN! ). However, my cousin that lives near you and her two little boys have Allergy induce asthma, and they seem to be sick ALL THE TIME! She bought portable Neb's for both boys, and has inhalers for her purse for them as well.

The biggest thing I would say (and its helped me a lot) is to keep him calm when he's having an attack. Just get him to focus on your face and tell him "breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth slowly, it will be ok." The inhalers take time to get used to, and theres tons of different ones for kids of all ages. You might want to look into getting a special inhaler for little kids until he can get the hang of a traditional one.

Here's also a good reference site by the American Lung Assoc.:
Children & Asthma

Also, let me know if you want to talk to my cousin about how she deals with her boys and their asthma more.

I have nothing to add to the advice given by everyone else except this, to reiterate that you find an allergist that is proactive and will work with you and your son to formulate the best course of treatment, preparedness and mitigation for your son's asthma. As the others said, once you get a good plan that works, there will usually be little or no limitations placed on his activities. Good luck!

Asthma can be due to allergy or exercise-induced. My son age of 4 currently has an allergy to soy products which results in an asthmatic attack. If your child has been coughing for months and has whizzing sound and has phlegm, then find out which food categories : soy, milk, tree nuts, eggs, wheat, fish, shellfish and peanuts is he/she allergic to.

My son was also diagnosised with asthma, but hasnt had an attack in two yrs. It was so bad that we ended up in the hosp at least 3 times a yr. we had the dr office call our insuranc co. and they paid 100% for a min nebulizer that is run off the cigaret lighter in the car. it has a car adapter just like the ones for cell phones.

That way if we had an attack away from home we had the neb to use...
caleb also has what they call allergic croup, he coughed all the time, and allergens were the cause of that. I was told at the age of 5 they can truely be tested for asthma. He also was on singular all the time, to help with the allergens that caused asthma attacks.

It does sound like he has all the classic symptoms, especially the cough that is worsening at night, my ped. told us that was a sign that the meds are not working, and the asthma was not under control.
I also agree with follow your instinct, and its so much easier when you have a child old enough to tell you that something doesnt feel right, I have found that caleb seems to get a funny feeling before he gets an attack.

I would talk to your dr, and ask about a portable neb, and a medication review.
we also use zoponex (spelling?) instead of allbuteral, it doesnt cause the shaking that albuteral does......its made for kids...less side effects.

good luck.

You have to train your ears to tell the difference between an asthmatic cough and just a cough. It will also help when He gets older, he will be able to tell you.
It sounds like everyone has given you good advice. (Where is a good RT when you need one? )
I will add tho, that Asthma is a sensitive airway disease. Just because he rarely has symptoms doesn't mean that he doesn't have it. Asthma is cam be triggered by many different things, and it is different for everyone.
If he isn't using a spacer well, and you aren't comfortable with using his inhailer you can get a protable nebulizer, they are getting so small nowadays, and can plug right into the ciggarette lighter in your car. A home health store should be able to help.

something like this...
http://www.portablenebs.com/omronelite.htm

I had no idea there was such a thing as a portable neb Thanks!!

Nothing to add, just that we're dealing with asthma here too. Daniel gets it with a cold virus, and during allergy season he's more prone. We had to give him three treatments on Sunday. The symptoms you describe sound just like asthma to me. It takes some getting used to and is scary at first.

With the spacer, Daniel had trouble with it at first. We'd have to pin him down---it was horrible. It really helped to model/explain how to do it with a stuffed animal. Let him try to do the puffs into the air so he can see what it sounds like. In other words, make part of the learning process be in his control. Then encourage him to count to eight with the mask on. Practice without the spray first, counting to eight and then pulling the mask away. Now Daniel says "no I'm going to count to 10" or "I'm going to count to 20". The nice thing about counting is that it makes them breathe in.

It gets easier---they learn to let you know when they're suffering and they learn that the meds help and become more cooperative.

So true---In addition to the dry, forced coughing, Daniel can't finish sentences during an asthma attack, he'll be saying words but the sound stops coming out while he's still talking. This ONLY happens during his asthma---you do get sensitized to the signals over time.