Children with Asthma

Well I have no words of advice, however I understand how you feel. My husband had childhood asthma, and I have adult asthma, we dread out little one will have it too. Hang in there, and remember if they do have it, you will know how they feel and will be able to help them better than someone who hasn't experienced an asthma attack. Good luck!

hey my son has allergy asthma he has it since he was 6mths I told the drs because I had asthmar as a kid and allergies really bad he would sneeze and shoot out water from his eyes but they finally believed me after the fact. it's really easy to handle kids with asthmar my son takes cingular and zyrtek as well as a not so often needed nebulizer. you'll be fine with it I find allergy style bed covers and pillow protecters helps a lot because the allergies often set off asthma.

I'm still getting over a horrible cold where my doctor put me on a Albutorol inhaler. I had a lot of constriction in my chest and I couldn't catch my breath especially after I was out in the cold. I doesn't mean I have asthma. It's a brona-dialator that would help to open up my airway passages so I could breath again. My doctor also asked if I had asthma as a kid, which I didn't. I wouldn't worry to much about it until after the cold is gone. My doctor said that it is just this "thing" that's going around right now that most people got in Dec and Jan. We're just getting it late. He also said it lasted several weeks. After all their symptoms are gone and they continue to have a problem, then I would worry.

Hi, I went through the same thing with my kids, one at a time, with the cough and cold symptoms. The older pediatrician in the practice I go to put my eldest on an inhaler. It really didn't seem to work, she would still be coughing much of the night. I took her back, and this time saw the younger doctor in the practice. He told me that inhalers can actually scar the lungs, aggravating what may just be a seasonal asthma. He put her on clariten, and low and behold, her coughing stopped within a few days! She is on this year round, and has had so few colds since that I am convinced!!! My 2 younger children have been on it since the fall, when they developed the same symptoms, and have also been cold/cough free all winter!You can get clariten over the counter, but it is rather pricey. I have Rx's for it, with only a $5 co-pay. You can get liquid for younger children!

Hello A., I dont Know what your going though But my doctoer thought that my 1 year old had asthma and i had to take drastic measures so i researched it and found a great company that has all natural products and I have been using the cleaning products for 3 months and got rid of all the chemical in my house and my son has not been sick once this winter and i live in vermont. also i had cronic sinus infections and was always on a antibiotic i was tested for alergies but only alergic to dust mites and arent we all. It has changed our family for the better. let me know it=f you want to know more.

L.

I have a 3yr old son who has asthma, he developed it at around 18mths. He was put on a nebulizer till just recently when they changed him to a advair inhaler 2puffs a day. He constantly has this loose cough that will not go away. Hes had it for months. He sometimes gets wheezing from coughing so much. He is very active and he doesnt understand sometimes he has to take it easy.I have seasonal allergies, and my sister in law has asthma but no one else in our family does. The doctor says he can grow out of it, so we will see.

A.

I have two children both with Asthma - one is 3 1/2 and the other is 11 months. In addition to your pediatrician, get a referral to a pediatric pulmonoligist. Together, they and you, will develop the best care plan for your children based on their triggers and symptoms.

When my older son was first diagnosed (officially at 2 yrs old), I went to sites such as American Lung Association (www.ala.org), they have a wealth of information. I also joined www.everydaykidz.com offered through one of the leading products, pulmicort. They don't try to sell their products but provide a lot of helpful information such as developing an asthma action plan, what to do during high season, etc. Lastly, I joined Mothers of Asthmatics and have found their website and newsletter to be a good resource as well. If you want their website information, send me a note. I have it marked as a favorite on my office computer.

In terms of our story, ironically, there was no trace of asthmatics on either side so this came as a total surprise. My little guy was just sick ALL the time even though he was at home and rarely exposed to all the germs that are in a daycare environment. His symptoms included coughing, weezing, and he would severly scratch at his neck until it bled. Not being aware of the signs, we were simply frustrated and couldn't understand why he would never get better. At 18 months, after a terrible cold, weezing, and blue lips, his 'then' pediatrician finally recommended a nebulizer -- duh. At 2, his now pediatrician officially said he had asthma. My fear, however, is that so much damage and exposure to his lungs will now make him an asthmatic for life. Hopefully not. In any event, after getting past the shock, we've learned to live and manage it very well. His asthma is typically shows up when he has a cold. He uses a maintenance medication 2x day -- pulmicort. This enables him to keep up with his little playmates and we work hard so he doesn't feel different - which to me is very important.

Best of luck. Please reach out to me if you have questions or want the website for Mothers of Asthmatics. --A.

My youngest son was diagnosed with asthma at 7 months. He was hospitalized for bronchiolitis at the same time. He was on a nebulizer twice a day, every day for the next year. Have you taken them to a pediatric pulmonologist? There is one in Hamburg, affiliated with Hamburg Pediatrics. That's where I took my son. My son is now 2 1/2 and in this past year we have only had to use the nebulizer for about a total of one month. He's quite active and is not on any regular maintenance medicine. You can also try a cool mist vaporizer in their rooms when they are sleeping. That sometimes helps. Feel free to contact me if you would like the number of the doctor.

My middle son has asthma and was diagnosed at the age of 12 months after rounds and rounds of croup. We ended up purchasing a nebulizer through our insurance carrier. Ryan had one episode where he went into resperatory arrest enroute to the hospital but recovered very quickly.

You may want to get your kids to a pediatric allergist. Sometimes, as in the case with my son, allergies to either food or airbourne environmental stuff, like dust, tree pollen and other nasty little things, can be a large contributor to asthma. My son went through allergy testing and we found out that he had high alleriges to dust and 3 out of the four seasons (mold, pollen, dead leaves, cut grass, etc) and ended up getting allergy shots. They worked out great for him. He has only had a few attacks since and none as severe as they used to be.

Oh, and you might be glad to know that most kids who are diagnosed with asthma grow out of it by adulthood.

M.

VERY hereditary. My father had asthma, me and my two sisters have (had) it, so far two of my 5 kids have it. Though I developed it as a young adult, my daughter Crissy got it at age 4, and Vinny got it at age 6 months, when he had such a bad attack he almost died, and was hospitalized for over a week. My first 3 kids were with my first husband, who does NOT have asthma. I did not breastfeed my first 3 kids.

My second husband, who I now have two little girls with, has DEADLY asthma, so my two little ones get bad asthma genes passed down to them from BOTH parents, so the odds are worse for them then they were for my first 3 kids with my first husband. And don't forget two of three of them had asthma. Is there a chance in hell of these two little ones NOT getting asthma, with both our crappy genes? I doubt it. My son and daughter who have asthma are now 20 and 17 years old, and have both been on a nebulizer with ventlin for many years now. I think my younger ones DO have one advantage: I breastfed them both. This *MAY* be the advantage the other kids did not have, perhaps they'll develop an immunity, I can only hope so. My husband is hospitalized at LEAST once a month for his asthma, it's that bad. My son Vinny had to live in a plastic TENT built over his crib for two months when he got out of the hospital when he was 6 months old, every morning he'd wake up soaked to the bone from the cool mist. It helped him breathe, sure, but he'd get wet and cold overnight, I'd have to change him and the bedding, and felt so bad he was wet and cold..... I'd have to use that nebulizer then firmly pat his back going up and down along the sides of his spine until he'd cough, which was a sign that the patting of his back with my cupped hand was loosening the phlegm in his lungs.... it was a drag! If you have any more questinos feel free to ask, I feel like I"m the professional at dealing with kids and asthma at this point!

My 10 year old son has asthma. He has had it since he was born. I actualally think he may be out growing it. When he was younger he had frequent asthma attacks and sympotoms. He seem to always had a runny nose and coughing. With him I use to listen for thr noises he made when breathing and his nostrils. He would breath and it would kinda sound like he was snoreing,and his nostrils would flare. I think as long as you learn their symptom patterns you'll be fine. Kids actually adpt easily to things, and probally wont think anything about haveing asthma. If their is anything I can offer help with please let me know.

S. C