Steroids for a 2 year old

notshanarishona

Fri, Oct 30 2015, 2:56 am

My daughter had a bad cough and dr. gave her a short round of steriods.
I am personally very aware of the terrible side affects.
Is there anything natural or anything else you would try?
I am fine with giving ventolin to improve the cough, just the idea of steroids scares me..

FranticFrummie

Fri, Oct 30 2015, 3:03 am

Do you not trust your doctor? You can always get a second opinion.

A very short course of steroids should not do any harm. Your child might be extremely hungry while on it, and have some sleep disturbance, but the side effects wear off fairly quickly once the medicine is our of her system.

notshanarishona

Fri, Oct 30 2015, 3:52 am

FranticFrummie wrote:

He is generally a very good pediatrician but seems quick to push medicine.

My instinct is to wait a day or 2 and see if she continues to get worse before starting such strong medicine.

I personally had some terrible long term side affects (broken bones, osteoporosis in my 20's, immune system problems, etc) from a long course of steroids so I am very hesitant to use them unless there is no other option.

amother

Azure

Fri, Oct 30 2015, 7:51 am

Steroids taken for a long time have effects on the body that do not occur when they are taken for a short period of time. You are basing the effects of steroids on your experience, when they were taken for a long period of time.

newmother

Fri, Oct 30 2015, 8:10 am

My dad has bad asthma which starts as a bad cough and then gets progressively worse. If I don't give a short dose of steroids then she can end up on the hospital, so I am happy to give her five days of a steriod. She has had asthma since around 2.

yOungM0mmy

Sat, Oct 31 2015, 7:10 pm

My son had the same, called viral induced wheeze. Within a couple of hours it would go from coughing to an emergency room trip, and a dose of steroids. After three or four times like this we saw a pediatric pulmonary specialist who put him on montelukast/singulair which really helped prevent attacks

debbie321

Sat, Oct 31 2015, 10:05 pm

My 2 year old has had asthma like breathing problems for over a year now. After being on a nebulizer on and off for this time,we took him to a specialist who recommended a steriod. I was wary, and asked about the side effects of a steriod on a 2 year old (being up,eating...) he told me those effects are from steroids beinget taken for long term, and usually have those effects when there are other underlying problems. My son took a steroid for 5 days,had some increase in appetite (wheezing took it away,as well as the acocmpanyi get throwing up) and a little bit of grouchiness (the Dr said this would happen,but these were the only side effects for shortterm)bh my son just finished steroid, and there is a HUGE difference! Dr said he needed the steroid to get his breathing under control,and now he is on an inhaler. I highly recommend using the steroid for 5 days
Speak to your dr (and a pediatric pulmonologist,) it makes such a difference! Good luck!

amother

Cerulean

Sat, Oct 31 2015, 10:23 pm

I took steroids when I was newly married as I got very sick and was hospitalized. I couldn't breath even with an oxygen mask. Had to have a hi dosage and for an extended time. It caused me to gain a lot of weight that I was never able to lose. I went from a size 2-8/10 in a short time. And after that just kept going higher. No matter how much I worked out and watched what I ate, I can never go lower then a 10.

sourstix

Sat, Oct 31 2015, 11:22 pm

such is the facts of life. weight gain happens and I wish I was a ten after all those meds I had. I understand that your foming from a 2. maybe you have other issues your not aware of. like thyroid. that contributes to weight gain. at any rate, steroids have other side affects if taken long term. alot worse. check it out.

seeker

Sat, Oct 31 2015, 11:36 pm

Well, we had side effects from even short-term steroids that were pretty crazy-making, but to my understanding these things are only prescribed, especially to little children, if they are really needed and there is no better way to ensure their health and safety. I don't know if they may have had lasting ramifications, because we do have some ongoing issues that may or may not have been here anyway, but at least we're alive to experience them, KWIM? Breathing is serious business!

amother

Pearl

Sun, Nov 01 2015, 12:02 am

I learned this the hard way.

Dr. wanted dd on nebulizer long-term; I stopped after 2 weeks bec. she seemed totally fine. She had another asthma attack. Dr. told me that the amount of steroid in the nebulizer is a very small fraction of the amount that she then needed to be given just to stabilize her.

Lesson learned. embarrassed

anonymrs

Sun, Nov 01 2015, 12:06 am

It sounds like your child may have asthma, if you are also giving ventolin. If dr thought her breathing was bad enough to need steroid, I would give it. For the future, your child may benefit from taking Pulmicort, Qvar, or Flovent daily during this time of year to prevent flareups.

notshanarishona

Sun, Nov 01 2015, 12:59 am

They don't officially call it asthma at this age but that seems to be what she has.
We took her to a pulmonologist last year and they didn't want to do anything preventive b/c she was so little (was also a premie).
I guess we should try again now that she is older.

After one of steriods , she was up till 10:00 at night, skipped her nap, and only ate ice cream and did not eat any normal food.. And was miserable and hyper at the same time.
Does not seem like fun medicine even at whatever dose she has.
She B"H seems to be breathing much better now.

seeker

Sun, Nov 01 2015, 1:05 am

Yeah sounds like the same crazy-making side effects I was talking about. Hugs. Refuah sheleima. Talk to the doctor about your concerns and whether there are any alternatives (maybe a different steroid? something preventative now?) but don't stop the treatment until you get the go-ahead from doc.

Even thinking back to the steroid side effects is triggering a little anxiety in my brain now! Been 2 years since we were on anything serious, IIRC. It was awful. I really feel for you!

amother

Cerulean

Sun, Nov 01 2015, 1:21 am

I never thought of the side effects, except the weight gain. My stomach swelled and made me look 5 months pregnant. I got many "Mazal tov" wishes when I wasn't pregnant, although I was ttc for almost a year and a half.

This thread made me do some quick research and I see other things that happened at the time was also side effects.

EX: before the steroids, I had mild PCOS. Irregular cycles 28-35 days usually, not always ovulating, but sometimes longer intervals between cycles. After the steroids, for the next year, my cycle would come every 12-16 weeks. In my first year I only had 4 cycles! There were other side effects, but I consider them minor in comparison to these 2.

amother

Cerulean

Sun, Nov 01 2015, 1:25 am

Sourstix, I had a full well exam, including my thyroid checked. The weight gain was attributed to the steroids. I wish I was a size 10 now.

After the steroids and ka×´h a few kids later my size has gone even higher.

amother

Amethyst

Sun, Nov 01 2015, 1:27 am

This thread is scaring me. DD was on steroids when she was an infant for a tumor. The dr was afraid the tumor would stress her heart which had a hole in it. They couldn't operate until she was one because of her underdeveloped lungs. Thought we were done with all the garbage from when she was a premie.

Anyone know the long term effects of high doses of steroids?

Think1st

Sun, Nov 01 2015, 1:29 am

Have you tried hot vaporizer ? (clean it daily )
Rub castor & olive oil on chest (cheap & effective )
Hot chicken soup (ad some fresh or frozen garlic NOT powder )

PS for anyone suffering from Asthma, PM me I can provide for free a natural product formulated by an MD that will drastically improve condition

amother

Pearl

Sun, Nov 01 2015, 9:04 am

amother wrote:

So what I was told by dd's immunologist is that the amount of steroid in the nebulizer that's given daily, for months on end (and I don't know if this is what your dd was prescribed), is a tiny, tiny amount, and has not been shown to cause long term effects.

I would discuss your concerns with your doctor, and if you're not happy with his response, look for another one or a specialist.