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Asthma?

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DoctorMom

Tue, Jun 24 2008, 11:45 pm

Hello! I'm just wondering if anyone has experience with asthma. My 10 month old was diagnosed after her second attack at age 7 months. I have a Dr's appt. soon & I want to discuss different medicines with him, right now she's on a huge dose of Pulmacort. Does anyone have experience with this?

Thanks!

Tongue Out

Ima'la

Wed, Jun 25 2008, 12:16 am

Yup! My son is B"H, doing very well on a steroid inhaler and Singulair. He had his first attack when he was around 10 or 11 mos. Probably lots of more natural-minded people here will disagree with me, but here's my experience/opinion. Steroid inhalers deliver low doses (usually) of steroids directly to the lungs, with little side-effects to the rest of the body. And help prevent severe asthma attacks that (lo aleinu) land patients in the hospital on higher doses of oral steroids. After DS was having asthma attacks and ending up on oral steroids (Ventolin/Albuterol just didn't cut it) with every cold, we were sent to a pulmonologist who put him on inhalations. Are you using a nebulizer? If so, ask if you can switch to an Aerochamber - there's a kind for children ages 6 mos. - 6 yrs. and it is SO much more convenient - takes 10 seconds to use. The babies protest the first few times, but then get used to it - ds has been using it 2x/day for as long as he can ermember! (He's 5 now.) When he was 3 he had a hard winter, getting asthmatic with every cold and that's when the pulmonologist started him on Singulair.

Why am I babbling all this to you? I should really ask if you have specific questions. Well, once I typed it up, I'll leave it, but let me know if there are any Q's I can help you with! DH & I also have asthma. Does your baby also have eczema and/or allergies?

DoctorMom

Wed, Jun 25 2008, 1:07 am

Thanks for your reply, it's great to hear from other mothers like me!

Do you use a steroid inhaler similar to Pulmacort? I've heard ppl. (like you said, probably more natural-minded than me), say that it's horrible to keep such a little kid on so much med, but at this point we didn't have a choice. I know it's much better than oral steroids, but still she has some small side effects (thrush in her mouth & a diaper rash).

Ventolin & Albuterol dont seem to work for her either when she has a cold. Her breathing just went downhill very fast each time she had a cold, & seemed that nothing we did helped. She had 3 attacks & each time was hospitalized & put on oral steroids. So now we are trying to prevent that.

We use a nebulizer, thanks for the tip abt. the Aerochamber - I'll check it out, b/c it's not easy getting my very-active-10-month-old to sit for 10 minutes for the full dose! Smile

We're not sure if she forsure has allergies yet, could be allergic to dairy. She did have eczema, which disappeared as soon as she started taking the steroids for asthma! So that's one of the good things about this whole thing I guess! Smile

Strawberry

Wed, Jun 25 2008, 1:59 am

My 6 month old also has asthma. He has the type that kicks in only when he is sick. I had that type too but grew out of it when I was 5 or 6. If you are in Israel, The Life brand nebulizer has a mouth piece that is a pacifier. He was just diagnosed and I'm going to the pulminologist today.

DoctorMom

Wed, Jun 25 2008, 3:31 am

I do live in E"Y. Who do you use for a pulminologist? Have you ever had any experiences with any of the hospitals here? (I hope not!).

Wow, a nebulizer that's a pacifier? Sounds too good to be true. Thanks for the tip.

karen berzon

Wed, Jun 25 2008, 6:35 am

My baby also has it. He started another round of asthma right before Shabbos - definatley comes in handy to own a nebulizer and have the medication on hand. We had been using Ventolin for a while, but my baby wasn't getting any better, and then the doctor switched the medicine to Buticort (we're in israel) and B"H that works great for him.

montrealmommy

Wed, Jun 25 2008, 8:24 am

Both my kids have it - just a quick note there is a difference b/w a nebulizer and the aerochamber. The nebulizer provides the medicine in a liquid and humidified environment, whereas the aerochamber is a just a long tube with a one-way valve that you pump the meds into (1-2 puffs) and the child places the mouth pc/mask and can breath more normally (you don't have to time the inhale for when the puffer is comperssed)

We have both - when the kids are in a flare up then they need the liquid meds and the extra humidity for it to work, daily they use the aerochamber.

cip

Wed, Jun 25 2008, 11:36 am

my son takes singular daily. I've seen his eczema improve also. when needed I give albuterol. I'm also very cearful not to give foods that he may be allergic to.

Frumom

Wed, Jun 25 2008, 11:37 am

My son who is 2 has had a couple of episodes of wheezing, but the doctors told us that until they are older they cannot diagnose them with asthma.

Strawberry

Wed, Jun 25 2008, 11:53 am

Chani's Mommy wrote:

Who do you use for a pulminologist?

Dr. Chaim Springer. I actually went for the first time today. He was good. I know he knows what he is talking about since I know all this stuff from my own experience.

BH he has the type that only comes up when he gets sick so the key is as soon as he starts wheezing, give him the nebulizer. This iyh will keep him out of the hospital.

DoctorMom

Wed, Jun 25 2008, 12:53 pm

Glad you found a good Dr. I guess it really helps to have experience. Although my husband has asthma, it's not this "kind". He wheezes all the time, but my daughter has bad reactions to colds and when she's sick. I never realized there are different "kinds" of asthma, though, until now.

montrealmommy

Wed, Jun 25 2008, 2:44 pm

Quote:

My son who is 2 has had a couple of episodes of wheezing, but the doctors told us that until they are older they cannot diagnose them with asthma

According to th eAmer. Peds Assoc. until 12 mo. it's not officially diagnosed as asthma, after that it can be, to the best of my knowledge, although with my dd, she was diagnosed (read written in her chart) at 6 mo. b/c both dh and I are asthmatic as is my ds, so I think there are guidlines then he exceptions!

MinnieMa

Wed, Jun 25 2008, 6:00 pm

I had the same thing. My daughter used to get colds and every time it would go straight to her chest. SHe would start wheezing. We would end up on pediapred and the nebulizer. We went to a pulmonologist and he put her on singulair and flovant (the aero chamber similar to pulmicort- bec. she couldnt sit through a 10 min nebulizer twice a day). She B"H, bli ayin hora, when she gets sick it does not go straight to her chest anymore. I hate thinking that my child is on so many meds, but it's worse to see your child unable to breath. PM me if u need any information. I also have a baby who is full of eczema and allergic to dairy and eggs.... Hatzlacha!!!!!!!

amother

Wed, Jun 25 2008, 8:45 pm

hi I have an 8 year old child who was diagnosed with asthma at the age of 12 months. He has been on alot of meds. but did not help now he takes weekly shots which he started at the age of 4. He also takes medication and B"H he is doing alot better.

cookielady

Wed, Jun 25 2008, 8:58 pm

a helpful medicine, that works well, is zopenex. It works same way as ventolin but without the shakyness that comes with it as well as the racing heart rate. this has helped alot,

Has advair discus been mentioned, this also is very effective, as well as spiriva,

Hatlzacha rabba.

DoctorMom

Wed, Jun 25 2008, 11:12 pm

Wow thanks everyone for the advice. I have a lot to talk about with the doctor next week. Each kid is different, and I guess you really just need to try a few different options before you get it right, no?

Ima'la

Thu, Jun 26 2008, 1:13 am

montrealmommy wrote:

Quote:

My son who is 2 has had a couple of episodes of wheezing, but the doctors told us that until they are older they cannot diagnose them with asthma

I'm guessing the original quote was said by a pediatrician, not an asthma specialist. I have found that it is very important to have an asthma specialist treat asthma - not to rely only on a ped./GP. I have also found non-specialists to be too timid with medications - resulting in under-treated asthma.

strawberry wrote:

BH he has the type that only comes up when he gets sick so the key is as soon as he starts wheezing, give him the nebulizer. This iyh will keep him out of the hospital.

Have you asked if you can start as soon as he gets sick so he doesn't have to start wheezing? My son also has this kind. He takes a steroid inhaler every day, but we were told to increase his dosage at the first sign of a cold. Unfortunately (before we started Singulair) his first sign of a cold was wheezing! (even before his nose started running!) so there was no way for us to catch it in time. Once he started, it was hard to get it back under control without oral steroids.

Quote:

We had been using Ventolin for a while, but my baby wasn't getting any better, and then the doctor switched the medicine to Buticort (we're in israel) and B"H that works great for him.

Ventolin is a temporary treatment to alleviate the symptoms - which is fine by itself if there is just an occasional episode of wheezing. Budicort is a steroid inhaler that does not provide immediate results, but treats the underlying problem. A little bit like Tylenol vs. antibiotics for an ear infection. (Of course, that's a crude analogy.)

Strawberry

Thu, Jun 26 2008, 2:37 am

Ima'la wrote:

strawberry wrote:

BH he has the type that only comes up when he gets sick so the key is as soon as he starts wheezing, give him the nebulizer. This iyh will keep him out of the hospital.

Yup. I wrote the same thing in a previous post. Thanks though!

(It seems like all doctors use the same phrases. "At the first sign of a cold...". My dr said it when I was young, as for ds's dr...he only speaks hebrew so What

DoctorMom

Sun, Jul 06 2008, 1:09 am

Hi, thanks for all your responses a while back. Anyway, I just took dd to the doctor to for a follow up visit. He said I can take her off the pulmacort (yay!) for now, since it's summertime. we'll have to re-assess in the winter, though.

he gave me a prescription for something called Danlon - to use if she gets a cold and starts wheezing. I believe it's an oral steroid. anyone ever use this? (we live in israel, I'm not sure what it's called in america - anyone happen to know that? I have a relative in america who I consult with as well, & it'll be helpful to know what they call this medicine there.)

thanks!

Tamiri

Sun, Jul 06 2008, 1:32 am

I don't know if this interests you at all, but many asthma attacks are triggered by... allergies. We did not know enough with sons #1 and #2 and had to deal with attacks which necessitated trips to the ER, and all those horrible meds. They had asthma, recurring ear infections and runny noses. With #2 we started to listen to the holistic health info which had started to go mainstream. We took them off dairy as babies and B"H have not had trouble with #3, 4 and 5. It may all be anecdotal in our case (I don't think it is), but it may be something for you to research or consult with a holistic practitioner. Meds in little bodies scare me.

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