Wheezing | Imamother

gryp

Tue, Apr 25 2006, 9:22 am

thanks for the replies.
I didnt know when I asked the question that the nebulizer is not supposed to wear off. Confused

we're on a stronger medication now, but I just cant tell if its helping. Confused

and a steam bath and warm drinks dont help either.

Tue, Apr 25 2006, 10:26 am

The salbutamol/atrovent nebs do wear off after a little while. I would be concerned if you are having to use them more than once every 4 hrs.
If the breathing rate isn't too fast (should be less than 60 breaths/min at that age) and baby isn't too tired through working hard with breathing, and he is alert and feeding ok and a nice pink colour, things sound as if they are going in the right direction.
G'luck. Sometimes babies do need a short course (a few days) of oral steroids.
What meds are you using?

gryp

Tue, Apr 25 2006, 2:03 pm

thanx Jo for your reply.
my dr told me to use the nebulizer twice a day, but since it didnt seem to be helping, I called him back and he told me to come in again for another checkup and then gave me a stronger prescription.
I have to check the label to see what exactly I have.

its so awful to see your baby having to try so hard just to breathe. Sad

he is so exhausted from it all.

but bh today there has been lots of improvement. he actually took his naps today lying on his stomach Exclamation

for the first time in weeks. he's been propped up on pillows on his back on my bed all this time.

his appetite actually came back too, for the first time since pesach, he's actually interested in food.

otherwise, he's just very cranky and wants to be held 24 hours.

gryp

Wed, Apr 26 2006, 10:06 am

Milk Munch, thats a great question.
im almost positive its from the soy formula I gave him for a few days instead of the milk-based one, since he had a bad cold and I didnt want the milk-based formula to congest him even more.
I thought it would get rid of his cold faster. Confused

until he started wheezing and next thing I know he was covered in a rash.

bh hes doing much much better, he doesnt have such trouble breathing anymore, his rash is going away, and he doesnt have such a bad cough.
im waiting for the soy to completely leave his system.

the one silver lining in this cloud is that it broke his nightly waking habits of every two hours. he actually sleeps 3-5 hours at a time, and that means me too.
Thank you Hashem!

elisecohen

Wed, Apr 26 2006, 2:27 pm

At times, we've neb'd 3 times an hour (on doctor's orders) with albuterol or xopenex. It's better than being inpatient...

But count us as one of the families with kids who do not wheeze chronically, just periodically. When they do, usually a few days of albuterol ever 3-4 hours works fine, but one kid in particular tends to need steroids once he gets started.

If your child is croupy or has a viral cough (as opposed to asthmatic) you can use the nebulizer with just plain saline instead of medications to get the same effect as the shower only better since it's cool water, not hot. This works wonders with croupy or coughy kids.

But even with croup there is a time to take them to the ER. One of ours did once wake up (Shabbos of course) in the middle of the night unable to swallow and barely able to breathe--he was holding his mouth open and tongue sticking out, gasping. Should have called 911, but I threw him in the car and drove to the nearby ER. They gave him injected steroids and saline breathing treatment and got him under control. Fortunately our local ER is used to frummies coming in on Shabbos nights with no insurace papers, no money, etc. and they just sent us home once he was stable and mailed the paperwork later.

If you're ever not sure if a child is wheezing or not--let the doctors know and let them make the call.

JEWISHMAMA

Wed, May 03 2006, 4:04 am

ektsm wrote:

Go to the doctor. I wouldn't try anything natural for asthma type symtoms. It is very dangerous.

I agree that it can be dangerous but I am already presumming that if she is on nebules that she has already gone to the doctor. Also sometimes there is only so much medication u can give to a child. The natural remedies I recommended are only to be used to make your child more comfortable but NOT to be used instead of going to the doctors.