When your child has asthma

[Chelsea524]

Anyone else have a child with asthma? My oldest DS Trystin(6) has had asthma for ever it seems like, when he was an baby he was hospitalized for RSV and ever since then has had problems with his lungs and anything that goes along with it. He has had pneumonia every year, when he was 3 he had it 3 different times. I'm just posting this to see if anyone else is dealing with this, it can be such a struggle for him and me both. His asthma has been really acting up this last month and I have had to leave work three different times to get him a breathing treatment, last night we were up all night because he was having such a hard time breathing. I got written up at work yesterday because of missing three days in one month, he hates the fact that he can't run around as much as the other kids, and any time he gets upset it seems like he has an attack.

Anyone else dealing with this at all??

[twinnyme]

I'm sorry you're dealing with this, Chelsea524. I haven't with my DD but I had asthma as a child and my brother had it the worst. He had a nebulizer machine (I think that's what it was) that he had to do twice a day from the time he was very little (maybe 3 or 4). Mine wasn't as bad, but I spent many nights sleeping upright in my bed. I hope your son's asthma becomes more controlled as he gets older. It's tough.

[Pookie]

My DS was diagnosed before his first birthday. He's just 17 months now. Does your DS do any preventive meds? Since we started seeing the pulmonologist and she started him on those, they have made a world of difference. I can definatly understand what you're going through. Each time DS gets sick, I wonder if we're going to end up in the ER for his breathing.

[tlew12778]

I had asthma as a kid and still have asthma now. As a kid, they gave me pills to take (inhalers weren't popular yet I guess). Then as a teen I had inhalers and a nebulizer when it got bad. I no longer use a nebulizer but I think it's bc I moved out of the country and into a different environment basically. When I go back and visit my parents I know I will have an attack. Anyway, as a kid, I never really thought about it. I never liked running around to begin with and I used to be able to get out of track and swimming class in HS bc of my asthma :p. Oh and I also had pneumonia every year in grade school, then again in my junior year of HS (causing me to miss my senior class trip :().

I take a broncho-dialator (ventilin right now, but I have also been given proventil and oxi-vent) and a cortosteroid (pulmocort) which is an inhaled powder.

[RobynG]

I am actually taking my 4 year old to the doctor tomorrow about this. My DH has extremely bad asthma & allergies, and our boys already have some of the allergies. Lately, my DS has had problems sleeping because he can't breathe through his nose. During the day he is fine, but night times are a whole other story! They took x-rays last week to see if he needs his adnoids out. We find out tomorrow!

[Chelsea524]

twinnyme thanks, he does have a nebulizer for when his inhailer doens't help.

Pookie he is on Singulair and flovent, his dr took him off flovent for the summer to see how he would do and he did terrible, now he is back on it, with a stronger dose and had to take an oral steroid for 5 days as well, for the first year he had it his previous dr didn't give us any preventive meds and just didn't know what to do with him, when I switched to a dr that specialized in asthma he instantly put him on those meds and it made such a big difference.

tlew that would be a great reason to get out of gym class wouldn't it:p at the age he is right now, he is hating that he can't run around as much as his friends

RobynG good luck at the dr, night time is the worst for my ds too, good luck

[LyLMyssChaos]

You may want to check out the Asthma Support Thread (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=27745). There are a few mommies there that have kids with Asthma.

[RobynG]

So, I never posted my update from last summer, wow! My DS, now 5, got his tonsils & adenoids taken out in March. And my younger DS, who is 3 but was 2 at the time, was diagnosed with cough variation asthma.