Asthma question

[Mrs Bear]

Hi Ladies,

Just wanted to pick the brains of you ladies who know more about asthma than I do.

Sam suffered a severe attack last week (it was his first) but I did not recognise it for what it was at first as he had a bad cold. Last Monday night I used Vicks, Olbas, had a humidifier going, gave him medised but still he wheezed all night.

By Tuesday morning he was worse so I took him to our local Walk-In Centre. They took one look at him and said it was asthma. His sats reading was only 88%. They put him straight onto Ventolin telling me that they were going to call an ambulance if he didn't respond immediately. Fortuntely he did, but I now officially hold the title of Bad Mother 2008.

He was seen by a doctor and put on steriod tablets for 3 days, together with ventolin every 4 hours. He saw the asthma nurse on Friday and was prescribed the steroid inhaler as well as the reliever one. He is much better now thank goodness but I go cold when I think what could have happended owing to my ignorance.

Now, here's the thing: we noticed that whilst Sam was on the steroid tablet he was really hyper. I remembered my mum saying when she was the steriods she took for 3 days following every chemo she could not sleep at all and thought maybe Sam reacted the same way.

He is now on the steroid inhaler twice a day and seems calmer BUT the staff at nursery mentioned today that he was quite hyper today and not at all like he usually is. Has anyone else found that the steriod inhaler has made their child a bit hyperactive or more restless? I will ask the asthma nurse when he goes back on the 17th, but in the meantime was just wondering...?

Any advice or thought much appreciated as I am currently on a very steep learning curve where asthma is concerned and feel pretty clueless right now.

Thanks in advance

[Maggie]

Ok I am no expert so am happy for someone with better knowlege to correct me.
First of all, no you are not a bad mum for not noticing that he has asthma, it's not always even easy for Dr's to pick up, especially when they are little.
Asthma is very scarey, I don't think anyone who has not been through an attack or seen an attack can appreciate just how scarey it is, and sadly whilst I don't believe it wrapping kids in cotton wool (well not too much!) people tend to forget that asthma still kills children and adults worldwide every year. However, with the preventor and treater and good management Sam might never have another bad attack again - mainly because you'll nip in as it develops and stop it in it's tracks.
Adam has been on steroid tablets when he was little - predniselone (for his eczema) , I can't honestly say they made him any worse, but he isn't a good sleeper anyway. He has the preventor at night - because asthma is more likey to occur when they are lying down, especially in the environment we live in, double glazing and central heating.
Also, I don't know what sort of treater (the brown one) you have, Adam has Salbutamol, he has had two diffrent makes of this and he always hates taking it - he says it tastes disgusting - whereas the blue one dosent taste of anything. So he does mess about taking this one.
Last year Adam had to have a small filling, the dentist asked me if he has a brown inhaler, apparently the steroid can coat the teeth and not only discolour them but create small cavaties. The trick is to brush the teeth as soon as he has finished, this cleans any excess of the teeth but takes the taste away too.
Also join asthma uk, they have helped me sooo much especially in the beginning http://www.asthma.org.uk/
I hope that helps
((hugs))
Maggie

[Mel1]

Absolutely not a bad mother - it was months before I realised DS's cough was asthma!

I have asthma and find that steroids increase my heartbeat and make me quite spacey - but I don't need to use them all the time now, just as a preventative when I have a cold. It probably settles down when your body adjusts to them.

Mel xxx.

[Liz1]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

[@@lisa@@]

mrs b

no advice to give, as i've (thankfully) no dealing with asthma...

just wanted to tell you off for the bad mummy comments
you are not a doctor.. you cannot recognise every ailment/illness/symptom that comes along..
now you know sam has asthma, you will learn...

now stop being so hard on yourself, you are a fantastic mummy

((((hugs)))) to you, and to sam

love lisa xx

[Mrs Bear]

Thank you SO much everyone.

Maggie I will have a look at the asthma uk website and thanks too for the tip about his teeth.

I am hoping that once Sam's body gets used to the steroid inhaler (he was given Flixotide) he will settle a bit. He is definitely a bit more hyped up than normal, poor child.

Liz, I don't think there was a coating on the prednisilone tablets as they dissolved in water. Must confess that I did not examine them too carefully though. Will mention it to the asthma nurse.

Thanks ladies for your comments. I am sure I will have more questions as I go along though!

[Clareok]

Mrs B

That must have given you such a scare - but how on earth would you have known it was asthma?!! You are a fab mummy and don't forget it. Last winter, a couple of doctors said they thought Arlo had asthma, I am really not so sure, but if it turns out that he does (he had bad coughing attacks) then I'm sure I will be looking for advice too.

Actually, if any of the lovely experts are reading now - is it likely that Arlo has some kind of mild asthma which can be triggered when he has a cough/cold?? All I know is to take him to the doctor if he's coughing badly, we agreed that he wouldn't have the preventative meds back in the spring when it was discussed...

[Maggie]

No exactly sure, but Adam's asthma is much worse as soon as he gets a cold.
You can ask the same question on the website mentioned above and pose it direct to an asthma nurse, she'll almost certainly refer you back to the GP but can give you a few tips on what to look out for.
Maggie

[mum.of.4]

Hi,

I know how you feel, Ciaran was taken by ambulance to A&E following an asthma attack only a few weeks ago. My reference point to get help is when his is using his shoulder and tummy muscles to breathe, that's a bad sign.

With regards to the steroids I know that they increase heart rate but not a lot more than that.

I hope he settles down.

BTW Niamh my DD2 also had infantile asthma and now does not need a preventer at all and very rarely a reliever, usually when she has a cold or is unwell.

[Mrs Bear]

Thanks Mo4. I hope Sam does grow out of his.

The asthma nurse told me that more little boys tend to get asthma when they are young as their respiratory system seems to have narrower tubes than those of little girls. As they get bigger and everything expands, many DO seem to grow out of it. Apparently statistically more teenage girls get asthma than teenage boys.

I was also told that Sam may need to have the flu injection if he shows signs of severe asthma every time he has a cold. I will be hear more about that at the appointment on the 17th.

Think I am in for a fun winter...