3 yo asthma getting worse! Please tell me what to do!

[Chakra]

He used to have mild asthma when he was two. He would have random attacks at night once every few months.

He's almost 4 now and he has asthma attacks every night! Hid proair inhaler is not working anymore. His doc. put him on two strong inhalers that he needs to take daily.

I just hate this...I can't give him these inhalers but I have NO choice bcus he can't breathe.

He eats healthy, he breastfed until he was two and has never been vaxed! We live in PHX and I know it's polluted but still...

Any tips on curing this naturally? I can't afford to take him to a naturopath right now.

Please advise!

ps: his asthma is so bad right now that I kicked my hubby out of our bed so that my son can sleep with me and I have his inhaler sitting on the night stand ready for him...

[Mama Mko]

I don't have any natural ideas. My son takes Singulair and it helps a lot.

[Violet2]

First, today is not forever. Asthma waxes and wanes so the meds may not be here forever.

If he needs the meds use them. They are MUCH better and safer than oral steroids, which will be the next step if he keeps getting worse.

Keep him out of the ER and off oral steroids by giving him those inhalers for now.

I had asthma back before any of these meds were on the market--I have permanent scarring and lung damage from being so sick all the time. This nothing to play around with. If he is fighting to breath on a regular basis this = scarring which means he won't be as resilient as he ages to more serious illnesses like pneumonia.

The natural remedies out there are not well studied ime. I have not found anything I would be willing to swap out meds for, at least not yet and I have spent years reading and studying this stuff.

Lobelia (sp?) and muellin or mullein seem to be the two most mentioned natural remedies. Querectin (sp?) is a natural anti-inflammatory used for allergies and sometimes recommended for asthma, but I'm not sure if kids can take it. It also takes several weeks to build up in the system and be effective.
V

[Chakra]

Thank you! He is on the oral meds even though I hate them. I read that reverstrol (sp) is helpful. Hopefully things settle down. Not sure why it's so bad...

[kjbrown92]

Have you had him allergy tested to see if you can mitigate some of the things (like dust? pets? food?). My DH has allergy-induced asthma, but if were around dogs all the time, he'd be wheezing all the time. But of course we didn't know it was dogs, until he was tested.

[littlemizflava]

i dont really know of any natural treatments that work. i do know that prevention is way better then treatments. i know how hard it is to see your child in pain and not wanting to put drugs in them. i have got my dd to a point she rarely needs her meds and i need them even less then her.

i have asthma and so does my daughter she also have allergies to dust, dustmites, indoor and outdoor mold & cats. i have found this makes things better
i do second the allergy testing even if he had it when he was 2 do it again. he can have more triggers then before. do you have a airpurifier? there should be in everyroom or atleast where he sleeps and then one where he spends most his time like family room. avoid strong scents & cleaners even fabric softners.

having a safe bed/pillow is major to me due to how long they are in a bed a day. all bedding was changed to feather blankets and pillows and thinner ones that are easy to wash. mattresses were changed to natural ones with no flameretardent on them. everything on the bed gets washed alot. a week to a month depending on what.

[pianojazzgirl]

I was going to suggest an air purifier too. A HEPA filter.

[JessicaS]

There are different types of asthma.

What kind of Dr is seeing him for his asthma? Has he seen a pulmonologist? They would have a far better grasp of what type of asthma he has and different things that might help. If your child's asthma is that serious I would take him to a specialist.

I would NOT try any natural routes without knowing exactly what is going on

[Chakra]

He sees his regular ped.

Yes he was tested for allergies a year ago and he's allergic to many things (pollen, dust mites, dogs, fish and shell fish etc)

I'm going to keep on his normal routine of using inhalers but there has to be something natural that can help. Is asthma a immune systme problem?

[kjbrown92]

If he's only seen a ped so far, I'd definitely take him to a pulmonologist and/or an allergist to get more information. Have you already done all the abatement things for dust (mattress/pillow covers, washing in hot water, etc.)? Keep the windows closed during pollen season/take a shower when he comes in from outside to wash it off him? Avoid dogs?

[KimPM]

Originally Posted by kjbrown92

Have you had him allergy tested to see if you can mitigate some of the things (like dust? pets? food?). My DH has allergy-induced asthma, but if were around dogs all the time, he'd be wheezing all the time. But of course we didn't know it was dogs, until he was tested.

Inhalant allergies, food allergies, etc.