4 yr old with Illness Induced Asthma

[BenimBebek]

My daughter, since about 2 has had illness induced asthma.  It was just recently diagnosed as such, as we don't spend a lot of the time in the doctors office.  Basically, every time she gets even a mild cold, she gets a terrible cough and the only thing that seems to stop her constant cough is an albuterol nebulizer.  But I really hate giving it to her, because she acts like shes on cocaine afterward and cant sleep or calm down for hours.  I've taken to letting her only do half the normal amount, which seems to still offer control and less "high" side effects (she actually cried a few nights ago because she said she couldn't sit still and it scared her). 

Is anyone else out there dealing with this?  What is causing this?  We live in the suburbs outside of Baltimore (we've moved twice since she was born and this has been a constant no matter what house were in).  Our pedi told us that 80%+ of kids in downtown Baltimore have asthma because of pollution.  I just dont know how to help her.  

We had food sensitivity testing done a while ago and showed she was mildly-sensitive to dairy and gluten, can these cause illness induced asthma?  

I didn't breastfeed her past 6 weeks because our old pedi told me I didn't have enough milk to feed her and so we switched to a dairy-based organic formula.  But I have a 17lb 5 month old who Im breastfeeding just fine.  Could giving my daughter breastmilk in her meals now help her?

I feel like taking gluten out of her diet is going to be near impossible because my husband and I love both bread and cheese.  And sharing is so important, how can we NOT eat the same foods as her.  Do you all cut it out of your diets too?  

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

[mbbinsc]

My DD will get virus induced asthma (and some with her food allergies but that is another issue).  We use Xopenex with the nebulizer as the side effects are much less.  It is expensive if you don't have insurance.  I would get samples from the MD office.

Does your DD have other signs of allergies, like eczema?  If so, you may want to try to eliminate dairy from her diet.  I don't see any harm in add your milk to her diet.  It could help boost her immune system.

[BenimBebek]

No eczema thst ive noticed.  But im not exactly sure what it looks like.  Her father gets tiny weird bumps on his arms all summer long, is that eczema?

[treegardner]

This happened to my sister when we were kids. The Dr. told my mom she had asthma and gave her the same meds. My sister would be very wound up and get really nervous, she told my mom she couldn't sleep because she could hear her pillow. My mom took her to a different Dr. who told my mom that my sister did not have asthma and should not have been put on this medication. I'm not sure if this helps, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

 

[ayosten]

My daughter has had asthma since she was 11 months old (diagnosed at 15 months old).  She is now 6 yrs old and she has been on albuterol and xopenex neb. treatments and now takes xopenex inhaler for attacks. Her asthma is induced by a quick change in weather and with illness. The side affects you mentioned are very common with the albuterol inhalant.  Even I (an asthmatic myself) get shaky with the albuterol inhalers.  That is just how that medication works.  The xopenex nebs and inhalers are really good too, however they seem to take a little longer to take affect than the albuterol.  So if you are having a severe attack, I have noticed that the albuterol kicks in faster... you just have to deal with the side affects.  My daughter is a severe asthmatic and has been hospitalized several times because of it.   The hospitals tend to use albuterol when a child is admitted as well.  I would suggest that you talk to your doctor about trying the xopenex for your daughter and see if that helps.  If she is having to use her inhaler more than a couple times a week, then you should really talk to your doctor about putting her on a preventative med like pulmicort or symbicort.  I understand how scary it can get. 

A little home remedy my mom used on me when my meds would not work as quickly... drink a coca cola... not guaranteeing it will work, however I remember as a kid, it seemed to work pretty well.  something to do with all the fizzy or caffine.  No other soda seemed to work as well.

[moonlight mom]

My son has this as well and he only has an attack when he gets a cold.  I did food allergy testing and he did show intolerances to dairy and gluten which I eliminated for 4 months.  It was very hard for everyone and I didn't notice any improvement in his symtoms.  He had 2 terrible attacks while he was dairy and gluten free.  I started giving him these foods again over the last month or so and haven't noticed he is worse.  I did take him to ENT and discovered he has huge adenoids.  He is going to have them out this week and I am really hoping this will improve his symptoms.

[ayosten]

The adenoid removal will make a HUGE difference.  My daughter had hers removed about 2 yrs ago and her asthma has improved dramatically.  When they removed her adenoids they told me that they were blocking 50% of her airway.  She has not had to be admitted to the hospital once since they removed them. 

[tbone_kneegrabber]

ds has asthma.  We are able to rarely use albuterol, but we have to use pulmicort every other day (our insurance won't cover the smaller dosage for everyday, so we do the bigger dosage every other day).  The use of a "controller" med really helps ds A LOT.  But he has asthma "all the time" not just when he is sick.  It is worse when he is sick and then we end up using albuterol too, and he does also get hyped on it.  Although when we have to use it for several days it seems to affect him less each day.

[Peony]

My 4.5 year old DD2 has had this since age 1. We did albuterol and xopenex and then switched to Qvar inhaler with pulmicort and albuterol nebs. We also added in Singular last fall, I wasn't thrilled it her being on a daily pill like that but decided to give it a try. For her entire life, she had pneumonia so many times, every single little cold goes straight to her chest. She also does the severe coughing after illness for extended lengths of time, we've had a standing order for codeine cough syrup for years because she is sick so much that some months it would be the only way for her to get any sleep. For her, Singular has been amazing. She got about half the illnesses she normally did and none were severe! She hasn't been in the hospital in almost a year, and no more coughing with illness. 

[BenimBebek]

wow, i am shocked there are so  many little kids suffering like this.  thank you all so much for all your responses!!!!

did anyones doctors tell them why?  or offer any guesses?  I mean, I feel like my doctor is telling me my daughter is essentially defective and will be forever and I just refuse to accept that.  I was really hoping to find a natural way to help her without making her high all the time.  Today she was like a crazy person.  Laughing weird, running around.  Its really hard to see her brain like that.  She cant sit still.  She couldnt go to school like that, she would be the most annoying child in class.  She'd constantly be in trouble and shes so sensitive, she would end up hating school.  And I only let her do the albuterol neb for half the recommended dosage at 10am and she was literally strange all day.  

Has anyone tried homeopathy with any success?  What causes enlarged adenoids?  Having them removed really worries me, because I feel like it will be like tonsils.  Doctors were always removing tonsils, I almost had mine out due to chronic strep, now, no doctors will remove them because we now know they are an incredibly important first line of defense for the immune system.  My sister had her adenoids taken out and while her asthma went away, she is like a disease collector now.  She has reoccuring mono and lymes, as well as a parasitic infection.  She is fraught with weird neurological symptoms and pains.  She also has frequent staph infections.  I mean, her immune system is really terrible.  And she is the only one like this in the family.  She even ended up getting chicken pox twice as a child.  I don't know if the two things are related, but maybe whatever caused her incredibly enlarged adenoids is also behind her broken immune system.  Has any of your doctors mentioned why the adenoids become enlarged?

Im planning to rip out all our carpets next week and have unfinished hardwood installed that we will finish ourselves with non-toxic finish.  Im really hoping that will cut down on dust mites, etc.  We got a vacuum robot and have it set to clean every night while we're sleeping so that we can make the indoor air quality better.  Im ordering a HEPA filter for her bedroom.  I saw on a different link a few other recommendations and was wondering if any of you have tried them and how they worked for your LOs: mega vit c doses at first onset of illnesses, eating local raw honey, probiotics and/or kefir, magnesium, zinc coconut oil?  Any success with these?

I started today with no gluten or dairy.  Im going to let her have only my milk from now on.  I may even make her some cheese out of it.  She is absolutely addicted to cheese, we can have a  knockdown drag out over it.  So, taking it away completely would be impossible.  I did hear that symptoms of all gluten allergy induced illnesses can get worse for the first few months before they get better... but Im not sure how long...

This is such a complex issue.  I really had no idea.  And it seems that every child I have met since I found out, the mother tells me that their child also has asthma, like its just part of life here.  Its really saddens me to think about.

[moonlight mom]

We did almost all those things you are thinking of trying including spending tons of money on a naturopathic doc.  I also ripped out his carpet last winter.  I do think that everything has helped a little but not 100%.  This Thursday he is having his adenoids removed.  I made the decision after the ENT said that it was blocking over 85% of his airway.  I did lots of other things initially to try to shrink his adenoids and nothing seems to help - including food elimination and homeopathy.  I am very very nervous because surgery is a complete last resort for me.  But honestly I think it is hereditary.  Both my husband and his sister needed to have theirs removed when they were children and my mother in law said their health improved dramatically after.  My husband never gets sick and has a super immune system so I am hoping that having his adenoids removed will not affect his immune system.  I mean he gets so sick now with the mildest cold.  He missed 19 days of school this year. Please wish me luck - I am so nervous I can't eat!!  I'll report back with how is doing after.

[Peony]

For my DD2, I do know why. She got pertussis as a newborn and has had substantial lung problems ever since. We've done so much, and honestly nothing has helped one bit except the meds. I have spent a fortune on herbs, homopathy, NDs, chiros, on and on. We did rip out most of the carpet in the entire house. Our cats are limited to certain rooms to keep the dander down. I vacuum with a good vac very frequently. I minimize her exposure to as much as I can as far as things that might irritate her lungs. Mattresses are covered for dust mites, bedding washed very frequently, we are very careful about mold. We've messed around with diet changes.

She does not have enlarged tonsils or adenoids. I did have mine removed as a child back when they used to remove them for every thing. For me, it did made a HUGE difference and I know a couple of other children recently that have struggled with symptoms and removal was also helpful. I can't say that it would ever be an easy decision, nothing ever is it seems. 

[BenimBebek]

Yeah, my sisters asthma just disappeared after hers were out!  I definitely think it will help the asthma!!  I wish you tons of luck moolight mom!!  Im glad to know you all tried the more natural methods, even if they werent a big success, at least i know not to spend a fortune on them!!  thanks again for sharing!!!!  I will update if I find anything that really works :)