Asthmatic Bronchitis? Healing and Prevention?

[mrsbernstein]

My husband is on his way home from the Urgent Care where he was diagnosed with Asthmatic Bronchitis.  Of course, they have sent him home with script for an inhaler and prednisone and cough medicine.

I know he's going to take them all b/c he holds Drs in very high regard.  His wife, not so much.

What can I be giving him along with those three that will speed healing and keep his body from being damaged by the prescriptions?

Secondly, what do me and our 7th month old need to be taking to KEEP healthy while DH is going through this?

Thnak you!

Mrs B

[skreader]

My son has asthmatic episodes and one of his "triggers" is an upper respiratory tract infection. Inhalers can really help. It's torture to watch someone you love struggle for breath and so I'm glad he can use his "puffer" to help draw breath. So, I would first of all not assume that the medicine that your husband has received  at a hospital is bad or life-threatening.

I think it would be useful to consider a two-prong apprach.  No. 1 - How to help your husband recover from this acute situation; and No. 2 - how to help HIM learn ro manage his asthma (or wheezing episodes).

For the present situation - encourage him to follow the doctor's suggestions. Do what you can to help his body and mind get strong.

1. Warm or hot liquids - Warm or hot soup (not cream or milk based) - can help provide needed liquid, they also can help soothe his chest. If there is ginger or garlic, that heatiness may provide comfort for him and loosen the phlegm in his chest.  Avoid mikk or cream-based soups for this while because some say they make one more phlegmy.

Warm teas or hot juices can also help. For example, some hot lemon & honey, or orange juice mixed w/ hot water and some honey (if he has a sweet tooth).

2. Sleep - If he has had problems breathing, he may have had problems sleeping. Sleep is a great healer.

3. Comfort and calm - try and be as calm and supporting as you can. He may have been very scared about being in a hospital, unable to breathe, worrying about you and your LO as well.

All of the above probably can help you and the baby too. :)

Future Management

Has your DH wheezed and had problems in the past, or is this something new?  If old,how has handled it in the past?

If new, help him tofigure out what are his triggers.  After my son had his first asthmatic attack, we learned about common triggers and you might want to go over them w/ your DH. The CDC lists these as common ones:

http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/triggers.html

For my son, mold, pollen, dust mites & environmental air pollution can trigger his wheezing. A head cold is a HUGE trigger. I found his label, "an intermittent viral wheezer" :)

  We also changed his bedding (removed stuff w/ feathers), got rid of most of the soft toys from his room (thank goodness he was over 10), and washed his ceiling and dusted more often. This helped.

It's best that your husband learn more about his medical condition and take it as HIS responsibility  manage it. He may need to take a "preventer" to keep things from becoming acute. My son for a while was taking 1 puff of pulmicort which is a "corticosteroid". It sometimes gave him mouth ulcers, so he had to remember to rinse thoroughly after using it & we had to remind him.

He should try and eat healthily, but at this point there seems to be no "anti-asthma" diets.

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/asthma-diet/AN01998

I wish him and you all the best of health and peace of mind.

[MamasBoys]

I just started a threat in this forum called "How a Naturopath cured my son's asthma" although I'm not sure it would help much for an adult who isn't too keen on naturopathic treatment.