Asthma? « Back to Group Discussions

[imakecutebabies]

Do any of you have experience with asthma? I brought babe in to see our Dr. this morning because our whole house has been sick with a cold and his breathing had become pretty labored. He's only been sick 2 days, I've been putting him in a steam shower twice a day and suctioning any mucus every 2 hours. I really was just expecting her to say, oh, he has a cold, it'll go away soon.... Instead she gave him two doses of albuterol and sent me home with a steroid prescription, a nebulizer, and instructions to bring him to the ER tonight if he gets worse. 

I'm kind of in shock because I just have no experience with this at all. My girls both wheezed a little bit with a cold here and there and it was fine. I don't feel like I know where the line is... when do I know his breathing is not ok? 

I'm going to do some more research, but just would love any real info from you guys if you've dealt with this before. We just moved to NYC so this doctor is new to me, she is very sweet and knowledgeable but has no kids of her own... I'm thinking about calling my old pediatrician of 8 years back home.

Thanks guys~ 

[AfricanQueen99]

My only experience of allergies that cause asthma-symptoms is with my son (2.75).  It would get *really* bad and he wouldn't be able to breath b/c he's literally allergic to anything and everything throughout every season.

Anyway, you can tell when the line is hit.  You'll hear baby and think "That's not right" and give a hit off the inhaler...and it will work.  You got the RX for the mouth/nose coverer-thingy, right?  I don't think you could use an inhaler on such a little one, otherwise.

And I'm just throwing this out there, but feel free to ignore.  A good friend of mine has a daughter that is also allergic to everything and started giving her a teaspoon of cod liver oil every morning - it worked.  So I tried it on my son and weaned him off the FIVE MEDICATIONS he required daily (and we aren't a medication-y family).  Anyway, I think I remember reading in my "research" (all online) that it worked for asthma, too, as so many kids with allergies have asthma.  Just a thought.  Since we started using CLO we've only had one outbreak and that was on vacation so there were so many new environmental things to consider.

[imakecutebabies]

Ok, CLO noted, thank you! I am not a medication person either. A women in the office today told me she gives her son claritin everyday on top of inhalers. That sounded intense to me. I hate the idea of taking any medications regularly like that. I did give him some medicine today at the dr's but even that I was dubious about! 

I'm actually starting to think it may be a misdiagnosis and maybe he has bronchitis, although I have no experience with that either. Wouldn't is be more common for him to get bronchitis from a cold? I don't know... I'm reading more into it, the two sound similar but I know quiet a few people who've told me their kids had a case of mild bronchitis. 

In other news, babe has sprouted FIVE teeth just today! oh boy, poor kid. He is in good spirits though! 

[Kindermama]

My 2nd DD was diagnosed with asthma just after turning one. I still have the inhaler mouth piece shaped like a duck face! I never did give her the meds and she was quite wheezy anytime she got a cold for a year or so afterwards. Steroids are major drugs and I would do anything and everything before I gave steroids to my baby...including waiting it out. She did have allergies and eczema and those things kinda go hand in hand with asthmatic symptoms. Does your baby have either? I'm happy to report that dd2 did outgrow the wheezing. We did use homeopathy and herbal meds. I cannot remember which ones. Have you considered alternative practitioners? He clearly has a predisposition to get the wheezing and alternative medicines offers more than allopathic medicine in terms of healing up that predisposition. 

[element2012]

My little brother had asthma as a baby, I was 10 when he was born and I remember how scary that was.  I don't think they gave him steroids, but a nebulizer and albuterol were a mainstay in our house, and we did have to make an ER trip once or twice.  He also outgrew the asthma.

Did your doc say that your LO has asthma though? Because our ped prescribed albuterol for DD when she had a tough cold with some nasty congestion in her lungs.  I think it might be standard procedure to prescribe albuterol for nasty congestion for littles. The albuterol was just to open her up to get that congestion out, but she didn't say DD has asthma, more like this was just an acute thing.  We were waiting out her cold, until we heard the congestion in her chest.  We only used the nebulizer a handful of times, and she started getting better quickly. 

You'll know when there is something to worry about with the breathing. How's your little guy feeling now?

[imakecutebabies]

Nico's congestion is clearing up, so he's doing good. He did have pretty serious eczema (which I didn't realize could be related to asthma until now). My husband also had asthma as a baby and a young kid, my brother did too. I talked with our Dr. again after my last post and she said she would not diagnose him with asthma this early, but he may have a disposition for it. He was only sick for 2 days! I think my 7 year old must have brought RSV home from school or something. 

The thing that really shook me up and bothered me the most was that I, as the mother, felt like he was breathing heavy, but normal... however when I got to the doctor's office she felt as if he might need to go to the ER. After 3 kids, I just feel like I should have known better... and I'm still not entirely convinced he was really breathing that heavy. I do think this doctor is probably not the right one for me though because her jump to push medicine without clearly explaining to me why he needed them really bothers me. I hate when doctor's make you feel like you only have one option and you have to do it immediately. UGH! I guess I'm just new to these medicines and this doctor. My old doc never prescribed anything for colds! haha

My sister told me today that whistling is good for asthma though.. it's calming to the lungs and so if we ever get to that point, I'm going to at least have a good whistler in the house ;)