Allergy & Asthma advice please

[Jenelle]

Hello... I don't venture out of "Life with a babe" very often, but need advice about my older son this time. I'm hoping some of you have BTDT and can help me with this decision.

I could write a long story, but I'll try to make it short instead.

Basically, his problems first started as wheezing with a cold. Dr. told us he had "reactive airways" and that he didn't want to label him with asthma yet, but he prescribed an albuterol inhaler for when he has a cold.

That seemed to make some difference for awhile, we just had to use it about one day out of his cold.

But his colds seem to last for weeks, and then in-between there are days where he wakes up with a cough and runny nose which gets better as the day goes on.

Last month he was having so much trouble breathing with a "cold" that I had to take him to the ER and they had to give him 2 albuterol breathing treatments, only 2 hours apart, to get his oxygen level to a safe level.

So after that episode, they prescribed a nebulizer with albuterol so we could do these breathing treatments at home. They told us that whenever he has a cough, to do these treatments 4 times a day.

Well, I have a problem with giving my kid albuterol 4 times a day, if his cough doesn't seem that bad... It raises his heart rate and makes him pretty "bouncing off the walls"... Plus, I just remember all the times I had a cough when I was little, and I never had breathing treatments 4 times a day...

So I wanted to have him allergy tested, to see what we can eliminate at home to maybe make a difference. He came up allergic to dust and molds mainly. The dr. insists that all his coughing and what seem like colds has actually been his asthma out of control, and prescribed him to take a chewable Singulair once a day for the next month then go back to see him. Also to continue the albuterol every 4 hours whenever he has a cough and/or runny nose.

I felt okay about giving it a month's try until I read the informational insert and read all the possible side effects.

He's only had one pill - yesterday. Now I'm leaning toward getting a HEPA filter for his bedroom, covers for his pillows and mattress, getting the stuffed animals under control, etc. to see what difference I can make for him before giving in to the Singulair.

I guess I'm just looking for your experiences... anyone who wants to share. Suggestions, advice, any thoughts? TIA!

[JaneS]

What is his diet like now?

[amnesiac]

You ought to be doing the environmental controls whether you end up medicating or not. We found that bedroom controls make a huge difference. We cover pillows & mattresses, I vaccuumed and dusted in there at least every other day when we were having problems, removed all but the bare essential stuffed animals, wash linens and stuffed animals weekly in hot water. When we were having trouble the allergist suggested we add several layers of cheesecloth over the air duct opening as a secondary filter. It's something that you can do easily so it's really worthwhile to minimize total exposure load in a child dust and mold sensitive.

[Jenelle]

Thanks for the suggestion about the cheesecloth. I knew about all the other things you said, but hadn't heard that one before. Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but where do you find it?

Oh... Aidan's diet. Let's say, better than most of the kids I know, but still not ideal.

He drinks mostly filtered water, but has the occasional drink of watered-down 100% juice. We haven't bought cow's milk for a couple months at least, but when we did it was organic and he didn't even drink it every day. (When he was younger, any amount of dairy made him break out in red blotches, but he has apparently outgrown that and didn't test positive for dairy allergy at all.) What he did test positive for, though, was soybeans. And he had been drinking a cup of organic soymilk maybe 3-4 days a week. But obviously we will be avoiding that now!

He eats fruit every day - definitely more fruit than veggies. Veggies used to be a huge part of our diet but when I was first pregnant with #2 just the thought of veggies made me sick, and we just got completely off track around here.

He does eat a good variety of foods, so I could type all day about his diet and still never answer what you may want to know...

So far today (we get up late) he's had:

mandarin oranges
pizza-flavored goldfish
organic blueberry yogurt
dried cherry flavored plums
plain Cheerios

We do eat out too much.

But I am aware of "good eating", having battled with Candida problems for years and being on a strict diet to work on that. So we aren't a nitrate family, and if I have an option I do buy organic. But we don't have a good health food store nearby, so we don't get there often enough.

I suspect that Aidan has a Candida problem also. I know it would help to put him on the diet, but man... he's only (almost) 4. I know how hard it is for me to get back on it, I don't know if I can do that to him. He does have sugary snacks at preschool, friends' houses, etc.

Wow, I'm rambling.

[JaneS]

What makes you suspect he has a candida problem? although if he is allergic to molds, I think that is probaby the case. Our experience has shown us that allergies are directly connected to food and the intestinal immune system.... something traditional doctors have no knowledge of. But if you think about it, since 70% of the immune system is in the gut, it makes sense.

Another interesting fact, the beneficial bacteria in the gut weighs several POUNDS in an adult. It's like another organ. It has to play a large role in human health and immunity as the alternative health information has shown. I think you should see a naturopath or holistic doctor for help if you want to pursue this.

If it is true that he has a candida problem, veggies, cultured foods, good fats (coconut, olive, avocado, fish oil), eggs, and meats should be the staples of his diet. Which I know is extremely hard with a young child, we live it everyday but I know I have more control of my almost 2 year old than a 4 year old. However, since I believe I have no alternative but to cure this problem rather than face larger ones, we soldier on.

Refined and processed foods should be completely cut out. Dried fruit is like sugar to yeast. Commercial yogurt doesn't have enough probiotics, he needs really intensive dosages that are in homemade or supplements.

"The Body Ecology Diet" might be helpful to you

[Jenelle]

Jane, thanks so much for your reply. I did not know that much of our immune system is in the gut... I guess I never really thought about where it was before. I also wasn't aware of how much beneficial bacteria we had. I know that probiotics are important... I used to take them on my Candida program and used to give them to Aidan also as a precaution, because I have always believed that he's inherited this yeast overgrowth from me.

Basically I think that when I became pregnant with #2 and was so hormonal/tired/etc. everything just kind of fell apart around here in terms of our diet and health.

In answer to your question, the main things that have made me suspect Aidan has a Candida problem are 1) I wasn't aware of what was going on with me until after I had him, which means I had a huge overgrowth the entire time I was pregnant and breastfeeding him 2) His dairy allergy when younger 3) The bumps on the backs of his arms are just like mine, and I know I have read that those can be caused by yeast... mine disappeared completely when I was on my program.

I know all about what feeds yeast, after doing so much research for myself, and I know what would need to be done for Aidan... I just wish I didn't have to do that with him... but being in denial about it isn't going to help either.

I haven't heard about "The Body Ecology Diet" so I will have to check that out. Thanks for the recommendation. I was going to ask if anyone recommended any books about kids & allergies/asthma.

For three days now, he has been unable to breathe right - we've been giving him the Singulair, albuterol every 4 hours, and today that just wasn't cutting it so we had to go get Prednisone also for him to take for 5 days. I don't know if he actually has a cold, if it is a reaction to the allergy testing - or both - we are getting so much conflicting information.

I did buy a HEPA cleaner for his room, and covers for his pillows and mattress.

I am planning to take him to an N.D. who does Biological Terrain Assessment testing. He was too yound when we were doing it a couple years ago, because you have to be able to collect spit in a cup... but I'm hoping he can do it now.

Any other suggestions, or stories from those of you who've been where we're at and gotten out of it naturally, are more than welcome!