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Asthma in toddlers
This topic was originally posted in this forum: Alternative and Complementary Medicine
Author Topic: Asthma in toddlers
ligia ribeiro bernardet
Member posted 07-07-2000 05:21 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have a 20 month old daughter that has been diagnosed twice with bronquiolitis. This is a form of alergic asthma. The doctor does not call it asthma because asthma is a chronic disease, and in her case she does not know if it will be chronic or not.
Her symptoms are bronchio-spasm (contraction of the bronquios), very mild shortness of breath and a lot of mucous in the chest. Her general activity level is fine, she eats well and is a happy child.
She is being treated with conventional medicine (beta-blockers, bronchio expanders and anti-inflamatories) but I would like to start a natural treatment to prevent new occurrences.
I have not taken the step of asthma-proofing my house. We live in Brasilia, Brazil. The doctor wants me to throw all couches and stuffed animals out, get rid of cat and dog etc. Just seems so extreme. Or am I in denial?
Any ideas?
Ligia
Esther
Junior Member posted 07-07-2000 10:40 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: Asthma in toddlers
My 3.5 yr old was asthmatic from birth. I had tried 2 different homeopaths, and several different remedies. We finally found the right remedy around October 1999. He was asthma free until March, when he consumed large amounts of green dyed colored food for a St. Patricks Day party. He relapsed briefly. We had started on the Feingold Diet (see www.feingold.org) and Mothering magazines article on ADHD and diet, for my older son who was diagnosed ADHD, about six months ago. The health benefit of eating foods without artificial preservatives, flavors, colors as well as a few other things, has been felt through the whole family. I haven't changed anything else at home. I put myself on the diet too, and my headbanging, non sleeping breastfed 19 month old baby changed too. She no longer bangs her head when angry, and she naps during the day. You can access all the information free of charge by checking into the website. Good luck, and good health.
Cynthia in Arabia
Moderator posted 07-09-2000 05:20 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Ligia,
One of my children had bronchial difficulties as a baby but fortunately it is under control now. It started out as bronchiolitis which, according to my medical texts, is a lower respiratory viral infection involving widespread inflammation of the bronchi and bronchioles, the small airways that are in the lungs. The viral infection causes these airways to swell, produce mucus and possibly spasms and contractions just as occurs with asthma. My son was treated with basically the same medications as your daughter is being treated. There was not much improvement and attacks were frequent. We went from doctor to doctor searching for someone who could offer something new. We finally found a specialist who informed us that the bronchiolitis was now actually asthma and was probably helped into being by the drugs he had been given. He changed the medications and included desensitization injections which started out weekly and over the course of two years faded to monthly until completed. It did help but if I knew then what I know now I probably wouldn't have gone the allopathic medications route. His asthma still exists but attacks are rare. I discovered that giving him a peppermint patty to suck on helped with a mild attack. I have also found a homeopathic remedy that helps. We now reserve the drugs for a serious event and own a nebulizer because of the severity of the attacks he faced in the past. But basically we have become aware of exactly what he is sensitive to and we try to avoid those things as much as possible, particularly cats and cigarette smoke. Now his attacks are extremely rare - once or twice a year perhaps.
My advise would be to take your doctor's advise about asthma-proofing your house and lifestyle- at least to start with. That is the very first step in natural treatment. It does seem unreasonable to get rid of your couches. Perhaps you could give them a good cleaning and then put a thick, washable cover over them for day-to-day living. Frequent washing of the cover will do away with any irritants that may collect and threaten your daughter's sensitivities. There are many things that you can do that are not drastic. If you have drapes that you only wash seasonally you could pack them away and put up machine washable ones (I've used sheets in a pinch ) Replace feather or cotton bed pillows with hypo-allergenic ones or at least polyester-filled ones. Keep only stuffed animals that are washable and wash them frequently in water hot enough to kill dust mites. Because you can't do the same as successfully with animals I'd put pets outside or give them away. Change bedding frequently. An air filtration system is also very beneficial. If you can't afford it for the entire house then at least one for your child's bedroom which can be moved to whatever room she is playing in during the day. I know that sounds too defining for an active toddler, but if it helps you may find keeping the things that interest her in the area of the house where you're running the air filter. If you find that these simple measures reduce her attacks then you know you're on the right track. Keep searching. When she has an attack think of what might have brought it on. Carpet can be a source of problems too because it can hold so much that irritates her. I know replacing carpet can be a crippling expense so I would suggest you try all of other suggestions first, keep your carpets very, very clean, and see if there's improvement.
Did your doctor give you any dietary advise? Because your daughter has excess mucous production I would make sure she doesn't get any milk or milk products nor any products that contain milk such as breads. Bake your own breads, cakes, cookies and such without milk. She should always get plenty of water to help thin secretions. And if her attacks are excessive I'd suggest keeping a food diary to help pinpoint any problem foods. Include everything that enters her mouth and make notes of her attacks in this diary whenever they occur.
As for natural treatments, I can suggest thyme tea to help thin the secretions. A thyme bath is a possibility if your child won't drink the tea. Or 5 drops of thyme or eucalyptus tincture mixed with a little olive oil and massaged into her back will help her relax and breathe easier. Esther's suggestion of homeopathic remedies is also a possibility. Do you have a homeopath or naturopath in your area that you can consult? I would also suggest that you try to strengthen her immune system. You can give her astragalus for this, one-half the recommended dosage three times a day for two weeks. Begin this when she does not have a fever or infection. Another possibility is NAET which is a muscle testing and acupressure treatment for allergies. You'll find info on this at www.naet.com
Good luck to you and your family.
Cynthia
ligia ribeiro bernardet
Member posted 07-10-2000 12:24 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HI,
I really appreciated the replies. It is great to be able to exchange ideas with other people.
I could not access the diet site suggested by Esther. There might be a problem with the server. But I understood the general idea: avoid junk food. We are somewhat natural eaters, but in Brazil it is much harder than in the US to find organic foods.
I will look into asthma-proofing my house. I do have n an indoors cat, and I have no idea how to part with him. The doctor recommended a dust-mite shampoo. I may try that. He will not like it!!
The doctor made no dietary suggestions, except drinking fluids. I put Alici on goat's milk. Is it less allergenic? The doctor said that was unimportant.
I use a humidifier, and I may get a purifier. The weather here is extremely dry half of the year. The other half it pours continuosly. On the dry season, there are a a lot of fires around, and the air gets thick. Really thick.
Alici never really had an attack. Her condition seems to come slowly. She has a cold, and produces a lot of mucous, her breathing gets shallow, but she is still functioning just fine. I take her to the doctor, and she is diagnosed with bronchiolitis. So I'd characterize it as a mild condition. Both times she got the diagnostic I was surprised to know that she
was having an "attack".
Well thanks again for the advice, and if you have other sites of alternative medicine to point me to I would appreciate.
Ligia
Cynthia in Arabia
Moderator posted 07-28-2000 06:23 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seems the poly-filled pillows are not such a good idea after all. Dr. Mercola's Optimal Wellness newsletter has an article on this topic. Do a search for "pillows" on his site - www.mercola.com and it should come up.
edited to remove the full article.
~Cynthia
[This message has been edited by Cynthia in Arabia (edited 07-25-2001).]
Chava
Member posted 07-28-2000 01:50 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bronchiolitis is *not* an allergic condition, but a result of a virus - usually RSV. If this is the case, then your daughter will probably outgrow the problem by around the 2 year mark. If it is reactive airway disease (asthma) it may be a more chronic problem and you may need to consult an allergist to identify triggers. There are other respiratory diseases that look like repeats of bronchiolitis that your dr. should rule out.
ligia ribeiro bernardet
Member posted 07-31-2000 06:46 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The comment by Chava is very interesting. I searched bronchiolitis on the Internet and found the same answer: it is *NOT* an allergic disease. But the doctor insists that it is.
My daughter has been through several allegy tests and she did NOT test positive, which reinforces Chava's thesis.
Which other diseases were you thinking when you said that there are diseases that might look like bronchiolitis?
Ligia
Chava
Member posted 07-31-2000 11:15 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The diseases to be ruled out would be pneumonia and CF. However the most likely scenario would be an infection with RSV in infancy (most common in winter) or other virus, and then subsequent respiratory problems until around age 2.
In health,
Chava
christine
Member posted 09-01-2000 11:12 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HI! MY THREE CHILDREN AND I ALL HAVE HAD REACTIVE ASTHMA. MY TWO GIRLS BOTH GOT BRONCHIOLITIS AND RELATED AILMENTS TWICE. BOTH HAD MILD ASTHMA AFTER THESE AILMENTS FOR MONTHS. THE DOCTORS PRESCRIBED ALBUTEROL (ORAL OR INHALED). MY DAUGHTER WOULD TURN BLUE FROM IT, CRY AND SAID IT BURNED. AFTER THE FIRST COURSE OF THIS, I REFUSED TO ADMINISTER IT AND HAD TO CHANGE DOCTORS A FEW TIMES UNTIL I FOUND ONE WHO COULD HELP ME. SHE IS AN MD FROM CHINA WHO IS COMFORTABLE WITH BOTH HERBS AND PHARMACUETICALS. SHE PRESCRIBED LOBELLIA FOR THE BRONCHOSPASMS AND AN ALLERGY FREE DIET. I ALSO COVERED MY BEDS, PILLOWS ETC, VACUMED AND DUSTED CONTANTLY ETC. FOR US, THE LOBELLIA WORKS WONDERS. WHEN I WAS PREGNANT, MY ASTHMA BECAME SEVERE. I DIDN'T WANT THE INHALER SO I TRIED THE HERB. IT WAS MIRACULOUS-JUST AS EFFECTIVE BUT TOOK UP TO 30MIN TO WORK. I USE THE HERBS THAT MY DOCTOR RECOMMENDS AND I LOVE THE QUALITY OF PRODUCTS. I HAVE NO ASSOCIATION WITH THE COMPANY BUT I DON'T THINK I CAN NAME THEM ON THIS SITE SO IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, EMAIL ME AND I'LL LET YOU KNOW. ALSO, MY 5 YEAR OLD SEEMS TO HAVE OUTGROWN THIS PROBLEM.
BEST OF LUCK.
Cynthia in Arabia
Moderator posted 09-03-2000 02:21 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
True Christine, most children do seem to outgrow asthma. Mine did to an extent. His flareups are very rare and only when exposed to something he is highly sensitive to, which in his case is cats. Living in Arabia he doesn't face much difficulty since keeping pets is not a habit as it is in other countries. But he has a terrible time when we go home to visit family in the US.
I am assuming that he became less and less sensitive to other allergens as he got older so perhaps that is the natural course of asthma in children.
~Cynthia
Alternative and Complementary Medicine Archive
Asthma in toddlers
This topic was originally posted in this forum: Alternative and Complementary Medicine
Author Topic: Asthma in toddlers
ligia ribeiro bernardet
Member posted 07-07-2000 05:21 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have a 20 month old daughter that has been diagnosed twice with bronquiolitis. This is a form of alergic asthma. The doctor does not call it asthma because asthma is a chronic disease, and in her case she does not know if it will be chronic or not.
Her symptoms are bronchio-spasm (contraction of the bronquios), very mild shortness of breath and a lot of mucous in the chest. Her general activity level is fine, she eats well and is a happy child.
She is being treated with conventional medicine (beta-blockers, bronchio expanders and anti-inflamatories) but I would like to start a natural treatment to prevent new occurrences.
I have not taken the step of asthma-proofing my house. We live in Brasilia, Brazil. The doctor wants me to throw all couches and stuffed animals out, get rid of cat and dog etc. Just seems so extreme. Or am I in denial?
Any ideas?
Ligia
Esther
Junior Member posted 07-07-2000 10:40 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re: Asthma in toddlers
My 3.5 yr old was asthmatic from birth. I had tried 2 different homeopaths, and several different remedies. We finally found the right remedy around October 1999. He was asthma free until March, when he consumed large amounts of green dyed colored food for a St. Patricks Day party. He relapsed briefly. We had started on the Feingold Diet (see www.feingold.org) and Mothering magazines article on ADHD and diet, for my older son who was diagnosed ADHD, about six months ago. The health benefit of eating foods without artificial preservatives, flavors, colors as well as a few other things, has been felt through the whole family. I haven't changed anything else at home. I put myself on the diet too, and my headbanging, non sleeping breastfed 19 month old baby changed too. She no longer bangs her head when angry, and she naps during the day. You can access all the information free of charge by checking into the website. Good luck, and good health.
Cynthia in Arabia
Moderator posted 07-09-2000 05:20 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi Ligia,
One of my children had bronchial difficulties as a baby but fortunately it is under control now. It started out as bronchiolitis which, according to my medical texts, is a lower respiratory viral infection involving widespread inflammation of the bronchi and bronchioles, the small airways that are in the lungs. The viral infection causes these airways to swell, produce mucus and possibly spasms and contractions just as occurs with asthma. My son was treated with basically the same medications as your daughter is being treated. There was not much improvement and attacks were frequent. We went from doctor to doctor searching for someone who could offer something new. We finally found a specialist who informed us that the bronchiolitis was now actually asthma and was probably helped into being by the drugs he had been given. He changed the medications and included desensitization injections which started out weekly and over the course of two years faded to monthly until completed. It did help but if I knew then what I know now I probably wouldn't have gone the allopathic medications route. His asthma still exists but attacks are rare. I discovered that giving him a peppermint patty to suck on helped with a mild attack. I have also found a homeopathic remedy that helps. We now reserve the drugs for a serious event and own a nebulizer because of the severity of the attacks he faced in the past. But basically we have become aware of exactly what he is sensitive to and we try to avoid those things as much as possible, particularly cats and cigarette smoke. Now his attacks are extremely rare - once or twice a year perhaps.
My advise would be to take your doctor's advise about asthma-proofing your house and lifestyle- at least to start with. That is the very first step in natural treatment. It does seem unreasonable to get rid of your couches. Perhaps you could give them a good cleaning and then put a thick, washable cover over them for day-to-day living. Frequent washing of the cover will do away with any irritants that may collect and threaten your daughter's sensitivities. There are many things that you can do that are not drastic. If you have drapes that you only wash seasonally you could pack them away and put up machine washable ones (I've used sheets in a pinch ) Replace feather or cotton bed pillows with hypo-allergenic ones or at least polyester-filled ones. Keep only stuffed animals that are washable and wash them frequently in water hot enough to kill dust mites. Because you can't do the same as successfully with animals I'd put pets outside or give them away. Change bedding frequently. An air filtration system is also very beneficial. If you can't afford it for the entire house then at least one for your child's bedroom which can be moved to whatever room she is playing in during the day. I know that sounds too defining for an active toddler, but if it helps you may find keeping the things that interest her in the area of the house where you're running the air filter. If you find that these simple measures reduce her attacks then you know you're on the right track. Keep searching. When she has an attack think of what might have brought it on. Carpet can be a source of problems too because it can hold so much that irritates her. I know replacing carpet can be a crippling expense so I would suggest you try all of other suggestions first, keep your carpets very, very clean, and see if there's improvement.
Did your doctor give you any dietary advise? Because your daughter has excess mucous production I would make sure she doesn't get any milk or milk products nor any products that contain milk such as breads. Bake your own breads, cakes, cookies and such without milk. She should always get plenty of water to help thin secretions. And if her attacks are excessive I'd suggest keeping a food diary to help pinpoint any problem foods. Include everything that enters her mouth and make notes of her attacks in this diary whenever they occur.
As for natural treatments, I can suggest thyme tea to help thin the secretions. A thyme bath is a possibility if your child won't drink the tea. Or 5 drops of thyme or eucalyptus tincture mixed with a little olive oil and massaged into her back will help her relax and breathe easier. Esther's suggestion of homeopathic remedies is also a possibility. Do you have a homeopath or naturopath in your area that you can consult? I would also suggest that you try to strengthen her immune system. You can give her astragalus for this, one-half the recommended dosage three times a day for two weeks. Begin this when she does not have a fever or infection. Another possibility is NAET which is a muscle testing and acupressure treatment for allergies. You'll find info on this at www.naet.com
Good luck to you and your family.
Cynthia
ligia ribeiro bernardet
Member posted 07-10-2000 12:24 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HI,
I really appreciated the replies. It is great to be able to exchange ideas with other people.
I could not access the diet site suggested by Esther. There might be a problem with the server. But I understood the general idea: avoid junk food. We are somewhat natural eaters, but in Brazil it is much harder than in the US to find organic foods.
I will look into asthma-proofing my house. I do have n an indoors cat, and I have no idea how to part with him. The doctor recommended a dust-mite shampoo. I may try that. He will not like it!!
The doctor made no dietary suggestions, except drinking fluids. I put Alici on goat's milk. Is it less allergenic? The doctor said that was unimportant.
I use a humidifier, and I may get a purifier. The weather here is extremely dry half of the year. The other half it pours continuosly. On the dry season, there are a a lot of fires around, and the air gets thick. Really thick.
Alici never really had an attack. Her condition seems to come slowly. She has a cold, and produces a lot of mucous, her breathing gets shallow, but she is still functioning just fine. I take her to the doctor, and she is diagnosed with bronchiolitis. So I'd characterize it as a mild condition. Both times she got the diagnostic I was surprised to know that she
was having an "attack".
Well thanks again for the advice, and if you have other sites of alternative medicine to point me to I would appreciate.
Ligia
Cynthia in Arabia
Moderator posted 07-28-2000 06:23 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Seems the poly-filled pillows are not such a good idea after all. Dr. Mercola's Optimal Wellness newsletter has an article on this topic. Do a search for "pillows" on his site - www.mercola.com and it should come up.
edited to remove the full article.
~Cynthia
[This message has been edited by Cynthia in Arabia (edited 07-25-2001).]
Chava
Member posted 07-28-2000 01:50 PM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bronchiolitis is *not* an allergic condition, but a result of a virus - usually RSV. If this is the case, then your daughter will probably outgrow the problem by around the 2 year mark. If it is reactive airway disease (asthma) it may be a more chronic problem and you may need to consult an allergist to identify triggers. There are other respiratory diseases that look like repeats of bronchiolitis that your dr. should rule out.
ligia ribeiro bernardet
Member posted 07-31-2000 06:46 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The comment by Chava is very interesting. I searched bronchiolitis on the Internet and found the same answer: it is *NOT* an allergic disease. But the doctor insists that it is.
My daughter has been through several allegy tests and she did NOT test positive, which reinforces Chava's thesis.
Which other diseases were you thinking when you said that there are diseases that might look like bronchiolitis?
Ligia
Chava
Member posted 07-31-2000 11:15 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The diseases to be ruled out would be pneumonia and CF. However the most likely scenario would be an infection with RSV in infancy (most common in winter) or other virus, and then subsequent respiratory problems until around age 2.
In health,
Chava
christine
Member posted 09-01-2000 11:12 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HI! MY THREE CHILDREN AND I ALL HAVE HAD REACTIVE ASTHMA. MY TWO GIRLS BOTH GOT BRONCHIOLITIS AND RELATED AILMENTS TWICE. BOTH HAD MILD ASTHMA AFTER THESE AILMENTS FOR MONTHS. THE DOCTORS PRESCRIBED ALBUTEROL (ORAL OR INHALED). MY DAUGHTER WOULD TURN BLUE FROM IT, CRY AND SAID IT BURNED. AFTER THE FIRST COURSE OF THIS, I REFUSED TO ADMINISTER IT AND HAD TO CHANGE DOCTORS A FEW TIMES UNTIL I FOUND ONE WHO COULD HELP ME. SHE IS AN MD FROM CHINA WHO IS COMFORTABLE WITH BOTH HERBS AND PHARMACUETICALS. SHE PRESCRIBED LOBELLIA FOR THE BRONCHOSPASMS AND AN ALLERGY FREE DIET. I ALSO COVERED MY BEDS, PILLOWS ETC, VACUMED AND DUSTED CONTANTLY ETC. FOR US, THE LOBELLIA WORKS WONDERS. WHEN I WAS PREGNANT, MY ASTHMA BECAME SEVERE. I DIDN'T WANT THE INHALER SO I TRIED THE HERB. IT WAS MIRACULOUS-JUST AS EFFECTIVE BUT TOOK UP TO 30MIN TO WORK. I USE THE HERBS THAT MY DOCTOR RECOMMENDS AND I LOVE THE QUALITY OF PRODUCTS. I HAVE NO ASSOCIATION WITH THE COMPANY BUT I DON'T THINK I CAN NAME THEM ON THIS SITE SO IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, EMAIL ME AND I'LL LET YOU KNOW. ALSO, MY 5 YEAR OLD SEEMS TO HAVE OUTGROWN THIS PROBLEM.
BEST OF LUCK.
Cynthia in Arabia
Moderator posted 09-03-2000 02:21 AM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
True Christine, most children do seem to outgrow asthma. Mine did to an extent. His flareups are very rare and only when exposed to something he is highly sensitive to, which in his case is cats. Living in Arabia he doesn't face much difficulty since keeping pets is not a habit as it is in other countries. But he has a terrible time when we go home to visit family in the US.
I am assuming that he became less and less sensitive to other allergens as he got older so perhaps that is the natural course of asthma in children.
~Cynthia
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