[expecting-joy]

<p>This is just a little vent/pitty thread. I just feel so helpless and so wish I could cure her. I know it's not the worst disease to have, but the poor thing coughs for hours and hours every night when it's bad. I can't think of any new things to do. We've tried all kinds of alternative therapies, steroids, taken her off egg and dairy and garlic (secondary allergies), try to keep her room as clean and clear of triggers as possible.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Anyway, that's all. Thanks for listening. <span><img alt="greensad.gif" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/greensad.gif"></span></p>

 

[Lisa1970]

<p>Does she have a ceiling fan going in her room? I cannot have a ceiling fan going or I cough like crazy.</p>

 

[expecting-joy]

<p>No, just an air purifier.</p>

 

[nextcommercial]

<p>My daughter has always had problems.  It got a lot worse when we moved.  She also joined marching band, and she happens to be allergic to cut grass.  (like the kind on the football field)  So, it's one of those things she must live with.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>BUT, last winter, we had a house flood.  So, I had to have all the carpets, flooring, and baseboards replaced.  Other than one bad incident with asthma and allergies in August, she's been miraculously healthy ever since last winter.  *knock on wood*</p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, I am going to assume it was the carpets causing her problems since we moved here.  What I thought were allergies, might only have been mold or something else in the carpets.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>(We also put her mattress in a allergy cover.  I bought it at Walmart for $20)</p>

 

[expecting-joy]

<p>Thanks. Yes, I'm concerned there may still be something in our house bothering her. We do live in a very old house in a very moldy part of the world.  She does have an allergy cover on her mattress, but we can't afford to do anything about the flooring right now. I will see what we can do, though. We do humidify her room most of the year (blown air heat right now), so we do try to make sure nothing can grow in there.</p>

 

[MCatLvrMom2A&X]

My dd suffers with asthma as well. It is so hard sometimes. She has been on singular since she was 3 and now is on advair as well and we started allergy shots awhile back and she is doing pretty good. Though yesterday was a bad wheezing day for her she had to use her rescue inhaler twice <img alt="greensad.gif" class="bbcode_smiley" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/greensad.gif"><br><br>
Her allergist told me when she was 3 she had a really good shot at growing out of the asthma but at 10 it is actually more of an issue than it was back then.

 

[baglady]

<p>Poor thing!  Just for some encouragement, I'll tell you my own asthma story.  I have a much milder case than I had as a child.  During allergy season (and pregnancies) I take Advair daily and often at other times of the year I don't need any medication at all.  I personally do really well in cold weather.  I almost never require an emergency inhaler now (I literally get it filled once a year).  As a child I was always taking several inhalers and needed breathing treatments often.  In fact, my asthma pretty much disappeared at puberty and returned in my early 20s as a much milder case.  My doc told me that it's not uncommon.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I know flooring can be expensive, but a cheap fix that the hubs and I did in our old house was pull up the carpet ourselves and lay down linoleum sticky tiles.  There's a special paint you can put right on top of the subfloor, then the tiles go on top.  You can find them for well under $1.00 per square foot at the big box hardware stores.  I'm pretty sure they aren't very green and crunchy but removing the carpet has had a huge impact on my own allergy/asthma problem. </p>

 

[Mama2Bug]

<p>I'll chime in with another personal anecdote, to give you some hope. I had awful Asthma as a child. It was bad enough to keep me from being able to run in gym class. I also had multiple allergies, both environmental and food-related. I took three different prescription medications and benedryl every, single day. I also took allergy shots twice a week. Throughout elementary school, my allergies tapered off until they were 100% environmental. By the beginning of Junior High, I took no medication of any kind, except for over-the-counter stuff during peak allergy season. By eighth grade, I was declared absolutely free of Asthma, <em>with no indication that I had ever had it at all</em>.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I have never had another Asthma attack- not even during years of smoking in my late teens and twenties!</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I also have a much younger half-brother who had Asthma and allergies. His were much, much worse than mine. While he still has some environmental allergies and one or two food allergies, his Asthma is completely in remission. He hasn't given it a second thought since high school and actually went to college on a baseball scholorship.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>There's hope!</p>

 

[DariusMom]

<p> I don't know how old your DD is, but my DS was diagnosed with asthma when he was 2.5. Every winter was a drama and any slight cold somehow seemed to turn into hours of coughing at night. He had to use an inhaler and was miserable. By the time he was five, it was mostly gone. He'll turn 8 on Wednesday and he hasn't had more than a very mild cold (knock on wood!) in a few years and we haven't used the inhaler since he was four or five.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I have to be honest, though, and say that I'm not sure he ever had asthma, per se (though I know the definition of asthma is pretty broad . .. . ). I think he had what my grandmother would have called "weak lungs". He was a kid who had every single cold go to his lungs, basically. The inhalers did help, though. They keeps his bronchial passages open, but he ultimately needed to outgrow it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hope this happens to your dd, OP!</p>

 

[Peony]

<p>If she is coughing for hours and hours then it isn't well controlled. I really urge you to go to a pedi pulmonologist, someone who specializes in lungs. She needs a better treatment plan. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>DD2 has been on an inhaler since she was 1, we just were going their the pedi office. While I really like my pedi, many offices are not up to date on the latest and greatest in asthma treatment. Fast forward 3 full years until this fall, DD2 was coughing all night anytime she had any congestion, which is all the time, the child is always sick. Her asthma is mostly viral triggered. It has been so bad that we have had a standing order for codeine cough syrup for years now just so she can get some sleep at night. I went to a specialist, we tried Singular and 2 nebs twice a day instead of just doing them when she was ill. Guess what, no coughing anymore! For the first time in her life she is well rested. While  I dislike that she is on meds, it is not optional at this point, her asthma needs to be controlled. We created an entire treatment plan, covered things for dust mites, we had already torn out most of the carpet for her, keeping pet dander to a mininium which I was already doing. Inspecting the house for mold. Moist air at night has been helpful, I have to be careful about mold in there as well. As a result of the meds she also is not getting as sick as she used, such a big relief. We just went a couple weeks ago and she was decleared "good to go for a year"! I never thought I would hear that. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Toddler assisting, excuse typos. </p>

 

[dakotablue]

<p><br>
 </p>
<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>Peony</strong> <a href="/community/forum/thread/1283737/asthma-please-tell-me-she-ll-outgrow-this-some-day#post_16096049"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/community/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style="border:0px solid;"></a><br><br><p>If she is coughing for hours and hours then it isn't well controlled. I really urge you to go to a pedi pulmonologist, someone who specializes in lungs. She needs a better treatment plan. </p>
<p> </p>
</div>
</div>
<p>This please.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Even if she is still being exposed to things she shouldn't be coughing for hours. I have/had severe asthma since I was two. As an adult I found a gluten free diet changed my life and I rarely have attacks now, I'm entirely un medicated now. The 'tests' did not come back as my being allergic to gluten. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Please do get checked and try another combination of medications as well as continue to explore other routes. <span><img alt="hug2.gif" src="http://files.mothering.com/images/smilies/hug2.gif"> Its scary and hard. I am sorry. I'm really hoping none of mine end up with it.</span></p>

 

[expecting-joy]

<p>Thank you all so much for sharing your stories and thoughts. I am taking her to the ped today for her annual asthma check-up. I'll see what he recommends.</p>

 

[lilyka]

<p>My dd used to have issues.  She still does sometimes but not as bad and not at home.  It literally stopped THE DAY we pulled up all the carpet and went to hard wood floors.   What we found under the carpet is unspeakable (over 40 gallons of dust and the traffic area was soft and midewy.  and the carpets had just been cleaned.  So gross.) but she quickly has a relapse if she spends more than a few days in a place with carpet.  Even a place with brand new carpets nearly landed us in an ER while we were on vacation once.  and the house we were staying was spotless.  Rarely used but still had a cleaning lady come in weekly.    Back to our carpet though....she actually stopped int he middle of a breathing treatment.  And has never had another.  </p>
<p> </p>
<p>I am not saying that is the cure for everyone but if you have carpet in your house it would certainly be worth a shot to get rid of it.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>She is 14 now.  her last asthma treatment was right before her 6th birthday.  The vacation was when she was about 7 1/2 and that was the last time she really had trouble.   I do not think she has outgrown it though.  i think if we laid down wall to wall carpet she would be just as sick as she ever was.   We do have a dog and a cat but they are not allowed in her room and she has an entire floor of the house to herself (its one room ) that floor is not hooked up to the central venting.  She has her own heater and we don't use AC.</p>

 

[expecting-joy]

<p>Her doctor added Singulair, but it seems to really bother her. Her coughing is less, but she is whining in her sleep the last two nights. Any advice regarding medication. She took it just before bedtime last night. her doctor suggested trying it with dinner tonight. It stills seems to bother her. Her stomach hurt.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I will definitely look into the carpet issue.</p>

 

[camracrazy]

<p>I had asthma as a child, and had several lung infections (bronchitis, pneumonia, etc). Back then we had to have a referral through our insurance to cover anything like an ENT, pulmo, etc. We finally talked our PCP into giving us a referral to an allergist and an ENT when I was 17. It turned out that I had a pseudomonas infection in my sinus cavities that was still there in spite of all the antibiotics I had been on. I had to have two sinus surgeries to clear everything out. My asthma was MUCH better after that. A year or so ago it started getting bad again, and I found out that I have an aspergillis infection in my lungs. Normally aspergillis doesn't bother healthy people, but it was able to get a toehold in my lungs because of the scarring from repeated infections when I was a kid. So I would say if she is coughing a lot at night, there is likely something there. Have they done a sputum culture to see if anything is growing in her lungs?</p>

 

[Peony]

<p>Stomachache is a fairly common side effect, a less common one could be bad dreams, maybe that was the moaning. We haven't had any side effects with Singular but I know other children that have and they were bad enough they had to stop. </p>

 

[tylerdylan]

<p>It sounds like her asthma is very poorly controlled.  She needs to be on something stronger than she is to get it under control.  With proper medication she should be having few asthma attacks (one per month maybe).  Coughing for hours is not right.</p>