Have You Used Mullein Extract/tincture?

Nope I wouldn't use anything from whole foods to treat a 4 yr old. Extracts and things like that may or may not help and might even make it worse. Instead the minute he starts to get a cold start treatment for asthma. It'll help things clear up faster and not allow the asthma to take hold.

Think about taking him to a specialist so he can be evaluated and set of the correct treatment. Pediatricians see a ton of asthma but a pediatric pulmonologist has the most up to date treatments and thought process for treating.

Your son has had colds/viruses/asthma very, very frequently. You need a specialist, not Mamapedia or Whole Foods. Please seek out an an expert, this has been going on for years.

Work with a pediatric pulmonologist and tell the doctor anything you are considering giving your child. An uncontrolled asthma attack can be fatal. Please don't guess.

Please use common sense and stop resorting to an internet mom site for medical advice.

You should only be altering your child's medication and treatment plan on the advice of a physician or other licensed medical provider---NOT what some random people say worked for some other kid.

No one here has your child's full medical history. No one here on internetland can assess your child's current medical status. This isn't a site full of physicians, and even if it were, any responsible one would tell you to CALL your child's provider.

You're tinkering with this like it's some sort of food recipe--- a little bit of this--"oh wait, no! that didn't work---let's try a little bit of that---well, maybe I can just use a fraction of the adult dose?" This is crazy! He's FOUR! Do you not trust your son's doctor? Do you understand the mechanics of asthma? Do you know why he's prescribed pulmicort and albuterol? If you don't think these medications are helping him, why would you not consult with the prescribing physician?

What if, during all of your internet-based experimenting, your son has a full blown asthma attack? Do you know what that feels like? Why would you put his health in jeopardy?

My youngest has asthma and was always particularly prone to breathing difficulties, especially when younger and when he had a cold. He was on a similar protocol as your son and I wouldn't have dreamed of messing around with it without consulting his allergist or pediatrician---even with all of my experience in giving these treatments. Even now, at 10, we occasionally have to use the nebulizer.

I'm not going to apologize for the strong tone of this response. It needs to be said. Get off the internet and call your son's doctor if you have questions about his medications. No one here can give you the information you need to make an informed decision about what to give your son.

i grow my own mullein and make tea out of it for colds. i find it reasonably effective.
but for a small child with dangerous medical conditions?
there's no way i'd use any sort of anything without a doctor's okay. i get the natural approach and applaud you for it, but you can definitely go too far with it, and going to the internet for dosage and toxicity is very troubling. talk to your pharmacist and your specialists.
khairete
S.

No.
The most I would try is giving him some Echinacea tea and only if his doctor said it was ok.

I could be wrong on this, but isn't Mullein considered to have narcotic or sedative properties? I know someone who takes it for migraines to help relieve the pain. I can't imagine that being safe for kids.
ok this was bugging me - so I looked it up - it isn't to be given to children.

If your child is taking any medication, you should never introduce herbal remedies without at least checking for possible drug interactions with your pharmacist. And I think some of these herbs you're mentioning also have diuretic properties and laxative ones too. Four is pretty young to be testing this stuff out. I know you mean to help and totally understand that - but you could be doing more harm then good.

Any chance your son has allergies? My kids had asthmatic problems following colds so we did the puffers. The child who had it worst ended up having allergies (not colds) and when we treated him for allergies (and the cat passed away) the need for the puffers was greatly reduced. We wouldn't have known to look for that without our doctor's follow up. Just a thought.

You need to visit with the pharmacist about the medications you are giving your child. And they are medications. Maybe natural or herbal ones but they are medications. Please don't mix stuff like this without checking with a professional who knows medications. NOT a doc but the pharmacist.

Given that Whole Foods, along with GNC, has been all over the news for months and subject to investigation for selling all kinds of "wholesome and natural" things that are mislabeled and often don't even contain what the labels say they contain, why would you even consider this? Just because something is "organic" or whatever doesn't mean it's safe. Think poison ivy, snake venom, toadstools and bella donna. And what about the interactions of these products, given that they are plant based, with medications which have some plant basis and some chemical basis? And now you're adding alcohol, although what's in the non-alcoholic products may be even worse.

I work in food science and am a strong believer in certain supplements, presuming they are tested and patented (so the label is proven to represent what's in the product) and presuming they have the FDA Good Manufacturing Practices designation. Certain non-drug products are not "FDA approved" because they are food based, and that's okay if other criteria are met. In fact, it may be better, since many of the other products (considered "drugs" and not "food") will have warning labels (from children's vitamins to many other products). But you don't know that unless you know exactly where the product is manufactured (and not whether it has a pretty label or some health claim on a holistic blog). What clinical data are you using? What trials has the product been through? Are the ingredients brought into the manufacturer's location with a certificate of analysis from the supplier, are they quarantined, and are they tested again?

Moreover, as any food scientist will tell you, and as your casual and nonscientific experience has shown you, single nutrients don't work very well. That's not how the body is designed to absorb nutrition. So you are wasting money and time, and perhaps even fooling around with your kid's health. I work with kids (and adults) all the time who deal with asthma and nebulizers and inhalers, and we only use a comprehensive children's supplement with far more than one or two ingredients, and properly balanced. It also needs to be totally allergen free and compatible with medications.

I think you're missing the boat here, and possibly making things much worse. Sorry - I know this is not the answer you want to hear, but I really don't think you have gotten your shopping information from any credible source. Just because it's on an internet blog doesn't mean it's scientifically sound. I work with experts in pediatric nutrition and I've never heard of any the ingredients you're latching on to as being proven effective.