My son was finally diagnosed with asthma a few weeks ago. We've been to the doctor so many times since all this began when he was about 4 months old. Now he's 18 months old, on breathing treatments every 4 hours (until he clears up) and he is still only 21 lbs.! Does anyone else have a small child with asthma that can give some advice? He coughs, not wheezes, and he doesn't sleep all night every night. He doesn't eat much at a time and sometimes just wants to drink. I'm worried about him being on such strong medicine but, then again, he hasn't been "clear" in a long time. We elevate his bed, use a humidifier only when he's really congested,dust and clean about every 3 days, have plastic on his crib, clear his nose with saline, etc.
We really like our pediatrician and allergist but I didn't know if there was anything "creative" anyone had done that has helped their child.
After the breathing treatments pat him on the back hard but not to hard about 20 times. It helps I thought it was funny when Childrens told us what to do.
Have you ever considered taking him to a chiroptactor? I know this may seem odd to you, but it wont hurt to give it a try. I have heard wonderful stories about how much chiropractic care has helped children with all kinds of problems seemingly unrelated to chiropractic care. Find someone who has worked with other children, and give it a try. I wish I could recommend someone, but we recently moved here. I would also look into nutritional changes as well. Best of luck, I am sure you must be frustrated with him being "sick" constantly. ~A.~
See Dr. Andrew Gelfand ASAP. He is at Presby. Dallas. He is the absoute best Pulmanologist in Dallas. I live in Los Angeles and have the best Doctors here ,and I flew there for a consult with him.
There are several tests my son had to rule out certain things. as well as allergy testing. all negative.
It took about 4 months for his cough , constant cough to go away.
They also gave him a high dose of an antibiotic and that is what finally knocked it out.
the Albuteral and pulmicort did nothing for him.
good luck.
Dr. Gelfand is amazing.
P.S. I did have a Sweat Choloride test to rule out Cystic Fibrosis as well, but it is so unlikely that is what it is, you would have many other indications if it were that.
DO NOT Stress about the test should they perform it. I did and it turned out to be nothing.
they like to rule it out first.
Hi A.,
First let me say great job for everything you've done this far. I remember how hard it was constantly dealing with all that, especially when you have to stay up all night with the back to back treatments. Also, I just found out my son has cavities and we think it was probably due to his neb medicine. Apparently pulmicort rots teeth so be sure and brush his teeth/mouth every time you give him a treatment. We also go to Dr. Schochet in Plano. His number is ###-###-####. As far as suggestions, I would suggest the pediasure supplement drinks when he doesn't want to eat, but talk to your pediatrician. I wonder about the breathing treatments if he's not wheezing. I would get a second opinion about that because the steroids are not supposed to be for coughing. When my son has really bad coughing fits or is in a bad episode I sit with him in the bathroom with the shower running hot to fill the room with steam. That works well. I'll try to think of some more stuff I used to do...Good luck!
A.,
Have you tried taking him off dairy? I have had asthma all my life except when I was off dairy. I am currently pregnant, so I ingest a bit more dairy for the baby. It has caused my asthma to come back. I am currently on Qvar for the asthma and it is managing it.
Just a thought...
Good luck with your little one!!!!
Jodi
A friend of mine's son had the same problem and her peditrition recommended they switch their household cleaners to Melaleuca products as a lot of the chemicals in most cleaners were irritating her sons asthma and he was doing so many treatments during the day. She did and now while at home at least he is doing much better with hardly ever needing a breathing treatment at home. If you want to talk to my friend for more info on her son and what the pedi told her I can get you in touch with her. :)
A.,
I have not dealt with asthma personally,but had a friend who believes her asthma was caused by vaccinations and seemed to get worse with each vaccination.
Just a thought have you ever researched that?
There seems to be several people finding links between the two.
I know that doesn't help now,but it might with future vaccines.
It started at 4 months right? 4 month vaccinations...did he get them?
Hi A.,
I worked @ Children's Medical Center in Dallas and was the Asthma Nurse Educator and wanted to let you know there is a new inhaler out called Advair HFA which you can give by mask and it only takes a few breaths vs having to do the nebulizer mist treatments. I also wanted to give you 2 names of doctors who are excellent in treating asthma. They are both down @ Presbyterian Dallas and 1 is a pediatric asthma allergist and his name is Dr. Michael Ruff and the other is a pediatric pulmonologist and his name is Dr. Andrew Gelfand. They are in separate practices but are excellent. If you need their numbers let me know and if you see them just tell them I referred you since I have worked with both. Please let me know if you have any questions I'd be happy to answer them. Take care and hope this helps.
Regards,
K. W.
A.,
You need to get your son to a pulmonologist. Our son has allergies and asthma, but it wasn't until we saw a pulmonologist at 9 months of age that we discovered reflux and that he aspirates fluids (sucks them into his lungs). We used to see Dr. Mandujano at Medical City, but now see Peter Schochet at Presby Plano. Both are good doctors.
In our house, we are very careful of the scents and smells. This means no candles, no perfumes/colognes, scent-free laundry detergent and I only use the cleaning products from Target that have the light smell or are natural and non-irritating.
It's quite an adjustment to have a kiddo with these problems b/c it means changing your lifestyle a little bit too. Good luck!!
I would suggest seeing a pulmonologist. My son was really sick over a year ago and come to find out the pulmonologist found out that he had a chronic sinus infection that the pediatrician couldn't diagnose. He was congested for months and just couldn't kick what was putting into respiratory distress. Pediatricians are great but when you get that final diagnosis of asthma I think you should have a pulmonologist.
Just my 2 cents....my little boy seems to get better quickly once we see our pulmonologist.
HI A. MY NAME IS T. AND I HAVE 6 CHILDREN . HAVE YOU TRIED A VAPORISER WITH VICKS FOR CHILDREN IN HIS ROOM AT NIGHT?
YOU CAN ALLSO USE VICKS VAPORROM FOR CHILDREN ON HIS BACK AND CHEST IT COMES IN CHERRY SMELL SO IT WANT GAG HIM. SOME TIMES TH OLD REMEDIES WORK BETT THAN THE DOCS. THEY ALSO HAVE CINGULAR FOR CHILDREN CHEWABLE OR DISOLVE ON TOUNG. AS FAR AS HIS EATING ITS HARD TO EAT WHEM YOU CANT HARDLY BREATH SO AS LONG AS HE IS DRINKING HE WILL BE FINE JUST MAKE SORE WHAT HE DRINKS HAS ALOT OF ELECTRITES IN ITHOPES THIS HELPS. T.
my daughter has had asthma for a very long time. she is now 5. they gave her singulair. its a medicine she takes every nite.
While my son has it. but it not as bad. as some are. But my mom told me to not give him and milk or anything with milk in it. cus it cause flim to form.. are u can put peppermint oil in there. u can get it at herbs store. it works. if u dont like using the meds..
I have had asthma ALL my life and it has really been hard to be on so much medicine all the time!!!! With him being so young it must be really hard!!! This past Christmas I had a really really bad attack an ended up in the hospital ICU!!!! I have since switched my house over to all natural products that don't have the harsh chemicals in them!!!! I can burn the candles and it doesn't even bother me I have to take allergy meds but that is about it and it has really helped!!! I can even walk down the laundry isle at the store and instantly get irritated by the fumes!!! I would really like to tell you about these products to help your son be able to enjoy life as he gets older and not worry about waking up in the middle of the night or having to go out on cleaning days because it is just to hard on his lungs!!! Send me a message and let me know if you would like me to further explain!!!!
~C.
A.,
My daughter was finally diagnosed with Asthma at 11 months and hospitalized at the same time her oxygen level was so low, our pediatrician kept telling us she was fine I finally went to a pulmologist LOVE him Dr. Sugerman at mmedical city he was vote in "d Magazine as best doctor for the past 5 years. After our first stay in the hospital I vowed we would NEVER go back, she is 8 years old now and we have never had another hospital stay. I can relate on the sleepless nights and no eating or drinking mind me asking what they have him on? we went to Zopenex cause the other meds made her too shakey and no sleep. No their is nothing creative to help asthma other than to make the environment he lives in allergin free. what type of action plan are you on?
K.
Have they checked for Cystic Fibrosis?
Dear A.,
Yes there have been creative ways found to deal with asthma. My daughter had asthma. She started seeing a chiropractor, Dr. Max Waddell in Keller. She is doing much better now. He has also helped me alot.
And I have a friend whose child had asthma. Nothing seemed to help. She heard about all the problems being caused by cleaning products and switched to Melaleuca cleaning products. Now she has no problems at home with asthma. She convinced me to switch over to Melaleuca and we really like the products because they're all natural and won't hurt the environment.
I order from my friend every month so if you want me to order something for you or give her your phone number, I'll be glad to do that for you. Just call me ###-###-####) or email me directly (____@____.com). I order around the 16th of every month.
Hope this helps.
Blessings,
A. S.
I also took my son to Dr Schochet, he is a pulmonologist, and quite wonderful. When they are little it is hard to blow their noses, and the vicks vapor rub can go in the humidifier, thier little chests and another company makes a tablet to put in the bottom of the shower that dumps vapors in the shower. I am asthmatic also, and those work for me. Just keep in mind asthma attacks are caused by many different triggers. If you can find out what his triggers are, then you have a chance at having fewer attacks.
My son would be wheeze for a month or more every time he got a cold. When they are little they stick so many things in their mouths, I pulled him out of daycare and got a nanny so he could be at home when I worked. It made a huge difference for him, and she was wonderful. We also ended up getting his tonsils out because of repeated tonsillitis. Of all the weird "side effects", his asthma attacks dropped to twice a year.
Good luck!
