Cold Induced Asthma

DOES your child, have Asthma meds? ie: an inhaler etc.? If so, he/she needs to be taking that.

Asthma, is very serious. Anything, can trigger it. Sure, even dust. Hence the Doc saying that maybe the carpet is making it worse. You can always get an air purifier for your home and the child's room.

I have had Asthma since I was a child. My parents took out the carpet in my room. And we had an air purifier/filter in our home.
And if you have pets, that can make it worse too.

When/if a person is sick, and they have Asthma, it makes this worse. I DREAD getting even a common cold, because I have Asthma. AND I get the Flu shot, EVERY year, because of my Asthma.
Asthma, can be deadly.
Asthma basically means, that a person cannot breathe. Because the airways are constricted or inflamed. Then that means, that the body is not getting adequate oxygen in their system and in their blood stream.
Even walking up stairs or outside, when I have an Asthma episode, is impossible. Because, I cannot breathe.

You need to, read up on Asthma.
http://www.lungusa.org/associations/charters/midland-stat...
http://www.asthma.com/index.html?google=p_&rotation=1...

And yes, infection of the lungs can occur, when sick, even with a cold.
I have had that happen to me. I got Pneumonia. From a common cold. Because I have Asthma as well.

I am surprised, that the Doc did not prescribe any meds, for your child or tell you what to do beyond just saying the 'carpet' is a problem.
That is astonishing.
Your child may even need a 'corticosteroid'.
Which helps, decrease the inflammation in the lungs.

OH and whenever you vacuum... make SURE your child is NOT in the same room. For about 1 hour after vacuuming. Because, vacuuming kicks up a lot of dust, and dust which you cannot even see.

Both my brother and sister grew up with asthma, and I remember the doc telling us that hard floors are best to cut down on environmental irritations like dust, mites, pet dander, etc. My sister had tile in her bedroom, my brother ended up choosing a very low pile, outdoor type carpeting. If you can't replace the flooring, then just be sure to invest in a high quality vacuum and clean often. Air purifiers can help too, especially in the bedroom. Also, talk to your pediatrician about getting some more information about asthma, and maybe a referral to a pulmonologist. Hope your kids feel better soon!

My son's asthma flares up when ever he gets a cold too. It's gotten a lot better the older he gets. He used to be on a controller med all year when he was real little. Now he only uses the meds when he gets sick. He uses pulmicort and albuterol in the nebulizer. His asthma did get a lot better when we moved into a house without carpets. I'm not sure if getting rid of the carpet made the biggest difference or that he has just srarted to grow out of it. Probably both! I do remember that the doc told me to vacuum everyday. My neighbors loved that but you do what you have to do. Also, your primary care doc should be able to give you a lot of info or point you in the right direction. Good luck!

My daughter has had this same thing since she turned 2. She took Singulair daily for years. It is a tiny pill that you chew, and it must not have tasted too bad b/c my daughter took it with no problems (and she's a REAL pain to give any kind of medication to!) Doctors told us she would grow out of it, and indeed it seems as though she has. We took her off the Singulair about a year ago. Up until then she'd had about 4 bad "episodes" a year. Extremely labored breathing, etc., for which she used a nebulizer. She has only had one bad episode since she went off the Singulair. It happened last Fall during the change in the weather. I keep wondering if we are going to get through this Fall without a problem! I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Anyway, that's our experience. Maybe your kids need to get on a daily med? Apparently Singulair has no side effects and is not habit forming. We only used a nebulizer when she was having trouble breathing (Albuterol was the med) but in extreme cases nebulizers can be used for preventative care. Pulmicort was the med for that (at least for our daughter it was) We tried doing the nebulizer to prevent the wheezing episodes, but my daughter FOUGHT those, so we stopped and just did the Singulair. She would take the nebulizer when she was having difficulty breathing. I think it got to the point where she realized "I better do this". It was hard for her to see that when she felt fine. Good luck to you in this whole thing. I know it's hard to watch your kids suffering. I hated seeing my daughter's chest rising and falling so quickly - very scary. Hopefully yours will start to outgrow it like mine did :)

Oh, and my daughter is now 10

My son has cold induced asthma. He too only coughs. When he has a bad episode the coughing becomes more frequent. In Jan. I took him to the ER at 1am because he was coughing every 30 seconds (not kidding). They gave him a nebulizer treatment that made him shaky and 5 days of steroids.

When we were first diagnosed he was having an attack and we didn't realize it. We had been to the pediatrician 2x because we thought he was getting bronchitis and they said it was a cold. Every day the cough became more frequent and my son more tired to the point that he couldn't get up off the couch. We had an appt. with the allergist already scheduled for that week. When hubby got there with my son and the dr. saw him, the dr. went off. 'Don't you realize he's having an attack!'. We were shocked.

His regular daily preventative is to take a maintenance inhaler 2x a day. When he gets a cold he uses his provent (albuterol) every 4h on top of that.

If you do not currently have an asthma specialist please locate one. Your pediatrician may be good, but a specialist will be more current on new medicines and procedures.

M.

Basically, in asthma, something causes the lungs to overreact and the bronchial tubes start swelling or tightening up. The flovent is an inhaled steroid (don't freak out... it isn't like the anabolic steroids that athletes get in trouble with... it is a corticosteroid) that will help keep this from happening.

The albuterol is a bronchodialator... it opens the swollen airways and allows them to breathe more freely.

Many things can trigger asthma problems... allergens (dust, pollens, cat dander, things like that), viruses like colds, and exercise.

People with exercise-induced asthma often use their albuterol inhaler before exercise to help relax the airways so they can run, play soccer, or whatever. Having exercise induced asthma doesn't keep a child from playing football, soccer, or other sports... they just learn how to manage it.

His frequent cough is because he is unconsciously trying to clear his airways. Sometimes asthma causes a night-time cough.... they appear to be fine during the day, but cough this little cough most of the night.

Some pulmonologists or allergists will have you get a "peak flow meter" and you have him blow as hard as he can into it, twice a day. This shows you what his airflow is like..... they then may tell you if it is at 80% of normal, for example, increase certain medicines... if it is just at 50% of normal flow, they often start the patient on an oral steroid (this is part of how my daughter's asthma was managed when she was young).

There are a lot of very effective medicines out there....work with your doctor and you will soon learn what you need to do.

ok I am cold induced I buy the bands that go over your ears and wear them around my neck. it warms the air going in. I don't know why but it works. also when I switch temps dont immediately give him his inhaler. When I switch temps I cough for about 1 min or less anything more then I take my inhaler. Ask the pedi about a allergy med. the carpet is going to be dust mites. I use a dehumidifier and an hepa filter for that. Now I know you have no experience but if I had been in the dusty camping thing I would have taken a benedryl. I also use saline spray. Don't jump every time they cough. But the constant coughing is bad it needs albuterol or a nebulizer. wait about 1-2 minutes before treating it. if it is not gone after treatment one do another. asthma sets in I didn't realize this till another asthmatic told me and I realized he was right. What I mean by sets in when triggered it cold take 2 days to 2 weeks to control it. It is not going to go away with one inhaler treatment.

Watch for him sleeping alot. I do that when my asthma is flaired. Also watch for him to do things he wouldn't normally do. ex run in to a pole painted bright yellow right in front of his face. that means he needs his inhaler. You will be thinking well silly didn't you see that the real answer is no he actually didn't. I get real space cased when mine is flaired up bad. not when it is a mild attack but a real bad case makes me space case. I do really stupid things that are not normal to me. things I wouldn't normally do. for the severe coughing fits a hot shower or bath will help to a degree it won't control it by any means the meds have to do that. I wouldn't do this with the baby but I sleep on heating pads when I am real bad. not safe though.especially for young kids. If after 3 inhaler treatments if he is still coughing he needs a breathing treatment or a nebulizer is what it is called. If after 3 of those treatments he is still coughing he needs prednizone. if that doesn't work get to the hospital. The nebulizer and prednizone will give him the shakes. It may also make him real hyper. it does me. I had a friend whos kid had it and they put him on xopenex instead of albuterol and she noticed with him it made him what she called "evil". I have taken xopenex once when the albuterol, nebs and preds didnt' work. It didn't make me evil though. Find an allergy asthma doc this is something most pediatricians and gps arent very good at handling. And don't be suprised if you get told when he is having an asthma attack it is bronchitis. some docs can't tell the difference.