I Have a Knew Question About Asthma

It sounds like he used to be on the nebulizer, and is now using an inhaler. Is he using a spacer with the inhaler (a wide tube that goes between the inhaler and his mouth)? If not, ask his doctor for one -- they make it much easier for kids to use an inhaler.

In general, if he's having an attack when he plays sports or runs around, it sounds like his asthma is not well controlled. He should have two different types of medicine -- a long term controller, like Flovent or Qvar, and a short-term rescue medicine, like Albuterol or Xopenex. The controllers won't do anything when he's already in an attack, and the rescue medicines won't prevent an attack.

If this doesn't sound familiar, insist that someone at your doctor's office talk you through it, or send you and your son to a class. It's important.

Hello...What sort of asthma medicine does he take...Does he have an albuteral in haler? I have had asthma all of my life and I am 35. What I used to do was take a 2 puffs (2 minutes in between them) BEFORE I was to do any physical activity...and this would stop an attack from coming on, but you have to do this literally within like 10 mins of doing the activity. Has he done it this way yet? Otherwise you could try a maintenance medicine that is a long term one and then again, use the albuteral inhaler once or twice BEFORE any rigorous activity. Also, he may not be getting the full puff of the inhaler, with my daughter, ew had to use a spacer which makes sure all of the medicine was delivered, as with kids sometimes they don't inhale right and it just gets into their mouth. Good Luck, if any of this does not work, make your Dr. help you.

Hi E.,

in Germantown are the Milestone Pediatrics and there is a specialist for asthma. He is a very good Dr. and maybe he can help your son with a different treatment. I am not certain, but i think he got a award for asthma research and treatment.

Greetings
A.

Dear E.,

I have 2 sons with asthma. We use Gary Brecher, MD at Milestone Pediatrics. ###-###-####) He is wonderful!

My older son, to a degree, has grown out of his asthma. My youngest takes a combo of allergy/asthma medicine and is doing great. He can even run track and swims on a team successfully. Managing asthma is crucial. Dr. Brecher can get your son on the right track.

Best of luck to you,
T.

E. have you given any thought to the things you use everyday in your home that may be a contributing factor. As a independent Melaleuca marketing executive I've seen case after case of people, especially children, whose respiratory problems go away just by taking toxins out of your home. Look around at www.saferforyourhome.com and they replay to my site: www.sunshinetoo.com to get more information on how to change your home environment and be on the road to better health for you and your family.

Hi E.,

I have some information about a wellness company that could truly change your life with asthma. You need to get the harmful chemicals out of your home. They are aggravating your son's asthma. It is important to treat the causes, not the symptoms.

Here's my website: www.OurGreenerChoice.com. I would love to be able to help you. Just send me an email and we can arrange a meeting then.

I truly hope this helps E.!
K. C

I just joined Mamasource and saw your question. I just wanted to let you know that my son is 7 also and normally just uses his inhaler. Last week he had a big asthma attack and had to go to the emergency room and they did the nebulizer. Of course the nebulizer works better, but the inhaler with a spacer works well for before practice or games, etc. You should also speak to your doctor about maintenance medicines to use through out the year. Singulair, flovent, etc...My son also just recently started using allergy drops which have really helped him with the decrease in his attacks and his bloody nose. Asthma comes and goes, lots of things trigger it. The inhaler and the nebulizer makes them hyper, but they do have a different one called Xopenex which makes them less hyper. It will get better, go see an Ear Nose and Throat doctor and ask about allergy testing. GOod luck!!

Asthma is a very serious condition. If playing sports and being active causes an asthma attack, then the doctor who is treating the asthma needs to know about it. Maybe his medications are not working well, and he needs to go back on the nebulizer or change medications. But that's a call for his doctor to make.

Unfortunately, all medications that open the airways are related to adrenaline. They all have some kind of stimulation associated with them. But it's important for your son to be able to breathe easily. If you have never had asthma, as I do, you don't realize how much effort just breathing in and out becomes, and how tired it can make you. This will make him less able to work hard in school, it just wears you out. Keeping his airways open is a #1 priority.

Hopefully, he will outgrow his asthma, sone children do. And the American Association of Asthma Allergy and Immumology has some information on their web site about living with childhood asthma.

http://www.aaaai.org/patients/publicedmat/tips/childhooda...

Good luck, and keep checking with your son's doctor about his condition.

Hi E., I don't have kids with asthma but I have been living with asthma all my life. It is also exercise induced asthma and I have an emergency inhaler and pills that I take everyday. I hope that your son grows out of it like they told my parents that I should. I didn't though and in fact it has only gotten worse. I am not sure at what age a person can go on preventive medicine ( pills and inhalers that he takes everyday to prevent an attack). I didn't have to go on these until I was in high school and was having attacks on a daily basis. The only other way to prevent an attack is not to exercise which is impossible for a 7 yr old boy. So if he is having severe attack on a daily basis you could ask the doctor about preventive meds. He may be too young though. Hope that I helped a little and good luck I wish you both all the best.

E.

To start with, I'm not a doctor and my personal asthma didn't show up until I was an adult and has been fairly simple to manage, so I am by no means an expert on living with asthma. Talk to your pediatrician and tell him all of your concerns. If your son is having to use the inhaler more than 4 times a week your pediatrician should be helping you explore other options. Some people can take oral steroids or allergy medications to help with the asthma, depending on age, severity of the conditions, and other factors. Do some research on the web and then take what you find in to your doctor and ask him what he thinks is the best treatment plan for your son. Asthma can be a real pain in the rear, but there has been enough research now that you should be able to find something that works for your son. Hopefully by you coming in with a list of questions and some knowledge the doctor will understand that you are serious about helping your son and work with you to come up with a long term plan to manage the disease so that it doesn't impact your son's athletic and social life.

Good luck and I hope everything goes well.

S.