Life with an Asthma Kid - Is It Asthma?

Hi I have to tell you I have asthma ever scine I was very little and it would come and go. I am 29 years old now and I have not had a attack in a year. I went All Natural in my Home a year ago ,and I can not tell how shocked I was to feel the difference I never would have thought just by going Green it would help me this much. A lot of people do not know that the Products in their home can really set off Asthma and other health Problems as well, at lest I did not tell I did change my home over . This can help him please see www.livetotalwellness.com I can share more with you if you like.A.

The natural mineral Bromaline is a mucus fighter. Look into it at your local health food store. Worked awesome for my son & husband. Seek natural remedies, all that lung drug stuff weakens tissues and creates more issues. Best of luck in your journey to healthy living. Let me know if you need more help.

Is your son still breastfeeding? If so, continue as long as possible - at least 1 year as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the WHO recommends at least 2 years - and nurse as much as possible each day, giving priority of the breastmilk over solids. The breastmilk will continue to offer invaluable antibodies and immune agents that he won't be able to get anywhere else. Lots of kids take longer to tolerate foreign materials (solids, formula, junk food)in their gut and body and each have different ways of their body responding. Many children have sensitivities or allergies (hence the eczema) that benefit from the added immunity until they mature. (By the way, breastmilk will help heal the eczema areas too!)

As for the breathing/mucousy sound... that is very different... my husband goes throgh LONGGGG bouts of coughing, coughing up mucous and brochiolitis type issues, somethimes lasting many months. The Dr gave him an Rx for a mild steriod so that his lungs could heal/recover from the inflammation due to whatever he had that caused it at the time and now he gets better much quicker.... Not sure if this is something they have considered. He also does a breathing treatment with a nebulizer once a day during a bad spell which has really helped too. He has a mild case of asthma and carries albuterol. That is why the breastmilk for our 2 little ones was such an important part of their first few years :-) Good luck and hang in there... I hope he feels better and you get something resolved for you soon!

This is an older post but I know your pain. My son has had so many ear, sinus, and asthma issues since birth. He was on 3 different breathing treatments, antiobiotics, 2 ear surgeries, and had MRSA. He's been to specialists all over town. He's 3 now but finally we are seeing some relief. I truly believe it was all allergy related. He's on Singular and Nasonex daily but he's now infection free for 6 months and we do not need any daily nebulizer treatments. Good luck

They are not so quick to diagnose "asthmatic" these days. He could be but some kids only get asthma symptoms when sick and it does not mean they are truly asthmatic.

Hello,
I also have a child with some health problems. She is not diagnosed as asthmatic but has had many breathing issues. I am sure you see Dr. Favario, if not make an appointment with him. He has my daughter on Singulair, Flovent and Flonese and has been doing well with that for awhile. May I also suggest getting a second opinion. My daughter has many specialists at Miami Childrens Hospital and they are the best.

Good Luck!
J.

I know a few others mentioned it - but I would definitely rule out Cystic Fibrosis. My best friend has it and you want to know asap if that is the case. Good Luck, R.

First of all I want to suggest you take your son a pediatrician that has more of a natural/alternative medicine practice. Many doctors today are geared toward treating symptons & not finding the root of the problem. You need someone who is trying to get to the root cause. The eczema is a clear sign of allergies. Keeping your child lubed up makes me think you are using products that have mineral oil as a topical treatment or even worse the steroid creams the Dr.s will prescribe. Do you research on mineral oil...not a good idea. I have a baby line that has worked wonders for many of my clients that have children with eczema. Email me if you want a free sample: ____@____.com, as for the Vicks on the feet. A friend of mine who's a nurse has a daughter that was born with some pulminary issues & the first thing the specialists asked her was if she used Vicks. He said it is very dangerous & can cause issues with lungs, etc in infants & that it should be banned. He has seen many cases directly resulting in use of that product because it is petroleum based. Another product I have is a botanical alternative vapor rub with no mineral oil. I have used it on my daughters feet to help break up congestion & it works great. It smells great & is non-greasy. Doesn't ruin clothing & fabrics like Vicks can. She can be up & walking around with my herbal vapor rub on her feet because it absorbs right in like a light moisturizer. Also, a close friend of mine who is using the baby line for her daughters eczema took her to a specialist that looks at negative food response, a non-invasive approach to determining allergies. She found her daughter was allergic to gluten & dairy & since removing these from her diet she is eczema free. If you want info on the company she saw for that email me & I'll get it for you.

Good luck.
R.
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Independent Consultant, District Manager
Arbonne, Int'l

Have they tested your son for cystic fibrosis? It would involve a sweat test. He has a lot of the symptoms. What does your Pediatrician say about the diagnosis and the treatment. Your pediatrician should be a sounding board for all of your questions.

I have to respond to this one. Long story - short.
My son apparently had allergies and wasn't diagnosed until 15 months old. Our life and his was pure misery. Turns out he was tested and allergic to soy, wheat, milk,eggs,peanuts, tree nuts. He has been drinking rice milk since we found all of this out. He is on singulair granules and at night we give him Zytec-thank goodness its over the counter now! Between the singulair and rice milk you could go broke! Anyway, sometimes food allergies can cause these type of mucus symptoms. What kind of diet is he on? Was he ever blood tested (RAST test)?Our son will turn 3 this Sunday. He still has ecezma on his typical spots. I found out to watch out for wheat and wheat starch-- in some products.I hope he will out grow his allergies soon. It is so hard to feed him. The peanuts count was too high and the doctor didn't think he could outgrown that..Perhaps a blood work up should be done? Try the new rice milk products at Target - they just came out with them.Look in the baby aisle in the soaps section and their is a lotion and a body wash with rice and mallow. Vanicream is good but thick. Some like aquaphor for the ecezma but its greasy. With diet control my son was so much more comfortable.

I just posted almost the same question. I was reading your post as I am trying to figure out what to do. I do feel comfortable with the rattle noise that my son has being larngomalacia. You might want to read about it but in the end it goes away with time. As for the asthma what Ped Pulminologist are you going to. We just saw one for the first time but I am just at a lost. How are your breathing treatments effecting your son? Do they have him on a steroid? I hope things get better for you and your family and will be interested in how he gets better!

Hi,

I was just reading your post and my son was the same way as a baby. He did end up having tons of food allergies. They tested him for Cystic Fibrosis and it was negative. He had that horrible rattle in his chest. After the CF test was negative we took him back for allergy testing and it turned out he was allergic to beef, chicken, dairy, oats and tomatoes. As soon as we eliminated the dairy he was like a new kid. At three years old we had him retested and he was negative to all of the allergies he was previously positive to, but then tested very positive for a peanut allergy (UGHH!) I bet it's an allergy to food of some sort. Especially Dairy. We go to Dr. Fuchs and he is so good. Good luck.

I feel your pain. Did you go to full term on the prenancy? The lungs are the last to develop. The baby's lungs might have not been fully develop ( this happened to my nephew and he is getting better)is he on a nebulizer?I was diganosed at 3 with servere asthma. What I can say to you is that there will be a lot of trial and error. A lot you can do yourself! Most asthma has trigers. Try changing his diet and go as organic as possible no boxed or things from a jar. get rid of stinky or stong smells, try using johson's soothing vapor bath. Take a hot seaming shower and then bring the baby in and squirt the vapor bath. It works! Ask dr. first but what works for me is I take a lot of vitamin c. You might have to try several medications before you find one that works for you. have the Dr show you how to do CPT on his back. Have you gone to a pulmonologist yet? Reduce your stress level and the baby stress level. Play calm music. I know this is a lot to take in and it will get better!!!
N.

Well, upon first reading, and all the doctors you must have been thru or with to find this diagnosis. My one thought while reading your letter is: What is this child allergic to?
My sons in the early 1970's was allergic to MILK formula and milk until about a year old. We had a terrible time with soy bean formula, but got thru it. Both are healthy and non allergic to milk today. They have some allergies, but have grown into healthy young men. The best to you.
n

Hi P.,
I know what you are going through. It took Dr.'s 4 yrs to finally get my sons diagnosis right. There are so many things that he can be allergic too. From your description it sounds as if he does have allergies. The only problem with that is he is very young and it is hard to diagnosis what he is allergic to. My son is allergic to almost everything under the sun. (Oak Trees, grass, mold, soy, dairy, wheat, eggs) He had to be put on Nutramagen formula when he was younger and now drinks rice milk. Those are a few examples. Try some benadryl one night and see if this helps with the mucus. My son also has asthma and eczema, we did not know he was allergic to all fabrics with the exception of cotton until he was 4. So he was always broken out in a rash and had open sores in his feet you could put the edge of a penny into. Now my son is 10 and we have his allergies and asthma under control. Although when it gets cooler outside and he exerts himself his asthma gets worse. He also has almost grown out of his eczema.
Again try the benadryl see if this clears up your son. And good luck.
S.

Has he been tested for Allergies? I would also try to use all natural cleaning products. Studies show bleach and other phosphorus cleaners in laundry soap and around the house can cause asthma symptoms.
Good Luck
J.

We are kind of going through the same thing now with my 4 month old son. They never thought it was anything lung related though especially since his oxygen level is 100%.
I agree with the other posters that it sounds like allergies. Since their bodies change so much for a while, they won't do any actual allergy tests so you have to start eliminating things for a certain period of time (maybe a week) and see what he gets better with. I know the other poster mentioned Benadryl and that would be a good idea to determine if it is allergies (with dosage levels from your ped.), but you will still need to eliminate things to determine what he's responding to.
If you started him on dairy formula, then there's a good chance he is allergic to dairy, at least for now. If you were breastfeeding, you will have to start from scratch to determine things.
I personally have started with my son by changing his formula to organic, just to see if that makes a difference. So far after 2 days, there is no change. I am resistant to accepting he is allergic to dairy even though I am mildly allergic. We may change to goat's milk with supplements if it comes down to it.
Good luck "testing" him!

Hi, I'm new to mamasource but wanted to respond to your post. I don't know if you've found any resolve to you son's Asthma, but I wanted to suggest to you a product to try. I would encourage you to give Mona Vie a shot. It's an all natural fruit juice with 19 different berries. I know, it sounds crazy that drinking juice could do anything for your son, but honestly, it has done amazing things for people. I searched real quick for some testimonials from people (I don't know) with allergies, bare in mind, they are from adults, but the possibilities are there that it could help your son as well. Check out these blogs and also my site, or send me an email and I can get you more information.
http://tucsonmonavie.wordpress.com/2008/01/18/alergy-reli...
http://www.724hosting.com/monavie.html
http://www.mountainmonavie.com/Site%202/Introduction.html

my site is www.mymonavie.com/forgottenfruit
I am truly confident that you would see improvement in your son's health. And would offer you a free bottle to get started when you join and place an initial order.

I know this sounds more like a sales pitch, but I feel as though I must share this with anyone that is suffering, because of the great results I've seen in my own life.

Hope to hear from you soon.
D.

Has he seen an allergist?? Has he had chest/lung MRI or CTScans? I would say it sounds like bronchitis turned into pnuemonia or very bad allergies. But then, if he's been this way since birth, maybe he has an excess of mucus in his lungs, which would surely cause a lung infection. If he's worse in weather changes, then I'd guess allergies, which can cause asthma reactions. I don't know why you sound so shocked, though. Many people have asthma. Most people in Florida have allergies thanks to our crazy weather. Heck, I was just diagnosed with both myself a couple years ago, but never had problems as a child. If he's already on Albuterol, then someone suspects lung issues, right? Since that is a typical asthma medication. I would ask the doctor about redosing THAT medication. Instead of taking it "as needed", he should get it at the very least, once a day, up to several times or more a day, as recommended by his doctor, especially when the weather changes and he has trouble breathing. That drug opens up the lungs and helps with inflammation. I can't imagine how inflamed his must be if this has been an everyday problem since birth. I feel like I'm having a heart attack when I have a little bout of asthma problems. He may outgrow it, he probably won't, though only an allergist can determine how mild or not it is. I have mild asthma so don't need my inhaler often. I use it more when I'm sick or when the weather becomes hot (Much harder for me to breathe in the muggy air, which is why I don't understand how everyone, doctors included, recommend humidifiers.)

But definitely ask the peditrician for a pediatric allergist. They do all kinds of breathing excercises on that first trip to rule out asthma. Since he is so young, they will probably first look at food allergies, which seem to be more and more common now, then at typical indoor/outdoor allergies. Good luck!

Call Heather Michelle at ###-###-#### and ask her about XanGo's mangosteen juice. I believe with all my heart that XanGo will help him. It's good for allergies and asthma so it it is one of those two things, this will help. Heather is a single mom of two boys and I like to send her referrals to help grow her XanGo home business! :)

PS Why give your child a medication with side effects if you can give him a natural food product that will take care of the product? :)

Something you said triggered a thought: has he been evaluated for cystic fibrosis?

Hi,

My daughter was diagnosed with bronchitis at 9 months. She started using a nebulizer at that time. They "upgraded" the diagnosis to asthma when she was two. The treatment was the same. It seems that they wait to diagnose asthma is infants as this follows their insurance records.

Some triggers that my daughter has are, weather change (barimeteric pressure), colds or virus will also activate asthma, and exposure to smoke. (We do not smoke but camp fires, bbq grills, construction on a roof, forest fires. etc.)

There are many other possible triggers. Food, allergies indoor or outdoor. Pet dander.

Saline helps. Nebulizer has been invaluable. I would purchase a machine or look into getting your insurance company to purchase a machine. The albuterol by liquid takes a day to activate, the machine delivers immediately. We were told to use it anytime she coughed. It helped with the cold symptoms as well.

If you get the albuterol that you mix, you can use the machine to deliver saline only when a cold is the only problem. This helps to keep buildups to a minimum. As for outgrowing, my sister did. She wasn't diagonsed until her teen years and exercise was her only trigger. She did outgrow it but my child is now 13 and no such luck.

The American Lung Association put out a book that I bought many years ago. It is titled "Family guide to asthma and allergies". I found it to be helpful. I am sure they have resources that have been updated since this publication 1997.

When you hear a wheeze, rattle, or feeding is interrupted, give treatment.

Also, my asthma is triggered by heartburn and reflux. The gastro will trigger asthma.

Hope this helps, B.