I have a 5 year old girl that is being treated for possible asthma. She has been put on 2 inhalers both for asthma but has never been tested for it. Looking for advice on what to do. She hasnt gotten any better but not an worse.
thank you for all your help. We have hound out that our daughter does have asthma. She had a viral infection that triggered an asthma attack. she is on 2 inhalers for a month and then she goes back for a follow up.
My advice is to consult with an allergy specialist. Asthma can be triggered by allergies. An allergy test can get to the root of what may be causing the asthma. Things to think about prior to her appointment with the allergy specialist; have you made any changes recently such as getting a new pet, moving to a new home, is there a smoker in the home, have you introduced a new food. Any of these things could cause asthma.
As a mother that has asthma and also having a child with a respiratory condition, I would suggest to take your child to a pneumologist. Home remedies are the best in my case to battle athsma if is not severe. Due to the weather conditions constantly changing,pollen and stuuf in the air, children usually get either allergies or symptoms that might be similar to asthma. I would recomend for you to access the internet and look up home remedies for anything that has to do with your childs health. Always seek profesional help for your kids health. Remember, read into the ingredients on atsma inhailers like albuterol or intal since most of them contains steroids and other chemicals that might be bad for your childs growth.
Hope this helps a little.
all 3 of my kids (and myself) suffer from some degree of resp. problems..our doctor calls it reactive airway disease (basically asthma) we all see Dr. Joshi (allergy, asthma and immunology) he is wonderful with the kids, and very throughouh..I'm not sure if you are in Jax, but if you are he is great! my children's breathing problems stem from environmental allergies (dust,grass,trees) stuff like that. Maybe ask if your child could be allergy tested.. sometimes the inhalers/nebulizer is not needed - my kids take allergy med's and only use the nebulizer as needed for any "flare-ups" I am a mom who has insisted on second opinions.. it has saved their lives on more than one occasion..go with YOUR gut feeling! You know your child better than any doctor ever could. Best of Luck..A. b
I never knew there was a �test� for asthma. I learned something new today.
Some links to try:
http://www.asthmainamerica.com/children_index.html
http://www.cdc.gov/asthma/children.htm
http://www.asthma.com/asthma_and_children.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/asthmainchildren.html
Dear S.,
Doctors like to use inhalers to treat a variety of respiratory conditions. Does your daughter get frequent infections. cough or difficulty breathing? If your doctor is suggesting your daughter use the inhalers everyday I would ask for a referral to an allergist. Asthma is usually allergy related. There is a great group in the USF area (Drs. Ledford, Lockey, and Fox). I used to see Dr. Fox and I have asthma and was on a ton of meds and now I take nothing. These doctors treat children and adults and would only have your child use the meds if they really feel it is necessary. Also if your child isn't getting any better maybe she should use a nebulizer? ( I would be happy to email you further about this if you like.) Good luck!!
K.
My son was diagnosed at 2. As with you, no tests. There really aren't any tests until a child can follow directions and blow and force the air out of their lungs. Inhalers typically are not recommended for children until they are old enough to do the test. It is usually a nebulizer, or a jet nebulizer with either pre-mixed or meds that you have to mix. I agree with everyone here, you should find out if this is allergy induced first. Allergy induced breathing problems tend to be treated with singulair and anti-inflamitory liquid thru a nebulizer. I went thru all kinds of different meds and steroids with my boy until an allergist fixed it. He used pulmicort for 3 months, singulair and the anti-inflamitory in the nebby for another year and a half, but once we got the inflamtion out of his lungs, we REALLY didn't have any more problems. We treat his asthma as needed now. His ped. told me I had "new mommy syndrome" for 10 weeks prior to taking chest x-rays and finding out he had pneumonia. We almost lost him because his blood-ox was deathly low at this point. His lungs were so damaged he will have life-long breathing issues. DO NOT TAKE A SINGLE OPINION IF IT SEEMS WRONG. Trust yourself, YOU know your child and if somethings wrong, FIGHT for an answer that fixes it.
You are doing the right thing, good luck with finding answers!
A.
My 3 year old was recently put on singular. We give it to him every night before bed. We call it bed-time candy! So he thinks he is getting it as a treat for being a good boy all day!!
He has had no signs of asthma since day one of putting him on this med. We are lucky this has worked because the next step was inhalers.
Also, we got rid of all stuffed toys, we have carpet so we get them cleaned every few months, we wash his pillows and sheets every day. We also warm up his pillow every night in the dryer for about 20 minutes to get any dust mites off of it. We have an air-purifier in his room and have it on 24/7 (when we are home)
Good luck.
i do not think you can test for asthma. it is diagnosed when there are similar events that present a certain way. for instance, activity induced wheezing, seasonal attacks, etc.
My experience is that it's tough to test for Asthma in a child under 6, so it's usually diagnosed based on symptoms. I would be most concerned with the underlying cause of her symptoms. Has she been tested for environmental allergens? Also who diagnosed her? Was it a pediatrician or someone that specializes in allergy, asthma and immunology? I have a daughter with allergic asthma.
