Thank

My son, who is now 12 yrs old, has been on Pulmicort since he was little ... and still occasionally uses it. He's had no side effects that I know of, but I do feel that it has helped his lungs become stronger. Whenever he catches a cold, his lungs are quicker to heal now than when he was little. As you probably know, Pulmicort isn't for immediate relief, but for improved long-term effects. But since it is a steroid, I had fears of it affecting his growth, since he's already on the small side. We've been seeing an Endocrinologist, who has been charting his growth, and he feels that it's simply genetics (husband and I both had delayed growth) ... no impact from the years of Pulmicort. When it comes to asthma (which I've struggled with myself since I was little, as well as my siblings and THEIR children), I always err on the side of caution ... I'd rather do as the experts recommend.

I read about osteoporosis and growth issues. My daughter is facing the same possibilty at 19 months. Haven't started Pulmacort yet. Best to you, Asthma management is definitely a challenge.

I have a 32 mo old daughter who was diagnosed with asthma just before she turned 2 yrs old and she has been hospitalized 3 or 4 times (I stopped counting after the 2nd time). when the doctors first decided to put her on pulmacort because of wheezing, I was hesitant because of the side affects and I preferred natural homeopathic remedies. after my daughter was hospitalized for four days for because of an asthma attack (wheezing developed into full-blown asthma) and could not regulate her oxygen levels on her own, I put all of my hesitations aside and decided the side affects of pulmacort are far better than my daughter dying of an asthma attack. this is how I came to my decision. since she has been on it regulary (twice a day) I have not noticed any wheezing or cold-like symptoms. also, when she does start wheezing or coughing we give her albuterol treatments. I know it seems like a lot but there are so many people who have had bad asthma as young children and because their parents controlled it, they have grown out of it (or have fewer occurences as older children or adults). that is my prayer for my daughter.

Also, you may want to consult an asthma/ allergy specialist and the asthma network. Wheezing can lead to asthma if it's not controlled. I'm not trying to scare you, I just believe in full disclosure.

Good luck in what ever you decide.
Peace & Blessings,
Q.

My daughter who is now 9 was on Pulmicort very early in her life. Before she was even 2.5 we had to have her tested for cystic fibrosis - she was that bad. She went from 95th%ile in weight to 50th%ile in a month. She did not have CF which was a relief but then we had to decide how to care for her asthma which was like your daughter's - the wheezing would start after a cold. What we really noticed was that she could handle a cold just fine especially if we gave her some decongestants right away to keep everything open (I know you can't give it to children under four anymore but you could 7 years ago). But if she got around cigarette smoke or some other trigger, she would start wheezing. Her triggers were cigarette smoke, humidity (which is hard to get away from in VA), mold and DUST (practically impossible to avoid though this was a mild trigger). She did not have problems with animal dander, smoke from our wood stove...it was weird.

We started going to a pediatric pulminologist and decided on pulmicort and began at regular intervals right away. We did not experience any of the negative side effects. We were careful to rinse her mouth out - if we weren't near water, I would take a wipe/washcloth and wipe her mouth out. We had to mix it with albuterol when she was having an "attack" and for a while with saline. It seemed so complicated and tiresome but it was worth it. She has been symptom free for over 2 years and has not been on daily meds for even longer than that. We keep albuterol inhalers around just in case but we think the worst is over. She will always have to be careful but it worked for us.

You want to treat daily, rather than just the episodes for several reasons. The most obvious is it will prevent an episode whenever it should just pop up. Another reason is if she is having several attacks and the lungs haven't healed properly, this will help her continue to breath free and easy - it helps keep the lungs open. If something does get in and she has another episode, then her lungs are already used to the pulmicort and it can work that much more efficiently. It all depends on how often she wheezes and how bad it is. Every 4 months isn't enough time for her lungs to heal before it happens again. You need a year between lung episodes. They are just so moist and full of mucus to begin with. The risks are permanent lung damage that may not show for a few years or such weakened lung function that she will always need something.

My daughter was never hospitalized, thank God, and only had 4 really bad episodes but they came one right after another, four months in a row. We didn't know if it were going to be an habitual thing so we felt we needed to stop it rather than wait to find out. And the onset was sudden. She would be taking a nap breathing fine. I would look again and she would be panting as if she had been running a marathon. And it would look like she had a hole in her chest where she would suck air in so hard.

My best advice - keep her as healthy and as active as you can now. Keep her lungs strong, keep her away from any triggers, keep her away from other sick kids if possible, keep her active to make the lungs work hard. I was told that sometimes these things come back in the teenage years, the 20's etc. so always keep an eye on her even when it looks like she has grown out of it. Then as she ages and the normal lung function diminishes (which happens to all of us) she won't have extra issues with scarring, etc.

I hope this isn't too long!! This is a real personal issue with me and I really hope I helped you. I agree that you should look at all the possible causes before you make your final decision and also try some natural remedies. Keep her as healthy as you can since the lungs are slow to heal and repeated "attacks" really weaken them. I am in to natural remedies myself and highly recommend trying to let the body heal itself but when all else fails (if it should) then at least try the pulmicort.

Good luck and God bless,
Z.

My son (2.5) has a whole asthma plan, so he's on pulmacort quite a bit. No problems with it whatsoever. Often kids get really hyped up on albuterol (my son does) and he is a cranky monster on oral steroids, like orapred. If your doc thinks that the wheezing can be controlled by pulmacort, I would highly recommend going that route, as, a) when the wheezing gets bad, it gets scary fast and b) the more "heavy duty" stuff has way more side effects. Good luck!

Hi, K. - I do not have any experience with pulmacort, but my question is what caused the wheezing in the first place? I think I would investigate treating the cause before I would jump into medication. Allergies, pets, household chemicals...? Good luck!

My daughter was on pulmacort and I had to take her off. It made her cry a lot, random fits, and major day dreaming. However, not everyone reacts the same to everything. Everyone's chemistry is different. Just try it and watch. You will know if she reacts to it badly.

www.askapatient.com

I have to use it on my 3 and 4 yr old when they wheeze and we have had no problems-it is the albuterol that makes my kids go off the wall so we use Xopenex insted, but go for it-it will help them tremendously-each child reacts differently-keep a close eye on them and remember most meds the benefit outweighs the risk- L.:)

I've used Pulmicort for many years, and would be on meds with stronger side effects if I couldn't use this. The cortisone is delivered in very small doses directly to the lungs, and very little, if any, circulates through the other organs, so the likelihood of side effects is limited. Be sure your daughter rinses her mouth carefully after treatment to reduce the possibility of getting a yeast infection in the mouth.

There is always the possibility, as with any drug, of side effects or unexpected reactions, but asthmatic symptoms can be extremely difficult to live with, and very limiting.

I couldn't tolerate Albuterol, which is a central nervous system stimulant. I got shaky, my heart raced, and I couldn't sleep. Cortisone can also stimulate some people, but usually only in much larger doses than the inhaler delivers.

My son uses Pulmacort and Atrovent and we have had no problems with either.
Like someone else said, every child is different so give it a try and if she experiences the side effects then have your Dr. switch to something else. There are a lot of alternatives for treatment.
Make sure to rinse her mouth out (or brush teeth) after to avoid thrush.

No problems. Brush teeth after. Note that the generic is available in the 0.5 mg formulation (usually administered twice a day) and is a lot less expensive. The 1.0 is not available as a generic yet, I think.

My daughter took this and it seriously made her crazy. She couldnt sleep, threw horrible fits when she is a normally well behaved child, would shake so bad afterwards. We took her off it and never had any problems like that again. We just try to prevent attacks and deal with them as they come.

All three of my children were on Pulmicort. I had NO problems with it, and they actually have gotten better.

Both of my kids are on Pulmicort (ages 2 and 4) and have been and will be for some time. They have no problem with it and it helps them avoid the oral steriods which give them horrible side effects. I will say I tried to put my 4 year old on Flovent so we wouldn't have to do the nebulizer and he had major personality changes so I went back to the pulmicort. Albuterol is usually the one that gives them more side effects. They are on it for different reasons though. For my oldest son it helps to control his asthma symptoms and he is on .5 once a day and for my youngest son it is to avoid the oral steriods when he gets a cold so he is on .25 once a day. That way if he gets a cold I can just bump up the pulmicort and hopefully avoid the oral steriods (fingers crossed). Every cold he has had so far he has had a severe asthma attack. Hope this helps.

I have 2 sons who have both taken Pulmicort, one who is currently on it once a day. There have been NO side effects that I have noticed. Both did well on it and I truly believe that it helps to keep thier asthma well controlled.

My 4 year old daughter was just on it for a week and it helped a lot and I didn't see much in the way of side effects. I do think it made her tired BUT it REALLY helped her. Hers was a cocktail of Pulmocort and Albuterol. Good luck!
BTW, if you are uncomfortable MAKE CERTAIN to ask your doc any/every question you can think of to help make your decision.

My son was on Pulmicort for 5 days when he was 2.5 years old. He became obsessive and aggressive. He had terrible tantrums lasting up to several hours. I stopped giving it to him when he started screaming about getting wet in the rain when it was sunny outside. I was afraid he was hallucinating. He tends to be very sensative to medications. My friend's daughter takes it and has no trouble. Watch your child closely and take her off if she begins to act differently.