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Post by freecharlie on May 8, 2015 2:33:47 GMT
I'm not sure what specifics you are looking for. DS had croup every 6 months for the first year and a half of life or maybe 2 years. Then he would have breathing difficulties still every 3-6 months that only responded to steroids and nebulizer. Doctor probably diagnosed him as asthmatic when he was two and we got a nebulizer to use at home. We also always had some prednisone on hand so we didn't need to wait to see a dr to start his treatment.
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gsquaredmom
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,107
Jun 26, 2014 17:43:22 GMT
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Post by gsquaredmom on May 8, 2015 3:09:31 GMT
See an asthma specialist
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Sarah*H
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,098 
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Post by Sarah*H on May 8, 2015 11:39:50 GMT
I don't understand the question or what specifics you're looking for. Both my kids were diagnosed with asthma before the age of 2. There were periods with extensive treatments - nebulizer every couple hours for days on end, steroids and hours long treatments in the ER when that wasn't enough. There were periods where just a rescue inhaler was sufficient. They treated with an asthma specialist. If your son is having a flare up, then it's just going to suck until it's back under control. Croup and RSV make an already bad condition worse. There is no magic pill to make it all go away.
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Post by kelbel827 on May 8, 2015 12:09:34 GMT
Have you seen an allergist? or a pulmonogist? I'm not sure how old your son is, but there are plenty of things out there for allergies. Benedryl and Delsym are two really different drugs. If he's coughing, the main reasons for cough are post nasal drip, asthma, or GERD. I would push for a second opinion. I have been told by two different allergists, actually 3, that this is going to be one of the worst springs and that people who don't even suffer with allergies will this year. My dad has never had issues and is using zyrtec daily. Good luck, keep pushing. If he's old enough, try something over the counter for allergies.
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Tuttle
Junior Member
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Post by Tuttle on May 8, 2015 12:23:21 GMT
It sounds like he saw an allergist but it's probably time to see a pediatric pulmonologist. You mention an inhaler. Was he prescribed Albuterol? Has he tried nebulizer treatments of Albuterol? When my son's asthma flares, he takes breathing treatments of 15-20 minutes every four hours around the clock. Not a lot of sleep but nebulizer treatments and Prednisone (steroid either in liquid or pill form) are the only way he can get out in front of a flare. Good luck.
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Post by hdoublej on May 8, 2015 12:57:40 GMT
Honestly, we never did get an exact asthma diagnosis with my DD(13) or my DS(5). We have been prescribed breathing treatments for both and DD had an inhaler for a while when she was little. It's all very frustrating! Every October and February DD would start to flare up and we would start with the breathing treatments, any other time of the year she was ok. So with her, I would say it's more seasonal. DS is kind of the same way but there isn't a specific time of year with him, it's more random and I have no idea what causes him to flare up. Is your DS coughing through the night even with the breathing treatments?
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Post by worrywart on May 8, 2015 13:07:52 GMT
It sounds like his asthma is not under control. Is he on an inhaled steroid? I also agree that an asthma specialist (allergy or pulmonologist) is the next step if you haven't taken that yet. My sons general doctor was not a lot of help in identifying or managing asthma.
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Post by anxiousmom on May 8, 2015 13:12:12 GMT
My youngest had RSV as a tiny baby. For years afterward, he would get wheezy and we would go off to the doc for a steroid in either a liquid form or an inhaler when he got older.
We were told all the horror stories about RSV, where it can lead and what the possible outcomes could be but we were one of the lucky ones where the child "outgrew" the symptoms. When he was diagnosed with RSV though, there really wasn't any kind of "cure" (it is a virus, not a bacterial infection) so all they could really do is treat the symptoms as they came up (hence the albuterol to help with breathing issues.)
One other thing I remember is that when he was little little, I was told (or at least this is memory of what I was told-so please don't take it as the gospel truth) that the treatment for the wheezy and the treatment of asthma was the same until they got older.
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Post by Dori~Mama~Bear on May 8, 2015 13:24:45 GMT
My daughter was 5 months old when the doctors figured her problems were asthma. But hers is caused by premature lungs not allergies.
she was on meds until she was in the 6th grade. She still needs them when she gets sick some times depending on how sick she is. But she stays on top of it and has had the lung test and when she is healthy her lungs and breathing are normal. There are times where she has problems due to smoke (mostly the wild fires), and a few other triggers.
She had an asthma attach when she was 3 and the doctor said that if she drank coffee when she was having a hard time (before the attack comes full on) it would open the membranes in her lungs and she might not have a full on attack. We knew the early signs and she could feel them starting. so she has been drinking coffee since she was 3. It started out just when she was having issues with her asthma and she hated it but then when she was in high school she started drinking a cup every morning because she found that it helped her breath easier. But then by Christmas her freshman year she was totally liking it... Now she is a coffee girl.
I remember when she was so tiny and drinking that coffee It was more creamer then coffee and it usually took 2 cups to get her breathing to feel better but she hated the taste. It was like taking cough syrup to most other kids. I just kept telling her it is medicine for you to breath easier.
She still had to use her inhaler or nebulizer. coffee was just a helping tool.
I know coffee is not good for kids and it isn't that good for adults either but she will have to drink coffee every day of her life. If she doesn't drink a cup a day she feels like crap by noon. and she is looking for coffee. she most of the time drinks decaf so it isn't the caffeine she is after.
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Post by hdoublej on May 8, 2015 13:40:26 GMT
Dori~Mama~Bear I've never heard of drinking coffee for asthma! What is in it that makes it help? I'm so curious about this now lol!
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Deleted
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Aug 18, 2025 21:33:08 GMT
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Post by Deleted on May 8, 2015 13:58:36 GMT
I'm not sure of you question either. But I would definitely try to get in to see a pulmonologist.
Our son had his first asthma attack at 6 months old. We got him a nebulizer and did breathing treatments every few hours. When he was 2 he was on a twice daily nebulizer treatment (Pulmacort) to help keep his symptoms under control. We carried the nebulizer every where we went, because we could never be sure when an attack would happen. By the time he was 3, we thought he outgrew it. It was 3 years before he had another attack. He was 6 and we were at a water park on a very hot summer day. The water hitting the hot concrete created a steam that triggered it. We have since learned what his triggers are and he has done a great job of keeping it under control. He is 11 now. He has seasonal and illness induced asthma. Fall is his worst time, this past fall was the worst ever. He had to use his nebulizer, inhaler and prednisone pretty regularly. This spring hasn't been too bad, but he did have an attack last weekend.
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Post by Dori~Mama~Bear on May 8, 2015 14:12:42 GMT
Dori~Mama~Bear I've never heard of drinking coffee for asthma! What is in it that makes it help? I'm so curious about this now lol! My understanding is that coffee is a natural antihistamine and it opens the mucus membranes in the lungs. I really am not sure how but I know it works for my daughter. In all the research I have done most will say it is the caffeine but my daughter can drink decaf and it does the same for her. Daughter has had it all her life so she grew up learning how to manage it. I always talked to her about it even when she was 2 and 3. She really started understanding more when she was 4. She also knew how to use the nebulizer so when it came to giving her treatments (back then it was a twice daily thing) she could go get all the stuff and I would open the med tube and poor it in the cup and she would do the rest. But she learned that she could do anything she wanted to but there was a limit and when she learned her limits and when to stop by the way she was breathing. I got many phone calls from PE teachers saying that she wasn't doing what she was suppose to be doing in class. I would say have you read the letter from the doctor. Where is says she will stop when she needs to? and rest then join in again. By the time she was in kindergarten she knew her body and knew when she could and when she couldn't. Her teachers were really good about it until she got to Middle School and High school was even worse. Coffee helped her. It still does... I have often wondered if it helps all us coffee drinkers and we just don't know it. I know coffee keeps my migraines in check. |
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Post by hdoublej on May 8, 2015 14:19:08 GMT
Very interesting! Thank you!
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M in Carolina
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,128
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Post by M in Carolina on May 8, 2015 14:32:46 GMT
Dori~Mama~Bear I've never heard of drinking coffee for asthma! What is in it that makes it help? I'm so curious about this now lol! My understanding is that coffee is a natural antihistamine and it opens the mucus membranes in the lungs. I really am not sure how but I know it works for my daughter. In all the research I have done most will say it is the caffeine but my daughter can drink decaf and it does the same for her. Daughter has had it all her life so she grew up learning how to manage it. I always talked to her about it even when she was 2 and 3. She really started understanding more when she was 4. She also knew how to use the nebulizer so when it came to giving her treatments (back then it was a twice daily thing) she could go get all the stuff and I would open the med tube and poor it in the cup and she would do the rest. But she learned that she could do anything she wanted to but there was a limit and when she learned her limits and when to stop by the way she was breathing. I got many phone calls from PE teachers saying that she wasn't doing what she was suppose to be doing in class. I would say have you read the letter from the doctor. Where is says she will stop when she needs to? and rest then join in again. By the time she was in kindergarten she knew her body and knew when she could and when she couldn't. Her teachers were really good about it until she got to Middle School and High school was even worse. Coffee helped her. It still does... I have often wondered if it helps all us coffee drinkers and we just don't know it. I know coffee keeps my migraines in check. When I was in the hospital in March for my pancreatitis, my MS was causing muscle spasms in the abdominal muscles right over my pancreas/stomach because all that inflammation had irritated my diaphragm, etc. The spasms hurt so bad. The first morning that I was allowed to eat, I ordered breakfast and got gourmet coffee that came in a little carafe. The coffee was so good I drank 2 cups. The spasms disappeared, and I felt so much better that I went home that day. My doctor said that coffee also acts as a vaso-dialator, which is why it helps migraines. The natural caffeine and other ingredients in coffee are really good for people. When I had my stroke, my doctors told me about some recent studies showing that drinking at least one cup of strong coffee a day helped stroke victims regain their function faster. Dh spoiled me and got me a lot of Starbucks, and we also had coffee every morning. I bounced back so quickly that my neurologists asked for my permission for my case to be written up for publication. Dh has had asthma since he was a baby and had pneumonia. Turned out there was black mold in the walls of his room. His mother has COPD, and her first few years she grew up in a coal mining town. Her father had black lung. They still live in the same house, and they've had mold issues several times. My MIL and my best friend's children have had the worst time this spring. Hopefully the pollen will get better soon. |
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Post by Dori~Mama~Bear on May 8, 2015 15:20:00 GMT
I didn't know why the coffee was so important to me as for my migraines. I just knew that it worked. I didn't know it would help the spasms.
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Southern Side eyed Pea