Do I put my child back on singulair (asthma control med)?

Leeann - posted on 10/30/2011

oh goodness Michelle I can completely sympathize. the day my son got sick he had three asthma attacks, when we had to pull out the neb because the inhaler wasnt really working that well, my husband looked at me w/ worried eyes and said he goes back on the singular. I am so sorry you had to go through that, asthma at their age is so scary!

Michelle - posted on 10/29/2011

wow this is a great place to learn, I have a 4.5 yr old son, whos had asthma since he was born but not diganosed until a specialist 1 1/2 yrs later said so. weve tried sulbutamol and flovent and last year in the winter it got so bad he had croup and an attack. then we found signular to stop using so many inhalers everyday as he was just wired and coulbnt sit still for school. he was on it for 3 weeks and got a rash, so we took him off but then last month he got croup and we put him back on, I'd rather him have a small itchy rash then not breath. that was the worst day of my life to have to call an ambulance because he couldnt breath and turned blue last year.

Leeann - posted on 10/14/2011

I noticed some behavioral problems w. my son who is on singular. not bad, but i knew the difference so did my husband so we took him off of it. he was off it for almost four days and then yesterday he gets sick. so we put him back on it. its so hard, do the risks out weigh the benefits or does the benefits out weigh the risks? ultimately you have to do what you think is best good luck!

Tamara - posted on 09/26/2011

It's such a hard decision to make! My son is on Singulair as well and once we lost our insurance and he was off for a month or so and got so sick without it. Asthma medication is a very difficult subject because while it helps to control your childs asthma does it have other side affects. I haven't noticed any behavioral issues in respect to his meds though.

Susan - posted on 06/16/2011

I am an adult asthmatic....had asthma as a child and wish to share with all parents of asthmatic children some information. I have such severe asthma that I have been in and out of the icu three times. I had asthma as a child and it eventually receded. I did not have any issues until I hit my thirties. Anyway to make a long story short. it came back horrible in my earlier thiries. After I almost died I went to a nutritionist and found out that many forms of asthma are actually caused because of a systemic yeast infection which gives you leaky gut syndrome. I went on a controled diet, added lots of pre and probiotics and increased my vitamin supplements. Since then I have been the healthiest I have ever been. The interesting thing is that singular and prendisone cause a yeast infection to become worse. It will hid the symptoms but the yeast love the environment. It is something to think about if you are using these products.

Cassie - posted on 05/26/2011

My son is almost 4 and has been taking Singulair since the ago of 2. He hasn't had any adverse effects from it at this point. He is also on Flovent daily and Albuterol as needed. Had you noticed any problems before and if so what were they?

Donna - posted on 05/06/2011

My daughter has been on singular for a while now. I was concerned with the side effects too. So, I just observed her and found no change at all. It helps control her asthma because before she started with it, we were almost assigned a seat at the hospital. She does have inhalers to use as well but overall in my child's case it works. Each child is different and while it may work for one, it may not for another.

Melissa - posted on 12/27/2010

I think if your child truely needs it, go for it. I could/would NOT deal with the side effects in my son, and the little bit it helped him it was not worth it. Have you looked into other controller meds? Pulmicort is one, i know others are out there. My son isn't on a daily controller at all because he only has flares during the fall/winter and we just deal with them as they come.

April - posted on 10/18/2010

Removing my home of toxic chemicals has made all the difference in the world with my son's breathing issues. I refused to give him medication because of the side effects. Hours and hours of research later I discovered that most of the cleaning products in my home could be triggering my son's attacks. Vitamin D deficiency has been directly linked to asthma issues as well. I use only plant based cleaners, no pesticides of any kind, not even in the yard and for over 2 years now my son does not even take Claritin for allergies. If you are using bleach, Windex, 409, Lime A Way, etc in your home I would suggest stopping immediately and using more natural cleaners. Even when you aren't using the cleaners, they are releasing chemicals in the air, it's called outgasing. Not using toxic chemicals has made all the difference with my son.

Brandy - posted on 10/11/2010

Personally I do not like the medication because while my son was on it, he began to have major behavior problems. It did help alot with his asthma but at the same time it caused alot of behavior problems. The doctors put him on different controller and fast acting medication to make up for the Singulair and he is doing good. Although if it came down to him being able to breathe better or his behavior I would choose to get him the medication again in a heartbeat.

Estelle - posted on 10/07/2010

Please please pleace I need help!!!!!!
I’m battling with my daughter from 10moths old she is turning 3 in January.
The GP say thy think it is asthma she landed in hospital when she was 10monhs thy told me she had infection in her longs. But it is down hill all the why every 2 weeks she is in hospital or on antibiotics I don’t know what to do thy have treated her for asthma. I even took her to ‘n homeopath ho told he she have allergies. I have nebulizer her and given her all the meds thy have given me.
My daughter dos not have any amine system any more of all the antibiotics
The symptoms are: She will start guffing and battle to briefs. There will be lots of slam in here chest I have an appointment with a pediatrician but they all give me the same medicine that she is using now for how many months. I’m so worried and no one can help me can someone please tell me what can I do

Kristy - posted on 06/29/2009

My 3 yr old has been on singulair for a little over a year and what a difference it has made. I think we have only been to the hospital twice since then. every time he got a simple cold it always turned to pneumonia, singulair has made such a difference. my 8 month old was also diagnosed with asthma at 1month and she is on albuterol every 4 hours and pulmocort twice a day, although we cut back on the pulmocort to once a day now that it is summer. and she seems ok. got to love the nebulizer! i can't wait til she is a year old then her Dr. wants to put her on singular too, but it is not recommended for children under 12 months. hopefully it work work as well for her as it did for her brother. also I never noticed any behaviotr issues

Dawn - posted on 06/16/2009

Singulair is to help with indoor/outdoor allergies and asthma. My son was put on singulair for his allergy induced asthma at 6 yoa. I noticed some behavioral issues, but didn't take him off. When my twins were 6 months old, they were also put on it. My son was recently tested for allergies (7 years of age), and he has NONE. He is no longer on singulair. Singulair wasn't helping the twins, so we switched to allegra. Cost a fortune, so I started using zyrtec. This works better than allegra, and I can buy it in bulk at Costco or Sams. As they have gotten older and move around more, they haven't had to use the meds as much.

My son is now on Flovent-2 puffs in the morning and 2 at night. Xopenex (inhaler) and albuterol for the nebulizer when needed. We haven't had any flare ups. He was being treated for something he never had for 6 1/2 years. He was given every allergy medicine available, and nothing worked. Now we know why. To hear the coughing and the pain he was in, was horrible. Don't be afraid to seek out a specialist to help your daughter. If she has NO allergies, she doesn't need to be on singulair. If she does have allergies, they can treat that specific allergy/allergies so it doesn't flare up and affect her asthma.

Carol - posted on 03/24/2009

my son was borm with asthma and for the first 3 years of his life he either lived at home or he lived at the hospital when he was old enough for it they gave him the singular and he has been on it since he was 4 and half and it has been a great drug for him as he could join sports which the dr's said he would never play as his asthma was very severe but at the age of 16 he is a well adjusted boy and loves to play volleyball and soccer and other sports i believe singular gave my son the chance to act like a child without asthma

Leigh - posted on 03/24/2009

My 8 year old son is on singular too. The problem he had was crying or getting upset over things that normally didn't bother him. After about a month he got better.

Lynn - posted on 03/23/2009

The choice is singulair are prednisone the side effects touching shiny things or non- stop energy.

My son while on prednisone would get up from a sound sleep, and run like a cat chasing a mouse, and live off of 2 or 3 hours asleep.  I love singulair. I request it for my children, it works like a charm. I've never had a side effect yet. My children have used it since 2000.

You can always go back off after Allergy season.....

Cindi - posted on 03/12/2009

My daughter has been on Singulair for almost a year. I have never seen the side effects that they talk about in her. Something to remember is that when they do the trail of the meds that anything that happens in the trail is consider a side effect even if it is not realtated to the med. So, I would suggest to try it again and if you see the side effects talk to the doc right away and get her off of it.  I am not sure how old your daughter is but maybe the touching of the shiny objects was just a faze.

Tiffany - posted on 03/10/2009

Ha Ha! I completely agree.

Kirsty - posted on 03/10/2009

She "had to" touch shiny faucets every time that she passed a restroom.  For about 4 months, she would touch the faucets in our house 10-20 times per day.  She has been off singulair for 5 weeks, only washes her hands with a faucet.  No unnecessary touching shiny objects.

On a side note, we moms talk about the weirdest stuff...

Tiffany - posted on 03/10/2009

My 8 year old takes Singulair and he has not been in the hospital since he began taking it. We tried changing his diet, a chiropractor and different medicines. We have not had any behavior issues with him so we continue to give it. Had you observed behavior issues in your daughter or were you concerned about them starting? You may want to consider starting it again and watching her behavior closely. Good luck. These are not easy decisions and different things work for different people.

Donna - posted on 03/10/2009

hi  lv my son is on singular too and we stopped his for similar reasons. but like your daughter the docs thought he should go bk on it after becoming ill again. i decided to give it him again because really there was no choice his behaviour i can cope with and its getting better. but his lungs i cant do anything about apart from giving him his meds.if you look at it this way if she doesnt have the meds n she becomes seriously ill then there wouldnt be a desicion to make about her brain/mental health cos without her lungs then well shed av nothing hun. we have been bk n fourth to consultant for last 4 years and in and out of hospital with him every couple of mths so i know how you feel love. i would give it to her as i did with my son i hope ive helped you lv xxx