new to all of this

Joanne - posted on 02/18/2009

My child was diagnosed with asthma when he was just over 2 years old, he was the same never went to the floor gasping for air he gets a cough that sounds very dry and the nurse says that this is the start of an asthma attack. it has been very difficult for us as we have missed 2 asthma attacks through not understanding. The best thing I can advise is to always get it checked out that is what we do.

Iliana - posted on 02/11/2009

My son uses a spacer too.  He was diagnosed at 2 years of age.  Both my kids have been on asthma meds since they were 2-3 years of age.   You should have been showed how to use it.  If not ask your doctor to set up a visit with a specialist/therapist that can help you to make sure you are administering it properly.  It's tough in the beginning, never knowing  if you are doing it right or if they are getting enough.  Having said that, the spacers are not great for getting the most medication to their lungs.  My daughter switched to a diskus at six and has been on it ever since.  She is on Advair and Ventolin, both diskus types.  I saw a huge improvement as soon as she started on them.  They do have to learn to inhale them properly though.  I also found that as soon they have the slightest sniffle I double their dose to help cope.  When they get better I bring it back down to the maintenance dose.  I son typically get get one puff of Advair (steroid type) two times a day.  When he is sick he gets two puffs two times a day.  I have even done up to three puffs when he is really bad.  This is only for a few day during the worst of their symptoms.  Don't be afraid to increase the dose.  My pharmacists is totaly against me doing this but he's not at home with a kid that can't breath.  My daughter ended up in emegercy rooms getting a years worth of steroids in one dose because of asthma attacks until I figured out that I could just increase the doses at home.  She has not seen an emerge room in two years. 

Hold the spacer at a 90degree angle to the child and have them breath in 5 times, wait 30 seconds -  1 minute in between puffs and shake the inhaler before each time.  Hope it helps!

Michele - posted on 02/10/2009

just to remember that she needs to rinse or drink something after the treatment this will help save her teeth. 

Sherry - posted on 01/31/2009

As long as you are keeping the spacer snugly on the face, she should be getting all of her medecine. I agree that the nebulizer is more expensive, but worth it in the long run. My son is now 4 and was diagnosed at 10 months. He has been on the nebulizer the entire time and just started the puffer about a year ago. I only use the puffer when we are traveling or out and about. He know when we are home he has to use the nebulzier. It takes longer, but they get more medicine deeper into their lungs. Sitting still for that long was hard for my son as well, but I usually use that time to either sit with him in the rocking chair and read books or on the couch and put on one of his favorite shows. I know the whole asthma thing is scaring and overwhelming, but unfortunatley before you know it you will be a pro at it. Good luck.

Lili - posted on 01/28/2009

He is actually 14 months, not 10

Lili - posted on 01/28/2009

For my son who is now 10 months, the best combo of meds are Flovent 2 puffs twice a day with spacer, singulair granules at night and the Xopenex inhaler as needed. He also takes prevacid in the morning b/c of the reflux which can make the symptoms worse. When we added the singulair few months ago, he really improved. The nebulizer didn't work well for us b/c he just would not sit still for the 26 minutes it took each time to so all his meds 2-6 times a day. It was just too much, but now with the inhalers he is getting everything he needs each time we do it. You just have to see what will work best for you and your daughter. Good Luck.

Suzette - posted on 01/28/2009

Wow, you have your hands full for sure. My daughter is now on Pulmicort .25 by inhaler once a day and Xopenex .63 as needed, with Singulair 4 mg chewable daily, add Allegra twice daily and Nasonex during the allergy season. We now have a Xopenex inhaler that I carry around.



You definitely need a pediatrician/pediatric asthma specialist. You will need a lot of patience and hopefully you have a good insurance plan.

Brooke - posted on 01/28/2009

she is on lodrane liquid, nasonex and qvar for maintenance. she isnt on a nebulizer yet, but the doc says she thinks that will be the next step. we actually went for her brother to be allergy tested, but the ped said if you're going to do him, you might as well do her at the same time. when we got there the allergist/pulmonologist said we should test her for asthma. it was on the higher end of mild. she uses her rescue inhaler atleast once a week, sometimes 2 or 3 times. she was increased from 1 puff in the morning and 1 puff at night (of the qvar) to 2 puffs morn and night. i have asked doctors for years "is it possible that she has asthma" and they all said no. she was fine. after 2 bouts with pneumonia in 1 years time...i started to ask more regularly...they all said no. its very frustrating. now we have moved to tennessee, so i am trying to start all over with docs. sorry to ramble...this whole thing just freaks me out slightly...

i also have a son with epilepsy, migraines and allergies. so we're a pretty medicated family! haha

Suzette - posted on 01/27/2009

Getting that asthma diagnosis is tough. My daughter was diagnosed at 3 months old. I brought her to the pediatrician because she just didn't seem right. Next thing I know, they are testing her pulse O2 and it was in the low 80s and they put her on the nebulizer. After a 20 minute treatment in the office, she was fine. 2 days later, we are in an ambulance on the way to the ER because of an attack.



Since then, her attacks are much milder, but it doesn't make it any less scary. Do you have a portable nebulizer? While my daughter now uses the spacer, the meds are much more effective via nebulizer. I spent the $175 for the portable, but your insurance company might cover that expense. To me, it is worth every dime, just to have that extra reassurance wherever we go.



How often does she use her inhaler? Is she on any maintenance medications?