DD has asthma and bad chest infection

angel

Amazingly I work with cats and they don't affect me in any way at all! Phew!!

pink123_2

Hi,

You may find that tea can help as it contains theophylline which is a natural chest relaxant and opens air passages in the lungs making it easier to breathe. Theophylline is also available on prescription for asthmatics

trigger2

hi, my ds age 4 has asthma (coughing not wheezing). I bought a room humidifier from argos which steams the room which helps. This winter I've been giving him 2 spoons a day of manuka honey (£5.50 from tesco) which has a high level of antibacterial things (technical huh !), & touch wood, this winter we've had no hospital admissions (which we normally do). I dunno if this is connected but i'm frightened to stop giving him the honey now ! I read lots of reviews on the web about it before i bought some, it's the Rowse Active 10 Manuka Honey i buy. Hope this helps, I know what it's like ! As someone's already said the asthma org is great, you can phone their helpline & speak to nurses to get advice too. Good luck x

bobsa1

Hi, my dd now 13 is an asthmatic and it started when she was a baby. The coughing is a sign that her asthma is not under control and she may need more ventolin. You can safely give a child up to ten puffs of ventolin- this is the same dose as a nebuliser, but if that is needed you should go to the doctors.

Are you using a face mask/spacer device to give ventolin as this is the only way that little ones get the proper dose?

Ideally you should strip bed, hoover it, boil wash bedding and remake it up, also get as much dust as possible out of the house (vac with filter is best)

If she has loads of soft toys these harbour dust and it might be worth putting them in plastic bags and then in the deep freeze (kills dust mites)

I found that filtering all drinking water helped (don't ask why!)
and that a drop of lavendar oil in a bath helped to relax her chest.Plug in vaporisers are a help too.

Pets can be a particular problem for kids with asthma so this may be the cause, but even if it is and you get rid of the cat a massive spring clean will be needed.

If you smoke or have a smoker in the house this can also be a major problem.

Good luck, but if in doubt seek medical help. My DD has been hospitalised a few times with asthma and it can be very serious in deed, even life threatening if left untreated.

Also one further piece of advice, open the windows and get some air in as much as you can, fresh air is great (appart from when pollen is high)

Best wishes.

Justie

Lots of good advice already given and I'd second the suggestions to get your LO to an asthma clinic and for the humidifier.

As well as thinking about allergies etc do you live in an urban environment? My friend's son had a persistent cough for years when they lived near a busy road, it was diagnosed as asthma - they moved house away from the constant background pollution and he's never had a problem since... If allergies are a risk then background pollution can make them worse too as the body is constantly in crisis state.

kit

Thanks all
Tried to see an asthma nurse today but couldnt without a doctors referal..... they booked us in the see the 'asthma doctor'. He said the asthma is as under control as it can be and she isnt bad enough to need hospital treatment yet. No referral to the nurse required :eek:

We have to continue as we are

She now has a vapor plug in thingy.
I asked the doctor about proping her bed up further but he said "all that will do is make her fall out" (can you tell he didnt take my concerns very seriously?).

She is in bed now coughing and coughing. He advised us to stop giving her cough medicine as 'it will stop her lungs getting a shaking'.

I have bought her soya milk to try tomorrow and a herbal thing from holland and barrett that they say will help.

I feel so helpless (and hopeless)

redballoon_2

have you tried putting her in a room with the bath full of very hot water? (obviously you in there at the same time)
the steam will help open her airways.

if she is coughing up phlem, its best for her to spit it out if you can.

Mandles

Hope shes got on a bit better since then. I am rereading this thread as my DS has got croup or asthma again and wanted to check how yours was doing.
My doctor said he sounds clear (hes 2) but gave me a aerochamber and mask that i can use with his big brothers subutamol inhaler to see if it helps.She said come back on monday if he has had to use it and been wheezing.She said then the asthma clinic will want to see him.
I know it will get better with age so hope and am pretty sure your daughetrs will too Kit.
All the best!

blue_monkey_2

Did the docs give you the spacer to gve her the ventolin? This holds the ventonlin rather than her trying to breathe in from the inhaler as she is very small.

I am asthmatic too and the constant coughing does sound to me like there is something in her room triggering the allergy. The Ventolin should stop this so if not then there has to be a reason why. I am the same with cats and now they don't come upstairs so if your cat is getting upstairs put a stop to it - even if your daughter is not in the room they leave their hair behind, likewise, if she is stroking the cat and then touching her nose and mouth this will cause it too.

It could be anything, perfume, washing powders - make sure that you are not wearing anything when you go near her to start trying to determine what it is. That means things like deodrant, hairsprays, gels, etc.. even bubble bath you put in her bath or soap to wash her in. It is hard work but you'll get there eventually and things will get better. Keep a diary of everything, however insignificant you may find it. They say children who get asthma before the age of 7 do grow out of it, regardless you learn to live with it - it is a condition that if you take your medicine then you can live it and be very well. The people I know who are ill with asthma do not take care of themselves, smoke or do not take their medication as they should. Sometime this means you changing your life and things you do as well. I cannot be anywhere where they are cooking with spices, the smell of garlic sets me off, people who have the smell of garlic, spices or alcohol on their breath - the tube used to be a nightmare in the mornings!! I started walking in the end.

I know she is little now but when she is feeling better get her walking just a little each day to get her lungs some exercise and I am guessing she is in her buggy a lot now, slow and small at first and build up, it will do her wonders but you have to find out why she is coughing as something is triggering it. You need to stress to people as well if they visit then they cannot wear these things either. It is hard but you need to sort it out for your little girl. It is hard for doctors as they rarely diagnose kids under 2 with asthma so I am sure that they are doing all they can. Just make sure you have that spacer if you don't already have one as you'll pump the ventolin into this and she can have as many deep breaths on it without worrying about getting it all in one puff.

Good luck, please feel free to PM if you want to chat more or want to ask advice as I am usually hopping from forum to forum poking my nose into wherever. I have had asthma for 27 years now - since the age of 9 - it's part of life but things will get better for her. Oh, and keep a food diary of what you have given her - I am allergic to a lot of weird things like apples, prawns, etc.. it is all about whittling down and finding out what it is. the only tests are 'skin p r i c k tests (I got !!!!! before, sorry)' where they put the substance on the skin and then break the skin to see what gets a reaction. My friends daughter has had this at age 2 so they do this - it might be worth speaking to your doctor - or, if you can afford it and they won't so it, get a private test at a private hospital which coss around £200. Don't forget if you have Medical Insurance to use this.

Oh, on more thing to add, being in a steamy room really does make me wheeze because of the heat so this is not always a good thng so please be aware if yu see a change if you are doing this - the same with a vapouriser, be aware of any changes you might see, if it makes no difference remove it as it might be the chemicals in it that are making her wheeze still.

Good luck.

kit

Hi everyone.

Just been to Florida for 2 weeks and DD is much better :T..... oh, apart from the fact she now has chickpox! 8 weeks worth of antibiotics and she still manages to catch chickenpox!

I am trying to keep the cat out of her room. All bedding is being washed at 60 and her mattress has been hoovered and turned.

I guess I will have to wait and see if she gets bad again now we are back. Am going to be keeping a close eye on what may trigger it this time..... after I've finished keeping a close eye on her scratching that is!