SeaConquest Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 (edited) My youngest (2.5) has a cold. For the past two says, he has been wheezing and coughing quite a bit at night. I have asthma that gets worse when I am sick. It was awful as a child, was mostly controlled by meds as a young adult, and is mostly nonexistent in middle age (again, unless I am sick). I haven't noticed any wheezing at any other time with him yet (during exercise or from allergies), but this is definitely presenting as asthma to me. Do you think it is worth a trip to the ped, or would you take a wait-and-see approach? I am not sure what types of meds they can give two year olds, but I know that I hate struggling to breathe. Any experience or advice? Edited January 25, 2016 by SeaConquest 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I would take him in. They can give him an albuterol inhaler with a spacer to make it easier to get the med into his lungs. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 (edited) .dp Edited January 25, 2016 by Tap Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 (edited) They will probably diagnose reactive airway disease and give you a nebulizer or inhaler with a spacer. It may or may not progress to full-blown asthma, so far four if my children have had wheezing with respiratory infections as infants/toddlers but they eventually grow out of it. It is very useful to have a nebulizer it inhaler on hand at home for next time. Usually they just prescribe albuterol. They will probably diagnose reactive airway disease and give you a nebulizer or inhaler with a spacer. It may or may not progress to full-blown asthma, so far four if my children have had wheezing with respiratory infections as infants/toddlers but they eventually grow out of it. It is very useful to have a nebulizer or inhaler on hand at home for next time. Usually they just prescribe albuterol. Take him in. Edited January 25, 2016 by maize 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted January 25, 2016 Author Share Posted January 25, 2016 I have albuterol, but don't have a spacer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted January 25, 2016 Author Share Posted January 25, 2016 (edited) I just gave him some albuterol. I will make an appointment to get some for him. Thank you for the advice. Edited January 25, 2016 by SeaConquest 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 You'll want to take him in. Our asthma doc doesn't diagnose that young, but they will give you a nebulizer for him to get albuterol into his lungs - useful when he's sick. And they'll definitely give you a spacer with a little mask for a regular inhaler. You don't want any damage caused by asthma, so I'd just run in and talk to the pedi, and then an asthma doc if that's recommended. We did both. So far, DD (now 4) only has issues when sick. At 3, she could even voice that she was "low on breath" ... something that DS (11) still has trouble recognizing. That was our big clue to take her in. One thing I've found helpful to have on hand with asthmatic kids when sick is a pulse ox. You can find a good rated one on amazon for $20, so it's not too pricey. We've just been through a scary round of bronchitis/pneumonia though, so that's really on my mind. Hopefully your guy's not quite so sick! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monstermama Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 My son has a friend who was diagnosed with asthma around 2. From my understanding, basically the only times he has the symptoms is when he has a respiratory illness, and then he uses a nebulizer. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I have albuterol, but don't have a spacer. You would want a pediatric dose. Are you sure that he doesn't have croup? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 (edited) On the wheezing and coughing at night - is he retracting? Can you see his skin on his chest sucking in with breaths? If he is, you'll want to take him somewhere tonight. :( You probably know that already. Our neighbor's son was just admitted to the hospital a few nights ago, for wheezing and coughing that wouldn't stop. He's home now, but it was apparently asthma triggered by a virus. I hope your little one feels better soon. Edited January 25, 2016 by Spryte 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I would get a spacer if at all possible. It increases the amount of meds that actually get into their lungs by about 80%. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 (edited) At that age they sometimes give oral liquid albuterol to make sure that the dose is right. It works well and it's easier to administer than a mask and inhaling. Edited January 26, 2016 by Carol in Cal. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted January 25, 2016 Author Share Posted January 25, 2016 You would want a pediatric dose. Are you sure that he doesn't have croup? It's not a barking cough. Just coughing. I didn't put two and two together that the coughing could be reactive airway/asthma until the wheezing. I just made an appointment for this evening to get into the pediatrician after hours. I don't think it is currently serious, but I don't want to ignore it either. Like I said, I know it sucks to struggle to breathe. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Instead of a spacer, get the nebulizer. You don't even have to put the mask on, you can just use the tube and do a "blow by," where you hold him on your lap and hold the tube right by his face so he can breath in the mist. You don't have to hear wheezing for it to be asthma, as you prob know--my son's presented as coughing. They may prescribe a steroid, too. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
magnificent_baby Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 Poor kid! Please be sure to tell them you tried the inhaler and at what time so that he doesn't get too much albuterol (in case they were thinking of giving him a nebulized treatment in the office). Hopefully they can send you home with a nebulizer to start later so he can breathe easier and get some sleep. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insertcreativenamehere Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 (edited) A neb would probably work better than a spacer. We do nebs blow-by, too. I'd definitely get him checked out asap. We have too much asthma in our family and sadly, things haven't always turned out well. Better to be safe than sorry! I'm currently running several nebs a day for my 3 year old and 9 year old, both of whom have bad colds. Sent from my MotoG3 using Tapatalk Edited January 26, 2016 by poikar 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted January 26, 2016 Author Share Posted January 26, 2016 Poor kid! Please be sure to tell them you tried the inhaler and at what time so that he doesn't get too much albuterol (in case they were thinking of giving him a nebulized treatment in the office). Hopefully they can send you home with a nebulizer to start later so he can breathe easier and get some sleep. I honestly doubt that he got very much. As mentioned before, without a spacer (and with poor execution on my part) most of it just hits your mouth, but I will definitely mention it. Thank you all. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenbeanmama Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 The nebulizer will be way more effective than an inhaler and spacer. Take your little one in, if only to get the nebulizer and the drugs they need now, and to have them on hand for the future. If it gets to the point where he needs steroids, you want it on record that he already needs albuterol on occasion. You'll also want the medical records in case things get worse over time - a paper trail can be important if you end up wanting a referral to a specialist. For what it's worth, our pediatric pulmonologist would classify this as mild intermittent asthma. I've got one who only has problems with colds, and one who starts having problems if he misses two consecutive doses of his maintenance meds, which we learned when I forgot to pack them when visiting grandparents...I definitely earned the Bad Mama Award that weekend. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loowit Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 All of my children got back cough and wheezing with colds as toddlers. It doesn't necessarily mean asthma, but it does mean that medications can help. Only two of my kids have asthma. My oldest has exercised induced asthma which usually only shows up when she is sick or exercising. As she has gotten older it has gotten much better. My middle, who doesn't have asthma, used to get croup a couple times a year. He never had breathing problems other than when he was sick and outgrew it by the time he was 6. My youngest has bad asthma that has been hard to control and colds are his nemesis. He was not diagnosed officially with asthma until he was around 3. Nebulizers are the best, but it can be hard to get a toddler to sit still for the treatment. When they are bad enough, it isn't such an issue since they don't have the energy to fight it, but when it is on the milder end I found using the inhaler with spacer just worked better because he would use it. So for us having both has been useful. We just had to use DS's neb last week with his cold. I always know he is feeling pretty bad when he asked to use his neb instead of his inhaler. Hope you little one is better soon. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodhaven Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 I'm glad you got him in to see a doctor! My youngest has asthma. When he was a toddler, he had trouble breathing every time he got sick. He was given a nebulizer at a young age and we kept meds on hand for him whenever he needed them. We had to distract him at first, when he wore the mask, but it got better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted January 26, 2016 Author Share Posted January 26, 2016 We are back from the ped. The doctor didn't hear wheezing, and Ronen's pulse ox was good, but the ped believed me enough to give me albuterol with a spacer. I don't think my son would sit still for a neb right now -- whatever he has is currently pretty mild. I only think I noticed it because of my own asthma issues. Hopefully, it is a one-time thing. But, if not, at least we have a way to deal with it and it noted in his medical records for the future. Thank you again for all the advice. Hoping we can all get more sleep tonight. :) 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Oh, please watch for croup, and learn what to do if you don't know already :( I have a kid who was eventually diagnosed with atypical, illness-induced asthma. They could never hear much (if any) wheezing her chest either, and she ended up with croup every time she was sick for years. One ped finally gave us the inhaler with the spacer, but it was only very limited help. Finally, when I could start to hear that sound in her chest that meant croup was coming, I would have her use her inhaler and then dose her with children's Motrin before bed. She never had croup again after that--the inhaler alone wasn't much help, but I think between the inhaler and the anti-inflammatory, somehow it worked. Dealing with atypical asthma has been a mess, and it's only been in the last year or so that a doctor has said the words "cough variant asthma" to me, and that was an urgent care ped! Is your little guy sick often? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaConquest Posted January 26, 2016 Author Share Posted January 26, 2016 Oh, please watch for croup, and learn what to do if you don't know already :( I have a kid who was eventually diagnosed with atypical, illness-induced asthma. They could never hear much (if any) wheezing her chest either, and she ended up with croup every time she was sick for years. One ped finally gave us the inhaler with the spacer, but it was only very limited help. Finally, when I could start to hear that sound in her chest that meant croup was coming, I would have her use her inhaler and then dose her with children's Motrin before bed. She never had croup again after that--the inhaler alone wasn't much help, but I think between the inhaler and the anti-inflammatory, somehow it worked. Dealing with atypical asthma has been a mess, and it's only been in the last year or so that a doctor has said the words "cough variant asthma" to me, and that was an urgent care ped! Is your little guy sick often? It's his first year of preschool, so he has been sick more than in his first two years of life. But, that's pretty normal, in my experience. His cough doesn't sound barky. It's just a regular cough (I don't think there is any sputum). He's had a few ear infections, a couple of colds, a stomach flu, and Hand, Foot, and Mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 It's his first year of preschool, so he has been sick more than in his first two years of life. But, that's pretty normal, in my experience. His cough doesn't sound barky. It's just a regular cough (I don't think there is any sputum). He's had a few ear infections, a couple of colds, a stomach flu, and Hand, Foot, and Mouth. That doesn't sound so bad. Mine never got barky until after the crisis (always middle of the night), and then the barking lasted for a couple of days. The amount of sickness sounds better too. DD had her first pneumonia at 9 months old *sigh* I hope he made it through the night well and feels better today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.