Advice Needed from Mothers of Children with Asthma

[Annie N]

My 4 children, ages 7–16, have all been diagnosed with asthma. What seems to happen is that they get sick a lot--none has ever had an emergency which required a trip to the ER or anything like that. It's just that they are frequently wheezy, sinusy, etc. When they are well, they are in great shape: they have energy, they want to go outside and play, etc. When they are sick, they are droopy, they just sit around, but the main problem is that they have so much trouble with their schoolwork.

 

I am going nuts here!!!!! They just had 2 weeks of being well, following 6 weeks of not being well. Now they are all falling apart again.

 

I am at a total loss. I feel like this is making everybody be very behind, because they lose so much time to being sick. I am considering ways to get them educated in a very passive way (tapes, etc), but the stuff they have to do is not getting done as much as I would like it to be. And the stuff I want them to do together (Latin mostly) is hardly getting done at all because they so often are not sick at precisely the same time.

 

How do you all handle this? I am going crazy!!!!!

[Desert Rat]

Are your kids on any daily meds? My 2 boys are both asthmatics (as is my dh) and they take Zyrtec (OTC) and Singulair daily. This helps them fight off problems before they even start. When they start getting runny noses we start them on their inhaled meds usually within 24 hours because once it's in their sinsuses it will move to their lungs rather quickly. We use a nebulizer machine with Xopenex every 4 hours and Pulmocort 2x a day. The pulmocort I cut down as soon as there is even the tiniest bit of improvement because it's a steroid and it makes them nasty little things. LOL

I find that keeping on top of their symptoms and cutting down their triggers helps us a lot. I clean like crazy and we're in the process of replacing carpet with wood floors. Prevention really is the best medicine. Their daily meds help with that.

HTH

[RhondaM.]

Do they take meds for their asthma? My son was like you describe, sick on and off all the time until I finally found a good doctor who prescribed Singulair. You give it daily. It is a preventative...and it works! My son rarely had any type of athma problems once he started taking this.

 

He was also given FloNase and FloVent which helped. But it was the Singulair that really was the most help.

[cillakat]

I'd consider nutritional intervention first.....they likely need more zinc (to stay well), A (to stay well and to treat viral illness early on), D (to stay well), iron (to stay well), produce (more fruit/veg means more antioxidants means less asthma exacerbations)

 

this is interesting (fwiw, I disagree with him on his anti-A stance, but fully agree with him on D). vitamin d deficiency is epidemic. you are vitamin d deficient as are your kids)

 

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/newsletter/2008-october.shtml

 

begin quoted material:

<<Dr. Cannell: My two children (age 5 and 7) have had asthma almost since they were born. In the winter, they are in and out of the hospital, it's horrible it is to see your child struggling for breath. Last fall I started both of my children on 2,000 IU of vitamin D a day and over the last year the asthma has just faded away. I'm afraid to stop their asthma medications but they don't seem to need them anymore. When I forget to give their asthma meds, I can't see any difference. Before the vitamin D, if I missed a dose of their asthma meds, I would know it very quickly. Could it be the vitamin D?

 

Joanne, Minnesota

~~~~~

 

Dr. Cannell:

It seems increasingly likely that childhood asthma is but another presentation of vitamin D deficiency. At least two researchers at Harvard think so—they think it is the result of maternal vitamin D deficiency. Litonjua AA, Weiss ST. Is vitamin D deficiency to blame for the asthma epidemic? J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2007 Nov;120(5):1031–5. Weiss ST, Litonjua AA. Maternal diet vs lack of exposure to sunlight as the cause of the epidemic of asthma, allergies and other autoimmune diseases. Thorax. 2007 Sep;62(9):746–8.

However, I have heard from a number of parents who wrote to tell me their child's asthma went away after taking vitamin D. Also, a paper is in press that shows low vitamin D levels are a risk factor for exacerbations of asthma in children.>>

 

End quoted material

Edited November 15, 2008 by cillakat

[Omma]

I don't know, but I can empathize with you! My 7 dd was just diagnosed with asthma last month, and my 8 ds and myself both suffer with allergies and a bit of asthma, too. We have never had to go to the E.R. either (except my dd did go there once, due to croup). I really appreciated your post, BTW. I do think we need to come up with a plan. It's good that we are homeschooling, at least!

 

I asked my dh about this very situation, because first my ds was sick, then the following week it was my dd, and the week after that it was me! So we have done hardly any work for the past 3 weeks! Yikes!! Well, my dh says I just need to put whoever is sick upstairs in their room, and then do school with the dc that is not sick.... instead of the plan we have been doing which involves lots of blankets and pillows on the couch and watching educational videos all day long.

 

As long as I am feeling fine, I can read history books to the dc, at the very least. But maybe I'll have to break down and 'do class' with the one who is feeling good, even if it is a subject where I ideally wanted to teach them both together.

 

Looking forward to hearing what others have to say about this subject! :lurk5:,

 

Brenda

[Twinmom]

Mine have asthma, as do I. I am very aggressive with the preventative meds, flu shots, etc., which does seem to make an overall difference in their health and stamina. Beyond that, there isn't a whole lot you can do...you just have to go with the flow, frustrating as it is. Esp. when they get sick in succession. :glare:

 

I'd suggest that you scale down your expectations where you can and perhaps just focus on the core subjects this year. As they age, the kiddos will be able to fight off illnesses better and will have more stamina. Some may even go into "remission." Also, let them do things like school in bed (or on the couch or in pjs...you get the idea!), do short bursts of subjects spread out across the day, do as much literature based stuff as you can (read alouds, stuff they can sprawl out and read by themselves, etc.).

 

It ain't easy, but hang in there. The work will eventually get done...it may be spring before it happens, but they'll get there! ;)

[Omma]

Wow... all these other great posts at the same time I was writing... Great info!

 

My ds has taken Pepcid Complete (believe it or not) to help his allergies and asthma. He only weighs 54 lbs. and he is 8.5, but I can either give him an albuterol inhaler or the Pepcid and it will do the same job for him (stop the incessant throat clearing and eventual continuous coughing). Whenever he has a respiratory virus coming on, I start him on the Flovent. Singulair did not work for him, but allergy shots have been helping him. His asthma seems to be directly linked to his severe allergies. My dd, OTOH, just came down with asthmatic bronchitis in late Sept. and is having trouble getting over the asthma part of that diagnosis. She was just prescribed Flovent in addition to the Albuterol and Claritin that she was started on before. She had a whole allergy panel done (foods and environmental) but is only allergic to cats and dogs. The odd thing with her is that she has atopic dermatitis which is worsened by eating fruit (especially tomatoes and strawberries, but really any fruit). This means that it is hard to get her the proper nutritional support.

 

We do stay inside an awful lot once it starts getting colder (we live in CT), and I really think we will have to make the effort to go outside more often. Or do you really need to do the Vit. D supplements??

 

Interesting thread. Thanks for letting me chime in here! :D

 

Brenda

[Annie N]

This has all been great! thanks so very much :)

 

 

I just realized some of them have to be seen again because they took their when-they-get-worse meds and am too mentally discombobulated to write more, but will return...

 

And thanks for the info about Vit D--which I will buy and start giving them tomorrow!!!!

 

Back in a bit as i have some more questions.

[cillakat]

It's just that they are frequently wheezy, sinusy, etc. When they are well, they are in great shape: they have energy, they want to go outside and play, etc. When they are sick, they are droopy, they just sit around,

 

 

What's the asthma plan before illness hits - ie preventative meds?

what's the asthma plan when illness hits?

What's the asthma plan when symptoms increase?

 

~~~~

so far we haven't needed preventative meds....oh, and we're not leukotriene responders so Singulair doesn't help us (me or the kids).

 

but....as soon as a cold or any other potentially respiratory illness hits, we start Flovent for dd7.5...flovent is an inhaled steroid. while I used to get my knickers in a twist about the idea of my child taking corticosteroids, I have since learned that 6 mos of daily inhaled steroids is equivalent to approximately 1 20 mg pill of prednisone. so now we do the inhaled steroids for these short periods in order to avoid ending up on oral steroids for a week.

 

Anyhoo, she starts flovent (fluticasone) - 2 puffs am and pm of the 90 mcg dose....i start asthmacort (triamcinalone acetate) - 3 puffs am and pm.

 

then we use albuterol or levalbuterol as needed for coughing (we dont' generally wheeze). we have both inhalers with spacers *and* the liquid for the nebulizer. usually we're fine with spacer/inhalers....sometimes we need to go to nebulizer treatments.

 

with dd7.5, if she's coughing frequently (every 10 secs or so), *and* short acting bronchiodilators are not helping, and she's been getting enough inhaled steroid for 48-72h, experience has shown us that it's generally not an asthma issue but has turned into a sinus infection.

 

at that point, we start codi-clear (hydrocodone/guifenisen combo) to stop the cough, start nasal lavage, and consider a course of abx (though we didn't have to use them the last two times)

 

:)

K

[Annie N]

Wow, I suspect my life is going to get more complicated with this stuff as we move along, as my children really do have sinus issues and if they need a different med... And we did get a plan for each of them, altho I am not sure it is working out as well as I'd like it to, because they start showing symptoms before their PF readings go down, or else they are too simultaneous to be helpful. They each have their daily meds and when-things-get-worse meds, and a plan for when to take each and when to call the doctor (Green, yellow, and red) And Brenda, thanks for mentioning the Pepcid as my youngest does have a lot of trouble with coughing.

 

I have to call the doctor and ask a bunch more questions now, altho I suddenly remembered that I forgot to close the door the other night when I did the self-cleaning on the oven and we all woke up in the middle of the night to a smoke-filled house. Normally my husband does the oven, which is why I forgot. So that probably explains the current set of symptoms, if one can imagine that they took a couple of days to get going.

 

And I guess that I will have to treat sick days as schooldays and just change things around more. Thanks for the suggestions on that front :) do you end up with two plans: one for when they are sick, and another for when they are well?

 

Thanks so much, everyone, for your help in this!!!! Sometimes I just feel so crazy--I am not good with details and this seems like a very detail-oriented thing. At least we have figured out to take the meds right after dinner so I don't have to get them out of bed when I forget. We're all getting more used to it.

[Spy Car]

Annie, I'm no expert here, and don't have a child with asthma.

 

But more than a decade ago I worked with a fellow whose daughter had terrible asthma. They found an MD who used some alternative methods. The one that sticks prominently in my mind was they did very regular nasal irritations of their daughter's sinuses with saline solution to wash out pollens, and other irritants. If memory serves (and it may not) they did irritations 3 times a day.

 

The results, as related by my work-mate, were dramatic, and his daughter went off meds without having attacks. His feeling was this was a "miracle". It took a lot of work and diligence but he was beyond grateful that his family had found a way to control his daughter's asthma.

 

I always stored this story away in my head hoping it might help someone in the future. I'm sorry I don't know more about the "method". But perhaps this is something you might discuss with your doctor, or research yourself.

 

I hope this is helpful to you.

 

Bill

[TeacherZee]

Annie, I'm no expert here, and don't have a child with asthma.

 

But more than a decade ago I worked with a fellow whose daughter had terrible asthma. They found an MD who used some alternative methods. The one that sticks prominently in my mind was they did very regular nasal irritations of their daughter's sinuses with saline solution to wash out pollens, and other irritants. If memory serves (and it may not) they did irritations 3 times a day.

 

The results, as related by my work-mate, were dramatic, and his daughter went off meds without having attacks. His feeling was this was a "miracle". It took a lot of work and diligence but he was beyond grateful that his family had found a way to control his daughter's asthma.

 

I always stored this story away in my head hoping it might help someone in the future. I'm sorry I don't know more about the "method". But perhaps this is something you might discuss with your doctor, or research yourself.

 

I hope this is helpful to you.

 

Bill

 

Bill you are right this is a very good tip.

 

One that I find helps me is to drink warm drinks throughout the day. This seems to help relax my airways a lot.

 

Also to OP have you discussed upping their doses for a while. I had a bad bout with my asthma last winter and my dr had me doing four puffs of my preventer in the morning and four in the evening for a month to kick start it so to speak. Also I have the doctors "permission" to up the dose if I feel a cold coming on or when I know I am going to be near things that I am allergic to.

[Spy Car]

Bill you are right this is a very good tip.

 

One that I find helps me is to drink warm drinks throughout the day. This seems to help relax my airways a lot.

 

Also to OP have you discussed upping their doses for a while. I had a bad bout with my asthma last winter and my dr had me doing four puffs of my preventer in the morning and four in the evening for a month to kick start it so to speak. Also I have the doctors "permission" to up the dose if I feel a cold coming on or when I know I am going to be near things that I am allergic to.

 

Have you ever tried a Neti pot?

 

Again if memory serves, my friends used a medical device to wash their daughter's sinuses, but I've wondered if a Neti pot with luke-warm saline might not achieve the same effect (especially with an adult)?

 

Bill

[TeacherZee]

Have you ever tried a Neti pot?

 

Again if memory serves, my friends used a medical device to wash their daughter's sinuses, but I've wondered if a Neti pot with luke-warm saline might not achieve the same effect (especially with an adult)?

 

Bill

 

I haven't. I don't use saline either. I have been told by my doctors to do this but I can't face putting things in my nose:D

[Annie N]

I haven't. I don't use saline either. I have been told by my doctors to do this but I can't face putting things in my nose:D

I'm with you on that!

 

But I sure do appreciate this info, Bill and Zee, and will definitely ask the doc about it.

[cillakat]

We do stay inside an awful lot once it starts getting colder (we live in CT), and I really think we will have to make the effort to go outside more often. Or do you really need to do the Vit. D supplements??

 

Vitamin D supplements are imperative in the winter unless:

1)you vacation in the tropics

AND

2)spend midday suntime without sunscreen

 

unless both those things are true, then D supplementation is required, it's impossible to get 1000-5000 IU per day from food alone.

 

 

 

 

:)

katherine

[cillakat]

"Again if memory serves, my friends used a medical device to wash their daughter's sinuses, but I've wondered if a Neti pot with luke-warm saline might not achieve the same effect (especially with an adult)"

 

it's the same thing. my two favorite devices. the first one is easier to use:

http://www.neilmed.com/usa/index.php

 

 

the ratio is 1c water to 1/2 tsp sea salt.....

 

my 7.5 yo has been able to do this since she was 4.

[cillakat]

but allergy shots have been helping him. His asthma seems to be directly linked to his severe allergies.

 

 

Let me just toss in with a '2nd' here.

 

In anyone with asthma or eczema, allergy testing should be done asap, and if there is an allergic component, start allergy shots as soon as it's possible. it can make a huge huge difference.

 

:)

k

[Spy Car]

"Again if memory serves, my friends used a medical device to wash their daughter's sinuses, but I've wondered if a Neti pot with luke-warm saline might not achieve the same effect (especially with an adult)"

 

it's the same thing. my two favorite devices. the first one is easier to use:

http://www.neilmed.com/usa/index.php

 

 

the ratio is 1c water to 1/2 tsp sea salt.....

 

my 7.5 yo has been able to do this since she was 4.

 

 

I recall my friend said they had a machine that looked somewhat similar to a "water-pik", except it (obviously) put out a low pressure spray, and had a "nose-friendly" attachment.

 

I never saw the device, but I believe they used a mechanical irrigator. Perhaps being "younger" this was easier for the child?

 

ETA: I just did a web search, and this was the general type of device I believe they used:

 

http://www.allergybuyersclubshopping.com/hydropulse-sinus-nasal-irrigator.html

 

Bill

[AnnetteB]

I've been living with asthma for 30 years now. I agree with the allergy testing so that maybe you can avoid some irritants. Shots were not an option for me...I'm allergic to too many things :( Mine is intrinsic and extrinsic...internal and external triggers(allergies, cold air, and laughing can bring it on). Saline irrigation of the sinuses is a terrific way to avoid sinus infection and subsequent bronchitus...one always seems to lead to the other for me. Steroids will cause yeast overgrowth and skin problems...the fruit issues makes me wonder if it is the sugar feeding yeast? Nutrition and supplements keep my attacks to a minimum and my first "medication" choice is a hot cup of caffeinated coffee or tea black. The inhalers are second choice. Hot chicken soup is a lifesaver during the cold and flu season. One of the children had a diagnosis of asthma years ago during a cold, but I think it was really bronchitis and the dr. jumped the gun. He has never wheezed since! It is important to exercise and breath deeply to keep the lungs healthy. I don't let myself lose days to my asthma. I hope this helps?

 

I have a friend whose allergist actually trained them how to use a water pick to irrigate their sinuses.

Edited November 15, 2008 by AnnetteB
responding to the most recent post...

[Annie N]

I've been living with asthma for 30 years now. I agree with the allergy testing so that maybe you can avoid some irritants. Shots were not an option for me...I'm allergic to too many things :( Mine is intrinsic and extrinsic...internal and external triggers(allergies, cold air, and laughing can bring it on). Saline irrigation of the sinuses is a terrific way to avoid sinus infection and subsequent bronchitus...one always seems to lead to the other for me.

Ok, I guess we will be doing this since it has helped so many people :)

 

Nutrition and supplements keep my attacks to a minimum and my first "medication" choice is a hot cup of caffeinated coffee or tea black. The inhalers are second choice.

Oh, you know, my husband (who had asthma as a child) lets them drink coffee through all this. I always heard that caffeine makes it so that children don't grow, but once I had my own children, I thought that maybe it was a ploy of mothers to keep the coffee to themselves so as to out-energize the children.

 

Hot chicken soup is a lifesaver during the cold and flu season.

OK, I'll be upping the chicken soup production this year :) How often do you have it, or do you save it for when they are sick?

 

One of the children had a diagnosis of asthma years ago during a cold, but I think it was really bronchitis and the dr. jumped the gun. He has never wheezed since!

I asked the doctor about that, and she told me that it used to be that asthma was not diagnosed until they had been wheezy several times or had a more serious episode, but that now the "numbers" for wheezing and asthma are the same.

 

It is important to exercise and breath deeply to keep the lungs healthy. I don't let myself lose days to my asthma.

My husband said to do this, but I am not really sure how to. In reality, when he is home, my husband is very erratic about what he does with the children when they are sick: half the time they get to watch movies, and the other half they are doing physical work, and at no time are they doing schoolwork! :confused1:

 

So... my problem is that I can't tell how bad they feel (and I suspect they might have figured that out!). I would get them to do more, but they do it soooo sloooowly and complain about feeling bad throughout, and I wish I could tell how bad they feel. Unfortunately I have had several occasions when I thought they were ok and then something dreadful happened (like the time my oldest threw up at church after telling me her tummy was bothering her :blushing:)

 

Any advice on this point by anyone would be greatly appreciated!!!!! My mother just said that if we weren't well enough to go to school, we weren't well enough to go outside and play, but we have no children around to play with so that doesn't work here.

 

I hope this helps?

This has helped a great deal, thank you very much!

 

I have a friend whose allergist actually trained them how to use a water pick to irrigate their sinuses.

Egads!!!!! (I'm really bad with gross stuff, but I guess I'll have to get over it!)

 

Thanks again so much!

[T Baer]

My 4 children, ages 7–16, have all been diagnosed with asthma. What seems to happen is that they get sick a lot--none has ever had an emergency which required a trip to the ER or anything like that. It's just that they are frequently wheezy, sinusy, etc. When they are well, they are in great shape: they have energy, they want to go outside and play, etc. When they are sick, they are droopy, they just sit around, but the main problem is that they have so much trouble with their schoolwork.

 

 

I am going nuts here!!!!! They just had 2 weeks of being well, following 6 weeks of not being well. Now they are all falling apart again.

 

I am at a total loss. I feel like this is making everybody be very behind, because they lose so much time to being sick. I am considering ways to get them educated in a very passive way (tapes, etc), but the stuff they have to do is not getting done as much as I would like it to be. And the stuff I want them to do together (Latin mostly) is hardly getting done at all because they so often are not sick at precisely the same time.

 

How do you all handle this? I am going crazy!!!!!

 

I so can identify with the getting sick frequently. We have a good pediatrician, but he felt DS needed to go to a children's pulmonary specialist. While she agreed with the meds that he is on singular, advair, fexofinadine daily and iprotropium bromide and albuterol as needed. She advised that when he starts getting sick (we generally know when) to give him the iprotrpium bromide in the nebulizer sooner rather than latter and if that doesn't help add the albuterol and the steroid. She gave us a prescription to have these esp the steroid on hand. Also to change his advair to the higher dosage. As much as I dislike him being on all these meds, it's what he needs. Changes in weather (and we had this when we went on vacation) can set his asthma off.

We do school, but slow it down as I tell him that Daddy has to go to work when he's not feeling all that well. Of course if it's really bad then we don't.

By the way it took us over a month to get to see the specialist, so if you are considering it, don't wait unitl they are sick.

Someone mentioned, Calcium and asthma link. I know that DS doesn't do well with milk, we do give him soy milk (doesn't care for that too much either) and he takes calcium. He had an issue with absorbtion of Vitamin D when he was a infant and we had to get a pharmacist to make a special solution, which the insurance company wouldn't pay for :(

Edited November 15, 2008 by T Baer
I left off something

[Annie N]

Thanks Tbear, I'm going to look into that calcium issue, and I notice that Vit D came up in your post as well--hmmmm.

[AnnetteB]

Chicken soup when we feel like it and a big pot made at the beginning of a cold bug and keep it coming until it clears out or everyone yells, "Enough!" Lentil soup with spices to clear the head....cayenne helps. I tell my kids that caffeine will make them short and that they have to go to bed because they grow while they sleep...little white lies perhaps? I take seriously all threats of tummy upset and quickly provide a bowl! If the kids say they are sick they get to spend the day quietly in their bed resting. They usually want to rejoin the family at school as soon as they are able. We usually work shorter days if there is a bug working through the family.

[Ottakee]

I think you need to be a little more aggressive in their treatment. They need more than what your ped. can give them.

 

I would ask to see a pediatric pulmonologist for each of them to develop a treatment plan--both preventative and rescue (illness) plan.

 

I would search out WHAT the trigger might be. For a friend of mine, all 4 of her kids had food allergies and once they figured those out they went from several treatments per day per child to only a couple of neb treatments a year between the kids. Environmental allergies can also play a role in asthma.

 

Acidophillus (we use Supremadohillus from http://www.houstonni.com) on a daily basis has really helped with illness here. They also take omegabrite.com 3 capsules per day but I don't know if that directly helps the asthma stuff or not.

[Annie N]

Chicken soup when we feel like it and a big pot made at the beginning of a cold bug and keep it coming until it clears out or everyone yells, "Enough!" Lentil soup with spices to clear the head....cayenne helps. I tell my kids that caffeine will make them short and that they have to go to bed because they grow while they sleep...little white lies perhaps? I take seriously all threats of tummy upset and quickly provide a bowl! If the kids say they are sick they get to spend the day quietly in their bed resting. They usually want to rejoin the family at school as soon as they are able. We usually work shorter days if there is a bug working through the family.

 

 

Thanks so much!

 

The problem with sending them to bed is that mine are just as happy spending a day in bed reading... even if they are not sick! I was the same way.

 

But we have a plan now, which is kind of rickety, but at least it will get me going in the right direction, and if they are too sick to do schoolwork, they have to listen to educational tapes, which they hate!!!!, (I don't know why) so hopefully that won't be a problem (Don't they have a fiendish smile emoticom?)

 

(And now I really want some popcorn :eek: )

 

 

Thanks again so much :)

[Annie N]

I think you need to be a little more aggressive in their treatment. They need more than what your ped. can give them.

 

I would ask to see a pediatric pulmonologist for each of them to develop a treatment plan--both preventative and rescue (illness) plan.

 

I would search out WHAT the trigger might be. For a friend of mine, all 4 of her kids had food allergies and once they figured those out they went from several treatments per day per child to only a couple of neb treatments a year between the kids. Environmental allergies can also play a role in asthma.

Well, I think that she is waiting to see if it follows the pattern we have noticed, which is summer (related to agriculture [how depressing is that?!?!?!? Move out to the country and all your kids get sick!]), smoke, and colds. In between those things, they are really well, which is why we don't suspect other things, except maybe for my one son.

 

Acidophillus (we use Supremadohillus from http://www.houstonni.com) on a daily basis has really helped with illness here. They also take omegabrite.com 3 capsules per day but I don't know if that directly helps the asthma stuff or not.

I'm going to add these to my list of things to ask her about, thanks :)

[King Alfred Academy]

My ds5 was a preemie with lung issues and has spent a lot of time in the hospital with asthma issues. His is not exercise induced, but viruses in allergies do him in. He was also tested for reflux and found out his is severe and this can cause asthma as well. He was on 6 medications a day since he was 8 months old. I didn't like it.

 

My girlfriend told me her chiropractor could help. I didn't believe her, but was desperate to try anything. We started seeing him in Jan. of 2007 and by March of 2007 he was off his medications and has not had an episode since! I do keep his inhaler with me just in case and do try to control his diet a bit, but nothing extreme. He is living a "normal" life now.

 

I will say this...we moved across country in Aug. this year and I have not been able to find a chiropractor who adjusts the way ours did, so he has not been adjusted since then. We are having issues now. In fact, he is running a fever of 102.1 as I type this. Come Monday morning, I will have him in a Chiropractors office...somewhere! It works for him.

[Mommyof4ks]

Our DD5 has asthma that is induced by allergens. We removed the carpet, got rid of bad chemical cleaning agents (some say on the bottle that they are lung irritants), and I only dust when he is gone. We also got air purifiers which seem to help alot since he only has trouble when he goes outside, but when he is inside his symptoms are much less since getting those purifiers.

 

We have him on Asthmanix ((sp?) steroid) daily during Sept-Nov and Apr. to control it since it seems to get worse every year around that time. He takes Xopenex and Pred. when it gets worse (pulseox above 140 below 95%). His best friend is his humidifier in winter, because he HATES nasal irrigation but the trick is it has to be cleaned daily with tea tree oil to prevent mold growth which could trigger the asthma.

 

We have recently started giving him vit D supplements, but it is hard to know if it is working since this is about the time he calms down until Apr. He is not a big fan of going outside, so this may be necessary year round for him. We are bad parents and don't use sunscreen execpt on the face where they burn easily, so he gets plenty of sun when we can get him out there. We also give probiotics to curb sinus infections and ear infections, and that has kept him infection free through the last couple of bouts (he used to get 2-3 ear infections each bout).

 

Does anyone know if vit D is one that you can get too much of like vit A or does it just pass through like calcuim (assuming you drink enough water) if you get to much?

 

Good luck! It is hard using the trial and error method, but it seems to be the only way to find what works. We have been to several docs with several idea, and I think we finally have a winner.

[ChrisN in NY]

My 4 children, ages 7–16, have all been diagnosed with asthma. What seems to happen is that they get sick a lot--none has ever had an emergency which required a trip to the ER or anything like that. It's just that they are frequently wheezy, sinusy, etc. When they are well, they are in great shape: they have energy, they want to go outside and play, etc. When they are sick, they are droopy, they just sit around, but the main problem is that they have so much trouble with their schoolwork.

 

I am going nuts here!!!!! They just had 2 weeks of being well, following 6 weeks of not being well. Now they are all falling apart again.

 

I am at a total loss. I feel like this is making everybody be very behind, because they lose so much time to being sick. I am considering ways to get them educated in a very passive way (tapes, etc), but the stuff they have to do is not getting done as much as I would like it to be. And the stuff I want them to do together (Latin mostly) is hardly getting done at all because they so often are not sick at precisely the same time.

 

How do you all handle this? I am going crazy!!!!!

 

I didn't read the replies you received already, and I apologize if I'm repeating something.

 

We've been dealing with asthma for 8 years, in 3 of my dc (#2, #5 and #6).

 

First... there's a learning curve.. about the meds, what they're for, how they work.... about YOUR dc's asthma, what triggers it, when, their first symptoms. It'll get less crazy.

 

Second... it won't always be like this. Related to #1 above, in part. But also, I've found that once the asthma stays controlled for awhile (and it WILL get there), dc needs less med over the long term.

 

(Eg, my 9yo is on 1/8 the Flovent now than he was when he was 2yo. He had 8 major attacks in 12 months. The docs said they'd be happy to get him down to 1 or 2. The last major attack he has was that 8th one. He does have some minor trouble now and again, but has not been on prednisone in 6 years.)

 

Third... I HIGHLY recommend this book about asthma: Dr Tom Plaut's Guide to Asthma for People of All Ages. He is practical, thorough, easy to understand without your feeling like an idiot.

 

Fourth... I even MORE HIGHLY recommend a specialist. Pedi's and Family practitioners are great, but they are not good at treating asthma... even when they think they are.

 

About a year ago, one of my friends had the "best pedi in the area for treating asthma" who insisted she cancel an appt with a specialist (which was made at my suggestion) because he could treat her son's asthma. The son finally did get in to an asthma specialist (different practice than we go to, that's fine -- this one was at her pedi's insistence) over the summer, and the difference is QUITE significant. The mom wishes she had done this MUCH sooner.

 

It will be ok. I promise.

[Annie N]

Our DD5 has asthma that is induced by allergens. We removed the carpet, got rid of bad chemical cleaning agents (some say on the bottle that they are lung irritants), and I only dust when he is gone. We also got air purifiers which seem to help alot since he only has trouble when he goes outside, but when he is inside his symptoms are much less since getting those purifiers.

 

We have him on Asthmanix ((sp?) steroid) daily during Sept-Nov and Apr. to control it since it seems to get worse every year around that time. He takes Xopenex and Pred. when it gets worse (pulseox above 140 below 95%). His best friend is his humidifier in winter, because he HATES nasal irrigation but the trick is it has to be cleaned daily with tea tree oil to prevent mold growth which could trigger the asthma.

This and the info about the probiotics will be very helpful!

 

We have recently started giving him vit D supplements, but it is hard to know if it is working since this is about the time he calms down until Apr. He is not a big fan of going outside, so this may be necessary year round for him. We are bad parents and don't use sunscreen execpt on the face where they burn easily, so he gets plenty of sun when we can get him out there. We also give probiotics to curb sinus infections and ear infections, and that has kept him infection free through the last couple of bouts (he used to get 2-3 ear infections each bout).

 

Does anyone know if vit D is one that you can get too much of like vit A or does it just pass through like calcuim (assuming you drink enough water) if you get to much?

 

Good luck! It is hard using the trial and error method, but it seems to be the only way to find what works. We have been to several docs with several idea, and I think we finally have a winner.

Yeah, the trial and error part is extremely tricky. I usually feel very clueless!

 

Thanks very much!

[Annie N]

My ds5 was a preemie with lung issues and has spent a lot of time in the hospital with asthma issues. His is not exercise induced, but viruses in allergies do him in. He was also tested for reflux and found out his is severe and this can cause asthma as well. He was on 6 medications a day since he was 8 months old. I didn't like it.

 

My girlfriend told me her chiropractor could help. I didn't believe her, but was desperate to try anything. We started seeing him in Jan. of 2007 and by March of 2007 he was off his medications and has not had an episode since! I do keep his inhaler with me just in case and do try to control his diet a bit, but nothing extreme. He is living a "normal" life now.

 

I will say this...we moved across country in Aug. this year and I have not been able to find a chiropractor who adjusts the way ours did, so he has not been adjusted since then. We are having issues now. In fact, he is running a fever of 102.1 as I type this. Come Monday morning, I will have him in a Chiropractors office...somewhere! It works for him.

I hope he feels better soon! And it would be interesting to hear how it all turns out.

 

Altho I am scared of chiropractors :blushing: But I'd be willing to go that way. My friend was going to one, I can ask her about him.

[Annie N]

I didn't read the replies you received already, and I apologize if I'm repeating something.

 

We've been dealing with asthma for 8 years, in 3 of my dc (#2, #5 and #6).

 

First... there's a learning curve.. about the meds, what they're for, how they work.... about YOUR dc's asthma, what triggers it, when, their first symptoms. It'll get less crazy.

 

Second... it won't always be like this. Related to #1 above, in part. But also, I've found that once the asthma stays controlled for awhile (and it WILL get there), dc needs less med over the long term.

Thanks so much for all this reassurance! And nice to know that the situation will get better. :)

 

(Eg, my 9yo is on 1/8 the Flovent now than he was when he was 2yo. He had 8 major attacks in 12 months. The docs said they'd be happy to get him down to 1 or 2. The last major attack he has was that 8th one. He does have some minor trouble now and again, but has not been on prednisone in 6 years.)

 

Third... I HIGHLY recommend this book about asthma: Dr Tom Plaut's Guide to Asthma for People of All Ages. He is practical, thorough, easy to understand without your feeling like an idiot.

This sounds good. I really need a good book!

 

Fourth... I even MORE HIGHLY recommend a specialist. Pedi's and Family practitioners are great, but they are not good at treating asthma... even when they think they are.

 

About a year ago, one of my friends had the "best pedi in the area for treating asthma" who insisted she cancel an appt with a specialist (which was made at my suggestion) because he could treat her son's asthma. The son finally did get in to an asthma specialist (different practice than we go to, that's fine -- this one was at her pedi's insistence) over the summer, and the difference is QUITE significant. The mom wishes she had done this MUCH sooner.

Oh, boy. It's beginning to sound a lot like a good idea.

 

It will be ok. I promise.

Thanks :D I really need to know that!