Kids with asthma & relief??

[marnel]

Mr Mas has symptoms later than usual this year. It's totally throwing me off. He went into a straight cough, day two.
I gave him his machine, inhaler, humidifier, singular & preventive since mid may b/c that's usually when he starts but it's like mid June now
What do you do for relief of the cough? I feel like I over medicate him but I get so freaked out when he's coughing all day every hour or so & I know his fever is coming.
Any tips would be helpful after this weekend I'm ready to ask his Dr. for him to see a specialist.

[lauren grier]

Has he never seen an asthma/allergy specialist? I'd def get him in with one if the treatment you have now isn't working.

[YepBrook]

It seems like you are covering all of the basics. My asthma is triggered by allergies, and can make a cold or sickness last forever. The only other things you might want to try would just reduce the allergens in his bedroom. You can move his bed out and completely vac & dust under and all over the bed frame itself. Clean his sheets often with fragrance free detergent. Clean the window treatments and remove anything in the room that might collect dust (like stuffed animals). Another thing my doctor suggested for me is coffee during a bad asthma attack or when I get asthma in combination with a cold and my lungs feel tight. The caffeine acts just like an asthma medication... Google it, because I can't think of how to explain it easily.

[marnel]

Lauren, I am I should have last year but waited and now im just gonna do ot.

Brook, I did give him coffee i heard that b4 and he actually like coffer and it seemed to help right b4 bedtime. I am washing and dusting everything tmrw. Hope this helps bc his cheeks were all red meaning that fever is coming

Thanks for the input. Really appreciate it.

[lauren grier]

Asthma sucks. My dad,brother,myself and kidlet all have it. It feels like a never ending battle sometimes :[ the specialist will really help, but don't beat yourself up for not getting there yet. They'll help you determine what all his specific triggers are too so you can really hone in on them and help him breathe better :]

[adi&co.]

we use essential oils for allergy and cough relief. works wonders!

[sastampink]

I have allergy induced asthma. I take ventolin and pulmicort (one for maintenance and one for emergency) I also take allegra at night and in the morning I take levocetirizine (I used to take singular but it stopped helping so I switched).

I recently bought an allergy spray for the sofas and curtains, I have no carpets in my entire house.

I have a decent hepa air filter. FYI, they suggest NOT using an ozone making air purifier, some of them have ozone some don't, you need the hepa part but not the ionizer, because that can aggravate asthma. that helps keep a ton of allergens out of the air/room. It is amazing how much my air purifier collects.

I bought an allergen reducing detergent for my wash and like I said I use a spray on the couch. Maybe that will help? Also dust barriers on pillows and mattresses. Nothing helps as much as keeping the house crazy clean, since I have both seasonal allergies and dust mite allergies. Its been a brutal year for allergies. Mine started 3 years ago around also in May and eased off by fall, sadly now they are year round. :O(

I would definitely see a specialist.

[MamaBee]

this post couldn't have come at a better time!! Jake is starting with a non stop cough.. and it gets worse at night. NOTHING is cutting it... gone through all the meds, all the natural ways... and it doesn't stop until he can actually fall asleep. I keep saying it's allergies because at times there is a runny nose with it... however he was tested for allergies and he only had ragweed. I know they can change and we have to get him tested again this year for his food allergies.

My husband - who has really, really bad asthma (especially as a kid) has always been on high alert with Jake... now that you are are talking about this cough, maybe it's time to get J to a doctor and see if it is asthma..

[marnel]

Sastampink, DH went and bought air purifiers for the babes.... He was freaked out cuz he woke up weezing so bad and throwing up it was 4 am so hes like were going shopping. I also made his appt for this wee. Im ready for better results.

Rebecca that is a good idea... Dr
Adrienne I'll have to research that a little more.

Thank u all for the helpful input.

[sastampink]

Ugh, that poor baby. I hope the air purifies help, at the very least they will scrub the air in his room. You should leave it on 24/7. Some have quiet modes for bed time. Please make sure they are not ionizers sometimes called ozone makers, or if they have that setting that it is always turned off. You will know the ionizer is on because it gives off a strange odor.

Also be sure to vacuum the filters and the unit as needed, the more often the better. I have several pets and vacuum mine every 3-7 days. It's pretty loaded up if I let it go 7 days though. If he has carpet in his room, removing it would go a long way to getting rid of excess dust, pollen and dust mites. Also replacing pillows. If he has down pillows swap them out for non feather pillows. Does he have any pets in his room, like hamsters or guinea pigs etc.... do you have pets in the house?
They could be tracking in allergens, and if they spend a lot of time on his bed, that could be aggravating his lungs.

Has he had the different rounds of allergy testing? I did two levels, the first is that tiny prick they do on your arms. The next level is where you get higher doses in shot form. I discovered I am very allergic to ragweed, almost all hays (which my guinea pigs eat), highly allergic to dust mites and cockroaches.. among other assorted things. I am really glad to say we have never had roaches but I am sure we have dust mites like everyone else. Not fun, but maybe he needs to be tested at higher levels of allergy testing.

Poor guy I really hope you can find something that works for him and get it under control. I should also mention I have exercise induced asthma as well. But if he is the worst at night, doesn't sound like thats the issue. I feel like if it's allergy and its at night, something must bloom or release spores at night, or something is bringing it in. I have never looked into actual asthma, only allergy induced asthma so I can't speak to non allergy asthma. But if his mattress and pillow are not new (or even if they are) then cover his pillow and mattress with allergen covers:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_no...mattress+cover

Wash all his bedding and see if that helps at all. Also what material is his blanket made of. He could be sensitive to fabrics like fleece, polyester or wool. I had to take my dog to an allergist and it turns out we are allergic to several of the same things. I mention it because when I brought her in the form asked what bedding she slept on and I realized her bedding is fleece (which is polyester) my couches are polyester, my couch covers which I thought were cotton are actually polyester too! You just never know what triggers it and it could just be too many of several things all piling up into enough to cause a reaction.

BTW, these are the anti allergen sprays and washes that I have been experimenting with.
They have 4 out of 5 stars on amazon:

This one doesn't have tannic acid:
http://www.amazon.com/ADMS-Anti-Alle...allergen+spray

This one has tannic acid:
http://www.amazon.com/ADS-Anti-Aller...allergen+spray

This is the laundry detergent:
http://www.amazon.com/Allergen-Wash-...=allergen+wash

If its allergies you might want to ask your allergist or the specialist if you should have an epi-pen in the house too.
OK thats all I can think of off the top of my head! Good luck!!