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asthma

JolliJolli
in My baby was born in Dec 07
Does anyone know about asthma? my eldest had a really bad case of asthma last weekend and we ended up in hospital for the weekend. he's never been quite so bad and he has not been poorly with it at all for over a year. He had a really bad cold which coincided with his preventor running low. We missed the signs - he was fine and then he wasn't. we took him up to the local MIU and there was no dr and they couldn't get hold of one. (it was a saturday afternoon so our dr's surgery was closed and the out of hours doctor was too busy.) the nurse called an ambulance and he was then in all weekend. It was very worrying and after he was released he was ok for a couple of days and then i had to take him to the drs again for more meds and then that evening he was so bad again he had to go in and have another nebuliser.
The thing is I have had a really sleepless week because I keep having to get up and check on him. He never ever wheezes he just goes breathless. In the past if he's had a problem in the night he's woken up coughing and cries out but this week for the first time I've worried that maybe he would not be able to breathe and then just not wake up. I know this sounds paranoid and morbid but I just don't know enough about asthma as to whether this is possible?
It would be really nice to know some facts about it because if there was a way of preventing it happening would be helpful. We also really didn't realise how bad he was so now we are a bit paranoid about when he is a bit breathless about how much he is struggling.
I just wondered if any of you, especially those with older children would know about asthma or know where i could go for some facts! I know a couple of the dec babies have asthma so I thought I would post here as well as on the older childrens.


Replies

  • EmalennaEmalenna
    Oh crikey Jules you're really having a bad time at the mo.... does Zach have a brown inhaler? If he does you could up it every time he has a cold - also find out if he's old enough for a purple inhaler - my asthma has been loads better since taking it.

    I can get very breathless without wheezing a huge amount and it can come on suddenly - especially if I have a cold or I've been exposed to animals or feathers.

    I also have my own nebuliser - some drs don't like you having them but as long as you contact your doctor if the asthma is still bad then at least you can start treating it whilst trying to find a surgery thats opened - if it does get bad and you don't have a nebuliser than dial 999 I have and they are brilliant - they will call an ambulance out asap for an asthma attack. (you can get a cheap nebuliser for about ??25-30)

    I've always found that sitting by an open window or door (or just being outside) can sometimes help especially if he's allergic to anything around him.

    There is a website for asthmatics: www.asthma.org.uk
    Not sure how good it is but it could be a starting point.

    I'll let you know if I come up with anything more helpful.

    Big hugs - I know how worrying it is for you so call me if you want to chat. (If you haven't got my home no I'll email it to you) xxx
  • mamapinkmamapink
    Oh Jules, sounds like you have had a scary time of it! I don't really know anything about asthma so I am pretty useless on that front, but I think I would see if you can get an appointment to see your GP or an asthma specialist so you can get more info on how to manage his asthma. At least it may put your mind at rest.

    Hugs coming your way xxx
  • JolliJolli
    THanks for the suggestions - I probably should definately have a chat with the doc or nurse about it and thanks for the website address too - i will definately have a look at that.
    Thanks for the advice about the open window - I read somewhere that some peoples asthma can be made worse by being hot/having heating on and that sleeping with an open window can help. but then in the next paragraph it said that for some people it makes it worse!! I do worry because by going out it often seems to aggravate it and i don't know if thats the damp air or just the exertion of a bit of a walk or something.
    He does have a brown inhalor which is 1 puff twice a day but up to 2 puffs when its winter or if he has a cold. Its the brown one that ran out on the friday and we replaced it straight away but i think when its nearly run out its not as efficient and it was on the saturday he got admitted to hospital so I am pretty sure we should have been more carefull and swopped it earlier.
    Its funny what you say about allergies because I have wondered about that and on the day he got slightly worse again my mil came over and she has a cat so it has occured to me it could be that as other visits there have coincided with a reaction. having said that there have been times we've been over for the day and he's not reacted at all so its strange.
    The nurse advised that if he was ever as bad as that again just to call an ambulance straight away so I will. Otherwise in the night the nearest dr is about half an hour away in the opposite direction from the main hospital.
    He has been loads better this weekend - we went to town for an hour on friday as we were desperate to get out of the house. its a 5 minute walk and we only went down to go to a cafe and have a hot chocolate and by the time we got back he was quite puffed and coughing a lot so i was quite worried but he is still coldy so i think that may be why.
    yesterday we went to the school for a fete type thing organised by the childrens centre. its only about 15 minutes but its up a really steep hill and i get puffed normally so we were really lazy and drove up but he had a good time - they had some crafts and a magician and he was quite worn out in the afternoon but he's definately not any worse.
    its probably just aswell its half term - I don't feel he's 100% to go back to pre-school but we can play things by ear about getting out and about.
    phew sorry that turned into a bit of a ramble!
    thanks for the hugs. x
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