ugh.... I have been doing the breathing treatments on him as prescribed.
Albuterol .5 w/saline every 4 hours, one of those add in the Pulmicort take out the saline.

Last night we were "out" and he was running and playing and he was wheezing and wheezing.... IT WAS HORRIBLE. Scared the poo out of me. :sad3:
Should I up the Pulmicort? Is this what "does" it or is it the Albuterol. I am so confused about all of these asthma meds.
And, should this tell me that he does indeed have asthma?
We have discussed it with our ped. and they won't really tell me yes or no. :violent1: But my other two, never, ever wheezed.

Thanks Lori, :hug:

Emily
You should probably do the Pulmicort at least once a day, everyday, whether he's wheezing or not. The albuterol should be used when he's wheezing.

Albuterol is a fast-acting bronchodilator. It is a "rescue" med. It relaxes the muscles that wrap around the airways, making the airway dilate or open. That's kind of like taking your foot off of a garden hose, making the outside of the airway go from o to O. albuterol relieves bronchospasm, but doesn't prevent it.

Pulmicort is an inhaled steroid. It is a "preventer". When Pulmicort is used everyday (it generally takes at least 4-5 days to start having an effect, and must be used everyday to maintain that effect) it reduces swelling and inflammation inside the airways. This also opens the airway (think of it kind of like rotor-rootering a clogged pipe - it changes the inside of the airway from o to O). Pulmicort does not do anything to relieve active wheezing or coughing, but when used everyday, it prevents those episodes from happening as often. After you use the Pulmicort, wash Jack's face and give him a drink of water. The Pulmicort can cause thrush by wiping out normal oral bacteria - a simple drink will stop that from happening.

It's also important to recognize what triggers Jack's wheezing. He's been sick, so that will definitely cause an attack. Cold air can (and always does for me personnally) trigger bronchospasm. He may have allergies that trigger his bronchospasm. You might start keeping a journal of his symptoms to see if there is anything that coincides with his wheezing. That may be a trigger that you can avoid.

When we started Brenna's nebs, my Ped recommended this schedule (and told me to do basically what I want since I do more of it than he does:haha: ), but this is what we recommend to all of our asthmatics at work (adult and peds). We use albuterol every 4 hours as needed for wheezing or coughing (She might get 1 a day now, we did it every 4 hours when she was coughing). Pulmicort is twice a day while she is sick, then once a day. We will continue to use Pulmicort at least until the end of winter.

Check out www.everydaykidz.com (http://www.everydaykidz.com). It is a website with lots of info about kid's asthma (and yes, you can probably start to call it that now). The website is owned by Pulmicort, but it does have good info. www.noattacks.org (http://www.noattacks.org) has info as well.

Thank you. I love you. :hug:
Docs don't explain this stuff, they just say "do this" and don't tell me why or anything. :violent1:

Thank you thank you thank you. ;)

Oh Em, you're welcome! You just made my morning! :smt036 I hope Jack's better soon! Where is he by the way? I liked messaging with him the other day! He has a very unique style!:haha:

Oh Em, you're welcome! You just made my morning! :smt036 I hope Jack's better soon! Where is he by the way? I liked messaging with him the other day! He has a very unique style!:haha:

Oh yes, he was on earlier when I was "trying" to message with Rachel. :rolling: he likes to hit the enter button and never finishes typing the word. ROFL...
Poor baby. :( He just crawls up in my lap when I get out the machine. :( He knows.