my son is 2 1/2 been on salbutmol and becotide since he was 6 months old.
he has had over 20 chest infections, croup, bronciltis, RSV, pneumonia.

he was dx with silent reflux at 14 months.

he always has a cough which gets worse then he gets this chest probs.

at the moment hes on both the inhalers. although i feel he has asthma, breathless, wheezing, chest pulls in where he has the hole at the top from all his chest probs, i feel his asthma is somehow related to his reflux.

when he eats u can hear alot of the stuff siiting on his chest and when he coughs it goes.

hes also on meds for his reflux as well, recnelty taken off Erthmycin and a few days bad with another chest problem.

asthma nurse feels it could be linked, gastro not convinced.

not really sure what to think
any ideas?

I definitely think there is a link. As you know, reflux involves stomach contents backing up the esophagus into the mouth. This can also lead to aspiration if that trickle of stomach contents manages to get into the trachea (not an unusual occurence with reflux). This can lead to pneumonia, pneumonitis, and certainly bronchospasm. A pulmonary specialist would be quick to suspect a link between the reflux and the chest problems you describe. As for medications, Matthew is on a pretty standard regimen. The salbutamol is for active bronchospasm and will help with the cough and wheezing while it's happening. The becotide is an inhaled steroid that is used to prevent the wheezing and coughing from happening - it reduces airway inflammation. The becotide should be used as ordered every day - whether you think he's feeling better or not. When you think he's better, that is evidence that the becotide IS working and should not be stopped. I hope you find answers soon. I would try to get an appointment with a Pediatric Pulmonologist - they would be the best person to manage Matthew's many respiratory issues. This definitely seems to be an ongoing issue with him, and I suspect he would see at least some benefit when his GERD is totally controlled.

hello and thank you for ur reply
we have used the becotide everyday since he was 6 months, he use to be on 50 strength 1 puff twice a day then it went up to 2 puffs twice a day then the asthma nurse recently changed the 50 to 100 strenth and he was put on 2 puffs twice a day of 100. this did seem to help abit. however still has the cough (dry) and when he gets ill goes straight to his chest.

i feel the antibitoic did help in some extent however didnt work fully, but since the antibitoic was stopped within days he was bad again which is making me feel all this linked.

what is a Pediatric Pulmonologist? never heard of this before.

we see the paed at our local in march along with the asthma nurse, and we see the respiratory team for sleep apnoea a few dyas later so will just keep mentioning his problems and see what comes up

i do feel he aspirates, not all the time though, he has done it on sick and stopped breathing, also done it recently and i got him on video with the after affects with the coughing etc.

his last VF showed epiglottic undercoating with all food and drink so he was at risk of aspiration then but its never been repeated.

thank you for ur reply

I think you have a good plan for March. Just keep bringing it up. Maybe someone can refer you to a Peds Pulmonologis. That is a physician that specializes in pediatric lung problems. I hope you find answers and some relief soon!