hi everyone,

long time no write.

my little guy has just recently been diagnosed with asthma...or whats looks like asthma..considering that he has had 4 similar respiratory illnesses in 8 months. they were all attached to various other viruses...but he was sick with respiratory distress each time.

at 2 months he was diagnosed with GERD in the ER ....and we had thought he outgrew it at around 6.5 months of age. now im wondering if the asthma is also tied into some reflux UGH. hard to tell. he is obviously not in the reflux pain he used to be.....but he does cough/throw up after meals on a semi regular basis.

presently we are giving him xopenex via nebulizer every day as needed. it does help i think...but certainly doesnt alleviate the coughing. now im looking at my house and thinking about how i can help remove potential triggers (OVERWHEMLING!!! especially with 2-13 year old dogs and carpet).im also considering going back on the MSPI diet to see if that can give him some relief.

heres a question: if the asthma is due to allergies...is it a pretty immediate reaction? or can it develop hours later? if you remove the trigger...is there immediate relef?

i really need to be around other parents that are dealing with children with asthma. its emotional! and the drs gave me NO EDUCATIONAL information! not a scrap. they didnt with gerd either though so whats new? im doing my homeworke presently...and part of that is to associate with you guys.

Thanks for listening..and any advice woudl be greatly appreciated.

Sorry I am no help. I just wanted to say it is good to see you back. I am sorry you are having so many problems. I hope someone will have some good advice for you.

To answer my own question (taken from emily's sticky)

"In addition, asthma attacks do not always occur right after exposure to a trigger. Depending on the type of trigger and how sensitive this child is to it, asthma attacks may be delayed."

how frustrating! back to playing detective.

Well, from my own asthma/allergies, I can tell you that my asthma is 100% brought on my allergies. In fact, my allergist diagnosed it as "Allergy Induced Asthma."

We need Lori (rspr8r) to chime in here, as she is the Respiratory Therapist. I bet she has some good info for us.


National Jewish Hospital is here in Denver and they are one of the top places in the US for allergies and asthma. This is the asthma sectionon their site:
http://www.nationaljewish.org/disease-info/diseases/asthma/index.aspx

Hey guys, I'm at work now, but will try to chime in when I get home.

Sorry, it's late, and I have to be back at work early in the morning, but here is a post that I made about reflux and asthma awhile ago. Here in the US, salbutamol and albuterol are the same thing and becotide and beclovent or Q-Var are the same. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. I will have more time to IRD over the weekend. (There is also more info in the other posts in my Ask The Experts forum).

http://www.infantrefluxdisease.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26057

Also, are you using the Xopenex only 1 time per day? It can be used up to every 6 hours for the cough and or wheezing.

Paula... I'm sorry. You all can't catch a break can you? How frustrating.
Jack has it as well. :sad5: Or so we think.
I hope that his meds work for your little one.

You know that asthma and reflux is so related, it would be totally possible that your he has it, and the reflux still also, but presenting in a different way. Parker had congestion with his, and when he was unmedicated it sounded like he had a chest infection he was rattly and coughing but his lungs were clear. A combo of reflux and asthma meds cleared it up quickly.

The medication should be giving total relief I am unaware of the med that you are using, but as a quick overview there are preventer meds, which have to be given every day regardless (and we are told to double the dose when they are sick) and these meds will stop the asthma symtoms over time, they will not help the asthma attacks or other flares. Releivers are for this, and can be given as needed to stop coughing or wheezing.

It is important to note that coughing is a big sign of asthma, but it can also be a sign of reflux. Asthma can also come about by allergies, if you remove the trigger, and give the reliever medication, you would have a pretty good indication that it was it. But it would probably be hard to get rid of everything and have two types of senarios. Like with the dogs, you would have to remove them, the carpets, or at least get them cleaned, dust and wash sheets and sofas KWIM?

I am sure that you could probably get in touch with an asthma advisor and see what tips they can give you. You could also get some allergy skin testing to see if he is allergic to dogs or dust etc...

I personally would try the asthma meds if they don't work, try the reflux meds again and see if it helps, if you only introduce/change one thing at a time you will have a better idea of what is causing it.

http://infantrefluxdisease.com/kids-with-asthma-gerd.php

here is a link!

I agree with Scarlet. The first GI specialist said that 90 something percent of all gerd patients also had asthma and vice versa. Carsons breathing was worsend from the reflux, from aspirating. He wasn't a true "spitter" he had more of the respiratory symptoms, ear infections, pnemonias, etc.

Im sure that the 2 months he was give soy milk and allergic to it didn't help his breathing at that point either. He ended up on ellecare a prescription formula for allergies. Now his allergies are delayed instead of fast onset. and that can happen.