Asthma in toddlers (cross-posted in Toddler forum)

[raynjen]

Can anyone give me a few basics on Asthma? The doctor gave us a prescription for Albuterol yesterday because DD had a "wheeze" when she exhaled. The Dr. said that it is mild and that she expected we could stop using it soon (she was really vague on how soon "soon" was though).

Little history. DD, before we moved to Okinawa, was NEVER sick - no ear infections, one minor cold, nothing else. Since we moved here, nine months ago, she has gotten sick about four times. Everytime we take her to the Dr. He/She (we are in the military so it is usually a different doc. each time) tells us - yes, its a viral infection, there's nothing we can do. So when she had a mild fever, runny nose, and cough six weeks ago we called the Dr. - guess what he said? He told us that that it would probably last about 3 weeks. When she was still coughing at 4 weeks (but the other symptoms were long gone) he said it wasn't a problem. At 5 weeks they said, okay lets make an appointment but we had a typhoon (hurricane) and everything got shut down for three days. So I finally got to see the Dr. yesterday.

So what does this all mean? When I asked the Dr. if DD would have this problem everytime she had an infection she said probably. Is their some way of preventing this? If we had been seen earlier would it have made any difference? Any help would be appreciated.

BTW DH had asthma as a child and his nephews have it now.
Thanks so much!

Jen in Okinawa
Mom to Noelle (10/25/01)

[awagner]

Asthma is usually aggravated by allergies. If you notice that she has nasal congestion or allergies it is important to treat this. The change in climate and allergens in Okinawa may be what is setting her off. The longer you live there it may affect her less. The main ways to tell if she is experiencing difficulty breathing is to look at the bottom center of her neck, the triangle between the collar bones will suck in on inspiration is she is short of breath. Also the area under her bottom rib will pit in with increased work of breathing. You should also put your ear to her chest and listen for the wheezing. Albuterol is a fast acting bronchodilator that will relieve shortness of breath quickly. Ask the doctor for a child's aerochamber and how to use it with the inhaler. This will help make it a lot easier to take the inhaler and she will get the maximum benefit from each puff, as the chamber decreases the amount of albuterol that hits the back of her throat. Hope this helps.