It'll flair up usually one to two times a year, and usually as the seasons change, but we use an inhaler for about a week, and it is gone.
But not this time, buddy! I know, this picture is horrible! It is Ellie coughing or pulling for breath or something that is just not cool! Daddy is holding the nebulizer trying to get her some relief! It reminds me so much of our childhood. My Daddy was the great physician! He seemed to always be the one tending to us when we were sick. Mom got homework, supper, bathtime, etc. But dad... he was our caretaker when we were sick!
All of this came from her going outside and riding her four wheeler. And you should just SEE what comes about when she runs or plays in Maddi's new jumper!
This evening we ate at their house. Ellie came in and told us she was only going to watch Maddi jump, because she knew she wouldn't be able to stop coughing. We told her that was very responsible.
I think doing your own breathing treatments when you are three years old is pretty responsible too!
My big girl. What would I do without her?! She is a trooper, that is for sho!
She can run and go and move it with the best of them. But as the title implies, even the best go down sometime! And when I say goes down, I mean, the coughing spell is something that actually worries me! She can't seem to get it to settle down. I suppose it is the bronchospasms! Horrible!
I even contacted ol' birthdad (who I've not had much contact with) to see just the extent of asthma on his side of the family. It seems no one really has it as adults. Just the basic breathing treatments as kids. So hopefully, this will pass.
Anybody else have experience with this bad deal?
Send me some advice. Asthma is just not cool at all!! MO
33 comments:
Been there, done that, with my now 16-year old. She was prescribed a nebulizer by the time she was 2, but seems to have pretty much outgrown it now. (hope I don't jinx myself, but I'm pretty sure it's been over a year since any neb treatments) Back in the pre-school to early elementary days she would usually have flare-ups a couple times a year (usually autumn and around Christmas). She would do the cough, cough, cough until she threw-up. Fortunately she never had any inpatient stays with it and only 1 night in the ER for multiple neb treatments. It looks like you're on top of things, and hopefully she'll grow out of it soon. The only other thing, is if she's doing a lot of retracting when she breathes, your ped may want to prescribe some prednisone for a few days.
The dog-print on her neb mask is adorable! My daughter was spoiled and preferred to use the mask even as she got older, but never had cute ones like that.
Feel better soon, Ellie!
SueEllen in Mesquite
I hate to say but we are part of that lovely asthma,nebulizer club here in our house. All 5 of my kids have had and a couple still have asthma. My oldest who is 18, has outgrown it but it will flare up if she runs distances. My 14yr old,his has always been mild,even as a child,two or three times a year flare ups. Now my 12 yr old son,Alex has bigtime issues that have gotten worse as he has gotten older. We have even been to see the pulmonary doc. He has been a guinea pig on trying various meds until finding the right mix. He is on advair which is an inhaler that has a steroid in it. He takes that daily,sometimes 2x a day. He also has his albuterol inhaler for school he takes right before PE. If not he will struggle afterwards and I will get call .....he is also on a nose spray,as well as an allergy med. Everytime he gets a cold it turns into croup within 24 hrs and we end up with a hospital stay. One thing I found was this room purifier. It isn't your humidifier but a purifier. I can't get u the link,model number if u want it. That has seemed to help. The pediatric allergist recommended we get it. I also know that the steroids,predisone is a lifesaver. If the nebulizer isn't cutting it E might need one. The outside cold air,steam from showers doesn't do a thing for my kids. My two youngest girls 7 and 6 both have it,one a few flare ups a year, the other borderline severe. just keep an eye on her. If she stars retracting when breathing or toughng u know she is struggling. If she cannot talk,as in have a conversation without having coughing fits(which happens to my Alex),call. Watch to male sure her tummy isn't getting what we call barrel tummy....sorry to ramble,asthma is an ugly thing. I hope she gets to feeling better ASAP.
Oh Mo! These pictures brought back so many memories. Both of my girls have asthma. They are 15 and 19 now. The 19 year old started really having problems when she was two. Any sudden change in the weather, illness, etc... could set her off. She is the one who scared me most because she would get to the point sometimes where it seemed as if she was going to be unable to breathe.(usually in the middle of the night of course). We spent many nights hooked up to the nebulizer, or sitting in a bathroom filled with steam trying to help her breathe. It was so scary sometimes. The good news is that, other than the fact that colds and flu seem to still hit her pretty hard, she now has very little problem with asthma. The 15 year old has battled with allergies and asthma for as long as I can remember. Her episodes are not as scary as her sisters because she doesn't usually get to the point where it seems she can't draw a good breath. Instead hers is more chronic and just seems to drag on for longer periods of time. The bad news is she hasn't outgrown it. At 15 she still uses an inhaler and also a nebulizer when she is ill. It doesn't slow her down though. She is a cheerleader and pretty much does what any of her friends can do.
So, I said all of that to say, hang in there. As scary as it is sometmes, Ellie will make it through. I hope she feels better soon
Mo, My daughter who is adopted also has asthma really bad. But it runs in her family. She has to keep an inhaler with her at school and every where she goes. As she gets older it eases up. When she was Ellie's age it was pretty severe. Now when she feels one comming on she take a few puffs off her inhaler and she usually wards it off. We had to go only one time last year to the er for asthma which is good. We know her triggers.. MArkers, smoke, cotton gin, and even stress. We avoid these at all cost.
I suggest you watch ellie and see what triggers her. Watch the dog. We got a short haired chihuahua that is supose to help astmatic people and I really think it helped her. She sleeps with him at night. Well, it is her dog lol.
Good luck :) prayers for ELLIE SUE
Yeah, Mo, your Ellie is just like my Nicole. She had flair-ups about twice a year as a little one, and I always ran her to the ER!! I'm a nurse but seeing my own baby suffer was too much for me and Bill (and they didn't have the good drugs for asthma like they do nowadays). But as she grew up things got better. In her teens she only had "attacks" when she was in volleyball tournaments.... a combination of asthma & physical stress. Now, as a 29-yr. old, she doesn't have any problems whatsoever. All I notice is that she gets more chest colds than my other adult kids but she is an elementary teacher so that is understandable.
My thoughts are with you, Dad and of course Ellie.
Big hugs for all, xo
We too are in the childhood asthma boat. I didn't know Ellie was.
It is soooo scary to watch them gasp for air.
Our son has a 2x daily maintenance inhaler, and the albuterol inhaler as needed. We have been told that he will eventually grow out of it.
He also has a congenital heart defect, so we're always on the look out where his health is concerned.
Lifting up prayers for dear little Ellie.
Hey Mo. We have the nebulizer too! Hannah has had it since she was 7 months old, talk about scary. She only needs it a couple times a year. We don't know much about her birth parents, so not sure about the history of it in her family.
Praying for Miss E and yall! Asthma is so scary when they are this young!!
Yep, with our Liz, now 26. She started neb treatments before she was a year old. Serious asthma. In-patient a lot, and couldn't run or have p.e. Then, the angels in the pharmaceutical industry came up with new meds that actually worked! She got her first bike at age 14, and was on her way. By the time she was a junior in college, most of the problems had gone away. There are things you can do. No carpet in her room. Limited amounts of stuffed animals, and they go in the dryer weekly. No scented detergents or dryer sheets. Really keep after the dust. Very important to keep hydrated. Your doc should have info about other things you can do. I am sorry. Asthma is just the pits. If Ellie is not able to run and play, then her doc needs to examine her meds, and change them.
Mo, my daughter and son (42 & 40 now), suffer from asthma. Two of my 4 grands have it (with one being worse than the other). Thanks be to God for His graces and the marvels of modern medicine! Here's hoping your little trooper won't be down for long...........BJ
Jay has asthma too. It flairs up at the season change. We are headed to doctor today. He has been on meds and inhaler for a week and now the flu as creeped in, I think! It sounds bad and my heart breaks everytime he coughs. i feel your pain. Sorry you have to deal with it. Just ENJOY (my word)the time with her! I used to read to Jay during the treatments. I wish i could still read to him! He will not let me!!
My 18-year old suffered with asthma from the time she was 18 mos. old, but has thankfully outgrown the worst of it. Still needs an inhaler close by for her soccer and basketball, but that's the extent of it. So sad to see Ellie struggle though. Her pictures bring back many memories. By the way.....my husband is the BEST with my four kids when they're sick too! They love it when he stays by their side taking care of them. :) Good job, Todd!
I have asthma. It seemed that I outgrew it, from early childhood until my 30s but then it came back. When I was so little I would have to go to the hospital to get shots and treatments because it was so bad. It is bad stuff!
Bless her heart...she looks pitiful...I read your blog every single day but am very guilty of not commenting...Sorry about that...Love ya...and hope to see u in Canton....dont forget
Maybe try giving her the inhaler before an activity that usually causes her problems. We have a student at school that she takes 2 puffs everyday before PE b/c she's had so many episodes. It seems to help. Or ck witht he dr and see if she can just do puffs everyday to keep it in check. Get well soon Ellie Sue!
Oh...those pictures make my heart hurt. Get better Ellie Sue. I need you for my daily dose of laughter.
Doing the same thing now with my 1 and two year olds. My 1 year old is very unhealthy he has a laryngeal cleft which requires thickened liquids and everyday asthma and his 2 year old sister has seasonal asthma and she is in an episode now. She does take singular on a daily basis which does help with her asthma. Like your two girls my two are soon too be adopted by us. But we are family so we know a little of their health history. I really fell for our babies that they have to do this and pray that they do out grow it.
Oh Mo ~ Fortunately for me, I know nothing about asthma - Thank God, but I feel so bad for your big girl. She looks like she feels icky - poor thing.
I hope she turns the corner real soon & starts feeling like her old, busy self!
Have a great Monday,
Diana from Colorado
My heart broke watching Ellie. My nephew has asthma and @3 has also learned to used the nebulizer himself.
If you know her triggers you have to be vigilant in minimizing them.
Daddy Todd is doing a GREAT job!
I feel your pain. After lots of struggles, my now 9 yr old son began Singulair when he was 2 and it made a world of difference. It is a chewable tablet. He also started on Nasonex nasal spray at 2 and it helps, too. I would also agree with the previous post about using her inhaler preventatively. Use it 15 min. before the activity or whatever her triggers are. You might also consider a steroid nebulizer treatment (Pulmicort Respules) once a day when she has flare-ups. My prayers are with you.
I have no advice or experience for/with asthma, but I'm sending get well wishes for Ellie Sue. Hope today finds you breathing easier.
Our daughter who is now 22 ha horible asthma when she was younger,spent a short spell on the vent!! It was the most horrible thing to watch your child struggle with that "cough" yes it's spasm, for sure!! Seeing sweet lil Ellie brought back many memories for me!!! I've nevr commented but have been reading about Jake on caring bridge for a long time and now I read your blog but am slack about commenting!!! I've just gotten back to my blog, so I'll try to do better about commenting!! Hope she feels better soon, Melissa's last well into HS, now it's mainly only change of the weather. Now she takes care of those who need "help" she's a flight nurse!!!
Marie
My middle son has the same problem. The doctor gave him a diagnosis of "virus induced asthma". Basically he goes from a sniffle to coughing, hacking, and sometimes pneumonia at the drop of a hat. We have a nebulizer here at home with Pulmicort (the regular stuff) and Albuterol (which we call the hard stuff). We try to stay on top of breathing treatments when the seasons change. If someone in our house gets a cold, Nick gets a breathing treatment with the hard stuff just to be safe. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.
I will say, he was growing out of it, but now that he's in kindergarten with a new set of kids and germs, he's had a rougher go of it.
We've been doing the same ol' thing, but we added a portable regular inhaler that you think of when you think of asthma. We haven't used it yet, but we requested it after he got into a coughing fit waiting for the medicine at the drugstore. We weren't home with the nebulizer and consequently, couldn't get him any relief.
Mel, I feel your pain. It's scary when your child can't stop coughing and catch their breath.
My youngest was just diagnosed with asthma early last year at the age of 13. It really is no fun. He's usually able to control it will his twice daily inhaler meds but when it gets out of hand it is scary. When he's had really bad problems, we've put him on prednisone for a few days and that really helps.
Poor Ellie - it's so sad to see her lying in that bed instead of out doing her Ellie "antics". Hope she's feeling better very soon!
Bless her! That is pitiful and precious at the same time. Hutton pushes her own meds. Such big girls.
Oh, poor sweet girl!! I hate to see her down---she's so rambunctious & on the go. She looks just pitiful with her little mask. Tell her all your "blogger buddies" love her & hope she feels better real soon!! That TG is really a good, good Daddy!!
My son does great on Singulair. Its his miracle drug, but he has to take it every night (along with Zyrtec). Have you had her tested for allergies? Finding out what might be causing the flairs and then either removing them or starting allergy shots can really help. My son started allergy shots right before he started kindergarten... 3 years later he's still getting them, but his allergies are getting better.
Good luck! Asthma can be so scary.
Oh boy! We have lived that nightmare! Logan burned up three nebulizers! We used to call Children's Hospital our second mortgage because we literally lived there. We didn't just go to the ER...we checked in and stayed up to a week to stabilize him. It was awful. When he had an episode that was so severe that they almost had to intubate him, they finally called a pediatric pulmonologist and he basically saved Logan's life. One of the things he realized was that Logan was not responding to Albuterol. That can be potentially serious when you have asthma. We started treating him with Terbutaline in his nebulizer and the one thing that really saved his life is that he was put on an antihistimine called D-Allergy. He still takes it to this day. He is 18 years old now and hardly every has an episode anymore. When Logan started taking the D-Allergy, we never had to return to the hospital again. You might want to check into this!
I also have adorable pictures of Logan with his nebulizer when he was itty bitty doing it by himself. Another thing you might want to note...Logan was also very tiny and didn't even reach the growth charts for many years. The reason for this was because of his asthma. His body was using all of its energy trying to breathe and had nothing left to grow. When we got him under control, he took off like wildfire and he is now 5' 10" and looks awesome! I know that you have said things about Ellie being so small. This may be why.
Now, this was years ago but my older daughter had asthma that was always triggered by a simple cold or cough. Once the asthma was triggered, she would endure days and days of hacking, gasping coughing that would lead to bronchitis or pneumonia and when she would eventually cough so much she would throw up, it seemed to set off the more productive side of the cough and she would begin to get better. All I ever said to her during those years it seemed was "stop running," "don't play so hard," "you will start coughing." Finally, I switched pediatricians who referred me to an allergist and at 5 years old she endured all those scratch tests for allergies and we found she was allergic to house dust (dear God!) and many other pollens. She started allergy shots and a daily medication which opened up her bronchial tubes. The allergy shots continued for about 5 years and she improved greatly. She has never had serious issues with asthma again but those years of relentless coughing, sitting in steamy bathrooms or opening up the freezer door so she could breath in the cold air are still very vivid to me. I feel for Ellie and all of you as this is scary stuff sometimes. I am glad she is getting treatments and I am sure much has improved from those years we went through this - 25 years ago! I will say some prayers and hope Ellie is better quickly and a resolution can be found to keep her from going through this too often.
Hi Melanie - Ugh! We are an asthma family too. Just my youngest (he's 16 now). He is also the most active of us all (skateboarding, snowboarding, running, etc...) and he seems to do alright IF he uses an inhaler BEFORE his activities. He also has significant allergies, and part of his treatment is to take his allergy meds. AND - now, I may lose you here... he was able to cut back significantly on his inhaler once he started using a neti-pot. It's a nose rinse that keeps things "clean" in your passages, and less irritants make their way into the lungs. It has been life changing for him! It may not help sweet Ellie, but it might be worth a try! It was only about a month after he started using it that we noticed a marked decrease in how often he was using his inhaler. Hang in there mama... she looks like she takes it in stride!
Lori in Oregon
Poor thing - have never dealt wit it but have friends that do. Hope she is doing better. Todd is a good dad! My husband seems to take care of them more also when they are sick.
Poor little Ellie...bless her sweet heart!
My boys dealt with croup a lot, but no asthma. I have asthma. As an adult, mine only flares up when I'm sick. But as a little kid, I had more than my fair share of ER visits. It's very scary...for the child AND for the parents.
Most childhood asthmatics outgrow it, so I pray Miss Ellie will do the same thing.
*Hugs* for everyone!
Oh my goodness, there was a picture that took MY breath away...and I'm a nurse. You are rightly worried and doing all the right things...I grew out of mine and have not needed an inhaler since my early 30's. As an adult it was much more easily controlled with PRN inhalers. Bless her little heart. Her eyes look so scared. But she is a tough cookie that girl of yours! Feel bet tee Ellie!
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