My 3 year old son has been in hospital with asthma...?!
Question: he came home tonight, after 24 hours in hospital, and is hopefully on the mend soon.
He is still wheezing and coughing (which the hospital said was to be expected), and i was wondering if there is anything else, apart from his steriods, inhalers etc, thaat can do to make him better, my heart is breaking for him.
Answers: he came home tonight, after 24 hours in hospital, and is hopefully on the mend soon.
He is still wheezing and coughing (which the hospital said was to be expected), and i was wondering if there is anything else, apart from his steriods, inhalers etc, thaat can do to make him better, my heart is breaking for him.
Poor little guy. My son also has asthma. I know that it will be hard with him on the corticosteroids, but try to keep him a little more quieter than usual.
Sounds like a lot of people offered some really good advice about what to do if he has allergies to dust and dust mites. I didn't know about the freezer thing...nice tip.
Make sure you use your medications as the doctor ordered. I hope that they gave you a spacer to use with the inhalers. If not, you need to call the doctors office or the hospital so they can call the pharmacy and order one. A person gets 80% more medication with a spacer than when not using one.
It is so hard when your little one is sick. When he feels better, have the doctor order a Peak Flow Meter and then see a Respiratory Therapist about how to use it.
It is so important to seek the advice and help of a Pediatric Pulmonologist when your child has asthma. I am sure that your Pediatrician is wonderful, but the person with the lung speciality is the Pulmonologist.
Good Luck with your little one. Take care. I hope he feels better for Christmas.
Run a humidifier in the bedroom where he sleeps. Hopefully, he is not exposed to any kind of cigarette smoke either in your home or on anyone's clothing. Good luck.
Sorry about your pain. I do not know the answer and can give only moral support.
I've read that put teddies in the freezer for 24 hours kills dust mites. Get a dust mite protector on the mattress. Can put pillows in the freezer too. Also get pillow protectors for them.I would suggest keeping the house at a nice temperature and not too warm and not too cold. Keep a bowl of water next to the radiator to keep room from drying out. Lift the bed up by either putting pillows under the mattress or books under the posts as this will mean that if he has any mucus in his sinuses etc they won't run onto his chest as readily at night!
Give him plenty of warm drinks and loads of attention. Also easy to say but over Chirstmas try not to let him get too energetic and excited. Keep pets away from his bedroom. Vacuum every day and don't ever ever smoke near him. Loads of lovely baths would be nice as the steam will help.
The weather is rotten for asthmatics at the moment with it being damp and cold so maybe keep him in doors.
Apparently swimming in the long run is good for asthmatics,. It is the only exercise I can do and it helps regulate my breathing.
Also only other thing I can think of is if you haven't got one ask the doctor for a peak flow meter and keep an eye on his readings!Good luck and my heart goes out to him. I just hope that Santa cheers him up. Bless him!
Edit:
Also to stop the coughing I think plenty of warm drinks and keep him off a lot of dairy products as they can produce mucus. The more he coughs the worse he will feel so regulate that and he might start to feel better
Poor little mite, how awful for him (and you).
Try and keep him as upright as possible to aid lung expansion....maybe elevate the head of his bed or provide plenty of pillows. Make sure his room isn't overheated as dry air can make his symptoms worse. Try and keep it at around 17-18 degrees and give it some regular ventilation. As a previous answer advised, get some moisture in the air. If you don't have a humidifier, place some wet towels over the radiators as that will create some humidity.
Make sure he is taking plently of fluids, warm drinks help to relax the airway and loosen any mucous. Try and keep him as calm as possible and encourage him not to take 'snatching' breaths...I appreciate this is not always easy with such a young child.
Good luck to you all and I really hope your little one is soon better.
This was exactly happened to me when I was about 2 or 3, the thing that I found most reassuring was just having my parents there! Open the window unless it's a smoky night (i.e fireworks), and make sure the room is not too hot or cold.
Hope everything will be alright!
Sophie
If you vacuum use a hepa filter or dust goes in the air causing problems. Put a cover on mattress doesn't have to be plastic, just to keep dust mites down, also cover on pillows then pillow case. Wash the dog and cat to remove dander every 6 weeks (you can spray cat with distilled water and gently wipe dry, this helps if cat won't tolerate bath. Wash stuffed animals and dry in dryer very well so mold does not develop in them, wash blankets and don't use fabric softeners they are so per-fumy they can cause trouble breathing, dust and clean and keep his surroundings that way, don't use fireplace if possible or get him a mask, candles and room sprays and strong perfume, incense and cologne cause wheezing too, until you know his "triggers" that start off an attack besides cold air which does it so wear a muffler over mouth outside--take precautions on known problem makers and limit the amount of guesswork that way. Then introduce different things in his environment and you will be able to tell which is causing difficulty. Process of illumination! Good luck! Oh yeah, smelly bath soaps and lotions cause problems too. Stay neutral. For comfort--Vicks feels so good rubbed on chest and ribs, then a loose Tshirt, the vapor is very soothing and the rub just feels wonderful and soothes the soul :)
run a hot bath and shut the door
taken him into the bathroom full of steam and sit with him for 10 mins, the damp should make his breathing easier
I feel for you as my husband suffers from this, try steam in the bath, also when he goes out in the cold weather put a scarf round his mouth so the cold air doesnt catch his breath,and dont panic in front of him,he may grow out of this as he gets older good luck
What albuterol (rescue) inhalers is he using? If he is using ProAir (the worst in my opinion), Proventil, Ventolin or Xopenex (the best of the new HFA rescue inhalers in my opinion) you might want to try a Warrick's CFC albuterol inhaler, available from Gillespie's Drugs (contact info on the petition below).
Many, many people do MUCH better in SECONDS with the Warrick's CFC inhaler. If this doesn't help- get him a nebulizer with Xopenex or albuterol sulfate. The nebulizer has NO HFA propellent and NO ETHANOL- unlike the HFA INHALERS- except for Ventolin, which has no ethanol) but hopefully, the Warrick CFC inhaler with no HFA (it uses good,old-fashioned CFC) and no ethanol will help your son quickly- it's worth trying, that is for sure.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/saveC...
Keep your son sitting or propped upright when in bed, this helps with respiratory conditions.
You can perform simple physiotherapy on him. Lye him on his stomach and gently slap his back around the chest area. Your GP can arrange a visit with a physiotherapist to show you.
And of course make sure he takes his meds.