I have done everything like they doctors, specialist, etc. and it still seems like he needs to use pred. med. he is 2 1/2 and regularly used pulmicort, zyrtex, singulair, and when bad xopenex., then after another day or two we always seem to have to go to pred. med. It seems like it is the only thing, that will allow him and us to sleep, My heart hurts when I hear him coughing all night. he was tested for allergies and everything came back negative.
I still did get rid of the dog, to see if any improvements, as of yet, nothing. in fact tonight we had to give him pred. it seems like once a month for four days he needs it.... Any suggestions, I am willing to look at any ideas.

I have done everything like they doctors, specialist, etc. and it still seems like he needs to use pred. med. he is 2 1/2 and regularly used pulmicort, zyrtex, singulair, and when bad xopenex., then after another day or two we always seem to have to go to pred. med. It seems like it is the only thing, that will allow him and us to sleep, My heart hurts when I hear him coughing all night. he was tested for allergies and everything came back negative.
I still did get rid of the dog, to see if any improvements, as of yet, nothing. in fact tonight we had to give him pred. it seems like once a month for four days he needs it.... Any suggestions, I am willing to look at any ideas.

they say that most of the time when asthma develops at such a young age, they will outgrow it for good..if thats any comfort to you. At 2 1/2, their lungs are still growing, they may just take a while to catch up with the rest of the body.
I find it hard to believe there are no allergies..I am full believer that allergy is ALWAYS the cause of such things. But that's just me. If it's not allergies, then that would explain why none of the meds are working. Have you considered CF??

How did you think your son would go using a spacer with mask? I ask b/c I know in America you have Flovent (Flixotide where I am from) and Flovent is a stronger inhaled steroid than Pulmicort.

Ask your Dr about it and tell him/her your concerns. It must be very frustrating and I hope you are able to find the right combo of meds for your son soon.

Take care, dolphins. :wave:

I would not be so quick to think your son doesn't have allergies. My daughter has a chronic cough and went to a pulmonologist who did allergy testing and they came back negative. After another year of problems we went to an allergy/asthma specialist who did some allergy testing......25 pricks and my daughter was allergic to 13...... so it is my experience that maybe it is possible to get a bad batch of antigens for the allergy test?? or for some reason it is not always accurate??

My 4 year old is on all of the same meds save for the oral steroid. We wont do the oral prednisone anymore. Steroids are hard on your immune system. When the immune system is down, you catch everything there is to catch. Too many steroids can actually make your child sicker. Oral steroids have also been linked to growth retardation in children so our Allergist recommended we go off of them for good.

So your child is getting a double dose of steroids with the Pulmocort and the Orapred. When we did that system, we found out that we were only maintaning. That is no way to live.

Now we have a plan, I would really recommend getting an Asthma plan through your Dr, and it has helped so much. We do Singulair and Zyrtec every night regardless of symptoms. We do Pulmicort twice a day regardless of symptoms. If there are symptoms, which a runny nose is a symptom in this house, we start the Xopenex. We do Xopenex every 4 hours as needed. If the Xopenex does not last the full 4 hours, we go to every 2 hours. If we have to do it beyond every 2 hours, she goes to the ER. We also look for signs like retractions and respiration count.

My daughter tested negative for all allergies but gets sick with any weather change. I am keeping an open mind to getting her tested again as young children are notorious for testing negative for allergies they actually have. We also have pillow and mattress protectors as I think a huge problem with my daughter is dust mites. I dont use feather dusters for the house, wash the curtains often and the sheets and bedding twice a week. We are also considering wood flooring. I also dont allow stuffed animals in bed.

I would seriously talk to the Dr about finding out your sons zones and stopping that oral steroid. HTH and Good luck

they say that most of the time when asthma develops at such a young age, they will outgrow it for good..if thats any comfort to you. At 2 1/2, their lungs are still growing, they may just take a while to catch up with the rest of the body.
I find it hard to believe there are no allergies..I am full believer that allergy is ALWAYS the cause of such things. But that's just me. If it's not allergies, then that would explain why none of the meds are working. Have you considered CF??

We did have him tested for CF thankful everything checked out. As for allergies Even thou he tested negative I am sure he has to have allergies. We just got rid of the dog, at a friends home. We are desperate at this time for something. It looks like after reading these postings, that medicine is going to be the only way at this point, and hopefully he will improve.
Thanks to all.

My 4 year old is on all of the same meds save for the oral steroid. We wont do the oral prednisone anymore. Steroids are hard on your immune system. When the immune system is down, you catch everything there is to catch. Too many steroids can actually make your child sicker. Oral steroids have also been linked to growth retardation in children so our Allergist recommended we go off of them for good.

So your child is getting a double dose of steroids with the Pulmocort and the Orapred. When we did that system, we found out that we were only maintaning. That is no way to live.

Now we have a plan, I would really recommend getting an Asthma plan through your Dr, and it has helped so much. We do Singulair and Zyrtec every night regardless of symptoms. We do Pulmicort twice a day regardless of symptoms. If there are symptoms, which a runny nose is a symptom in this house, we start the Xopenex. We do Xopenex every 4 hours as needed. If the Xopenex does not last the full 4 hours, we go to every 2 hours. If we have to do it beyond every 2 hours, she goes to the ER. We also look for signs like retractions and respiration count.

My daughter tested negative for all allergies but gets sick with any weather change. I am keeping an open mind to getting her tested again as young children are notorious for testing negative for allergies they actually have. We also have pillow and mattress protectors as I think a huge problem with my daughter is dust mites. I dont use feather dusters for the house, wash the curtains often and the sheets and bedding twice a week. We are also considering wood flooring. I also dont allow stuffed animals in bed.

I would seriously talk to the Dr about finding out your sons zones and stopping that oral steroid. HTH and Good luck


Do you see any problems with the long term use of those above medincines. It is just a shame to have a child on so much, but we have spoken with the specialists, and it looks like we are going to be on the same plan. As for the allergies we are hoping to have him tested again. and will be doing the same things. Thanks for your help.

Thanks to all your help and support I am finally reaching out to the internet, for it seems like with asmtha it is an emotional thing also when someone is young and is suffering. It breaks my heart at night when I hear him coughing away. As for the allergies, I am sure even thou it came back negative that he has to have them. I did temp. get rid of the dog, but most likely will not allow him to return, at this point I can't see the benefit of adding any more allergic stuff to the house. Thanks again.

Like everyone else, my suggestion would be to get your child off the pred. Having been on it for a year, I know the side effects, firsthand. They are no fun. Also, I know this probably feeling like I am prying, but has your son been hospitalized recently? How many hospitalizations (if any) in the last year that are asthma-related? How many ER trips? What's the reason for putting him on the pred?

Finally, if you are seriously having that much trouble getting it under control I would suggest that you visit National Jewish (the best respiratory hosp. in the US) or some other large teaching hospital with a pulmonary unit. They will be able to do lots and lots more tests than a specialist OFFICE can do. Including an impulse oscillometry, which is a test that measures resistance in a youngster's lungs.

Hope this helps.

Like everyone else, my suggestion would be to get your child off the pred. Having been on it for a year, I know the side effects, firsthand. They are no fun. Also, I know this probably feeling like I am prying, but has your son been hospitalized recently? How many hospitalizations (if any) in the last year that are asthma-related? How many ER trips? What's the reason for putting him on the pred?

Finally, if you are seriously having that much trouble getting it under control I would suggest that you visit National Jewish (the best respiratory hosp. in the US) or some other large teaching hospital with a pulmonary unit. They will be able to do lots and lots more tests than a specialist OFFICE can do. Including an impulse oscillometry, which is a test that measures resistance in a youngster's lungs.

Hope this helps.


Thanks we have made are visits that is for sure. It is more a night time problem were he will not sleep for all the coughing. We might due say three treatments in a night, and even run the shower on hot steam, and he still is not resting enough. Sometimes we feel as though we can be making worst with the nep. He is not on pred. on a daily basis, but at least four days a month he gets the burst of it, which gets him through the tough times. Thanks I will have to look further into another pulmonary specialist.

I am so sorry to hear that he is staying this sick. We have a tussive syrup that we use when the coughing is bad. It contains codeine so we only use it when the coughing is out of control. Cough is one of her symptoms but not always.

I give the syrup and then check on her a few times. During those times, I count respirations and listen for wheezing. She does much better. I also lower the temperature in the house as the stuffy environment makes her worse.

I haven't noticed any problems with her long term steroid use. She has been on them for over 4 years now as she went on them at 2 months and never stopped. We also had tubes in her ears and her adnoids removed to help with the congestion and illnesses. Good luck to your little one tonight