I am curious......when do you call your doc? Since we are still adjusting meds and trying new things I wonder if I should call and say, Hey, we are slipping backwards a little here. My daughter was put on an antibiotic last Tuesday for a sinus infection to try and clear up the drainaige to keep it from irritating her airways.....well, the congestion is still there(worse), the cough is worse, and she obviously feels bad.......she is at school but I hate to send a six year old off without a good nights sleep due to coughing.......her peak flow numbers this morning were right at her yellow zone(125-130) so I used her xopenex......... I just wondered if I should call and let him know or if I should keep doing the xopenex and watching her numbers and wait till our next visit? I don't want them to think I call for every little thing but it is all so new.....

I think backing off the singulair was a mistake.......we went to every other day ......I think everyday was better for her......she has cough, sneeze, and runny nose.......of course BEFORE I thought every other day would be better.....oh well, I guess it is just trial and error??!!

We have done alot of trial and error in this house so don't feel too bad. We found that we also can't do every other day with the Singulair. It just isn't enough coverage.

I don't call the Dr until she is in the beginning of the Red zone. If she is fully in Red, I don't call at all :eek: We have a rule that we will only go to Xopenex every 2 hours. If it goes beyond that, I take her in.

I hope your little one gets to feeling better soon

I would call her doctor if she is in the beginning of her red zone, like the poster said, or if her treatments don't help push her back to green. Basically if she's in the red, or if she's not reversing with her reliever medication as well or at all.

according to my doctor your supposed to go in around the medium/low yellows. medium yellows usually call for xopenex and low yellows call for prednisone..red zone usually needs iv pred and possibly a combination of breathing treatments..
from my experiences anyway.
coughs are difficult to treat in asthma..though it sounds like your daughters problem is post nasal drip. is she allergic to codeine? yes its not the greatest medicine invented but robutussin ac(robutussin w/ codeine) can help calm the cough reflex until the infection clears up. b/c the cough will irritate the lungs so much that after a while she may get chostochondritis(not sure if i spelled that right..inflammation of cartilage in ribs from coughing) or strained/painful muscles(its a lot worse than it sounds) and the cough will feed off of itself. plus she will be able to sleep some more on it. also maybe you could put a mist humidifier in her room? that helps a TON for my coughs!

You should definitely call your doctor - especially if your daughter is becoming worse.

I always end up calling my GP when I get sick (cold/flu/bronchitis etc) - usually I am at the bottom of my yellow zone in a short amount of time. (on PFM).

p.s. Do you have an asthma action plan for your daughter? If not ask for one the next time your there - they can be a tremendous help if adhered to.

~dolphins :wave:

well, I called and we went back to Singulair everyday. The nurse said she would ask the doc if he wanted to see her or change anything and would call me again......but didn't.......maybe she will call today.

NOTHING helps her cough........not even codeine. She has been on guafenisin w/codeine and Lortab and all other sorts of cough meds to no avail. The guaifenisen w/codeine REALLY upsets her stomach......we went to the ER with her screaming in pain to find this out.........

As far as an asthma action plan.......I am not sure......this is what I know
everyday Advair 100/50 one puff twice a day
Singulair once a day
and currently amoxicillin twice a day
all the above regardless of #'s, If she goes to yellow use xopenex(nebulized) or albuterol inhaler every four hours or as needed but not to exceed every four hours.... that is it really.......I was not given clear instructions on when to call or what to do if these don't work or how long to wait for her #'s to go back to green?? Her green zone is 160-130.......yellow 130-80....red below 80............she was at 125 this morning but was coughing when she was doing it. She could NOT get a breath out without a cough........does anyone else have this problem and is it accurate if she coughs while doing it??

............she was at 125 this morning but was coughing when she was doing it. She could NOT get a breath out without a cough........does anyone else have this problem and is it accurate if she coughs while doing it??[/QUOTE]

Taking peak flows or doing spirometry makes me cough. The numbers are accurate, usually the best numbers happen when you take a breath in so hard that you cough..from what nurses have told me.
So she didn't take well to the codeine? Is it the narcotic she can't take? I'm not sure of the age you can take them at but there is a non narcotic cough suppressant called tessalon perles..not nearly as strong though. sometimes it helps..sometimes it doesnt.
dust makes me cough to no end..regardless of the meds i take, so we started getting a cleaning lady to come every week..in gymnastics i cough and cough and cough around the dusty and chalky mats/gym...i've noticed a huge difference with the cleaning also a higher quality air filter..now that I think about it..my last major issue with coughing got better at about the same time we got a better air filter.