hi just new to this my 6 yr old son has had asthma since he was 2 not had any problems until the past year he has had 4 attacks each time being admitted to hospital, well the past couple of days his barking cough has came back keeping him up at night cant even finish a sentence without coughing i have gave him his salbutomol inhaler which doesn't have any effect on him whatsoever what else could i try to calm it down?
when he had his last attack the doctors wanted me to put him on the preventer steriod inhaler but i refused as i dont want him to be taking it everyday and dont like the sound of the side effects would rather find another way of controlling it.
any advice is greatly appreciated

I finally gave in for my 8 yr old to take Singulair but I worry about the long term side effects. One of the most important things to do is clean up your home environment. No perfumes, scented sprays, lotions on you or in your home. Use unscented laundry det & rinse twice, don't use fabric softener. Get rid of toxic cleaning products. We had allergy testing done which also showed allergies to pet hair & saliva. Good luck!

great thanx i have known for some while that pet hair and saliva is one of his triggers as is any type of virus, but looks like i will have to give into the preventer inhaler also ive had mixed reviews about me steaming him i thought this could help break up the mucus but other people say its an irritant, it does seem to help make the cough more productive ?!

You could also give breathing exercises a try. Search on the internet for the (Paul) Sorvino Asthma Foundation. They offer a video of the exercises that helped Paul control his asthma. It is designed for children, and makes the exercises a game. You can also get "How To Become A Former Asthmatic" by Paul Sorvino. It's out of print now, but you can get used copies at online booksellers. This will give you a detailed description of the exercises. It has really helped me, and sure makes my coughs productive.