Hello!
When my son 5yrs old gets asthma attacks they usually last over a period of about week. When he has this he gets really sick and he is pale and dark circles under his eyes. He also gets a slight fever. Does this normally happen when someone goes thru asthma episodes? Tee:confused:

Hi Teresa
My son also appears pale with dark circles under his eyes when his asthma is bad. Could be due to several things, sleep of course is usually disturbed, which could cause this. The fever may be due to infection, infection can indeed be a trigger for the asthma attacks.
What medications does your son take? It may be that they need to be reviewed, or increased temporarily during periods of illness.

Hope he is feeling better soon, I know how it feels when the little ones are not well. My son is now 14 but the worry never goes away, he has had a bad period this last few weeks, I increased his steroid inhaler a few weeks ago, but he went drastically downhill on Friday, reliever inhaler would not increase his peak flow reading, and he is now on a short course of oral steroids, and feeling much better.

Please feel free to ask anything you need to, sometimes it helps just to share experiences with others who are in the same situation.
Mandy

Hello Milly,
Thank you i appreciate that! He is on albuteral inhaler and also the breathing treatments, flovent and singular but it doesnt seem to help all that much, im not sure what to do. Thank you for that info because that helps me better understand what hes going thru. Is the oral steroids helping your son? Tee

Hi again Tee
Had to google the meds your little one is taking, as the brand names for the drugs are usually different in the UK where we live! From what I read, the albuterol is the reliever, or rescue inhaler, flovent is the inhaled steroid, or preventer, Singulair appears to be a longer acting reliever, please correct me if I got that wrong!

If the meds don't seem to be having much effect, it may be useful to have his technique checked, to make sure the drugs are getting to the lungs where needed, not just in the mouth or throat. When Jake was younger he used a spacer device attached to the inhaler, so it didn't matter so much about timing the breath in with the activation of the inhaler.

Jake is feeling much better now, his peak flow readings are really good, but he is into 3rd day of oral prednisolone, so the crunch time will be when he finishes the course!

Hope this helps, of course you may have already tried the things I suggested. How long has your son been diagnosed? Mandy

Hi again Tee
Had to google the meds your little one is taking, as the brand names for the drugs are usually different in the UK where we live! From what I read, the albuterol is the reliever, or rescue inhaler, flovent is the inhaled steroid, or preventer, Singulair appears to be a longer acting reliever, please correct me if I got that wrong!

If the meds don't seem to be having much effect, it may be useful to have his technique checked, to make sure the drugs are getting to the lungs where needed, not just in the mouth or throat. When Jake was younger he used a spacer device attached to the inhaler, so it didn't matter so much about timing the breath in with the activation of the inhaler.

Jake is feeling much better now, his peak flow readings are really good, but he is into 3rd day of oral prednisolone, so the crunch time will be when he finishes the course!

Hope this helps, of course you may have already tried the things I suggested. How long has your son been diagnosed? Mandy

Hi again, how are things now? Please let us know how your little boy is doing.

Hi again, how are things now? Please let us know how your little boy is doing.

Hi Milly,
I tried to write you earlier but i couldnt get thru for some reason. My son has been diagnosed for 2 yrs now. He does good for a little while then he gets really bad spells.Hes was a little better today but when he gets out in that cold air even if its to get into the car, he will really start coughing very bad. I have tried putting on albuteral all week but it just doesnt seem to help slow him down, i dont know what to do! Im sure glad your boys doing better, it gets really stressful when nothing seems to help. Take care ill talk to you later! have a good day tommorrow Tee

Hi again Tee, thanks for replying.
I know just what you mean, my son can go for months and be fine, manage to get his steroid inhaler back down to minimum dose, then WHAM, it all starts again! Going out in the cold from a warm environment always sets him off too.

He's now finished the oral steroids, been great since sunday, now guess what, he had another attack at school today. These things are sent to try us! His nurse is now talking about changing his meds, but will leave it a couple of weeks to see if he settles down again. I hate him taking the prednisolone, worry about side effects in the long term, but the alternative is worse. Spent many hours when he was younger at his hospital bedside watching him struggle with oxygen masks and nebulisers. I was hoping he was finally growing out if it, hes gone over a year without needing prednisolone till this week. Sorry for ranting on, guess I just needed to vent!

Has your boy's doc or nurse made any suggestions about changing his treatment?
Mandy

Hi again Tee, thanks for replying.
I know just what you mean, my son can go for months and be fine, manage to get his steroid inhaler back down to minimum dose, then WHAM, it all starts again! Going out in the cold from a warm environment always sets him off too.

He's now finished the oral steroids, been great since sunday, now guess what, he had another attack at school today. These things are sent to try us! His nurse is now talking about changing his meds, but will leave it a couple of weeks to see if he settles down again. I hate him taking the prednisolone, worry about side effects in the long term, but the alternative is worse. Spent many hours when he was younger at his hospital bedside watching him struggle with oxygen masks and nebulisers. I was hoping he was finally growing out if it, hes gone over a year without needing prednisolone till this week. Sorry for ranting on, guess I just needed to vent!

Has your boy's doc or nurse made any suggestions about changing his treatment?
Mandy

Milly,
You go right ahead and its so nice to talk to someone who understands what im going thru it is a constant struggle when you think everything is alright and maybe just maybe he might be outgrowing it,then bam it starts all over again. i just want him to feel better. At this point i dont think he,ll be able to play sports either because every time he runs he starts coughing. Your boy sounds like hes got it really bad. I feel for him, its got to be just as discouraging for them as it is us. His doctor just switch him over to pulmicort instead of albuteral which i dont see if that would make much different but i guess well see. Hope your son gets to feeling better! Come and vent anytime im a good listener! Tee

Tee, thanks for that, you too feel free, I'm around here most days, or on the diabetes board, as I was diagnosed with that just before xmas(great pressie to go with all the chocolate!)

Jake used to take pulmicort when he was about the same age as your boy, and it worked well for him for a long time, I think sometimes a change of inhaler is all that's needed. Don't assume he will never play sports, it may just be during bad periods like now that it affects him to run. Jake plays some sports at school, just takes inhaler 20 mins before to open up his airways. He'll never be an olympic athlete, but there are plenty of asthmatics who are.

Hope you're both feeling better soon, Jake and myself are better today, no longer feling sorry for ourselves! Take care, Mandy xx

Tee, thanks for that, you too feel free, I'm around here most days, or on the diabetes board, as I was diagnosed with that just before xmas(great pressie to go with all the chocolate!)

Jake used to take pulmicort when he was about the same age as your boy, and it worked well for him for a long time, I think sometimes a change of inhaler is all that's needed. Don't assume he will never play sports, it may just be during bad periods like now that it affects him to run. Jake plays some sports at school, just takes inhaler 20 mins before to open up his airways. He'll never be an olympic athlete, but there are plenty of asthmatics who are.

Hope you're both feeling better soon, Jake and myself are better today, no longer feling sorry for ourselves! Take care, Mandy xx

Hi Mandy,
Good to hear from you! Im glad to hear that the pulmicort worked for your son sometimes you dont know about these things unless you hear it from other people experience. my son is doing better today so maybe that will work. i know i jump the gun on things about him not being able to play sports but it scares me sometimes when he gets like this and im just afraid he wont be able to do anything. I hope he will maybe out grow this, but in the mean time i will take one day at a time whew! Im sorry to hear that you have diabetes i thought i had it about a month ago but my doctor said it was my overactive imagination. Im glad he was right! Ha! Well you have a good evening and im glad you and your son are feeling better! Take care! Hugs Tee

Would you ladies mind if an old Asthmatic interjects something here? I was the same as your son when I was growing up. I was excused from any type of physical activities even through High School. Until February of this year I was forced to use an inhaler every day. Sometimes I would try and last two or three days without, but it always found its way back to my lungs. I haven't used ANYTHING medicinal for Asthma in 29 days. No inhaler. No pills. No medication whatsoever. There is a natural remedy that works wonders. There is a VERY specific type of vitamin E that I have been taking since Feb 1 and have not needed anything else. Doctor's won't tell you about it, probably because most don't even know. The rest because it would put them out of business. I too almost died several times growing up. Now it's my time to live without it.

Wow, that's impressive!
I have every respect for natural or even alternative treatments for illness or long term conditions, and I'm really pleased that seems to be working for you at the moment. However I would say that it needs to be done with caution, especially for a life threatening condition like asthma. Would be interested to know the exact product, and maybe do some further research on it.

I don't know how Tee feels about it, but it should be pointed out that it can be very dangerous to suddenly stop all asthma meds. May be an idea to use it in conjunction with meds, and under medical supervision, and watch for any improvement. I would not take the risk with my 14 yr old son of stopping his inhalers suddenly to try something else. Thanks for your input. :wave:
Mandy

I haven't read all through the other posts but just recently we got rid of two house cats and my sinus and asthma conditions have completely gone away. I don't know if you have indoor animals and it's very hard to part with family pets but if your son's life is in danger then it's worth a try! After the cats were removed from the house...we washed and cleaned/vacuumed everything as best we could. Also when my sister was a little girl and they didn't have a lot of modern medicines like they do now...the doctors told my mom to get all the carpet from the home and remove the curtains and just have blinds...as much as you can do to get the dust out of the house.

ilyf, you make some good points, carpets and soft furnishings can make asthma worse, as can animal dander.
I do have a 16 yr old one-eyed cat. My son is allergic to dogs, but not to cats, and he can sometimes go for months without any asthma symptoms, which I'm sure would not be the case if the cat was the cause of the problem. The main triggers for my son's asthma are infection and sometimes exercise. I should point out that I did not say his life is in danger, just that asthma is a life-threatening condition.

I can honestly say I have given thought in the past to getting rid of the cat, even though we don't think he is causing the symptoms, but I really believe the stress of parting with a much loved old friend who my son has grown up with is more likely to create symptoms than the cat is. It will happen soon enough the natural way, which we will deal with at the time.

Tee, do you have any thoughts on the last couple of replies? Mandy :wave:

HI MMM - I thought the same as you before I tried the vitamin E. And thinking like that is why I have had Asthma for almost 47 years. It's all NATURAL. I'm not suggesting you take away all meds, but rather implementing the vitamin E and see how he does. This isn't my remedy. I read about it and tried it. IT WORKS!!!!!! My lungs have been damaged by all the inhalers and drugs I've used for 47 years. I don't think I will be cured over night. However, I have now gone 30 days with NO MEDS and I feel fantastic. I am eating chocolate, bananas and all kinds of dairy products that I WAS reacting to. Not anymore. The specific Vitamin E has to be NATURAL, not synthetic and must contain these mixed tocopherols:
d-alpha tocopherol, d-gamma tocopherol, d-delta tocopherol, and d-beta tocopherol. I take 1,000 I.U.'s daily. It has been the most incredible 30 days of my life.

Hey mandy,
Im sorry i didnt get on here till now. I thought what the guy said about the vit E was interesting but like you i would probably have him take it with the meds because i tried stopping his meds once when he was feeling better only to bring his back in his worse state. So i would definitely try them together.
As far as the animals and such, i think the least you have in the house the better because you never really know what can trigger there asthma its better to be safe than sorry! Mandy, let me know if you decide to get some of that vit E that might really help your son. Im sure it couldnt hurt! Hope hes doing better this evening my son is doing alot better still coughing some but not like he was. Ill chat at you later, have a good one! Hugs Tee

breathing easy,
Thanks for the info, i will look into it. Tee(:

Hi Tee

You're welcome. You may want to read my input under colds and flu also. I Haven't had a cold in 4 1/2 years. Another very simple NATURAL cure.

Take care and hope youa re doing well.

Hey breathing easy,
I made a copy of your ingred. for the vitamin E ill go to the healthfood store and see if i can find it. Your not the first ive heard this stuff works so i think ill give it a shot. I do wonder how much i should give him, how many mg ? I suppose i could ask them at the healthfood store. I sure hope it helps , he sure has suffered alot. I will check out your info on the colds and flu If i can find something that would keep them heathly then maybe he wouldnt get asthma as much, Ill check into it thanks Tee(:

Hi Tee
The dosage I use in the Vitamin E is 1,000 I.U. once a day. However, I have seen that the recommended dosage for Vitamin E is 400 I.U. once a day.
Shouldn't make much difference. It is my understanding that you excrete whatever your body doesn't use. The Natural cure for the common cold/flu is concentrated Garlic. Get it in pill form. You cannot eat enough garlic to match the concentrated pill form. Dosage is at least 1,200 mg. However, you only need to take one a day to not ever get another cold. If you feel a sympton coming on or you already have a cold (i.e. scratchy throat, sniffles, congestion, runny nose) take one Garlic tablet 3 times a day. WARNING: Make sure you buy ODORLESS. I made the mistake of buying the wrong one the first time. Anyway, I have not had a cold in 4 1/2 years.

hey breathing easy,
I going to go to the health food store monday maybe they would have an idea on how much you would give a child, i dont know if in natural pills it matters all that much but i will find out and let you know how he does with it.
As far as the other we dont do to bad with colds actually, knock on wood!

But thanks for the information might need it, hope not! Tee:D

Hi again Tee, breathing easy
I've been doing a bit of research on the net (I know, not always wise, can read too much!).

There seem to be a lot of conflicting studies about vitamin E, some saying can cure allsorts with no ill-effects, others warning about premature death in elderly patients taking a high dose. Recommended dose in UK is 400iu, but in US 1000iu (can't seem to find recommended doses for children, but these have to be smaller).

Breathing Easy, I did read that excess amounts cannot be excreted by the body, something to do with it being a fat-soluble vitamin. I still can't decide whether to let my son take it, Tee I think you're right, a visit to the health food shop may be the next step, the people in there are usually very knowledgable.

Speak soon, Mandy xx:wave:

Hi MMM

The cases you are talking about as far as death related are people that are on Blood thinners for Heart Disorders. In those cases it recommends that you start at a low IU and work your way up. I'll have to look into the excretion thing.I just know that I am taking 1,000 IU and feeling fantastic. 33 days and no meds. Now if I can just find a cure for my sprained ankle.

G'Night!

Hi Mandy, Tee
Went to the health food store today to inquire for you. I found several childrens bottles of vitamins. All stated that 30 IU is 100% for children. Problem is it doesn't say to what age. Also, you were correct in that Vitamin E can become toxic. However, we don't know at what consumption. Figured that 1,000 IU is OK or they wouldn't make it with that dosage.
Let you know if I find more
Great days to you both and your sons

Breathing Easy,
Thank you for finding out what you did, let me know if you find out anymore thanks Tee:) :wave: