Hi folks.

My 7 year old son has been using Flovent for years, but only as needed. That usually means for several weeks in the winter.

Flovent affects his behavior, and causes issues at school.

As a result, we asked his doctor for a replacement medication, and he was prescribed Singulair.

However, I've been doing some research on the web, and I see comments from parents of kids using Singulair that are somewhat similar to those of Flovent use; increased aggression, moodiness, etc.

I'm wondering if anybody that has used both medications can compare and contrast them, and to let me know if I should expect behavioral side effects with Singulair.

Thanks!

The two medications work totally differently.

Singulair is a moteklust inhibitor.

Flovent is an inhaled corticosteroid.

Neither one should cause moodiness and agression, but I guess anything is possible.

The Flovent works more on the actual cause of most people's asthma- inflamation in the airways. However, personally I find Singulair works better for me.

Also, it could take awhile for the Singulair to kick in. I personally recommend staying with the Flovent, but only you and your child's doctor know what's best for your child. I suppose there's no harm in trialing the Singulair.

I have always been given to understand that the Flovent should be used every day...even if the issues are only in certain seasons as the body adjusts to the Flovent over time and any side effects go away. Perhaps just using it at certain times of the year are making the side effects more obvious.

It's more likely that the asthma symptoms are what's causing the behavior changes. Have difficulties breathing can change one's personality.

I have not used flovent (but I take Advair which I think is similar - also a corticosteriod) I found that Singulair did not really do much of anything for me, but different drugs work different for everyone. It couldn't hurt to ask your doctor about it.
I'd have to agree with rrt, having breathing problems especially when you are little can be frustrating and hard to deal with and that could be contributing to the behavior changes. Also, I had experience with this when I was younger, perhaps he is being singled out as "the kid with asthma" or getting special attention from the teacher about it that he does not like?

Hi there,

My son is on Singular and has no issues with any side effects. With singular, it is a preventative medication. It needs to be in the body regularly and can help decrease the incidences of asthma attacks. My husband also takes it. It has done wonders for both of them. My son's nebulizer treatments have decreased significantly after being on Singular. He used to live on albuterol and pulmacourt. Now he only needs them if he gets a bad cold. It has been amazing for us. Hopes this helps.

I have always been given to understand that the Flovent should be used every day...even if the issues are only in certain seasons as the body adjusts to the Flovent over time and any side effects go away. Perhaps just using it at certain times of the year are making the side effects more obvious.
I agree, I was on it as a child and had problems, but I didn't take it regulary, and my breathing was so bad, lack of O2 can make you go crazy and if you don't get O2 in the brain long enough, you could get brain damage. so do whatever you can do control his asthma attacks all the time. I think a long term medication would be better.