Not sure if my 6yr old has Ashtma....... - Asthma Message Board

mommieof2girls · 09-29-2003, 10:11 PM

Can anyone tell me some early signs of asthma or at least a mild case of it. Does it start out as something small and then gets bigger? I just need lots of info and fast.

Thanks

Suzie

Monday1954 · 09-30-2003, 04:59 AM

Sometimes it is hard to diagnose asthma in children, what to look for: a cough that seems to last for a long time, sometimes it is after a cold and hard to distinguish, shortness of breath, more coughing at night, wheezing.

If your child has allergies there is a greater chance for asthma. The coughing will be hard to describe but it is like a series of coughs, either in the night or day, especially if exposed to allergens.

If your child is over 5 there is a test that can be given to see if they have asthma, your best bet would be to go to the doctor. Not everyone's asthma is the same. I was not diagnosed until I was an adult, the doctor was surprised that I had never been diagnosed. Well...it never crossed my mind that I has asthma, I just thought every few months I would get a chest cold that would last for a very long time. I knew about my allergies but never put 2 and 2 together until I had a full blown attack and ended up in the hospital.

Again, when in doubt, go see the doctor. You can also do a search of asthma symptoms and see if your child has them.

Tracybj2 · 09-30-2003, 09:45 AM

What symptoms is your 6 year old having?

mommieof2girls · 09-30-2003, 09:28 PM

Well, when she was younger she was always getting coughs after colds that lasted too long. She would get croup just out of the blue at night and have trouble catching her breath. all I would do is, well sometimes I panicked but I got her into the bathroom and put the shower on and just sat in there with her until she was better. The weird thing is was that she never had any symptoms she would just wake up like that. I would take her to the doctor and they would just say it was a cold or allergies which she has. They would always ask me if she had asthma and I would say I don't think so but that's all they would do. None of the over the counter meds worked on her for colds or allergies. So, which brings me to today, now remember she has had the colds or coughs and I would take her into the docs office and they always asked me if she had asthma. Anyway, she started with a cough and nothing else no symptoms what so ever, it's been 3 weeks now and it's basically sounds awful like there is a lot of phlem (sp?) I'm just tired of the doctors asking me if she has it, like i would know. I start to think " I don't know you tell me if she has it " that's what I think when the doctors ask me. Anyway, please someone help me here. I know everyone reads these but not everyone responds. Why?? I don't mean to sound rude it's just that I'm worried about my baby and I don't want her to end up having a bad attack and we don't know anything about asthma. Thanks for listening.

Suzie

09-30-2003, 10:19 PM

Sounds like a very real possibility to me. Take her to the doctor when she is well and straight-out ask about the possibility of it. If he dodges you, ask for a referral to a board-certified allergist. These allergist know myriads about asthma. They are not as good as a pulmonologist, but at least they can help and they can identify triggers like allergies. I would also start asking for pulmonary functions testing.