Pulmicort side effects in toddlers?

[violetsmom13]

My two year old daughter has asthma that seems to be triggered by respiratory infections. She has been in the Emergency Room two times in two months with rapid/noisy breathing that required hour-long albuterol treatments and oral prednisone. A specialist has recommended we give her Pulmicort once a day throughout the winter. Beyond the common side effects of dry mouth and thrush, I am hearing rumors that Pulmicort can cause strange behavioral side effects in children. (irritability, mood swings, and mania) I would like to try the Pulmicort-I don't want her to end up in the ER every time she gets a runny nose this winter. I realize albuterol and oral prednisone have serious side effects, too. Any advice? Any stories? Thanks!

[gloverlover30]

Hello, My daughter is 2 , and has asthma to! Shes been hospitalized 3 times, last time she was in intensive care. They just put her on Pulmicort last month and so far so good!! She seems to be doing very well with it. We rinse her mouth out and wash her face after every treatment. She doesnt seem to have any side effects.

I know prednisone is a life saver when you need it but the side effects are horrible , shes a different person when shes on prednisone. almost like jeckel and hyde.

[SheaUSMC]

The first thing I would suggest is allergy testing to see if her trigger can be determined. I too thought my daughters asthma was caused by the common cold that all children love to share since that was the only time she had a flare. Turned out to be an allergy to dust mites that just worsened when she had a cold. Anyway, we had the allergy testing done and immediately minimized her exposure as much as possible to the mites and put her on pulmicort at the same time. She has been on the nebulizer and now the flexhaler with no noticeable side effects whatsoever. She also has not had an asthma flare in months, and they used to occur weekly. I was very frightened about starting the pulmicort, but I can't tell you what a relief it is to hear her breathing normally again without the weekly trips to the Dr or ER. She often did not respond well or at all to albuterol and would end up in the ER.

I haven't heard about behavioral problems associated with pulmicort prior to your post, but I have not noticed any changes in my daughter except that she is much more active now that she can breath easier. That's a good thing.

Hope your little one is doing better!

[violetsmom13]

Thank you so much for the replies. It is good to hear positive stories about this drug. My daughter has been tested for allergies and all came back negative. I have a hard time giving her a drug every day for something that only affects her once every couple of months. My husband and I have decided to give her the pulmicort at the first sign of a cold, the way it was originally prescribed to us back in August. (We did not follow these orders in October when she started a runny nose, and two days later she had an asthma attack that took us to the ER.) Her nose started running last week and we gave her Pulmicort for three days and we seem to have made it through a cold without an asthma attack, so I am optimisitic. Incidentally, we have also eliminated all dairy from her diet because of suspicion of a mild milk intolerance that could be affecting her lungs. (We have seen a nutritionist for advice.) I have also stopped using furniture polish and chemical cleaners in the house. I hope I am doing everything I can to prevent another attack, but it is hard to know for sure. I am still very paranoid! I have another baby coming in January and I can't imagine rushing to the ER with a newborn in one arm and a wheezing toddler in the other.

[dizzymommy]

Hi,
My son is two also and was diagnosed with asthma about two months ago, although his first attack was back in june. He gets it when he's sick or running too much and has bad allergies to dogs/cats, anything outdoors, basically anything living (although we haven't done testing yet, he'll get rashes, etc.) We started pulmicort a few months back at the same time we started singulair. He has been more extreme in his behavior...like the littlest thing will set him off and he'll throw hour long screaming fits. Very difficult and I don't know if it's the singulair or pulmicort. The albuterol makes him very hyper, but not moody and when he was on albuterol, pulmicort AND prednisone he was a maniac!!! Anyway, I would try the just with a cold treatment and see how that goes for you. In the long run attitude changes are difficult, but better than a severe attack. Good luck!!!