gee where to start...
some may have read in a few posts that ds was my special baby, he was the one that i was told wasnt viable, i bleed for almost 15 weeks, and he only had a heart beat of 85 for all that time, then one day, it jumped to 175, he was born two weeks early, and was perfect, so after spending the first half of my pregnancy being told to expect to loose him, hubby and i were so pleased to see him when he was born.
The day after he was born, i noticed that he had a rattle in his chest, a slight wheeze, but was told, its nothing, prolly just caused by him comming out so fast, i didnt even push, he just flew out, lol.
Still weeks later he had the same rattle and wheeze, went to the dr and was told he had a chest infection, for the first 6 months of his life he had a chest infection, it never seemed to go away, my mother was worried that all this wheezing and rattling would scar his chest, we saw a few different dr and just kept getting the its nothing or its a chest infection speach, another 6 months later and he still had the same rattle, u could feel it in his chest when u held him, hubby and i knew it wasnt nothing, but no one would take us seriuosly.
During that 6 months they finally decided to give him medicine, which is when we discovered that he is allergic to penicillin, over the next few months we also learnt that he has some small allergys to certain foods, such as soya bean in nut free choc spread and custard etc...
His wheezing had slowed down so much that some days u just couldnt hear him , but he still had a slight rattle in his chest.
Then last night, he woke at about 9pm coughing, this was nothing unusal, it was a regular thing that happened almost every month, a few nights of coughing, so i went in and gave him his sippy cup of water, but something just didnt sound right.
So this morning, i was still in bed having a lazy one, and he walks in, barely able to breath, the loudest whezzing that we have eva heard, it was a cross between a dog panting and a freight train, his heart was pounding and the rattle felt hard, he kept saying ow and pointing to his chest, i sat with him on the lounge while i called the drs, his breathing became shallow, and his chest would sink in, and his stomach would pop out when he breathed, he felt weak and suddly fell asleep.
Hubby and i have always said, that we believe he has asthma, both my sister and i had it as children, i grew out of it, i had a few bouts of bronchotis in my 20s, but my sister still has a mild case, my dad 54 is a severe asthmatic, but no one would eva diagnoise it.
We got to the drs, after an hour long wait, we descibed the symptoms to the dr, and finally got the diagnosis that we have known for the last 22 months, my lil baby boy was having an asthma attack, the dr explained that under 12 mths they dont like to give a label such as asthmatic, and that with this attack he is having early onset asthma attack brought on by a viral chest infection.
He was precsribed ventolin and i had to get a spacer and face mask.
I am so glad that finally, finally after many trips to the dr, that we have a diagnosis, im sad that he isnt even two, and he had the biggest scare of his life today, his face, the look in his eyes when he was grasping to breath was one i dont eva wanna see again.
He isnt keen on having the face mask, and we are struggling to get him to use the ventolin, but hes doing ok, and being so brave.
Still tonight his chest is rattling and he is wheezing, but he is breathing alot better, and his spirit has lifted and he was keen to play this afternoon.
so if u made it through all that thankyou.
I was hoping to hear how others delt with child asthma attacks, and if there is anything that i need to know, the dr wasnt all that helpful, and my mother gave me a few tips, but said try google, lol
Being so young and not able to talk, and looking so scared, just broke me today, i was being so strong holding him, and calmly talking to him, but hes still my baby, he is my lil baby.
How scary for you guys..sorry I don't have any tips either...DF gets asthma sometimes, usually brought on by stress, and it freaks me out every time, it must be even worse having to go experience it first hand. i hope your little man is feeling better soon and that he does grow out of it!
He is asleep in bed now, he kept wanting to sleep all day, but i was too scared to let him incase he stoped breathing, so i would wake him every 10 mins, his breathing although better, is still so rapid and shallow, i dont understand why it hasnt gone back to normal yet, i was under the impression that once u had a puff of ventolin it would all go back to normal, all it did was improve it at lil, so im still a lil worried.
He has a day in child care tomorrow, its his 4th time, so i want to send him, as we have some anxiety issues, so i dont wanna go backwards, as he only goes 1 day a week, but at the same time, i dont want to send him, incase he has another attack, as it is this attack just doesnt seem ova yet.
Thanks mum1984, im just reading the info that Schmickers gave me, very helpful thanks i think that if he was older, we may not have had a battle with the face mask, but as he isnt even two yet and a very scared, hubby had to hold his head still, im sure he will learn to use it, i even put it on my face to show him, it was ok.
What do i need to put on the asthma action plan?
So far dr said only need to take 2 puffs every 4 hours, or when needed today, but im not sure if i should wake him later for another puff, my mum says to give him a puff before child care, jic, i feel so over whelmed right now.
Sounds like a very scary experience for you and your little man.
The resaon why we don't diagnose asthma in children under 2 years of age is because their little airways are so narrow that even a normal cold can cause the kind of wheezing and rattling symptoms you see in asthma. Lots of little children used to be diagnosed with asthma and labelled for the rest of their lives when really they were perfectly normal.
But given your family history, it seems pretty clear that this is exactly what your little one has got. Persevere with the puffer and spacer - all of the children I've looked after have got used to it pretty quickly.
Hun big to you. DD8 is asthmatic and I know how scary it is seeing your child struggling for breath. She was 6wks when the wheezing first started. Now that your DS has ventolin, you know the signs, dry cough, wheeze, I would take her singlet off and check the sides of her chest if when taking in a breath the sides cave in then he is struggling. Wishing you all the best.
My 22mth old had an asthma attack today.
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i think that if he was older, we may not have had a battle with the face mask, but as he isnt even two yet and a very scared, hubby had to hold his head still, im sure he will learn to use it, i even put it on my face to show him, it was ok.
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